Richard Skipper as "Carol Channing" In Concert

Due to the last minute cancellation of a play reading I was supposed to be part of, I had a chance to go see Richard Skipper as "Carol Channing" in Concert now playing at St. Luke's Theatre.  It turned out to be a nice evening learning a little history about the star so associated with the role of Dolly Levi.

The show is in the style of a cabaret with Ms. Channing singing many of her well known songs and telling stories of her legendary career.  Now I must admit, I don't know all that much about Carol Channing other than what I've seen of her on television but, I'm pretty sure that Mr. Skipper has the woman down.  From her unique way of speaking to her quick wit when chatting with audience members, you really felt you were in the audience with the woman herself.

Throughout the show, the audience is treated to stories from many of her well known hits such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Thoroughly Modern Millie, as well as, some lesser known shows like The Vamp.  Of course, a good section of the show is devoted to Hello Dolly!  As someone who holds a special place for this show (it was the show I earned my Equity card with), I particularly enjoyed hearing the story of how she won the role of Dolly and the medley of accompanying songs.

My only issue with the show would be that we heard too much about the members of the audience.  Being the opening night, there were several actors and musicians from Ms. Channings' hey day who were in the audience.  I guess in the instance of kindness and fairness, Mr. Skipper wanted to give ALL of them a proper "shout out" but, I kept thinking, "I don't care about these people. I want to hear about Carol."  Of course any other night, would probably be a different story.  Don't get me wrong, it was a sweet gesture on the star's part but for me, it just took time away from the main attraction and why we were there.

There was also something funny going on with the lighting. I've seen several other shows at St. Luke's and never noticed a lighting issue before so, I'm going to assume that was just a one time glitch.

Overall, it was a really nice evening getting to know a little about Carol Channing.  Love her or not, Ms. Channing is a true theatre legend and Mr. Skipper is doing a great job of paying her a tribute.  The show only runs through January 26th and if you're a Channing fan, make sure you go to see it.

Until next time...