SPEAKING WITH NELLIE MCKAY
Nellie Mckay has always traveled to the beat of her own drum. Stylistically, it’s not easy to pin down the 29-year-old singer-songwriter’s eclectic mix of snappy jazz, upbeat pop and torchy standards. Her critically acclaimed albums have run the gamut from the powerful “Get Away from Me” (2004) to her covers tribute to Doris Day “Normal as Blueberry Pie” (2009). Her resume includes opening for Lou Reed at Carnegie Hall and an award-winning turn on Broadway in “Threepenny Opera.” Her original songs have been featured on TV series such as “Weeds,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “NCIS.”
Mckay has most recently turned her attention to the 1958 film “I Want to Live!,” which featured Susan Hayward in her Oscar-winning performance as Barbara Graham, a convicted murderer put to death in the San Quentin prison gas chamber in 1955 for her crime. Mckay has turned the film into an intimate evening of cabaret, telling Graham’s story through words and a collection of covers— everything from Nat King Cole and Lennon and Mccartney to Jimi Hendrix and Irving Berlin. † † † †
The title was suggested to me by my mother because I had never seen it, though I had heard of it.
How did you decide to make a cabaret musical based on the film?
Watching the film, I thought, “Why don’t we just do this movie in cabaret form?” I actually call it more of a radio play-style show. It evolved into more of a story of Barbara Graham the woman, rather than just the film live. It’s all told primarily in a musical style, but it does tell her story. We try to get out the relevant information.
What was it about Graham’s life story that touched you?
It has everything. Her life was a rollercoaster, and it was very hard on her. There are so many peaks and valleys. And the story deals with the death penalty, which is unfortunately still relevant today. Fortunately that’s not the case in Illinois.
Why do you oppose the death penalty?
If killling people is wrong, why are we killing people for killing people? The show raises questions about who is a criminal, wrongful convictions and how harsh should punishments be.
In terms of the music, you’ve selected some pretty heady covers and some more obscure titles. Can you walk me through a couple of “scenes” and the music you perform?
There’s a song called “Twinkle in Your Eye,” from a [1942] film called “I Married an Angel,” by Rodgers and Hart. I wanted to do something with that song for years, so it’s in this show in the part where Barbara’s fellow inmate is telling her how to go about her interrogation. There’s another song called “Swingin on the Reservation,” by Ella Fitzgerald, and it’s a song that never got a lot of attention but it really deserves it, so I use that in one scene. There a great jazz song, “Small Day Tomorrow” by Bob Dorough, that I use for the scene on the night before the execution.
Could you identify with Barbara on some level?
Well, who hasn’t gotten in with a bad crowd at some point in their life? She had failed marriages. She was introduced to drugs and crime by her husband and his seedy pals. She became a prostitute, and in that respect, I can relate because everyone in show business is a prostitute. It’s hard to avoid it. Frankly, I consider most people prostitutes because people do stuff for money all the time. Also, who hasn’t felt maligned by “the system,” whether it’s your boss at work or your teacher at school?
Any plans to turn your live show into a full-out musical or even film?
We try to keep it intimate, so I don’t see it as a big stage show. And you need people to be drinking. [Laughs] This is a real drinking show. It has to have that nighttime energy going through the audience. I would like to make a small movie that wouldn’t cost a lot. And we’re working toward making an album out of the show’s songs. So we’ll see.
—Miriam Di Nunzio mdinunzio@suntimes.com