Well Ms Clark IS 74, so her voice isn't quite what it used to be, but she's not bad. She hit most of the high notes, fudged some others and at other points she lacked sheer force of lungpower. The 9-piece band overpowered her at times. (On the way home I tried picturing Ronstadt at 74 attempting "You're no Good" or Stevie Nicks doing "Edge of 17".) Her best moments were more intimate ones, including Petula alone at the piano doing an apparently not-planned "I Want To Hold Your hand" as a ballad.
The show was billed as "All the Hits" and she did indeed do every major US single. She opened with "Who Am I?", maybe my fave of her lesser-played songs. (Tony Hatch: underappreciated genius.) She even did "You're the One", which I'd forgotten was originally hers, an LP track that the Vogues covered and took into the Top Ten. She also did several impressive self-penned new tunes, a few Sondheim songs ("Am I Losing My Mind?", I think it's called, from Follies), and her stage "hits": a song from BloodBrothers, which she did on B'way (and which I saw in London with Kiki Dee [!] -- one of the most godawful musicals, like, ever); one from Sunset Blvd; another from Finians Rainbow. She told a few stories, made fun of Andrew Lloyd Webber (well, who hasn't?), and read a poem. In all, a very pleasant 2-1/2 hours --an hour, a 25 min intermission, and then another hour. And the audience showed her much much love. Interesting mix, a lot of straight couples in their 60s, and many many queens.
FYI, the same producers are bringing Connie Francis to the Castro Theater in 2 weeks with a 21-piece Orch. I think I'll pass on that one, but if Miss Francis is smart, she'll do a cover of ABBA's "I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do"...
