The elegant chanteuse Karen Akers returns to Philadelphia’s Rrazz Room at The Prince May 5 to perform her new show “Divided Heart.” The title may suggest an evening of bittersweet love songs but, in fact, the program alternates between songs sung in English and French.
“‘Divided Heart’ is a phrase from a lyric of ‘J’ais Deux Amours,’ which Josephine Baker used to sing,” Akers said over the phone from New York, explaining that she sang the “freest, and the best” in French.
“Speaking a different language allows you to express different sides and aspects of your personality,” Akers explained. “I wish I could be in French what I am in English. In English, I guess I’m not exactly blunt … maybe I’m more direct. And I probably swear a lot more in English. But I’m trying to cut back on that. It’s not seemly.”
She turned the conversation back to the music that inspired her show.
“Edith Piaf was a way into song. My mother loved Piaf and Yves Montand. I was so young — 8 or 9 or 10 — listening to her, but there was something in the way Piaf sang that made a huge impression on me. I dreamt about it, and I never thought I’d get to do it. With my Catholic upbringing, following your bliss is selfish. I got over that, thank God,” she said with a throaty laugh.
Perhaps it is her connection to the material that makes it come to life.
Akers discussed the Piaf song “Les Amants,” which she plans to perform in “Divided Heart.”
“Musically, it’s low-key and intense — except one passage that is more intense. They call it a barcarole layer. It’s an odd tempo. I find it very lovely. It was used in the score in the film ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ where it was played on a jukebox in Paris. It’s an absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful song. I love it, and I can give it my own context — who am I singing it to? That [question] is enough to change the color of it completely. A song doesn’t have to lose its power in cabaret. It’s a fusion of music and theater.”
Another song Akers plans to perform in Philadelphia is a Cole Porter tune, “Who Said Gay Paree?” that she calls a “sweet, simple and elegant” song. Over the phone, she sang a few bars: “Who spread the rumor that Paris was fun/Who had such fantasies?/Who never knew Paris minus you/Who said gay Paree?”…. and her smoky alto voice induced goosebumps with its seductive purr.
Part of the magic of Akers’ performance is how she creates an evening of theater and storytelling through her series of songs. She sang the praises of her pianist, Don Redic, who has been her musical director since 1990. Akers described Redic as “my one-man orchestra. He intuits so much.” She acknowledged that his version of “Paris is a Lonely Town” is in English, but it should be in French.”
She added, “I’m just influenced by the way Don plays it.”
Akers’ passion for music is evident in her performances, but she is quite relaxed on stage, unconcerned if she forgets a lyric. She used to beat herself up if she made a mistake, but not anymore.
“Perfection is an illusion and you do need to strive for it,” she said, recounting a story about a letter she read about the subject. “Rather than wholeness, we risk going down one of three roads: Arrogance, Hypocrisy or [Total] Breakdown.”
Translating that into performance, Akers decided, “Go for wholeness, not perfection. What you really want is a wholeness and a presence, complete as you can humanly be and make it. You understand what matters and you take away what’s inessential. That made Tommy Tune [who directed Akers on Broadway in “Nine” and “Grand Hotel”] a wonderful director. He’d have us work on something and show it to him and he would pare away the things that didn’t work, weren’t truthful or didn’t carry it farther. What you were left with was a fabulous number.”
While Piaf and Porter, Redic and Tune all influenced Akers, one wonders what would the song about Akers sound like?
The performer laughed, tickled by the question.
“No one’s ever asked me that before! I would be the wrong person to write that. I’m hopelessly sentimental. It would be a very long song. I showed one of my early forays into songwriting to my first husband and he said I should focus on singing.”
After a beat, she continued, “Sondheim could make something interesting, and it would have a touch a bitterness, but that wouldn’t be right. I love the song ‘Stars in the Moon’ by Jason Robert Brown. That’s a wonderful song.”
Hopefully, she will sing it in “Divided Heart.”
Karen Akers performs “Divided Heart” 8 p.m. May 5 at the Rrazz Room at the Prince Theater. For more information, visit princetheater.org/events/karen-akers.