Cissy Conner a Big Hit @ Sterling's

(From left: Scott Umfress, Cissy Conner, Don Grigware, Shelly Markham)

(photo credit: Stan Mazin)

A stage without Cissy Conner is like a day without sunshine. Her presence alone, never mind her enormous talent, lights up a room with laughter. On Sunday October 24, Conner made a rare appearance @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's with her cabaret act Cissy Conner Farewell Tour, which, hopefully, will turn into at least a semi-annual event. The lady sings, does hilarious impressions and is just plain and simple a funny, funny girl.

Highlights of the evening, which also spotlighted wonderful guest singer Scott Umfress and the always terrific musical director Shelly Markham at the piano, included: as opener, Markham's clever ode to growing old "Age Is Just a Number", a great "Delta Dawn" with a few bars of sound from Katie Hepburn, Marie Caine's "Menopause Rag", which gave Conner a chance to spit some fire as an actress and also duet with Umfress, a sexy "What the Hell You Doin", "I Am My Grandma", which Conner confessed she's been trying to learn for ten years - it's a tricky song about Southern relations which she performed a la Loretta Lynn, the lovely ballad "Wee Small Hours", which gave her a 360 degree transformation to a soft, quiet rendition - very nice! - and her dynamic encore Shel Silverstein's "Checkin' Out". Besides Hepburn and Lynn, there were also impressions of Mae West, a great Cher performing "After All" with Umfress and a sick, silly version of "I Got You Babe" in which Conner as Cher channeled Son through John Edwards ... and a somewhat obscenely delightful "Mein Herr" from Cabaret, where Conner placed her Cher wig between...well, you had to be there to appreciate it! There was also a very funny monologue from airline stewardess Taffy Pole, Conner's original dumb blonde character who tantalized us with "I've Never Been To Me".

Conner has been doing cabaret in Chicago and LA on and off for many, many years and can easily get the audience to literally eat out of her hand. Any slip or unrehearsed moments make the entire act seem like one big gigantic improv, which is what great comedy is all about.

Cissy Conner, you are the greatest! Do not wait so long to perform again! Make The Farewell Tour a regular happening @ Sterling's!