A woman stands center stage singing expressively with a cast in uniform behind her, all set against a theatrical backdrop with a red curtain.

April 9, 2020

‘The Beautiful Lady’ Review: A Cabaret for the New Order

Photo Above by: Starr Busby, foreground, in Elizabeth Swados’s “The Beautiful Lady” at La MaMa by Steven Pisano

A few minutes into “The Beautiful Lady,” you might find yourself thinking the show owes a little something to “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”: After all, here are, again, a bunch of exalted Russians in a cabaret, singing of life, loss, hope and love.

But “The Beautiful Lady,” a musical by Elizabeth Swados from 1984, is actually the artistic forebear of Dave Malloy’s “Great Comet,” even though it is only just now getting a New York premiere at La MaMa, under Anne Bogart’s evocative direction.

Swados is best remembered for her 1978 show “Runaways” (briefly revived by Encores! Off-Center in 2016, a few months after her death); “The Beautiful Lady” adds to the mounting evidence that she was among the most idiosyncratic and creative composer-lyricists of her generation. (A few years ago Malloy joined the likes of Michael R. Jackson, Taylor Mac and Shaina Taub on the tribute album “The Liz Swados Project.”)

Source: The New York Times Critics Pick

“The Beautiful Lady’ Review: A Cabaret for the New Order” by By Elisabeth Vincentelli