Life Is a Jolly Green Cabaret: 2014 Poetry Project

Writerly Friends, no use permitting some prophet of doom to wipe every verse away. Wilkommen to the Pantone Poetry Project. Day 16 is our Jolly Green Cabaret.

Here's something I learned today, Dame Judi Dench originated the role of Sally Bowles in the London production of Cabaret.

According to the website Talkin' Broadway, "The role of Sally was played by actress Jill Haworth on Broadway and when the show opened in London, Judi Dench sang to the world... 'What good is sitting alone in your room... come to the Cabaret!'" Here's a must-view clip about Dench in the role on YouTube. And here is Dench as Sally.



Before I get carried away with my musical theater fandom (more on that later this week), let's get to today's colors. All month, I am inviting writers and other creatives to make something -- a poem, a doodle, a sketch -- in response to Pantone paint colors. For detailed instructions, read this post.

Day 16 Jolly Green
Pantone ®  18-6030

Day 16 Cabaret
Pantone ®  18-2140

We have just two contributions today, one for each color. Diane Mayr of Random Noodling personifies our first color in this poem.

Jolly Green 
by Diane Mayr

Jolly Green was 
not so jolly when 
he realized that 
the blue in his soul 
had overpowered 
the green of his spirit. 

For me, Diane's poem conjures up a melding together of the Jolly Green Giant with a great blue Djinn out of Aladdin's lamp.

Disney's version of the genie of the lamp.
He's kind of cute.

Linda Baie sends us a Jolly Green "nonet – inspired by Doraine Bennett’s post." http://dorireads.blogspot.com/2014/02/nonet.html

Spring Musing

My snow-washed daydream is jolly green,
a yearning for this green not seen.
I love spruce and pine trees, too
with winter’s dark green hues,
yet the lighter shade
of spring’s parade,
tender tint,
still no
hint.

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

The bright red shade of Cabaret reminded me how my mother and I battled over lipsticks when I was a teenager. Here's a little sketch, a melding together of memory and imagination.

Cabaret

by Laura Shovan

She wore coral. Always. It didn't matter what shades were in fashion, what models were wearing on the cover of Vogue. There was no talking her into experimentation, even on a girls night out, when we found ourselves at Macy's makeup counter, striping the backs of our  hands with testers in plum and nude. Her lipstick came from the supermarket in a marbled green tube. She'd swipe it across her lips without a thought, looking briefly into the round mirror of a compact, then snapping it shut.

More than once, I came downstairs with a deep red mouth. She sent me to the bathroom to wipe it off before the bus came. If the red was wine dark, nearing black, I looked like a witch. If it was candy-apple bright, I looked like the kind of girl who bumped and thrusted in New York's cabarets. To my mother's apricot-accustomed eyes, red lips were dangerous and full of wanting.

By the time the bus arrived at school, I'd rouged my pout, dabbed the excess with a page from my Algebra notebook, and shimmied through the front doors, singing "life is a cabaret, old chums" to anyone who'd listen.

We've only got one color each for Day 17 and Day 18, so let's double up.

Day 17 Dubarry
Pantone ®  17-1647

Day 18 Papaya Punch
Pantone ®  15-1433

Papaya Punch isn't so far from my mother's apricot-toned lipstick. Of course, I'd still go for Dubarry lips. Don't sit alone in your room -- join us with a poem or piece of flash fiction tomorrow.