When I told Steve I was going to see the Countess Luann and Friends Chicago show, he was confused. “I’ve seen her show on TV,” he said, “it’s actually worth going to?” At the time I had no idea, but I’d already committed $48.50 for balcony seats at the Chicago Theatre to find out. Countess Luann’s cabaret show at her largest venue yet – what would it be like? Would she have any housewife cameos? And would she be wearing Jovani? I got answers to all of my questions, as well as Steve’s about whether the show was worth paying for. In short, no. Which of course means yes. We all got what we expected.
If you’re a RHONY fan, you probably understand the draw to seeing Luann live and in person. The Bravo show has already featured her cabaret show a ton – this season we’re waiting with baited breath for the iconic line Bethenny delivers: “Life is not a cabaret!” The draw isn’t just that Luann’s a Bravolebrity, it’s also a comeback story. Lu’s returning to the stage after a second stint in rehab and wow, did I want to be there to join her in joyfully singing “Money Can’t Buy You Class.” As did nearly 4,000 others at her sold out show.
When the show began and the countess appeared in a glimmering mermaid gown everything looked perfect. That quickly faded as Luann kicked off the show on 4/20 with a rendition of The Beatles song “With a Little Help from My Friends.” My group and I looked at each other. It didn’t quite sound like the same singer of “Chic C’est La Vie.” But that wave of doubt quickly passed because we soon realized the show was exactly as we expected – and wanted. The night continued on with:
- bongo playing (Luann admitted she needed a little more practice)
- an unknown (to me) Chicago Broadway performer whose voice was the highlight of the night
- a drag king comic who killed time during a costume change, with the house lights on so everyone could visit the bar (which was not necessary for ¾ of the audience by my estimate)
- three costume changes and an opportunity for the audience to yell “Jovani” at the count of three
- a sizzle reel of Luann’s media appearances and best one liners from RHONY
- a Q&A that wasn’t coordinated well enough for a large venue, causing some questionners to get booed when they didn’t ask for juicy enough details
- readings from Luann’s diary that provided her the opportunity to repeat some of her most iconic lines (“NOT REALLY”)
Countess Luann and Friends Chicago – Chic C’est La Vie
As you can imagine and might have guessed from the mention of boos above, thousands of Bravo fans in one place can get a little unruly. After the show, the friends I went with commented that they’ve never been to a performance where so much of the audience talked through the whole thing. (Watch What Crappens Live was a close second for me.) The commentary helped make this all the more fun, though. Hearing heckling from the row of women behind me, I realized half of them had never seen the Countess or RHONY and as outsiders they had some funny observations. Other feedback I heard included:
- This is so bad it’s good
- She made money off of us with this
- She likes diamonds, I know that from the song you made me listen to
- This is a fever dream
- I need to process what I just saw
Process what you just saw…we all needed that. I can’t get over the fact that the Countess was a relative unknown 10 years ago and is now selling out the Countess Luann and Friends Chicago Theatre show! And not one of us in that audience cared whether it was an amazing production or not. Luann made money off of us and we all just let her. And whether she’s in on the joke or not, she should be laughing all the way to the bank.