I’M A NEW YORKER
Starring Cheryl Ann Allen

Don’t Tell Mama
343 West 46th St.
NY NY 10036
14 September, 29 November, 14 December 2016

Much lauded for her show, Sophie Tucker in Person, Cheryl Ann Allen is obviously a lot like Sophie Tucker. She even does a few numbers from that show in this show: I’M A NEW YORKER. The problem with this is you can’t really tell where Sophie Tucker ends and Cheryl Ann Allen begins. She looks like a modern Sophie Tucker. She has that great, breathy belt of Tucker’s. Several of the songs give a tease of who Allen is and how she got to New York, but just when we think we are getting to know her, she breaks into a bawdy song about her husband’s tiny um, you know. It’s funny, but a very Sophie Tucker-ish song to sing.

After that, she goes fully into the Sophie Tucker numbers before ending back up with herself, but we still don’t really know who she is other than a Sophie Tucker impersonator.

I’d rather have either seen her full Sophie Tucker Show or see her do a show that really is about her. She has had a varied and interesting career. Why not tell some stories about her experiences in show business, not just sing songs reminiscent of Tucker’s style.

- Jean Tait -