By Alix Cohen
Lillias White is an amalgam of Etta James, Mae West and Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream.) She sizzles her way onstage with a defiant “I’m Getting’ Along Alright” (Bobby Sharp/Charles Singleton). “Om’ drinkin’ Veuve Clicquot,” the artist sings, arms extended, fingers fluttering, palms landing on her breasts.
Brooklyn born, White was decked in big hair bows, crinoline dresses and patent leather shoes when Papa Tootie lifted her on a table to perform. Support she got at home, however, was not mirrored at school. “God’s got a plan for you,” her mom said.
“Don’t Rain On My Parade” (Bob Merrill/Jule Styne) is an apt retort. White struts, marches, and shimmies across the stage, craning out to connect. When you’ve been zeroed in on by Lillias White, you KNOW it. Winner-take-all performance erupts.
“I started out on a bus and truck tour of The Wiz in nineteen seventy umph…” The artist laces her program with entertaining personal stories which counterintuitively seem ad-libbed. She’s warm, expansive, infectiously bubbly, and a bit wicked.
“The Lion” (Charlie Smalls) should be an anthem for us all right now,” introduces a song about bravery against the odds. Suddenly her tone is that of girlish Dorothy Gale.
A swaggering (she demonstrates) “He Was Cool” (Cy Coleman/Alan & Marilyn Bergman) recalls former President Obama with juicy appreciation. ‘Big feelings, big voice. At the piano, Mathias Picard goes rogue. The musician is flat out fabulous- mercurial, original, precise, symbiotic and a pleasure to watch.
Hoagy Carmichael’s southern “Bread and Gravy” sashays in with a wink. “No more frettin’/Since I’m gettin’/Lots of bread and gravy all the time…” Shoulders back, White parades and savors.
Unabashed heat rises with a sinewy “I Wanna Be Loved” (Johnny Green/ Edward Heyman/Billy Rose). Holding the microphone stand with both hands, swaying on a stool, White bares a Cheshire Cat grin. Scat is half croon, half jazz. The vocalist shimmers with desire. “I wanna be thrilled to desperation/I wanna be thrilled (growled) starting tonight…”
A muscular “Besame Mucho” emerges in Spanish, at first languorous tango, then flaring with passion. Picard’s piano cinematically dances- step, step, dip, whirl; eyes blaze, legs entwine…White spits, then licks lyrics.
Unquestionably her signature song “The Oldest Profession” from Cy Coleman/Ira Gasman’s The Life, garnered White a Tony Award as a veteran prostitute, or as she gleefully declares, “the ‘ho’ with a heart of gold.” “Say goodbye to Lillias, hello to Sonja,” she instructs, stepping into character like a once expensive coat.
The artist must’ve performed this dozens upon dozens of times, yet detonates everything in the arsenal of her Teutonic talent. Even body language changes. She teases Picard. Their bond is palpable and audacious. Cheering audience takes to its feet as one.
Snapping fingers, White eases into an effervescent “The Best is Yet to Come” (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh). She plays with phrasing and dances. I mean the performer dances, not just moves a little. It’s infectiously cheerful. Picard is stylish at the piano.
A wonderful show!
Photos by Alix Cohen
Lillias White Live at The Beechman
MD/Piano- Mathis Picard
Director- Will Nunziata
Laurie Beechman Theatre 407 West 42nd Street
https://www.thebeechman.com/calendar
REPEATED ON May 1 and June 5, 2026
