ENGLISH MUSIC HALL AT HOH
Debby Mayer
ccSCOOP Review
03-08-09 - English Music Hall made an appearance at the Hudson Opera House on February 28, in the form of Pat Naggiar, a diminutive blonde in pearls and a girlish blouse of soft gray. While the music halls of old probably had a band, a comedian, and an official declaimer of poetry, at the Opera House, Naggiar, ably supported by pianist James Fitzwilliams, was the whole show.
A native of Yorkshire, England, Naggiar opened with a funny Yorkshire poem, lead the audience in singing “I Do Like to Be by the Seaside,” and then recited a passage of Juliet’s from Romeo and Juliet. The show was titled “Women,” but Juliet was the lone female, according to my notes, other than our monologist, who continued the show with a series of stories about men. Naggiar worked as a news producer for CBS and ZDF German television for more than 32 years, and she met plenty of men; we heard about Arthur Miller, Bing Crosby, Woody Allen, Richard Nixon, and Teddy Kennedy. |
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The humor was broad and the tongue biting, even about her husband of 60 years, sitting loyally in the front row. She ended with a song, and then decided she would do her encore, “whether you want it or not,” and then was ready with another encore. The audience was also ready, applauding lustily (see music halls, above) and calling for more—except for this reviewer, in a tiny minority, who kept remembering the key rule for performance: Leave them wanting more.
But there is still more: Naggiar assured us she was working on a third monologue. The first was available for sale on DVD that evening, and this, the second, was being recorded that night, for future sale. The venerable English Music Hall continues.
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