June, 2010
article written by Daryl Glenn
BWW Interviews Sharron Matthews
Although the NY Cabaret community may not yet be aware of Sharron Matthews, she intends to fix that right quickly! This terrifically warm, funny and talented lady has just landed in our fair town on the second stop of her Madonna-inspired World Domination Tour, and I had the good fortune to share an hour with her upstairs at the Iguana Café, as preparations for the evening’s entertainment (2010 MAC Award-winning variety show Wednesday Nights at Iguana) were swirling all around us.
Ms. Matthews hit the ground with both feet running, appearing in a number of different venues all leading up to the main event, a two day stint at famous Joe?s Pub at The Public Theater this coming Saturday and Sunday. As we spoke, she had already warbled at Birdland on Monday evening, traded barbs with Seth Rudetsky and Tony Nominee Kate Finneran on the radio that morning and still had to run downtown to participate in Porno Bingo at Pieces Gay bar on Christopher Street, before returning to Iguana!
“I have a horrible potty mouth,” she warns me (and usually her audiences) right from the start, and what she does is not what is considered traditional cabaret. In reality, before she established her long-running once monthly program (five years, first at the Gladstone Hotel and then at the much larger Buddies in Badtimes Theatre), most folks in Toronto hardly knew what cabaret was. To combat this, she produced an evening that pulled together elements that were familiar (a late night talk show format, special guests, more contemporary songs and even a buffet!) that became an immediate hit. She believes “Cabaret is intimate performance,” and it doesn’t much matter what style of music is being presented. She likes to cater to all different sensibilities, personally gravitates toward classic rock and roll and is, in fact, suffering a bit of a headache from indulging in a few too many obligatory head-rolls while belting out Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” at Birdland. This Toronto Diva, often referred to as the “Queen of the mash-ups” for her propensity to blend a number of divergent tunes into one, has been thoroughly enchanted by the warmth with which she has been greeted by everyone in the New York cabaret community and is particularly impressed by the size and caliber of the musicians who participate in the many open-mic nights around town. When she popped in to check out the room at Joe’s Pub, the staff could not possibly have been more accommodating, she tells me.
Apart from being the reigning Canadian Cabaret Queen, Matthews is also a well known member of the thriving film business in Toronto. She has had roles in the motion pictures Mean Girls, Cinderella Man and Hairspray, among others, appearing alongside the likes of Tina Fey, Russell Crowe and John Waters (who flashed her in the film version of his hit Broadway musical). She also had the pleasure of sharing the screen (and dressing room) with lovely Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth while filming television’s The Music Man, who she applauds not only for her down-to-earth relations with the cast and crew, but also her public stance against a recent notorious article concerning gay actors playing straight in Newsweek Magazine. In addition to all of this, she has had the time and good fortune to appear in the North American tour of Les Miz with Colm Wilkinson and the Toronto stint of Hal Prince’s Showboat with Elaine Stritch. Born in Hamilton, Ontario (“the Buffalo of Canada!”), she resided in the “suburbs” for fourteen years with her actor husband, before they took a fabulous downtown Toronto loft to be closer to their work. There she found great inspiration in being right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the big city, realizing that it caused her to “write more, become more brave” and see that “more was possible.” Although the framework for her current show is set, it often changes nightly depending upon the mood of the day, drawing from a base of over 35 songs. But no matter where she is or what happens to come out, whether it be Toronto, New York City, Edinburgh or London (all stops of her World Domination Tour), she promises, “If people come, I guarantee they’ll pee their pants!”