Eliza Ruth Watson as Cass Elliot in “The Best Part of My Life: The ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot Story” at The Footlights Theatre in Falmouth. Photo courtesy of The Footlights Theatre The Footlights Theatre in Falmouth is winding down its summer season with a reprisal of “The Best Part of My Life: The ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot Story,” written and directed by the theater’s executive artistic director, Michael J. Tobin.
The multimedia production is a moving tribute that highlights Cass Elliot’s vocal talents and personality, while dispelling the myths of her life and death. WHAT: “The Best Part of My Life: The “Mama” Cass Elliot Story” WHERE: Footlights Theatre, 190 Route 1, Falmouth REVIEWED: July 24, runs through Aug. 29 (shows at 7 p.
m. Wednesday and Thursday) TICKETS: $20 CONTACT: 747-5434, thefootlightstheatre.com “Mama” Cass Elliot, born Ellen Naomi Cohen on Sept.
19, 1941, was best known as a member of the ’60s folk-rock group The Mamas and the Papas. She died on July 29, 1974, just shy of her 33rd birthday. Her daughter, Owen, was 7 years old.
The music icon commanded a presence with her powerful contralto vocals, larger-than-life personality and full figure. She had a high-profile persona, but who was the woman behind the performer? Even today, misconceptions circulate about her cause of death, incorrectly claiming she choked on a ham sandwich. Footlights’ 85-minute production (with no intermission) celebrates all that Elliot was and offers a revealing peak behind the curtain of her façade with real-life pictures, videos and documentary clips displayed on a video screen.
The heart of the production, though, is Eliza Ruth Watson as Footlights’ very own “Mama” Cass Elliot. Eliza Ruth Watson as Cass Elliot in “The Best Part of My Life: The ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot Story” at The Footlights Theatre in Falmouth. Photo courtesy of The Footlights Theatre Watson performs 14 musical numbers, interspersed with “firsthand” recollections about Elliot’s life.
Her resonating vocals engulfed the theater as she performed beautifully rendered versions of such songs as “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “The Road is No Place For a Lady,” written for Elliot by her sister, Leah Kunkel. Unshed tears glistened in Watson’s eyes as she performed the highly personal song. Despite a humorous on-screen warning before the show – “We know you have a fabulous voice, but please don’t sing with Mama” – the audience does get to join her for a sing-along on “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” and an audience this week did so with gusto, encouraged by Watson.
The sole performer, Watson interacts with the audience with Cass Elliot-like pizzaz and warmth. A long brown wig and psychedelic outfits effectively aid in her transformation. There’s a strong emotional component to the production as Elliot’s life unfolds to reveal a sensitive woman who struggled with being heavy in an era where the supermodel “Twiggy” was the idealized woman.
As a guest on the Carol Burnett Show six times, she endured jokes about her weight. Watson’s “Mama” laments that “being fat sets you apart,” before putting on a rueful smile and declaring, “I may be fat, but I carry it off like a beauty queen.” Eliza Ruth Watson as Cass Elliot in “The Best Part of My Life: The ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot Story” at The Footlights Theatre in Falmouth.
Photo courtesy of The Footlights Theatre Elliot had a knack for turning on the comic charm to hide her pain and was funny in her own right. A sketch from the Carol Burnett Show featuring Burnett with Elliot in a bookstore keeps the audience thoroughly entertained during one of Watson’s offstage outfit changes. The show also touches on her rocky love life and unrequited love for fellow “Papa” Denny Doherty, who was having an affair with bandmate Michelle Phillips, wife of the band’s fourth member, John Phillips.
“She could have had any man she wanted,” Watson says as Elliot. “Why take mine?” Those who remember Elliot and her timeless vocals will adore Watson’s portrayal of the unforgettable icon and the informative biopic of her life. Those not familiar with Elliot may just garner a new appreciation of the legend often known simply as “Mama.
” April Boyle is a freelance writer from Casco. Contact her at: [email protected].
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