By Owen Bryant
Picture yourself on a warm spring afternoon, sitting outside a French brasserie with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and a light breeze carrying music to your ears. What does that music sound like? If you have an idea, but can’t quite put your finger on it, look up Edith Piaf, and I’ll bet she fits the picture perfectly.
Piaf, the World War II-era chanteuse, is an icon of cabaret and a heroine of France. Reno was lucky enough to have her spirit grace the stage this past weekend at the Eldorado Showroom for the Artown Fall 2023 Encore Series.
This one-woman show highlights the span of the singer’s career entirely through her music. Not quite a musical but more of a retrospective theatrical concert, Piaf the Show begins in the mid-1930s when a young Piaf is trying to make it as a singer. Busking on the streets and landing small gigs in bars and nightclubs, it is apparent the girl has grit and ambition.
Brought vividly to life by the marvelous Nathalie Lermitte, the character waltzes to and fro, flirting innocently with the four members of her band, telling a story with each song.
The band consists of pianist Philippe Villa, percussionist Benoit Pierron, double bassist Giliard Lopes, and accordionist Frederic Viale, who performed a fantastic solo and several touching duets with Lermitte. Although Lermitte was the show’s focal point, the interplay between her and the band was fun to watch and brought the characterization necessary to make the show more than just a Piaf tribute concert.
The first act establishes the Piaf character and her place in the world: a girl of humble origins in the soon-to-be war-torn France. Flashes of 1930s Paris and pictures of Piaf are projected behind the ensemble to further place the songs in historical context. The songs are mostly upbeat numbers or dreamy love songs, including highlights like “Les Amants d’un Jour,” “Paris,” and “Padam Padam.”
The second act jumps to post-war Paris when Piaf’s singing career is well-established. The scenery has changed. Gone are the park bench and lamppost from the first act. The band, formerly dressed in ’30s street clothes, are now dressed to the nines in tuxedos. And Lermitte enters the stage in a floor-length gown.
This harks to the time when Piaf was singing in grand concert halls and not small, smoky cabarets. Lermitte is noticeably more thoughtful and pointed. No longer a flighty girl, she is a woman of poise and grace. This act features some of Piaf’s more famous songs, including the quintessential closer “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.” During this song, the similarity between Lermitte’s voice and Piaf’s own was breathtaking.
The encore brought two more songs, the final one perhaps Piaf’s most well-known, “La Vie en Rose,” which Lermitte had the whole house singing by the end.
The entire experience was like a dream. Lermitte beautifully embodied the character of Piaf without actually fully portraying her. There were some costume changes, but aside from one number where she came out in a wig resembling Piaf’s hair, Lermitte did not don a Piaf costume, so to speak. She acted the character out but was more embodying the spirit of Piaf than actually trying to be her.
The entire show hovered somewhere between theater and concert performance, but I think that worked perfectly for a woman who got started in the French cabaret scene. After an evening of such lovely serenades, it is no wonder Piaf’s legacy and impact have held strong so many years later.
