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Q & A with Garry George, the producer of Chansons d' Amour: Amanda McBroom
and Lee Lessack.

 

[image: Garry George]How did you become interested in cabaret music?  Amanda drew me into this music. I always enjoyed folk, blues and rock music in clubs but when I saw Amanda perform songs with such drama and story I was hooked.

 

How did you get to know Amanda? We met in 1978 and have been working together ever since. We met through her acting manager at the time.

 

Usually people think of cabaret in a quite intimate space.  How do you make cabaret work in a 1200-seat outdoor space?  You make intimacy on a grand scale. It doesn't happen in every venue. There is something very intimate about the FORD with the openness above the stage and the wonderful sound that you feel that you are very close to the performers.

 

At the Ford Amanda has always been paired with a guest artist, this time it's Lee Lessack. What do you do to help create an evening where they complement each other?  It's all about a theme for the evening. Lee had just recorded a CD of songs by French balladeers and Amanda had just recorded a CD of songs by Jacques Brel, her inspiration, so it was a natural.

  

      What do you do on show night, say for the two hours before curtain? Are you a nail biter or the calm at the center of the storm? I'm usually the one who absorbs all of the anxious energy of the performers - the singers, the band, everyone. If I project an attitude of confidence and calm, then I get a good performance.  One of the great things about working at the FORD for four shows is that I've developed an attitude of trust and confidence in the wonderful FORD staff.

 

Is there anything else you want to say about producing or the show itself? It is an honor to work with the performers I work with. I feel that I am a catalyst for emotional change, that everyone in the audience will feel a little different about their lives, and hopefully will enjoy their lives more or have more insight into what it means to be a human on this planet.