As you know, I have been looking at things that “lift my heart, open my mind and take my breath away” and the Banana Glam O Rama Fashion Show at City Hall did all those things and more!
I am intimidated to even take a stab at recording it, out of fear that I am not doing it justice, but I can’t resist your plea so here goes:
As Jackie Hardy commented, from the moment the lights dimmed and the music started, there was a palpable feeling that we had been transported to Broadway.
And then the first set of gorgeous women glided onto the stage looking like a 30’s Hollywood extravaganza come to life.
The production values were incredible: everyone and everything looked and sounded stunningly gorgeous against the dramatic backdrop of City Hall’s Kyrouz Auditorium. (And the silhouettes underneath the “Build not for today alone, but for tomorrow as well” quote were astounding!)
As a producer/director, Richard Leonard channeled Florenz Ziegfeld and Busby Berkeley; as a performer, he channeled Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy. Most importantly, he added his own inimitable flair and essential Richard Leonard-ness to all of the above and gave us the show of a lifetime!
Each routine was masterpiece: from Carmen Miranda to Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell to (yes!) Tom Jones…and all points in between.
It was a perfect mix of costumes, beauty, talent, humor, music, history and culture.
A special shout out to my sissy, Elise, whom many thought was a dancer by the way she moved so gracefully across the stage. She epitomized 30s glamour and as Sue Ferhmann said (looking striking and elegant herself in a classic tuxedo), it doesn’t hurt when you look like Elise!
And to Maggie Rosa’s very apt assessment that this event was a celebration of 2 Gloucester icons: Richard Leonard and City Hall, I add a third: Margi Green’s legs! Her already popular Relax and Lengthen stretching classes at the Arts & Wellness Center (222 Eastern Ave.) will now have waiting lists I’m sure!
I could go on and on (but I won’t!)…instead I will just leave you with this point: my daughters, who were mesmerized for the entire performance (although my younger daughter did cover her eyes with her program during
Tom Jones‘s gyrations!), were so inspired that they promptly acted out their own version of the spectacular Sisters act they had just witnessed (nuns (!) singing the song made famous by Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen in White Christmas). As event visionary and organizer Kathy Slifer put it, “that’s what it’s all about!”
I’m privileged to be part of this incredible collaboration of wild, wonderful artists who have come together to create a gift shop like no other.
Good Morning Gloucester 