Last week, I went to see Cooking at the Cookery with Joseph Planta of The Commentary. Brought to you by the Arts Club Theatre Company, Cooking at the Cookery, despite its name, has nothing to do with fixing up dinner in the kitchen. Instead, it is a “sizzling musical revue” of the life of “legendary African-American songstress Alberta Hunter.” The story of her life — from her humble beginnings in Memphis to her peak, playing a number of top-rated venues in New York, Chicago, and London — is described in this musical play, but the most entertaining part of the show was the singing.


The show is essentially a two woman show, starring Jackie Richardson and Janice Lorraine. Janice takes on the role of Alberta Hunter as a young child and Jackie takes over as we get into her later years. Both actresses take on several other personas over the course of the two-and-a-half hour play, like Alberta’s mother, club owners, and head nurses, but of course, the character of Alberta Hunter features most prominently.

Personally, I found the storytelling to be a little lacking. Granted, I’m not all too familiar with the 1920s jazz scene (nor am I all that interested in that era), but a well told biopic is always welcome in my books. Sure, it was fun watching little Alberta grow up, aspiring to be a professional singer some day, always sleeping facing the window so that she could see the sun rise, but it just didn’t do it for me. It was lacking and I wanted a little more substance. It was as if the musical numbers were dangling off of a very thin “story” thread.

That said, I was amazed by the vocal ability of Jackie Richardson (the larger and older of the two women). She was absolultely fantastic, even in the simulated concert environment. She spoke to the audience as if we were there in the smoky night in 1923, and it created quite the surreal experience. I was very impressed with her powerful song stylings as she belted out one terrific tune after another, but I was a little disappointed by Janice Lorraine. Granted, she had more of a “character voice” when she is singing (she impersonates the legendary Louis Armstrong at one point, much of her singing is as a 10-year-old Alberta, etc.).

All in all, if you’re a fan of old school blues and jazz (especially one of Alberta Hunter), then you’ll thoroughly enjoy the performances. Myself, while the music was great and all, the “plot” wasn’t enough to enrapture me for the length of the show.

Cooking at the Cookery is playing at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (“Stanley Theatre”) in Vancouver, BC until October 15th. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Standard tickets are $45.50 plus applicable taxes, fees, etc. For more on Alberta Hunter, check out the Wikipedia article.