Her Heart Didn’t Belong to Daddy (or the Prince)
Jessica Walker Portrays a Legend in ‘Pat Kirkwood Is Angry’
Charles Isherwood
June 15, 2014: Despite the teeth-baring title, the tone is mostly cool and considered in Pat Kirkwood Is Angry, a spellbinding cabaret show at the 59E59 Theaters written by and starring the gifted singer Jessica Walker. The titular actress, portrayed by Ms. Walker, was a British star probably unknown to most Americans. Her up-and-down career included glittery stints in the West End, steep plunges into the panto circuit when things got tough, a brief stay in Hollywood that sent her to a sanitarium and, most spectacularly, a festive night with a royal that made her a figure of scandal for decades. Ms. Walker, who paid tribute to a series of cross-dressing British music hall actresses in The Girl I Left Behind Me, seen at the same theater last year, here tells Kirkwood’s history in the voice of the actress herself, interspersing recollections with songs from her repertoire and other period nuggets that suit the emotional mood. Dressed in a shiny black dress, her hair cropped snugly, Ms. Walker is accompanied by the show’s musical director, Joseph Atkins, a superb and sensitive pianist.
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