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Dinah Was (Dramatization)

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Dinah Was (Dramatization)

By: Oliver Goldstick
Narrated by: Yvette Freeman
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About this listen

 In a white fur coat, "The Queen of the Blues" sits on her luggage outside a Las Vegas hotel. It is 1959; the legendary star cannot enter the hotel without a white escort. So Dinah Washington, in her inimitable style, takes a long pull from her flask and starts kicking up a fuss. Yvette Freeman reprises her Obie award-winning performance in this passionate play that reminds us "What a Difference a Day Makes". Features songs made famous by Dinah Washington and performed in the play by Yvette Freeman.(P)2004 L.A. Theatre Works Drama & Plays Entertainment & Performing Arts United States World Literature

Editor reviews

Singer Dinah Washington battles with a Las Vegas hotel where she can headline but not get a room, while scenes from her life play through her mind, interspersed with musical numbers. Hers is the many-times-married rough-and-tumble life of a strong, selfish diva bedeviled by her family, her own failings and addictions, and the ugliness of racism. A (somewhat unconvincing) epiphany lets her see how to do the show without selling out. The cast, mostly playing multiple roles, is sometimes stagy, but still effective, especially Yvette Freeman, who rightly does not try to imitate Washington's singing, except in its intensity.

Critic reviews

"Freeman is excellent as Washington...a whirlwind, lustily sucking up huge gulps of life." ( The New York Times)
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