Start with four gifted singer-songwriters, add three-quarters cup married life, five kids, one piano, four guitars, a dollop of sharp social commentary and a wardrobe to die for. Fold in one acclaimed folk musician-comedienne, herself a founding member of the group.
The result?
Folk troubadours Christine Lavin and the Four Bitchin’ Babes will reunite for a pair of 8 p.m. shows March 26-27 as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series. The first evening will feature Lavin joined by the Babes. The second evening will feature the Babes joined by Lavin.
Frequently hailed as one the finest singer-songwriters in folk music today, Lavin has produced 13 solo albums during her 18-year career. She also is a comedian, a performer, even a baton-twirler when the mood strikes her, able to weave witty observations and self-depreciating humor into eclectic story-songs such as “Sensitive New Age Guys” and “Prisoners of Their Hairdos.”
“Christine Lavin puts delightful melodies behind witty, perceptive observations about life,” New York’s Daily News said. The Boston Globe agreed: “She has become the classic American troubadour. People find their lives in her music.”
In 2001, Back Stage magazine named Lavin its Best Singer/Songwriter of the Year.
The Four Bitchin’ Babes — which Lavin co-founded in 1990 — also combine musical and comedic elements in songs ranging from the exquisite, crystalline folk of “Ladies Lunch” and “This Town” to the saucy satire of “Not Bad for a Broad,” “Viagra in the Waters” and “Dave’s Holiday.” Although Lavin left the group in 1997 to concentrate on her solo career, the current lineup of Debi Smith, Camille West, Sally Fingerett and Suzzy Roche continues to perform for audiences around the country.
The Babes have released six CDs, including Buy Me, Bring Me, Take Me, Don’t Mess My Hair (1991); Fax It, Charge It (1995), Gabby Road … Out Of The Mouths Of Babes (1997) and Beyond Bitchin’ (2000). In 1997, they were included in the anthology Creme de la Femme: The Best of Contemporary Women’s Humor.
The Chicago Tribune wrote that the Babes “tell humorously observant tales of modern urban life and harmonize like a heavenly chorus.” Billboard magazine agreed, saying the Babes’ “stirring acoustic sets stir the heart as well as the funny bone.”
Tickets are $28 for the general public; $23 for seniors, students and WUSTL faculty and staff; and $14 for WUSTL students and children under 12. Tickets are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office and through all MetroTix outlets.
For more information, call 935-6543.
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