Before Madonna, before Marlene – there was the one they called the Last of the Red Hot Mamas.
Cabaret vocalist Sidonie Henbest paints an intimate portrait of the legendary Sophie Tucker – the Russian born American chanteuse – Queen of vaudeville and the jazz age, whose career spanned a sensational 60 years in showbiz.
Sophie Tucker was the original provocateur – an undisputed super star in an age before radio and television, she was a legendary singer and performer. Her love of the double-entre and risqué comic songs, her trademark. She defined the vaudeville and early jazz era for female singers and influenced some of the great female performers of the 20th century, including Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli and Bette Midler.
The Last of the Red Hot Mamas is a tribute to one of the first great female stars whose style inspired the Broadway and Cabaret styles we love today. The show is a celebration of this unique woman and her music, and a rare opportunity to hear her brilliant songs performed live. As she liked to say: “Red Hot Mamas never die… they just go up in smoke!”