CABARET SCENES 

January 1998 

By Keith Meritz 

Georga Osborne

The audience at Don't Tell Mama was once again filled with theater folk, many of whom must have worked with Georga in her many forays into musical theater. They know a good thing when they see it. This sold-out Friday night show looks like a tough reservation to book, but do it as soon as you can, before she hits the musical road again. Melding the likes of Classical Opera, Broadway and Cabaret with a wildly audacious sense of humor, Georga has created an outrageous comic persona, taking jabs at herself and her fellows in the biz with an insider's eye, giving the rest of us a peek from the other side of the greasepaint. 

The title song and opening number, Michael Tester's Attack of the Killer Showtunes, sets the stage for the wry, cynical humor to come. Brace yourself for the rapid-fire delivery of Can't Stop Talking About Him that takes an unexpected turn, poking fun at the old sustained top note. In an irreverent parody of operatic recitals, Metamorphosis stands as a bizarre metaphor for the transformation of the downtrodden, stage-struck wannabe to the elusive dream of the musical performer. 

When Georga gets naughty, oh my! Her Roseanne-like slovenly housewife interpretation of a purveyor of phone sex in A Call From The Vatican sits well with her bawdy, no holds barred A Lil' Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. But both seem tame in comparison to her brazen interpretation of the usually innocent The Boy Next Door as seen through the eyes of a lecherous old housewife oggling the neighbor's teenage son, paired with the overt exploration of sexual fantasies in How Do You Want Me. 

One of the most priceless moments of the evening comes when Georga bites the hand that feeds her, taking a clever stab at The Sound of Music. Having portrayed two different nuns, she performs both roles singing Maria and Climb Every Mountain, driving the crowd wild as she "reacts" to the unsung lines of the other characters and carries the harmony line to the assumed melody line. Crossing the line into physical comedy, she unabashedly makes fun of her awkward non-dancers [sic] physique, as she puts herself through the grueling motions of the desperately hopeful dancer of Chorus Line's [sic] The Music and The Mirror. 

Just when you think you can't laugh anymore, she hits you with a torturous medley of showtunes as they might have been sung by the infamous Mrs. Miller. It must take incredible skill to recreate the bizarre sense of no rhythm and oddball timing while finding the most irritating deconstructions of pitch. That formal operatic training comes in handy once again. Now that's what you call "musical comedy"!

By Donna Coe

Another cabaret artist honing her funny bone is Georga Osborne. In her show, "Attack of the Killer Show Tunes," she recalls touring int "The Sound of Music" with Marie Osmond and Debby Boone – and proves it by singing two of the nuns' vocal parts in hilarious harmony. The piece de resistance is her tribute to "A Chorus Line." And Osborne's finale, an homage to that '60s icon of bad singing, Mrs. Miller, is worth the price of admission.

WRTN-FM/WVOX-AM, October 10, 1997

By Lesley Alexander

BACKSTAGE, June 6, 1997

While this is in large part a killer show, a few numbers don't live up to the evening's very high average: "Old Devil Moon" is okay, but not special, and not ideal for her voice; "Where is Love?" doesn't have the requisite poignancy; "Bigger is Better" from "Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly," needs to be bigger (the lyrics per se don't quite do it); and more comedic variation would have to be found in her essaying "The Music and the Mirror" to justify its length. However, her encore, "Mrs. Miller's Broadway Collection," delivers non-stop hilarity. The initial run is over; a return engagement in the fall is planned.

This Month ON STAGE
Late Summer 1997 Vol VII, No. 5 AMERICA'S THEATRE GUIDE

By Maya Amis

ATTACK OF THE KILLER SHOWTUNES ***1/4

(singer Georga Osborne; Directed by Gerry Geddes) Georga Osborne comes on stage to the strains of "Superman," then launches into the quasi-operatic title song, which is filled with topical references and neatly cements her claim to diva-dom. Osborne's big, strong, melodic voice has just a touch of the Merman brass, used with both discretion and abandon on an idiosyncratic selection of songs, some familiar and some not. Osborne is a funny lady who delights in subverting innocent songs like "The Boy Next Store" [sic]. She can be serious too, as with musical director Gerry Dieffenbach's "In Your Eyes," a very pretty love ballad, and "Feels Like Home" from Randy Newman's Faust. Most of the time, though, Georga Osborne makes us laugh, whether she emulates a desperate Chorus Line dancer or a drag queen ("Bigger is Better," from When Pigs Fly). She has an utterly delicious sense of the absurd, knows when to keep a straight face, and chooses material both good in its own right and perfect for her. I wanted to see Attack of the Killer Showtunes again, right away, but will have to wait. At least Osborne's back in cabaret after a four-year absence! ~Rev 5/97~ Ended 5/97 ===Musical Dir.: Gerry Dieffenbach; Director: Gerry Geddes.