Reviews of Ain't We Got Fun? A Love Story About Looking for Work

The Best of Cabaret 2002: "The best way to determine whom to watch for in cabaret in 2003 is to see who did the most outstanding work in 2002.
Best Concept Shows:
1) Elaine St. George at Don't Tell Mama"
-- Barbara and Scott Siegel, theatermania.com

"It is a commonplace to lament that fine cabaret performers need day jobs. They have to make a living and enough money to pay for costs unlikely to be recouped in mounting a show. Elaine St. George has taken this reality one step further. What about needing a day job and being unable to get one? In her show at Don't Tell Mama, Ain't We Got Fun? A Love Story About Looking for Work, she successfully carries out an unlikely premise. The search for work in economically troubled times is likened to the search for a romantic partner. In both instances, one has to sell oneself and keep up one's spirit during the search. Combining a lovely soprano voice with an unassuming manner, Elaine performed Kurt Weill's Economics, a fine rendition of Rodgers and Hart's Ten Cents a Dance, and Andrew Lippa's Old-Fashioned Love Story. Some of her choices were ironically significant, such as Gershwin's Nice Work If You Can Get It and What Did She Have That I Don't Have by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner. Fortunately Elaine has now found a good job, celebrated in Many a New Day from Oklahoma. This happy ending (for now, at least) kept her show from being potentially depressing even if she did remind her audience that looking for a job is in most of their cards. It also gave the show the social significance that reminds one that cabaret is not always an escapist art form." -- Barbara Leavy, CabaretScenes.com, December 2002

Reviews of Emma and Company

"... Also noteworthy in the large cast are John Patrick Kelly's
dishonest corporate head, and Tauren Hagans, Amanda Miller, and
Elaine St. George as a series of business managers." -- Backstage.com
7/3/01

Reviews of Do Re Mi, Democracy

"Every once in a while, someone pipes up to criticize contemporary cabaret as no longer a place to hear vital and stinging satire. Elaine St. George has positioned herself as the counter-argument. In her current show, 'Do Re Mi, Democracy,' she indicts politics, parties, and partisanship with what the late revue entrepreneur Julius Monk used to call 'the iron fist in the velvet glove.'

A sizeable woman with a sizable sense of the comical (and a sizable tattoo emblazoned on her right breast), St. George has searched the political song catalog for doozies from the last 70 years, the earliest being 'If I Became the President' from the George and Ira Gershwin 'Strike Up the Band.' She's delved so assiduously that she's retrieved updated-for-inflation 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' lyrics that E. Y. Harburg published on The New York Times op-ed page in 1974. For the sake of comic variety, she sings 'I Love You So,' a 1997 power ballad Senator Orrin Hatch, who knows from power, scribbled." -- Back Stage, November 10-16, 2000

"In a well researched show about songs, song writing and politics, Elaine St. George courageously tackles most of the assumptions and presumptions which surround the process of elections, campaign speeches, and the vagaries of politics and the women and men who "practice" within that often-less-than-noble sub-species of democracy... Elaine St. George performs these songs with a voice that seems to have no range limits, a rich and well trained instrument which expresses the riches of a well tuned soul. Ms. St. George is a passionate, soulful, and honest singer who respects the notes she sings from music she believes in." -- Theater Reviews Limited

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Reviews of The Girl That I Marry

"Barbara Cook and Elaine St. George must have been separated at birth. St. George hits the same gorgeous, shimmery notes as the grande dame of cabaret but she puts a decidedly modern spin on her music in her show 'The Girl That I Marry.'" -- Time Out New York, April 22-29, 1999

"I finally caught up with singer Elaine St. George in her new show, 'The Girl That I Marry,' directed by Ellen Rievman, with music direction by Paul Katz, at Judy's Chelsea. One publication recently compared her singing to Barbara Cook's. Since Cook is one of my favorites, I was eager to hear this young lady who's been on the club circuit for about two years. It wasn't fair to compare her to Cook -- or to anyone -- at this early stage of her career. St. George has plenty to offer on her own. I was taken by her own very warm phrasing (Cook's forte) and expressive mezzo voice.

"Bringing a new spin to the theme of marriage, this out-of-the-closet lesbian artist did a formidable job on some tricky songs, making for an engaging hour. She was particularly adept at singing Sondheim songs such as 'Not Getting Married Today,' 'Sorry, Grateful,' and 'Could I Leave You?'

"The lively set moved well and St. George delineated being gay as only a part of who she really is (avoiding the obvious camp and cheap shots others have tried). When she sang Berlin's 'The Girl That I Marry' and, later, Loesser's gorgeous 'More I Cannot Wish You,' she created tender moments about love -- gender was a non-issue. I believe she has a very bright future ahead." -- Back Stage, June 18, 1999

"Lesbian torch singer Elaine St. George makes a play for the altar in The Girl That I Marry, her sunny revue of songs on the joys of gettin' hitched. St. George superbly matches her ruby-throated vocals to a dreamy repertoire of standards. She simply owns the Sondheim numbers; his intricate melodic tricks and her calming vocal charms are a match made in heaven." -- HX, June 11, 1999

"This out-and-proud lesbian singer has a creamy, thrilling soprano startlingly akin to that of the superb Barbara Cook. And, refreshingly, St. George doesn't change a single pronoun in her new show, The Girl That I Marry." -- Time Out New York, June 10-17, 1999

"Shattering stereotypes with her gorgeous soprano, this out-and-proud lesbian singer caps a stellar monthlong run at Judy's with her final Pride show, The Girl That I Marry. Haven't made your reservations yet? You better go, girl! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)" -- Time Out New York June 24-July 1, 1999

"I finally got around to catching Elaine St. George's new show at Judy's and it is something exceptional. It's called The Girl That I Marry and it's even more captivating than her last outing. The way her voice rises and crests with each phrase is masterly in the way it grips you and takes you along with it. On numbers like 'More I Cannot Wish You' from Guys and Dolls, her vocals assume the quality of a warm embrace that would liquefy even the most cynical heart. Her anecdotal patter is sharp, well-written, pointed, and serves each and every song smartly. And there's a brilliantly satiric medley squaring off the winsomely romantic 'When I Fall in Love' with the steely-eyed 'Could I Leave You?' from Follies. ...I know strictly speaking it should be The Girl WHOM I Marry. But where the hell's the romance in that?" --- WVOX, June 4, 1999

Check the review from Theater Review here...

Reviews of All I Need is the Girl

"Not only does Elaine St. George have a fine voice, she's excellent in every way, unfailingly impressive whether doing dramatic, romantic, or comic material. To celebrate the release of her CD, 'Just Around the Corner,' she is reprising her acclaimed cabaret show. Her rendition of 'Shanghai Lil' is uncommonly trenchant, a medley of 'He Loves and She Loves' and 'Do I Love You?' is affectingly tender, and 'Maria' from 'West Side Story' is impassioned. Plus she's bright, funny and likable." -- Roy Sander, Citysearch.com, June 1998

"Yet another lady well worth catching this week is vocalist Elaine St. George. She's bringing back her extremely entertaining show, 'All I Need is the Girl' to Judy's. The show is a collage of love songs to women from a woman's point of view. But the gay theme is no shallow gimmick. St. George is an inventive vocalist with a spunky, sassy persona and brings fresh, original perspectives to these old standards not just because she's of the same gender, but because she's a clever performer. It's worth going just to hear her knock-'em-dead cover of 'Shanghai Lil.'" -- John Michael Koroly, WRTN/WVOX-FM, June 1998

"I was quite impressed by Elaine St. George, whose show 'All I Need is the Girl,' recently completed a run at Don't Tell Mama...While she confronted her sexual orientation quite directly (vid. the title), you could think of her approach as Lesbian Lite, for she was so good natured and matter of fact about it. She handled all styles -- from dramatic to romantic to comic -- with equal aplomb, and her voice was attractive whether soft or clarion. Her rendition of 'Shanghai Lil' was far more trenchant than I'd previously ever heard -- the sense of loss was palpable....And she did a fine job on Cole Porter's jaw-breaking 'Let's Talk About Love.'" -- Roy Sander, Back Stage, December 1997

Reviews of Just Around the Corner

"Elaine St. George's 'Love is Just Around the Corner' reminds us of the many great songs written for the screen in the '30s, with a few showtunes added as well. There might be a surprise at finding 'A Kiss to Build a Dream On,' popularized in the early '50s, but it was intended for, then not used in, the Marx Brothers' 1935 A Night at the Opera, and was a revised version of Bert Kalmer and Harry Ruby's earlier song 'Moonlight on the Meadow,' with lyric input from Oscar Hammerstein II. Among other goodies are the title song from Flirtation Walk, College Swing's delectable 'Moments Like This,' Happy Landing's mildly risqué 'Hot and Happy,' High, Wide and Handsome's lovely 'Can I Forget You?,' and Footlight Parade's 'Shanghai Lil.' It's unusual enough for that song to be performed, even moreso by a woman. St. George is an out lesbian, singing the lyrics without changing their gender. This certainly puts a new spin on the Gershwins' 'Mine,' with St. George double-tracked and accompanist Paul Katz singing as the third corner of a triangle. She is at ease and relaxed with ballads or gently swinging tempos, less secure in her upper vocal range. Katz leads a small group that provides sympathetic accompaniment for this likeable collection." -- Show Music, Winter 2000-01, Volume 16, No. 4

A "lovely album...you may find yourself listening to Have You Met Miss Jones and some of the other infectious 1930s songs she's re-imagined here over and over again." -- from the liner note by Mary Rodgers

"From the moment I slipped Elaine St. George's Just Around The Corner (Two E Music) in my CD player, I was captivated. Her sparkling voice, vibrant delivery, classic selection and sheer cleverness instantly made a fan of me...the album's fifteen swank offerings traverse a wide spectrum of sounds and moods...From the gutsy, bluesy jazz of the title track "Love Is Just Around The Corner," to the heart-wrenching tenderness of the grandiose ballad- medley "Can I Forget You/It Never Was You," St. George proves a masterful interpreter....St. George is a singer's singer, and though deftly accompanied by a host of accomplished musicians, her voice is squarely the focus here. As it should be. I hope to be hearing more from this spunky, classy diva soon." -- Margaret Coble, Impact News, January 15, 1999

"Elaine's love of old American musical films and the music from those days is more than visible in her treatment of some great 30's evergreens. It's especially evident in her very romantic treatments of Cole Porter's Do I Love You, Otto Harbach & Jerome Kern's classic Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Lane and Loesser's Moments Like This. Elaine conveys a special tenderness too in Yip Harburg and Arthur Schwartz's Then I'll Be Tired of You. Elaine brings back the flair of 'old times' too with songs like Hot and Happy." -- Seems Like Old Times, syndicated radio show, June 1998