Singer and Actor Cheryl Ann Allen – Sophie Tucker Meets Ian Finkel

Review by Carmen Amoros Goldberg, New York Podcasting Cafe September 28, 2017

Cheryl Ann Allen and Ian Finkel

We went up to the old Metropolitan Room, at 34 West 22^nd Street in New York City.  (They are moving to a new location which opens in November, so keep an eye on their website).

Singer and Actor Cheryl Ann Allen was there to perform as Sophie Tucker and what a spectacular night it was! 

The air at the Metropolitan Room  was filled with expectation.  Ian Finkel the World’s Greatest Xylophonist opened the show, with Jay Berliner on guitar, Martin Fischer on drums and Ed Sterbenz on bass.  Ian's candor, humor and repertoire broke silence with emotion, ready to entrance with his band.  He did not fail to please with the songs like Dinah, Tequila, Bach Tocatta in D Minor, Maria, Maria and Smooth by Santa, Mambo Jambo, Blue Skies, and a Dixieland Medley, 12^th Street rag, Tiger Rag and my favorite Saints go Marching in.  

At the end of his set, with great delight in his usual resounding voice, Ian introduced "Sophie Tucker."

Then a powdery, gorgeous well coiffed blonde haired Sophie Tucker appeared, in a stunning gown reminiscent of that era, which draped a curvy and voluptuous figure.  From the start Cheryl Ann Allen made Sophie Tucker (one of the greatest Vaudeville stars of all time) come alive.  Sophie materialized.  We were seeing and hearing Sophie Tucker, a sassy, firecracker, who cracked jokes, darted wisecracks and exchanged banter with Ian Finkel.  Sophie Tucker was dazzling and in the house.

The Beautiful, Talented Cheryl Ann Allen as Sophie Tucker

Indeed, we were carried to a bygone era of glamour and entertainment, time traveling to the 1930s and seeing Sophie Tucker incarnate, who with her spicy style brought laughter, memories of the time and  also moved us to tears.

Sophie Tucker (Cheryl Ann Allen) sang “Some of these Days.”  The glamour, the style, the inflection was all Sophie and any guy in the audience about to break up with his girl no doubt had to have felt a bit of a guilty conscience when she sang that one.

Then she sang “Red Hot Momma,” which was delightful and slightly naughty for that time. We were all stomping our feet to that tune . Heck even the bald guys had to have been loving it.

Some of the lyrics of "Red-Hot Mamma":  
"I could make a music master drop his fiddle
Make a bald headed man part his hair in the middle 'Cuz I'm a red hot mama, red hot mama, but I'll have to turn my temper down."

Sophie Tucker (Cheryl Ann Allen) then sang “If Your Kisses Can’t Hold the Man You Love Then your Tears Won’t Bring Him Back,”  with all the passion of a sister telling another woman to wake up, she couldn't keep him then, her tears just won't  keep him with her now."

Then the tearjerker of the century (and I’m not Yiddish, but it made me tear), the song “My Yiddishe Momme.” There was not a dry eye in the house.

Sophie (Chery Ann Allen) then proceeded to sing “It All Depends on You,” and ending the program with a joke about 5 sailers coming to her door and telling them, “I’m exhausted… (Well I cannot tell the entire joke.   It's her material, but it was hilarious) and everyone jumped to their feet giving Cheryl Ann Allen a very warm, enthusiastic standing ovation.

Cheryl Ann Allen delivered everything that Sophie Tucker was and then some.  She’s a great funny lady and a great star in her own right. 

It was an extra special treat to take a journey back in time with Singer and Actor Cheryl Ann Allen, singing in a bedazzling gown of the era, belting out tunes that brought us the magic of Sophie Tucker.  I would go see her again, but only if she promises to give us another hour, because, yes, we were left wanting to see and hear more.   

Next time Cheryl Ann Allen brings Sophie Tucker back to the stage, you should be there.  The show had an authentic and nostalgic feel and you felt like she was talking to you, giving advice or being playful and I loved the chemistry between Sophie and her musician Ian Finkel.  Wow!  They were hilarious.  I would share more detail, but in this business, you cannot give away too much of the good stuff.  Anyway, I cannot wait to see who Cheryl Ann Allen brings to life next!

Cheryl Ann Allen as Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker (Cheryl Ann Allen) turned the program over to Ian Finkel, poking fun at Ian’s jacket and letting another wisecrack rip and Ian was back on, playing a few closing songs and ended the program with a fitting song, “Amazing Grace," and everyone began to sing it.     

I loved Sophie Tucker Meets Ian Finkel and I hope they share the stage together for a very, very long time!

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SOPHIE TUCKER BIO

 For those too young to know who Sophie Tucker was, here is a quick bio of her life. Sophie Tucker immigrated to the United States and settled with her family in Hartford, Connecticut, where she helped her parents run a kosher diner and rooming house. Surrounded by theater performers at a young age, Tucker began singing for her customers. After a failed marriage, Tucker moved to New York and took a vaudeville job. First performing in blackface, she soon began singing the songs that made her famous, including “Some of These Days” and “My Yiddishe Momme,” throughout the world. She performed in several films in the 1930s and 1940s. Tucker challenged stereotypes of age, size and gender and one historian has labeled her a feminist of pop culture. 

For information on future events visit the Cheryl Ann Allen page on Facebook!

Cheryl Ann Allen  after a great show with delighted fans and friends.

Cheryl Ann Allen with Comedian and Actor Bob Greenberg

Cheryl Anne Allen with Ira Allen

Singer Actor Singer Cheryl Ann Allen