Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Wham! Bam! Ker-pow!
Lynda Carter, who muscled her way to the top of the TV ratings in a strapless gold top in the 1970s, is a knockout as the star of "An Intimate Evening of Music," which opened the fall season at Harrah's on Wednesday.
Carter started her career as a singer before being forever branded as Wonder Woman. After marrying powerful Washington attorney Robert Altman in 1984, she left show business to raise the couple's two children, returning to the stage about a year ago. She has never been better.
At 57, she looks fantastic, vamping in a gorgeous, form-fitting navy blue gown, gold shrug and 6-inch heels across the Concert Venue stage, where she will be through Sept. 27.
Her deep, bluesy voice is vibrant and delicious, although it seemed to tire ever so slightly before reviving at the end. Perhaps she would be wise to remove an insanely difficult patter number that would tax the most seasoned Gilbert & Sullivan veteran. But that is nitpicking.
Carter sashays onto the stage in front of a five-piece combo with the brashness of a superheroine. She looks you in the eye, grabs your attention and never lets go.
Listen to her belt out "Stay With Me Tonight" and, unless you're made of solid lead, you're a goner. Hear her finger-snap through "Indeed I Do" and you can't help but join in.
And those are just the appetizers. The main course is the collection of blues numbers she assays with the ease of the women who created them.
When she sings Helen Humes' "Million Dollar Secret," Carter does so in the style of those great jazz ladies who could get down 'n' dirty with the best of them.
When she sits on a tall stool and slinks her way through Peggy Lee's "Fever," it is with affection and an understanding of what makes jazz the unique American idiom.
In fact, Carter's playlist is a songbook of American standards. She breathes new life into them, as she does with the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" and Willie Nelson's "Crazy." She isn't above poking fun at her act when she compares herself to Rita Hayworth, who was forever saddled as the ultimate femme fatale after the 1946 film noir, "Gilda."
"Can you imagine anybody ever being associated with just one role?" she asks the audience coyly - then torches the stage with a sizzling interpretation of Hayworth's "Put the Blame on Mame."
Maybe "I Can't Make You Love Me" isn't as stirring as when Bonnie Raitt sings it, but Carter does justice to the weepy ballad. And when she punctuates the evening with John Lennon's "In My Life," you know you've seen the rebirth of a star.
Comedian Brad Zimmerman (you may remember him as Johnny Sack's mouthpiece on "The Sopranos") opens the show with a very funny routine about his life as a waiter and some observations about old folks. Like the old lady in Florida who comes up to three male seniors sitting on a park bench and asks:
"The first one who guesses what I have in my hand can have sex with me."
One of the men answers: "An elephant."
She quickly replies: "Close enough!"
But this is Lynda Carter's night, total and triumphant. The woman is truly a wonder. - Daily News
Discography
"When Your Good To Mama" Chicago: 10th Anniversary Edition CD
"An Intimate Evening with Lynda Carter" at LA's Catalina Club
Photos
Bio
In 1973, Carter was crowned Miss World-USA and shortly thereafter outdistanced hundreds of other actresses for the leading role in "Wonder Woman." Carter went on to produce and host a series of five Emmy-winning television network variety specials featuring her singing and dancing, appearing with guests stars such as Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, George Benson, Merle Haggard and Tom Jones. She has of late starred or guest starred in dozens of films, telefilms and television series, including, most recently, âSmallvilleâ and the films Dukes of Hazzard and Sky High. Her recent stage credits include appearing as âMama Mortonâ in the West End production of Chicago. She also performed at the Chicagoâs 10th Anniversary on Broadway celebration at the Ambassador Theatre in NY, alongside other original revival stars Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth, Joel Grey, Chita Rivera, Brooke Shields and Melanie Griffith. An accomplished singer, Carter showed a vocation for music since her early childhood. She co-wrote several songs on her album âPortraitâ and made frequent appearances as a singer during her career, including performances at Londonâs Palladium, the MGM Grand and Caesarâs Palace in Las Vegas, and highly rated television shows, including âLynda Carterâs Variety Specialâ and âLynda Carter: Encore
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