Part 2: I Wanna Be Loved By You
Marilyn Monroe is certainly one of the great icons of the 20th century. And her image as a beautiful and utterly glamourous woman, still haunts us to this day, almost forty years since her tragically early death aged 36.
But this exuberant, witty, captivating comedy, song and dance show wisely ignores this fact. Helen Kane, is Marilyn, bubbly, blonde, seductive and very much alive - wooing the audience to fall in love with her.
Performed in the ideal space of the café-bar at the Komedia Southside venue, the audience sit at tables with drinks during this intimate cabaret show. The opening uses a brilliant device whereby we hear Marilyn introducing herself from the privacy of her dressing room. But she will not come on stage until she is convinced we want to meet her, that we love her, that we love her better than Elizabeth Taylor or Madonna. Her voice is soft, childlike, as she entices us to applaud, stamp our feet and wolf whistle.
Only then does she make her grand entrance - and of course by now the audience has been seduced and entranced when she appears in the flesh. Well, a white toweling bathrobe, later removed to reveal a very low cut figure hugging dress - an exact copy of the one which blows up around her hips by the subway grill, in the film "The Seven Year Itch."
The title of the show is particularly accurate. "I Wanna Be Loved by You" - the audience, and immediately steps down off the stage and wanders around the tables, asking people's names, where they come from, flirting with the men and asking coyly, " Do you really like me?" One unsuspecting gentleman seemed to take her fancy and Frank was ushered up on stage, where she proceeded to sit on his knee and caress him.
The show is a very clever medley of conversation participation, personal stories and songs - starting with a raunchy, well choreographed version of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." We are also given an acting lesson, in which Marilyn performs an extract from a variety of plays, which we have to guess. There she is as a very sexy Lady Macbeth, and then transforms into a tigerlike Blanche Dubois from Tennessee Williams.
"What a clever man he is", she adds at the end, "to have taught both his daughters to be Wimbledon champions". This kind of unexpected humourous aside litters the improvised script, ensuring that we do believe Marilyn is alive an well in 2001.
In some scenes Helen plays her as a dumb blonde, - holding up a series of card for her acting lessons, full of howling spelling mistakes. She is at times naïve, sometimes moody like a spoilt child. But underneath this mask of being the Fool, there is a sharp intelligent wit, and an innate talent to perform and entertain. Every aspect of Marilyn's complex, emotional and effervescent personality is brought over brilliantly across the hour-long show.
On a factual note, Marilyn was determined early on in her career to become a movie star. As Norma Jean Baker, she endured a childhood in an out of foster homes, rejection, insecurity and loneliness, and could only fantasise about the glamour of the showbiz world. She was raised around the beautiful people of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, closely observing Garbo, Valentino, Pickford and Gable. She described these people as "geniuses" as the bright colours of her day dreams. At an early age she was fully aware of the power of glamour. By the age of 20 she had been taken on by a modelling agency and was invited to take part in a shampoo commercial. The only stipulation was for her hair to be bleached blonde. Norma Jean stepped through the looking glass and became a blonde forever.
Marilyn then took acting lessons at $10 an hour. "I knew how third rate I was" she said. "I could feel my lack of talent as if it were cheap clothes I was wearing inside. But my God, how I wanted to learn. To improve. I didn't want anything else. Not men, not money, not love. But the ability to act."
Helen Kane's knowledge of Marilyn's life and work is put to the test when she invites questions from the audience. This cannot be rehearsed. "How do you get on with Arthur Miller?", asks one. "Well, he wrote this screen play for me, The Misfits - I didn't like the character of Roslyn - why can't he write something fun and glamourous for me."
She describes working with Jack Lemmon in "Some Like It Hot" - "I love him, he's a wonderful actor, especially as a woman!"
She talks about all her marriages and affairs, and her great determination and passion to be successful as a serious actress - and to be loved by everyone.
Much of the enjoyment of this performance is the continual reference to contemporary showbiz life. She says she was annoyed with Elton John for altering "her song", Goodbye Norma Jean, as a tribute to the Princess of Wales. But she has forgiven him. She doesn't want Elton to retire and has written a tribute song for him, "Goodbye Elton John" which she sings for us.
She dismisses the young glamour stars of today, with a jealous curl of her lip, "Geri Halliwell", almost spitting the name out.
But it is Madonna who is her true rival - the Goddess of the 21st century - who is given most attention. "Do you love Madonna better than me?" she cries out. By this time we have lost our hearts to Marilyn and we assure her, we love her the best.
But at least in Madonna's song, Vogue, Marilyn is mentioned as a super star, as a glamorous goddess, up there with all the Hollywood greats.
This is the song and dance finale, performed with innovative style, glamour and panache. Helen Kane is Marilyn.
"Who are you looking at?
Strike the pose
Come on, let your body move with the music
all you need is the imagination
You're a super star
yes, that's what you are
that's why I feel so beautiful.Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Deitrich, de Maggio,
Marlon Brando, James Dean, on the cover of a magazine
Grace Kelly, Harlow - Jean, picture of a beauty queen
Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, dance on air
They had style, they had grace
Rita Hayworth had a good face
Lauren, Katherine, Bette Davis - we love youDon't just stand there, let's get to it,
Strike a pose, there's nothing to it.
Next page > The Cocktail Party > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
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