Watching the great Judy Garland play Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, actress and cabaret artist Julie Ross had something of an epiphany.
“The fact that Judy could move an audience with her singing really stuck out for me,” the Australian-born performer recalls. “I think that’s why I do what I do, it’s about acting the song.”
In fact, it is the power of songs that inspired Julie’s acclaimed one-woman show Don’t Ask the Lady...!, which she brings to the Ye Olde Rose and Crown in Walthamstow on Friday.
“It’s a celebration of female songwriters of the 20th Century,” the Walthamstow-resident says. “The basic framework is the story that women have had to struggle to get their music heard for years. Songwriting has always been male dominated, like a lot of things, but it’s not anti-male, there is a lot of humour as well. It’s light- hearted and not heavy at all.”
The songs of Dorothy Fields, Betty Comden, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Dillie Keane, who Julie is quick to praise as a “fascinating women”, all feature in the show, which is strung together with humorous anecdotes.
And if, like me, you may not have heard of all these names, you would have certainly heard their songs, as Julie explains: “Dorothy Fields has written everything from On The Sunny Side Of The Street to Big Spender.”
Developed with musical director and pianist Nathan Martin, Don’t Ask the Lady...!, premiered at the Primrose Hill Community Centre last year, before visiting the Canal Café Theatre in Little Venice and The Etcetera Theatre as part of Camden Fringe.
“We keep changing it, because there is so much more material you can bring in, it’s a living, breathing, growing thing,” Julie explains.
For this performance at Ye Olde Rose and Crown, Julie is going to throw in a bit of Stephen Sondheim, in a nod to her performance in the American composer’s musical Company at the same venue in April.
Trained in Sydney, Julie’s other credits include tours with the musicals Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar in her native Australia, while she also sings in an a cappella group and has been working in cabaret for nine years. So, what is it that she looks for in a song?
“I’m a great lyrics person,” the freelance publisher gushes. “It’s not just about having a nice tune, the lyrics have to mean something. When you see a show you should be moved and the performers have to get the meaning across and touch the audience.”
Don’t Ask the Lady...! runs at the Ye Olde Rose and Crown, Hoe Street, Walthamstow on Friday, August 21, 8pm. Tickets: 020 8509 3880, www.yeolderoseandcrowntheatrepub.co.uk (£8/£6 concs)
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