"The Girl That I Marry"

Elaine St. George at Judy's Chelsea

Reviewed by David Roberts for Theatre Reviews Limited

Elaine St. George, by her own admission, is an incurable romantic. In love with being in love, Ms. St. George transcends all labeling and finds for herself a unique and formidable place in the world of cabaret and live performance. She's a wonderful mix of torch song singer, saloon singer (when there were such wonderful voices), rhythm and blues smooth talker, country and western heart breaker and jazz stylist supreme. Though some have compared her to Barbara Cook (a compliment to each of these women), I suspect the spirit of Ethel Merman was alive and well at Judy's Chelsea all during Elaine St. George's performance of her debut cabaret show "The Girl That I Marry."

Accompanied by her musical director Paul Katz and counterpointing with the sweet and clear strings of bass player Frank Wagner, Elaine St. George takes her audience down the aisle of love and marriage to the altar of acceptance and hope for all humankind. All of the show's songs are about the mystery, magic and mayhem of the institution we call marriage and Elaine's between- song patter is at the same time very personal (listen for how the fund set aside for Elaine's wedding was transformed into a Mercedes Benz) and very universal in its scope. Through her honesty and clarity about her life choices, Ms. St. George permits, indeed empowers, the audience to sort out their own unique perspectives on love and relationship at the beginning of the new millennium.

Whether it's the unique styling of her opening medley from "The Rink," "I Do! I Do!" and "Easter Parade," or the almost impossible task of intertwining Lerner and Loewe's "Get Me to the Church on Time" and Sondheim's "Not Getting Married Today," Elaine St. George is an incomparable artist at constructing a show and then delivering the songs she has chosen.

Elaine St. George has an incredible vocal range which she utilizes in all the Stephen Sondheim songs she includes in this show. She knows exactly how to deliver Stephen Sondheim. Favorites from the show are "Not Getting Married Today" and "Could I Leave You?" Her range and impeccable styling are also evident in all the standards she sings, including "You're the Top" (Cole Porter), "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" (Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn), "More I Cannot Wish You" (Frank Loesser), "The Second Time Around" (Sammy Cahn/James Van Husen), and "Married" (John Kander/Fred Ebb).

There are many surprises in this wonderful evening of romance and tryst snappily directed by Ellen Rievman (including a duet or two with musical director Paul Katz and a costume change or two). The creme de la creme of these surprises are "Courtin' Cowboy" and "Hot and Happy." Elaine St. George found the Bob Miller folio for "Courtin' Cowboy (1934) at a flea market and she yodels every time Bob's score calls for a yodel. The rare and unpublished "Hot and Happy" (Jack Yellen/Samuel Pokrass), recorded by Ethel Merman, is from the 1937 film "Happy Landing" and Ms. St. George lands happily on every note of this amazing tune and carries the memory of Ethel Merman on the sultry but brassy wavenotes of one of the most beautiful voices to grace a stage since Ethel herself.

Whether highlighting the ambivalence of marriage or selling the benefits of permanent relationships, Elaine St. George moves far beyond the 1913 "Harper's Bazaar" claim that marriage is the "aim and end" for all girls [sic]. Whatever marriage might be at this important point in history, Elaine makes it clear that it is for anyone and everyone who desires it, straight or gay. Her affirmation of her self and her unqualified assertion of her worth through every note she sings is her gift of pride to everyone willing to listen, including friends Esther and Roland, sitting in the audience, celebrating their forty-ninth wedding anniversary.

Be sure to get to Judy's Chelsea before Elaine St. George leaves. Find out what it means to fall in love with another and with one's self.

--Reviewed on Friday, June 18, 1999 (Opened on Friday, June 11)