Review: Yanna Avis Premieres 'DIVINE SARAH' at the Triad Theatre

There are extraordinary jazz and Broadway vocalists who some might feel are interlopers in the world of cabaret. Then you come across a performer like Yanna Avis who reminds you what the experience in a cabaret should feel like. A Yanna Avis night starts before she even comes on stage. Her audiences are a sophisticated group, and the buzz in the room hears many languages being spoken (as does Yanna). Her one-woman cabaret show at the Triad last night (November 19th) mesmerized and transported the audience into the world of Sarah Bernhardt. Using her remarkable acting and musical skills, Yanna brought the persona of the iconic actress Sarah Bernhardt to life. Ironically this was quite an accomplishment since Sarah Bernhardt was known for her dramatic death scenes, and Yanna started the evening emerging from Sarah’s coffin, announcing this would be the final Bernhardt performance.

It was a spellbinding evening, conceived and written by Yanna and her director Tobias Larsson, and script consultant Daniel Isengart. Yanna’s long-time musical director David Shenton provided haunting classical and salon music as a backdrop, along with cellist Yair Evnine. We had humor, music, sex, and theatrical gravitas emanating from a Cabaret stage last night by a true Cabaret artist…Yanna Avis. About Yanna Avis: Yanna Avis was trained at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Pars. Avis makes her mark with her theatrical technique, tongue-in cheek delivery and sultry sense of humor. Her smoky voice and sophisticated style captivates audiences worldwide. After Yanna met her husband Warren Avis, she began to perform her own brand of glamorous continental style cabaret in 1992. She has appeared in films and plays on French Television and has performed in London at the Jermyn Street Theatre and The Crazy Coqs. New York audiences have seen her at Cafe Carlyle.

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

Yanna Avis

David Shenton, Yair Evine, Yanna Avis, Tobias Larsson

Yanna Avis, After Party

Yanna Avis, Tobias Larsson & family

David Shenton & Yanna Avis

After Party