Are you a little nerdy (I certainly am)? Do you think the hottest thing about someone is their ability to discuss the almost science fiction levels of technology we are creating (shout out to the discoverers of the Higgs boson!)? Do you fall in love with someone’s brain long before anything else? I know I’m not alone in this thought pattern (the brain is, after all, the biggest sex organ). So if you are like me, you will love Gia Mora’s new cabaret Sweethearts and Singletons.
First, Gia has a lovely voice. She has been singing since she was three and it shows. The aspect of her vocals that I find most interesting is that she skips between the lightness and effervescence of the broadway pop sound and the grand sweep of a matron’s rich, round resonance. Her song selection is great. There is a wonderful mix, (centered on the themes of love and science) without too many standards (it makes me crazy when I see a cabaret and I could get up and sing through the entire show without sheet music). One of my favorites was definitely the grand epic she made of “Taylor the Latte Boy” (and watching a white girl scat is always a bonus). Other fine renditions were The Gershwin Brothers’ “But Not For Me” and Hoagy Carmichael/Mitchell Parish’s “Star Dust.”
Now everything has a down side (sad but true) and this is no exception. The stories that she tells between songs were wonderful mixings of science (discussion of black holes’ event horizons tearing your heart into spagetti {and, of course the Higgs Boson}) and love (there was a great story about her online dating experiences), but occasionally they would stretch a bit longer than necessary. There was also the matter of the microphone going in and out at times, though that was more an issue with the venue’s equipment than anything else. But other than those it was a wonderful show.
I highly recommend seeing the show if at all possible as it is unique, as far as I know, in the cabaret scene. And thank god there is finally a smoking hot lady singing about the science of love (she’s beautiful to begin with, but that brain makes her even hotter). Nerds Unite!!
Gia Mora peformed for one night on August 25, 2012 at Black Fox Lounge – 1723 Connecticut Avenue, NW, in Washington DC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU-L8xvqTp8&feature=player_embedded
LINK
Gia Mora’s website.
