How do you follow Elizabeth Taylor? That was the challenge for Kayla Boye, whose solo show at the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe, “Call Me Elizabeth,” nailed Taylor’s appealing if complicated character. Ann Miller (1923 – 2004), a Hollywood contemporary of Taylor and a fellow Tony nominee, might not be the obvious choice for a sequel; she was never as famous; she was primarily a dancer; in some ways, the two performers were the exact opposite of one another: But “Shake It Away” turns out to be an entertaining example of the genre, and a terrific fit for Boye, who (unlike with Elizabeth) gets to show off both her singing and her dancing.
As with most of these solo shows that resurrect a celebrity to tell their story, the frame feels a bit forced: Ann Miller is attending an auction on a soundstage at the MGM Studios in 1970 (we occasionally hear a fuzzy auctioneer), which presumably gives her the incentive to reminisce. Her life story is, in its outline, a familiar one for Hollywood, but often fascinating in its specifics. She started dancing at age 6 after she contracted rickets in order to strengthen her legs. She started learning tap dancing when she attended a show by Bill Robinson, Mr. Bojangles himself, and he showed her some rudimentary moves when she visited him awestruck backstage. She and her mother moved alone to California from Houston when she was 11, after she (meaning Ann, not her mother) discovered her father in bed with another woman. Her father, who was a criminal defense attorney whose clients included Bonnie and Clyde, sounds like a horror show from the get-go: He so wanted a boy that he named his daughter Johnnie Lucille Collier. Her mother on the other hand “is the best kind of stage mother” – although, we learn, Miller began working underage in nightclubs to support the two of them. MIller started performing in movies at the age of 13, lying about her age. She was discovered by Lucille Ball and – here’s a tidbit — she was the one who introduced Ms. Ball to Desi Arnaz.
I could go on; Boye goes on. There are tragedies — an abusive first husband, who caused a miscarriage. There is some odd and catchy name-dropping – she performed with both the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges (not at the same time.) There are some off-the-wall anecdotes, such as how she inspired the creation of pantyhose.
I can’t say you get a deep character portrait; I’m not convinced she had a deep character (She admits she listed her occupation on her tax returns as “Star Lady.”) What you get from her – actually from Boye – is some half-a-dozen song-and-dance numbers – like the title song, “Too Darn Hot,” and “Sunny Side of the Street” – and that was enough for me.
***** Shake It Away: The Ann Miller Story is being presented through August 9 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
