Starring singer Laura Ellis and characters depicted on film, Femme Fatale evokes the times of black and white movies rife with con artists, gullible marks, and memorable music. A blend of cinematic wizardry and live performance, Femme Fatale is a clever homage to the Film Noir genre and its sultry singers, Rita Hayworth, Ida Lupino, and  Jane Russell.

 

The plot advances as the show integrates live music numbers (That Old Black Magic, Again, Put the Blame on Mame, Temptation) sung by Ellis in her role of the beguiling lounge singer, into an original story line fashioned from public domain Noir movie clips. Adding to the movie effect, the audience is “welcomed to the movies,” as the show begins with previews, a cartoon, and advertisements, all before the mixed-media “Main feature.”

 

Femme Fatale is the brainchild of lead performer, Laura Ellis, veteran of stage and broadcast performances. Alan Paul, of The Manhattan Transfer, describes Ellis as “the consummate performer whose command of the stage is truly mesmerizing to an audience….Meshing together vintage films and live music, Laura has created a wonderfully entertaining  theatrical experience truly worth seeing.”