BY RACHEL SULPRIZIO
When Dianne Fraser was 8 years old, she wanted to be a Broadway star. It never happened. Instead, Fraser, a Studio City resident, hopped on a different career path and is now a successful talent manager and partner at Industry Entertainment.
Dianne Fraser's one woman cabaret show at the Hollywood Cinegrill will benefit the "I Have A Dream Foundation."
A few years ago, though, Fraser had an epiphany. She decided that life was too short and embarked on a mission to create her own one-woman, cabaret show. The result is called “Part Time Diva” and on December 3, Fraser plans a special performance to benefit the “I Have a Dream Foundation.”
Although she has achieved a dream in her own right, she views this accomplishment in rather practical terms. “It’s not about being a big star anymore and taking Broadway by storm. It’s really about fulfilling a desire in myself and being inspiring to other people.”
Fraser credits her reawakening to Mark Twain. She says, “He has a quote that starts by saying, ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.’ This really hit home for me.”
She clearly remembers the day when these words took on new meaning. “I was in New York on theater business and I went to the Metropolitan Room and saw a really bad show. And I thought to myself, wait…this is New York City and I can do something better than that.”
And so, she was off and running. “Immediately, on the plane home,” she says, “I just started making a list of all the Stephen Schwartz songs I could sing.” She also contacted her sister, a drummer, who introduced her to her current director Clifford Bell.
“We went to lunch on a Friday,” she says, “And by Monday we were working with a piano player on songs. It happened that fast.”
An unexpected break in her schedule also worked in her favor. “Two years ago we had a writer’s strike,” she says, “And I was quite surprised when my phone stopped ringing. I thought clients would be writing and nothing would be that different, but it was very different….and I suddenly had time on my hands.”
Her show slowly started to take shape and she began performing it in her living room for a few friends. “I invited people,” she says, “And they would give me feedback but what kept coming up was…you know, it’s like a valentine to Stephen Schwartz but what we really want to know about is you.”
Dianne Fraser says dreams are possible at any age.
Her television and screenwriting husband, Jeff Cohn, also thought a more personal touch was needed. “When I first told him about the idea,” she says, “He rolled his eyes and was like…are you crazy? You have a career. Eventually, he was sucked in and started to write parody lyrics to existing songs that helped tell the story of my life and my career.”
Fraser hopes to perform her cabaret show in New York next year but does not plan on making it a full-time gig. “It’s very hard to make a living in the world of cabaret,” she says, “I absolutely love doing it but it won’t ever replace my day job.”
Regardless, she wants people to know that dreams are possible at any age. “It’s never too late,” she says, “If you really have a desire to do something, you can do it even while you have another career.”
Tickets available for “Part Time Diva” at www.brownpapertickets.com All Proceeds benefit “I Have A Dream Foundation” $50 per person (includes 2 drinks) Show @ 8:00pm, December 3rd at the Cinegrill in Hollywood
Rachel Sulprizio is a Studio City resident and is currently in the journalism extension program at UCLA. She previously worked at KFMB Radio in San Diego. She wrote a screenplay called “Pandora’s Gift” and co-wrote, produced and starred in a short film called “Small Little Thing.”
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