The Bride of Frankenstein comes to life at the Venus Cabaret

Written and performed by Charlotte Booker, She's Alive!: Elsa Lanchester gives a Hollywood history lesson to audiences at the Venus Cabaret Theater this Halloween season. The British actress Elsa Sullivan Lanchester is brought back to life through a one-woman show curated by Booker with mixed results. The show is a transplant from New York and is held in this intimate space with a big story to cover.

This portrait of a lady begins with Lanchester in the later act of her life as a cabaret performer and is conveyed through confessions behind the scenes.

Booker uses video footage along with songs to navigate the solo show. Things keep moving over 70 minutes by addressing the audience directly and sometimes chatting on the phone.

It's Alive is an homage to a two-time Academy Award who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the films Come to the Stable and Witness for the Prosecution. Lanchester didn't want her legacy to be her five minutes onscreen as a Bride, but sometimes life just works out that way with the fame game. She was connected with her gay husband Charles Laughton for her final 12 movies. She was married to the closet case for over 30 years and they were more like friends than lovers.

Accompanist Mark Nutter follows along on the tight wire act and plays some plucky tunes with aplomb for his partner at the lounge. The show is a good match for his wife's skills and a chance to learn more about an actress struggling to rise above the pack at the time.

While there is indeed a large amount of material to cover, Booker needs to be off book for the paying guests at the Venus Cabaret. Her impressive resume with crossover work in theater and television has brought her to this character study that works hard to cram in many tidbits of this celebrated cabaret singer who died in 1986.

The angle of pairing Lanchester's diva attitude with cabaret songs during the Halloween season is worth seeing for those who want to learn more about her, so swing by Venus while She's Alive!

She's Alive!: Elsa Lanchester electrifies the Venus Cabaret Theater, 3741 North Southport Avenue, from now until October 31 on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Visit mercurytheaterchicago.com for a ticket this fall.