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Eden Espinoza, star of stage and screen (
Wicked,
Rent,
Flora the Red Menace) joins with
Audra Mae to bring
Upright Cabaret’s Summer Nights to
Hollywood’s Ford Amphitheater.
Walking up the stairs of the
Ford Amphitheater, the venue reminds you of
Catalina Island. The colors, the soothing feel, the relaxed company. Only you’re in Hollywood. Nestled away in cafe pockets and stairwell coves people chit-chat and pass along glasses of
Pinot as the evening builds up.
And that’s the charm of
The Ford. Much like the
Hollywood Bowl, and to a degree the
Disney Concert Hall, it’s not just the event, it’s the full experience.
Chris Isaacon and
Shane Scheel of the
Upright Cabaret greeted the crowd with an open arms hug. It was that kind of night. Happy, cheerful and everyone was ready for it.
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Audra Mae
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Audra Mae opened up. New to my world, but highly recommended. Within minutes, I understand why. She slinks across stage in a glittery little black dress. But despite her bloodline (
Judy Garland’s niece), she doesn’t feel “Hollywood”. Her Oklahoma origins still show through the cracks -- and that’s a good thing.
“Milk and Honey” was her sexy opening. Seductive lyrics and breathy delivery brought me to attention. By her second song
“Joey, Joey, Joey” I saw past her veneer and the talent was evident. This small town girl has everyone’s attention. Including obviously the night’s star
Eden Espinoza.
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Eden Espinosa
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After a short intermission,
Eden perched on stage without fanfare. She doesn’t need it. With confidence beyond her youthful age, she quickly reminded Los Angeles how much we’ve missed her.
During a brief pause she mingled with the audience, showing off her true stage presence. Many acts can cull your attention while they sing the songs the audience came out to hear. But when you’re holding time on stage -- just being your self -- well, it’s a sink or swim moment and
Miss EE proved herself.
Shortly after she brought friend
Ty Taylor out front for a surprisingly tender cover of
Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”. The two have great chemistry, grooving along together in an “old friends” kind of way.
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Paula Cole
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A nice edition to the evening was
Paula Cole. Looking slender and vivacious, she only made me miss her more. And always the crowd-pleaser, she brought out her old favorite
“I Don’t Want to Wait” for an audience who sang along.
The evening ended with
Eden Espinoza and
Audra Mae dueting on
Audra’s song
“Ruby Shoes”. Charming and classy. The audience swelled into a standing ovation and I’m sure many karaoke drive home’s.
For more information on
Eden Espinoza, check out her unofficial website here, and follow her on Twitter.
To find and follow
Audra Mae, click her for her myspace and here for her Twitter.
To have more fun and hear more about upcoming
Upright Cabaret’s, find the boys here and their Twitter here.
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on Joe Wehinger . Former Freelancer
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