Storm Large has had a number of phases of her career: local lounge buzz singer, international television superstar (on Rock Star: Supernova), and local celebrity. Recently Storm has opened a new chapter to her career, almost literally. With a novel in the works, a successful run in Cabaret and an upcoming one woman show entitled Crazy Enough Storm Large is expanding her universe and redefining herself as a performer.
Last week Storm appeared as a surprise guest in the much talked about Super Project Lab. She treated the crowd to renditions songs which artists had asked McCain to stop using in his campaign. It was a buzz worthy performance that snagged her another spot in the Super Project Lab November 22nd show.
On Thursday Storm played at the Pander Brothers’s Selfless after party. Storm appears on the Selfless soundtrack, a film which won top honors at this year’s Bend Film Festival. Dressed in a long skin tight black dress, Storm sang soulfully with a depth of emotion and sophistication that counterpoints her often in-your-face larger than life style.
I spoke to Storm about her new direction and upcoming one woman show Crazy Enough. “I really hope people connect with it,” commented Storm, “there’s a lot of really dark and personal stuff in the show, and I don’t want people to just feel sorry for me.”
Last fall Storm played Sally Bowles in the Portland Center Stage production of Cabaret. “Researching the play and its context historically really impacted me, I was surprised how deep I got into the role,” Storm recalls, “and it popped my theater cherry and set me up for my show.”
In addition to preparing the show, Storm is also working on a novel. “I started blogging around all the election stuff, and it got me my first death threat…from a guy in Gresham!” explained Storm, “but I found that I loved writing, and there have been a number of authors who are really pushing me to write.”
Crazy Enough is set for Portland Center Stage 3/31/09 and will run 3 months. In the mean time Storm is singing up a storm, appearing at many key Portland events as well as providing the entertainment for private functions.
Storm’s single Ladylike made it all the way to #5 on the Billboard charts, and so now the big questions is will Crazy Enough land her on Broadway?