One Night With Marilyn, The Voodoo Rooms, Fringe
There’s a lot of audience participation in a cabaret and variety style show that brings Monroe’s bubbly fun to life.
When she asks the audience how many husbands Monroe (she) had, one super-fan answers “three” with aplomb. She picks two local gents from the audience who are good sports as contenders for her fourth.
She dances suggestively around the winner while his wife looks on during My Heart Belongs To Daddy. Isabella Bliss as Marilyn has an excellent comic touch, it’s not just about creating the glamorous image and costume, she bears a strong resemblance and her voice on the likes of I Wanna Be Loved By You and Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend are spot on.
Bliss makes an excellent point at the end of the show suggesting fans check out the recent television series Reframing Marilyn. This show and others seem to be part of a movement reacting to Andrew Dominilk’s Blonde film based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates. It was a film that chilled the blood while leaving no idea of Monroe’s power and agency.
Bliss, while resembling Monroe is also reminiscent of the British Marilyn Diana Dors, another beguiling bombshell whose story deserves more attention.
