The songs are the 20th century standards that most of us know: Come Rain Or Come Shine, Stand By Your Man, Amazing Grace and more.
The nobodies are five women who have had passing but memorable connections to the women who sang the songs. They are not remembered in history, their horizons are usually limited and their expectations low - as one of them puts it, ''happiness is a temporary illusion''.
The somebodies are the singers: Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas. Each is remembered, not just for talent and celebrity status, but for difficult and often emotionally fragile personal lives, and in this respect they have much in common with the nobodies.
My favourite pairing is that of a lonely, self-deprecating English school librarian whose father was a member of the French Resistance, and Edith Piaf, to whom she owes her to life because of a surprise rescue at the very end of the World War 2. The ''little sparrow'' characteristic is shared by both women, but is in strong contrast to Piaf's defiant Je Ne Regrette Rien.
Bringing all of this together is Ali Harper, who conveys her characters through words and song, successfully demonstrating an accomplished range of singing and acting styles. I would have preferred more singing and less dialogue, but others may not agree. My only (tiny) quibble is that some spoken words are lost in the show's accents and pace.
Written by Joanna Murray-Smith, Songs for Nobodies is sophisticated entertainment with a cabaret feel. The concluding aria, Puccini's Vissi d'arte (I live for my art) from Tosca, encapsulates the production's mood and drew rapturous applause from a mostly full auditorium.
-By Barbara Frame
