Singer Maggie Graham to imitate pop, jazz and Broadway luminaries
by Peter Filichia/The Star-Ledger
Thursday December 18, 2008, 3:18 PM
A blond wig and a wide swath of bright red lipstick give Maggie Graham the right look for her show "Carol Channeling, Caroling!" Carol Channeling, Caroling!. Where: The Starving Artist's Back Room Cabaret Theater, 47 Olin St., Ocean Grove. When: Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 4:30 and 8 p.m. Howmuch: $15. Call (732) 988-1007.
Here's a novelty: a Carol Channing impersonator who was born a woman.
Maggie Graham knows that imitating the legendary star is usually the province of drag queens. But that hasn't stopped her from creating a one-woman show, "Carol Channeling, Caroling!," at the Starving Artist's Back Room Cabaret Theater in Ocean Grove this weekend.
"Yes, I know men usually play her," says Graham, "yet I insist that I love Carol Channing just as much as they. I have ever since I was a little girl, seeing her make guest appearances on 'Captain Kangaroo.'"
Soon thereafter, young Maggie would imitate Channing's voice -- as well as plenty of other stars.
"I was always entertaining my parents and my seven brothers and sisters -- I'm the youngest of eight -- and they were all so encouraging that I've always kept at it." While she appeared throughout Monmouth County in community theater during her teen years, she'd always come back to impersonations.
With an array of voices at her disposal, Graham created a show that would incorporate them all. Her plot has Channing coming back from the dentist after getting a tooth filled. Now it acts as a radio transmitter that picks up the voices of other stars.
Graham envisioned a show honoring Channing before she even knew if her face could pass as an acceptable facsimile. Once she donned the white wig and the oh-so-wide jungle-red lipstick, she was pleased enough with the results to go ahead.
She knew that she'd do Channing's trademark songs: "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" (from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes") and "So Long, Dearie" (from "Hello, Dolly!"). Says Graham, "I've spent countless hours listening to her recordings, so I can make certain that every syllable sounds exactly right."
Over the last 18 months, she settled on 17 other stars whom she could effectively ape. They range from the world of jazz (Ella Fitzgerald), pop (Brenda Lee), country (Dolly Parton), and, of course, Broadway.
"I have Ethel Merman and Patti LuPone sing 'You're the Top' to each other," she says.
The hour-long show has a decided holiday slant, though. That allows Graham to do such famous yuletide hits as "Santa Baby" (in Eartha Kitt's voice, of course), "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," Ã la Judy Garland, and a Mariah Carey "All I Want for Christmas." They all lead to the evening's grand finale, "Twelve Days of Christmas," which Graham turns into "Twelve Divas of Christmas." It allows a dozen of the female stars heard earlier to take a line of the famous evergreen.
The Fanwood resident is married to Steve Graham, who's a frequent performer at the Growing Stage in Netcong. They have two children, and while one parent works, the other baby-sits. It's allowed her to spend time on the musical stage as Evita, Marian the Librarian and Mary Magdalene.
Now, though, comes "Carol Channeling, Caroling." "The show is served well with the presence of liquor," Graham says. "Ocean Grove, though, is a dry town. Carol and I and all the others will have to provide the spirits."
Peter Filichia may be reached at pfilichia@starledger.com or (973) 392-5995.
