Review: LEATHER AND LACE at Shadowbox Live

Those who don’t believe that sexism exists need only go to a concert venue. Male rockstars are allowed to age disgracefully, with gray hair and bloated bellies; female ones are expected to maintain their beauty, grace in movement, and vocal cords.

The message of inequality is driven home at the Shadowbox Live!’s LEATHER AND LACE: A MUSIC TRIBUTE TO THE WOMEN OF ROCK. The 20-song, two-act performance runs Feb. 1-May 22 at the Shadowbox’s theatre (503 S. Front Street in downtown Columbus). Backed by powerhouse vocalists and a searing back-up band, the troupe blends together rock anthems and video clips of the women who made them famous.

“People would say these backhand compliments, ‘Wow, you play guitar pretty good for a girl. Is that thing plugged in? Or is it just a prop?’” Heart’s Nancy Wilson says in a video snippet that precedes “Magic Man.” “That kind of stuff seems small now, but when you’re just starting out and there was no precedent of respect for women in rock, it was really hurtful.”

Shadowbox’s latest production is more leather than lace, offering a wide variety of power ballads from each generation. Some of the choices are obvious. If you want to do a show about women who rock, it is almost a state law that you open Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N Roll,” right? But the LEATHER AND LACE also digs deep into its massive catalog and finds the somewhat obscure (Lita Ford) to ones I was unfamiliar with  (Lzzy Hale of Halestorm). All of the songs are from different eras, with at least one representative from every decade from the 1960s to the 2020s.

If you saw one of SBX’s previous LEATHER AND LACE productions, you won’t be seeing the same show.  This version, directed by Julie Klein, features nine new songs and a collection of different artists.

Stacie Boord opens the show with a blistering version of the aforementioned “I Love Rock N Roll” and sets the tone for what is to follow.

The 1980s shoulder much of the show’s workload. The era receives six selections that balance power ballads and new wave swagger. Mary Randle channels Chrissie Hynde’s snarl on The Pretenders’ “Middle of the Road,” while Boord nails Annie Lennox’s quirky menace needed for “Missionary Man,” aided by dancers Andy Ankrom, Amy Lay and Luke Marconi acting out the song’s tension. Niki Diaz shines in the Act Two opener “Magic Man,” backed by fiery guitarists Matthew Hahn, Jack Walbridge, and Dylan Clark. The moment is elevated further by aerial work from Lay, Emily O’Regan and Marconi on the lyra hoop, turning Heart’s classic into a literal high-wire act.

What separates this show from a “put another dime in the jukebox, baby” musical is the emotional depth of Klein’s choices. Standout moments include Nyla Nyamweya’s emotionally exposed take on Pink’s “Who Knew?” and Leah Haviland’s hard-edged attack on The Pretty Reckless’ “Take Me Down.” Lay captures the ache at the heart of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” while Haley Keller’s commanding vocal on Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life” delivers one of the show’s biggest punches.

Noelle Anderson provides the bookends to the first and second acts. She closes out the first set with a fierce reading of Aretha Franklin’s “Think.” Prior to Anderson stepping up to the microphone, SBX plays a clip of Franklin confronting Matt “Guitar” Murphy from THE BLUES BROTHERS. Anderson launches into a soulful rendition of the song as Ankrom and Aidan Segna copy John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s outfits and dance moves.

Anderson and Nyamweya then close out the show with a rousing rendering of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” slowing the tempo to “nice and easy” pace then exploding into the coda of the show.