Pat Kirkwood is Angry – Brits Off Broadway

Why was Pat Kirkwood so angry? In her heyday, the golden cabaret and theater age of the British musical comedy, she was a vibrant, persuasive vocalist with a sassy wit. The Telegraph called her the “British Betty Grable.” Critic Kenneth Tynan claimed her legs were “the eighth wonder of the world.” She was Britain’s first wartime star, admired by Noel Coward, Leonard Bernstein and Cole Porter, a glamour girl who married four men, one who was her great love and the other, “a complete shit.” She enjoyed dalliances with celebrities. Yet, her spotlight dimmed fast after an unfortunate association with one particularly high-profile man, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Princess Elizabeth. Kirkwood’s story fascinated singer/writer Jessica Walker (The Girl I Left Behind Me), whose new one-woman show, Pat Kirkwood is Angry, is currently featured at 59E59 Theaters. A slim, vibrant mezzo-soprano and compelling storyteller, Walker skims through the zesty tale of an undeniable talent. She enlivens the story with Kirkwood’s bittersweet emotion, tart humor, and caustic bluntness like calling one co-star, George Formby, a “cretinous little creature.” Insecure, Kirkwood deeply resented those contemporaries who enjoyed longer stardom (“Dame Vera Lynn, Dame Edith Evans…Dame practically everyone, but never Dame Pat Kirkwood.”)