Singing R&B, with "Forever Dusty"

"Stay Forever," was an earlier iteration of the musical play, "Forever Dusty" by Kirsten Holly Smith and Jonathan Vankin

We seem to label the pop-stars of the past as icons. And, if a pop-singer still has name-recognition, and a memorable hit or two or three, maybe we're right to do so.

Dusty Springfield was a name to be reckoned with, had many a well-known chart-topping song in her day, and a forty-year career. All of which adds up to icon status, and "Forever Dusty," at New World Stages Stage 5 through January 6th, is a loving tribute to her. (Congratulations--EXTENDED to March 3, 2013!)

Kirsten Holly Smith and Jonathan Vankin have created a well-written and engrossing bio-musical from the inherent drama of Dusty Springfield's life story. The script takes liberties with the life, but is dedicated to its subject.

Dusty (Kirsten Holly Smith) emerged as the alter-ego of a shy Irish schoolgirl named Mary O'Brien. The drama of "Forever Dusty" is in Dusty's complex and closeted life.  

 Kirsten Holly Smith as Dusty Springfield. Photo by Thom Kaine.

Her ambition to make music with a Motown sound drove her to fame as a cross-over artist. The timid middle-class white girl from the England took on a flashy mod persona that resonated all over the world. She sang soul-inflected song after song, dressed in shiny high white boots and spangled dresses. The costumes, designed by Nancy A. Palmetier, by the way, are many and fabulous.

At the height of her career in the 1960s, there were potentially career-ending whispers that she was a lesbian, buried under tabloid rumors of involvement with Jagger or McCartney. Her private life was fuelled by alcohol and drugs. After several stints in rehab, her sobriety reignited her career and in the late 1980s. 

Kirsten Holly Smith as Dusty Springfield in "Forever Dusty." Photo by Joan Marcus.

Kirsten Holly Smith has strong support from her cast, including Sean Patrick Hopkins as Dusty's brother, Tom Springfield, Benim Foster as a record producer and a journalist, and Coleen Sexton in dual roles as Becky and Gini. Christina Sajous [recently as Arachne in "Spider-Man"and Shirley in "Baby It's You"] 

is lovely as a back-up singer and superb as the gentle Claire.

The excellent on-stage band add an intimate night club feel. In "Forever Dusty," the discography gets plenty of stagetime; it is reprised in concert  or studio-recording  reenactments. "You Don't Have to Stay Forever,"  a song that exemplifies Dusty Springfield's work, brought the house down!

For more information about "Forever Dusty," please visit www.foreverdusty.com