Fan Loyalty Boosts Reynolds’ Solo Show

Debbie Reynolds’ solo act brought forth a big gathering of the fans at El Camino College’s Marsee Auditorium on Saturday. They probably would have given her a standing ovation just for saying hello.

She did more than that. She brought her Vegas act, minus dancing boys but including ample film clips from her career. The fans got to see on film why they became fans in the first place. Clips from last year’s “Mother” displayed how she has retained their loyalty.

Otherwise, the reasons might have remained elusive. Perhaps her singing was affected by a cold to which she referred, but it sounded half-hearted. Many of the numbers were skipped over fleetingly. Some of the words were spoken instead of sung, and these often got lost in the microphone, especially during her opening take on “I’m Still Here.” Posing substituted for dancing.

The main exceptions to the sameness that affected both the music and the movement were a funny “Reynolds Rap” and a tender “Tammy.”

Reynolds’ breathy chatter wasn’t much more engaging than the music. Though she deserves some credit for mocking herself, other celebrities were the main topic: dishy digs at her ex-husbands and Elizabeth Taylor, of course, plus a lineup of limp impersonations. Her best effort in the latter category was Zsa Zsa Gabor, describing her episode with the cop for the millionth time. Reynolds’ Bette Davis was dreadful, and her Barbra Streisand--performed with the aid of a wig and an extended nose--went on far too long, considering that there was no trace of a punch line.

Reynolds wore a red-sequined outfit at the beginning, with one leg exposed--”Everything else is shot”--then switched into a similar blue-sequined outfit. During the costume change, musical director Joey Singer played a version of “Rhapsody in Blue.”