Time Out New York names The Diva-lution Of Molly Pope
a Top Ten Cabaret Act of 2008!
“At Don’t Tell Mama, Joe’s Pub and the Beechman, the ever-pert Pope breathed fresh air into an old style.”
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/music/70076/the-best-cabaret-of-2008
Our Hit Parade
“Another highlight was Molly Pope’s saucy cover of “I Kissed a Girl.” The deceivingly demure-looking Pope has real pipes… but she also knows how to interpret a song. She completely reinvented the meaning behind Katy Perry’s words without changing them (note to Gay Pimp: that’s how it’s done), turning an exploitative ditty into a carefree, sexy awakening.”
Elisabeth Vincentelli
The Determined Dilettante
December 9, 2008
http://determineddilettante.blogspot.com/2008/12/their-hit-parade.html
The Diva-lution of Molly Pope
“Molly Pope is the next big thing of 1963. From the moment she strides onto the stage, she transports the audience back to the thriving Greenwich Village nightclub scene of yesteryear, where girl singers with big, robust voices and gumption to match took their first bold steps up the ladder to stardom. Her movements are stylized, her phrasing precise, but what sets Pope apart is her viscerally thrilling alto: a rich gusher of sound that emerges from the charming 26-year-old like a full-on blast from the past.
The homey midtown cabaret Don’t Tell Mama is an incubator for new talent, but rarely does it hatch a chick with this much to offer. Although it is easy to imagine Pope on the The Ed Sullivan Show, her act isn’t fully bracketed in irony or nostalgia: Somehow, her defiantly retro style—which happily recalls such secret-softy broads as Dolores Gray and early Barbra Streisand—seems to have come to her naturally as a child growing up in suburban Pittsburgh. “They don’t make us like they used to,” she laments in the show. “Which accounts for the scarcity of roles.” True enough—but it also accounts for the special kick of spending time with this rare songbird. She’s got the stuff, and there may be a ladder for her yet.”
Adam Feldman
Time Out New York
April 17-23, 2008
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/music/28515/molly-pope-the-diva-lution-of-molly-pope
“Imagine Deborah Kerr’s face, but gentler. Now imagine Ethel Merman’s voice, but more refined. The two combined would create Molly Pope, a young ingénue whose smart and sassy cabaret, The Diva-Lution of Molly Pope, ended its run at the Laurie Beechman Theatre last week. An enjoyable blend of classic and contemporary songs, Diva-Lution is intelligent, exciting and emotionally fulfilling, making for a delightful evening of humor and music.
Using songs spanning decades of the American Songbook, Pope conjures the supper-club divas of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, even when performing such modern numbers as The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” (reimagined with a fun and funky jazz twist) and No Doubt’s “Bathwater.” Clad in an elegant black sleeveless cocktail dress, she exudes a class and sophistication that, combined with her rich contralto voice and deadpan humor, evokes Stritch, Kitt and other classic cabaret stars. (The comparison is no accident. “It’s the broads who can weather anything,” Pope declares at one point in the show. “I would rather be Stritch than La Dame Aux Camelias any day!”) Sonny Paladino’s musical direction works well with Ben Rimalower’s direction to maintain the classic vibe, and to make everything old new again.
Pope’s forte is generally uptempo, upbeat numbers like her bossa nova reimagining of “I Can See It” from The Fantasticks, a smart “It’s All Right with Me” and Her “Frankie and Johnny” is smart and fun (if not as ribald as she could make it), and her “Hey! Look Me Over” (which followed one of the most emotional moments in the show—more on that later) is bright, powerful and exciting. Her combination of Cole Porter’s “Down in the Depths” and Cahn/Van Heussen’s “Love is a Bore” is a bit heavy on the drums, but still fun. Of the ballads, the best—and possibly the strongest moment in the entire evening—is her lovely rendition of Anderson & Weill’s “It Never Was You,” which is so emotional it moved even Pope herself to tears at the performance I attended. No overacting here, just pure feeling. Even Weill would have been moved.
For the first finale before the planned encore, Pope sings a deliciously upbeat “Artificial Flowers” from Tenderloin, using a swingy jazz arrangement similar to Bobby Darin’s, and reveling in the dichotomy of melodramatic lyrics and bright, cheerful music. The combination seems to exemplify Pope’s style of in-your-face humor, and serves as a nice lead-in to “Stairway to Paradise” as the encore. The finale seems quite apt for Molly Pope, and when that powerful voice announces that she’s gonna get there at any price, you believe it. Here’s hoping she returns to the Laurie Beechman soon.”
Jena Tesse Fox
BroadwayWorld.com
December 30, 2008
http://broadwayworld.com/article/The_DivaLution_Of_Molly_Pope_20081230
“Just a few blocks away, on West 46 St., is another newsworthy person drawing crowds and attention. This week’s headlines of “Pope Hits New York; Crowds Surge” were not really about cabaret loose cannon MOLLY POPE and she’s not about to be canonized any time soon, but she makes a Friday night a blast. You don’t have a prayer of not bursting into laughter when attending her impish, snappy-happy show at Don’t Tell Mama. Deliciously daring and darling as she is devilish, she’s got a high voltage show that’s packed with pow. She can deliver a hammy double whammy by selling schtick or tearing through a torch song. Hopefully, the exposed brick on the walls of the newly refurbished room at the club can withstand the earthquake that is Molly Pope and her showy show tunes. She’s a winner: a grinning, talented, big-voiced gal who bites into her material like a starving fast food junkie in McDonald’s grabbing a Big Mac. “
Rob Lester
Cabaret Exchange
April 2008
http://www.cabaretexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=385&Itemid=155
“Molly Pope claims that she wasn’t born to be a diva, she was born as a diva, and the womb was her dressing room, not her waiting room. She may even be right. One thing is sure, you don’t find many young vocalists (she claims to be 25) with Pope’s command of her material and her audience.
For this show, she created a pseudo-autobiography (at least we trust that it’s pseudo-) of a man-happy, man-hungry female. She’s got a big vocal range and a belting ability that could – and did – occasionally prove bigger than the room could handle. But she also provided quiet ballads with fresh and interesting interpretations,” It Never Entered My Mind” and “What’ll I Do?”
Pope claimed to be eager to be cast in a musical, and if this were a showcase, it offered multiple facets of the young performer. Her “I Cain’t Say No” began almost introspectively and ended as a proclamation to the world. She was saucy with “Experience Unnecessary” and active, animated and seductive with “Do It Again.”
It’s hard to predict how soon she’ll get her wish for a musical role, but in a cabaret setting she’s a delight. Ray Fellman was her musical director; Matt Sigl directed.”
Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
October 26, 2007
http://www.cabaretscenes.org/cab_revs/2007/Nov%2007/pope-molly10-7.html
“Attention MAC voters, BISTRO AWARD presenters, NIGHTLIFE AWARD judges and just about anyone who enjoys cabaret and enjoys the thrill of catching an exciting new talent on the cabaret scene. Her name is Molly Pope and she and her musical director Ray Fellman put on a show last Friday night at DON’T TELL MAMA that (for the second time) knocked my socks off! A number of cabaret greats, including Scott Barnes and the lovely Marianne Challis (who has some shows of her own lined up for October), were on hand and joined in the standing ovation at the close of the show. It has been a long time since such an extraordinary and dynamic new talent rocked a NYC cabaret stage! Director Matt Sigl (who is off to Hollywood to make his mark) urged me to catch this show – Molly appeared as a guest on his award-winning cabaret show two years ago – and I saw both performances and became a Molly fan instantly. She will be back soon with more shows – the two this month were both nearly sold out. I will most certainly keep you advised when the next shows are scheduled.”
Stu Hamstra
Cabaret Hotline Online
Machinal
“The play’s backbone, undoubtedly, is the Young Woman, and Molly Pope does a formidable job with this difficult role. She makes sense of the character’s long streams of nonsequential dialogue, and endows the Young Woman with a tragic combination of frailty and strength-imbuing frustration.”
Julie Sharbutt
OffOffOnline.com
Murder on the Nile
“As spurned lover Jacqueline de Severac, Molly Pope has some delicious moments, moving with the graceful angularity of a Noel Coward heroine.”
Len Fonte
Syracuse New Times
“Pope’s jealous vixen transfixes.”
Paul Hansom
Ithaca Times