Beware of Young Girls: Kate Dimbleby Sings the Dory Previn Story

December 29, 2014

Kate DimblebySinger-songwriter Dory Previn (1925-2012) occupied a particular niche in American popular music. Born Dorothy Langan, her first forays into the entertainment world were as a singer/dancer in summer stock. She soon took up songwriting and in the late 1950s was hired as a lyricist for films at MGM, where she was paired with composer André Previn, whom she eventually married. Writing such numbers as the driving, aspirational “You’re Gonna Hear from Me” (for the film Inside Daisy Clover) and the haunting “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls,” the Previns worked squarely in a mainstream (detractors might say “middle-of-the-road”) pop/show tune vein at a time when the culture was becoming suffused with rock music.

Then along came Mia Farrow, whose affair with André broke up the Previns’ marriage as well as their creative partnership (though the pair reunited briefly for a musical collaboration in the late 1990s). The marital disintegration caused Dory Previn’s precarious emotional state to collapse. (She was diagnosed as a schizophrenic.) When she resurfaced musically, it was as a “confessional” songwriter who shared her very personal demons with listeners in a very public way. Like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen, Previn (who began sporting an Afro hairstyle) brought elements of mid-1960s folk/protest music into her songwriting. But, as was the case with Laura Nyro, Previn was musically chameleonic—someone with all sorts of song styles stashed in her composer’s grab bag. The melodic and lyrical tropes of Tin Pan Alley songwriting that she’d practiced in the past always remained close at hand for her, and she used them freely. One good example: the sultry, smoky piano-bar ambience she brought to “Play It Again, Sam” from her 1971 album Reflections in a Mud Puddle.

Now, nearly three years after her death, Previn’s career is being celebrated with Beware of Young Girls: Kate Dimbleby Sings the Dory Previn Story at 59E59 Theaters. The show was scripted by Dimbleby and Amy Rosenthal and directed by Cal McCrystal. For those like me who listened to Previn decades ago, the show is a potent reminder of her considerable talents. But it’s also a good introduction for those completely unfamiliar with her work.

In fact, Dimbleby (a British performer who previously appeared in a show celebrating the artistry of Peggy Lee) was herself not aware of Previn until a few years ago. She quickly, however, became a fervent admirer. Her much-evident affection for her subject helps make Beware of Young Girls a success. Dimbleby has a robust voice, graced with a vibrato that comes off as an aural shimmer. This tremulous sound is an excellent fit for the songs of a writer who had the audacity to trumpet things about her inner life that most people would only whisper (if communicate at all). Dimbleby’s accomplished pianist and musical director, Naadia Sheriff, adds her own vocal talents to the mix—both as a singer and as a co-narrator.

The script makes use of spoken word from Previn’s two prose memoirs. Dimbleby speaks these passages with a convincing American accent, making it easy to tell when she’s being Dory and when she’s being herself. Projections of photos from Previn’s life help Dimbleby and McCrystal further enrich the story. The show also benefits from Dimbleby’s inclusion of information regarding her research for the project. Her description of meeting with Previn’s widower, actor and painter Joby Baker, is poignant.

The songs chosen for the production display the range of Previn’s talents both as composer and lyricist. At the top of the evening are the insinuating melody and sharp imagery of “Mythical Kings and Iguanas.” The Valley of the Dolls theme is treated almost as a lullaby, which makes its lurching-carousel effect seem particularly eerie. On the boisterous, ironically gospel-ish “Did Jesus Have a Baby Sister?” Dimbleby savors the lyric’s sharp feminist bite. Imagining Christ’s sibling, she sings: “And in private to her mirror, did she whisper Saviourette? Saviourwoman? Saviourperson? Save your breath!”

I would question only two aspects of the presentation. First, is there really a need for an intermission in such a compact evening? Without an interval the show would run only 90 minutes or so. Interrupting the flow seems pointless and enervating. Second, is Beware of Young Girls really the most appropriate title? While Dimbleby and Rosenthal include plenty of information about the doe-eyed Farrow’s role in ending the Previns’ marriage—and though Dimbleby does indeed sing the identically titled song that Previn wrote in response to what she saw as Farrow’s treachery—this show is about much, much more than the bitterness surrounding that headline-making celebrity love triangle from nearly a half century ago.

59E59 Theaters  –  December 16 – January 4

Avatar

About the Author

Mark Dundas Wood is an arts/entertainment journalist and dramaturg. He began writing reviews for BistroAwards.com in 2011. More recently he has contributed "Cabaret Setlist" articles about cabaret repertoire. Other reviews and articles have appeared in theaterscene.net and clydefitchreport.com, as well as in American Theatre and Back Stage. As a dramaturg, he has worked with New Professional Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He is currently literary manager for Broad Horizons Theatre Company.