The Great Sophie Tucker Returns Almost in Person!
October 4, 2015
By Myra Chanin
The Great Sophie Tucker may have gone to her reward 50 years ago but she was certainly alive and kickin’ at Don’t Tell Mama where the Red Hot Mama was portrayed by Cheryl Ann Allen a few nights ago. Ms. Allen looked like Sophie’s grandly attired spit’n’image including makeup, hat and blonde curls plus a splendid black sequin gown festooned with silver and gold art deco curves while dangling the de rigueur handkerchief from the fingers of her left hand. Sophie certainly wore her best glad rags to impress her audience, and in the pre-a/c era stars were not ashamed to show they perspired. Sophie started singing in her parents’ Hartford CT Deli, where for two bits, you got an entire four course meal served by a five-year old waitress who belted out tunes while she worked. As a professional, she first made a name for herself in blackface, until thankfully her cork and her costumes were lost and she went on stage as herself which led her in a more desirable direction.
Forget those Wasp flag-waving suffragettes – Edith Ellyn, Maud Watts and Emmeline Pankhurst. They only wanted the vote. Sophie was the first feminist. She wanted it ALL. She was anti-suffering and pro-pleasure, audacious, confident and impudent. Ms. Allen became Sophie speaking boldly and honestly about her life, her feelings, her desires and her sexuality. Sophie was only five years older than Mae West, but she may have set the stage for Mae West’s antics. She was certainly a role model for Bette Midler who used some of her material. Sophie also had exquisite timing. She could either sing or talk a song depending on which approach worked better. If she were around today, she’d be guest starring on the Amy Schumer TV show or one of Amy’s upcoming films
Cheryl Ann Allen commanded the attention of the packed showroom as she sang the cutting edge tunes and spoke about the twists and turns in her life with concert pianist Joel Martin, who became Sophie’s lifelong accompanist Ted Shapiro. She was also a master marketer who took down the names and addresses of people in the audience, so she could send them handwritten postcards letting them know when she was coming back so they could come see her again… and they did.
Some of Tucker songs Cheryl Ann Allen sang are immortal – “Some of these Days,” “My Yiddishe Momma,” but there were several contemporary sounding ones among them like, “I’m Living Alone and I Like It,” “If Your Kisses Can’t Hold Him, You Tears Never Will,” and a hilarious ditty that I was unfamiliar with — “Mr. Siegel, (make it legal).”
Don’t Tell Mama’s showroom was packed with new friends and old. Ms. Allen welcomes her new friends at CNN and seniors were represented by Emmy Winner, Fyvush Finkel, who applauded and Bravo-ed her performance. Cheryl Ann Allen happens to be married to the world’s greatest Xylophonist. He’s also Fyvush Finkel’s son and wrote, orchestrated and directed Cheryl Ann Allen’s Sophie Tucker in Person.
If you have a hankering to see and hear old time magic and music, not to worry. Cheryl Ann Allen and her alter ego Ms. Tucker will ’ll be back at Don’t Tell Mama at 6:30 pm on October 27th.
