A pacey, good-humoured tour of movie songs and the women who sing them that showcases Hersh Dagmarr’s charm but only hints at the sex and glamour of his subject.Rating
Good!
Alert the press. Hersh Dagmarr is more than a teutonically cheek-boned, besequinned Kabarett and Chanson star. He is clearly a film scholar. Of the highest order, too. His Songs from the Cinema show is not a token affair or excuse to simply bang out the hits. We’re a long way from the Sing-along Bodyguard crowd here, folks. Dagmarr has put together a thoroughly enjoyable cabaret show that takes us on a whistlestop tour of the silver screen.
From a 1933 opener by Mae West to a 2002 number from Catherine Deneuve, we get a lightweight history lesson about the songs from the movies and the women who performed them. Don’t panic. It’s not remotely challenging. No illustrated lecture. There’s no homework. Dagmarr (definitely with two RRs he is at amusing pains to point out at the finale) is a genial host. The conceit of his act is that he has had a movie career of his own. In fact, he seems slightly offended we didn’t recognise him. Starting in silent Berlin cinema and ending in Hollywood, he almost appeared in some iconic movies. Ingrid Bergman only got her part in Casablanca because, we’re told, he blew the audition. And the casting director. Boom-tish. Hedy Lamarr didn’t invent wifi, he did. These anecdotes feel half-formed and meandering. The point often gets lost as ideas seem to arrive unconstructed in the moment. There’s no real harm done, though. Dagmarr’s whimsy has one sole job: to pass the time between numbers. Everyone is here to hear him sing.
The song choice is eclectic, but all the better for it. We travel from Dietrich to Kylie (amusingly via dialogue from Fatal Attraction), to Gershwin, and to the master, Sondheim. Dagmarr tackles every note with the ease you’d expect from an experienced cabaret star. Your reviewer revelled in less well-known examples – ‘You Little So and So’, from 1932’s Blonde Vision and ‘Put The Blame on Mame’ from Gilda, Rita Hayworth’s first major role: both felt unearthed like Roman coins. ‘Mein Herr’ from Cabaret and ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’ are welcome, but don’t quite have the same impact.
Skilfully accompanied by pianist Karen Newby, it’s no surprise that Dagmarr is a fixture in London’s queer cabaret circuit. He has a fine voice and embodies torch songs and show tunes with all the camp faded glamour you could wish for. One gets the impression he played it relatively safe for a central London crowd on a rainy Sunday night, which seems a shame. I’d have followed him and his femme fatale-loving act further if he’d led the way. A mid-point costume change is a missed opportunity. The night was crying out for a killer frock. With countless different takes on cabaret available to London audiences, Dagmarr’s Songs from the Cinema feels a relatively unchallenging bet. Film lovers will enjoy hearing undiscovered gems alongside stone-cold classics, as I did. Others might need a bit more to get their teeth into.
Written & Performed by Hersh Dagmarr
Accompanied by Karen Newby
Songs from the Cinema has completed its performance at Crazy Coqs,
but Hersh Dagmarr begins a residency at the Roses of Elagabalus, Dalston, in March.
