| The Heat of Rita Hayworth |
"The Heat Is On"Rita Hayworth: A Life in Concert Starring Quinn Lemley  Quinn Lemley stars as Rita Hayworth Arranged beautifully by Tedd Firth, Midwest-born Quinn performed in her best voice to date and received multiple ovations as a result. Hayworth's story--cleverly written and directed by Carter M. Inskeep--began in a believably parallel universe where she speaks from the "other side," hoping to clarify her life as a misunderstood woman who sadly succumbed to Alzheimer disease in 1987 at 68 years old. With her back to the audience, La Lemley opened with a sultry rendition of "Put the Blame on Mame" in a muted beige, brocaded, gown which clearly contrasted with her technicolor-red tresses. Once face to face with her adoring crowd, she let go of any restraints and belted out a one/two punch going from the opener to her show's title song, "The Heat is On," having slipped out of her muted gown to reveal a fire-engine red, satin, slit-up-to-here dress underneath. With complete abandon, Lemley gyrated, slithered and brought the audience to a new level of frenzy with yet another hair-tossing Hayworth song, the provocative anthem "The Lady is a Tramp"--from one of the bombshell's most famous movies, "Pal Joey." In performing her next song, "Who's that Girl," the svelte Lemley temporarily lowered the flame by delving into Margarita's early years as a confused young girl trying to please her demanding father ("Poppa" as Hayworth called him) who pushed her into showbusiness. This incestuous reference and the fact that Margarita Cansino was born in Brooklyn, New York--as pointed out by Lemley--garnered gasps from the audience.  Don't miss the Feb. 22, 2007 repeat performance of "The Heat Is On" Hayworth's desire to please men and, at times, compromise her values didn't change whether it was to cater to Harry Cohn, the tyrannical president of Columbia Pictures, or her five unscrupulous husbands. To emphasize this, Lemley explained on stage through a monologue that Hayworth had been fired then re-hired by "King" Cohn since she was able sway him into making her into a star. Her ability to escape in her own world was put to good use during her fantasy-filled days as the leading WW II pin-up queen and as the globally-adored, uber movie star, Rita Hayworth. After her blockbuster film "Gilda," the actual Rita Hayworth was quoted time and again saying that, "Most men go to sleep with Gilda, but wake up with Rita Hayworth." Lemley added a little paprika to the quote by embellishing it on stage with, "whoever that is, anyway!" and warns those men through her next tune, "Please Don't Kiss Me." At this point in the program, Lemley serenaded the audience with these jazz and rhythm-and-blues concoctions "Blue Pacific Blues," "I've Been Kissed Before" and "That Old Black Magic." Lemley addressed the audience once again as she described how Hayworth met her next husband, actor/magician, Orson Welles, at a charity fundraiser where she was sawed in half. After three years of unhappiness, any hint of magic ended. The only thing she took from that marriage is their daughter, Rebecca. Lemley stressed that after Hayworth's divorce from Welles she abruptly married the money-grubbing singer Dick Haymes. Although Lemley, as Hayworth, tried to convince the audience she's now "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" by Haymes (the song was from "Pal Joey" as well), she quickly informed them that this spontaneous union had little substance and produced a lot of pain--both literally and figuratively. At this time in her life, Hayworth was now be-roke! Penniless, Hayworth returned to the movies and gradually picked up the pieces of her life. However, as Lemley reminded her audience through the ever-optimistic ditty "Accentuate the Positive" (where she delivered one of her most sassiest songs of the night) that Hayworth actually succeeded in spades--because she made two highly regarded films "Separate Tables" and "Pal Joey" during this period. At this point, Lemley brilliantly restated why Hayworth was a sex goddess through the "Gilda-esque" faux striptease number, "Zip"--again from "Pal Joey" On the other hand, Hayworth was hindered in achieving further success because of her regrettably bad press--due to boozing and carousing around Europe with actor Gary Merrill. Lemley recalled how Hayworth was unable accept the role in the Broadway sensation, "Applause," due to her oncoming Alzheimer's disease. This brief section of the show temporarily dampened the evening's upbeat mood; but Lemley didn't allow her audience a long moment of sadness. After all this performance was meant to be a celebratory affair! So Lemley ended the evening the way she began it by singing "Put the Blame on Mame"; this time, however, the dial was set to "scorch." The redheaded singer shamelessly shimmied and sexually aroused the crowd in the dress that launched a thousand fantasies--Hayworth's black, satin strapless Jean Louis creation that she wore in "Gilda." Lemley's manipulative technique worked, and it provoked the audience to demand rousing two encores. Leaving Rita Hayworth in the dressing room, Lemley emerged "as me, Quinn Lemley" to grant her audience an unapologetic version of Eartha Kitt's "I Wanna Be Evil" and Cole Porter's "'S Wonderful." This song provided the perfect closer for Quinn Lemley's "The Heat is On" which was certainly 'S Wonderful!
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