Chicago's Matron "Mama" Morton
Matron "Mama" Morton is the Matron of the women's block in Cook County jail. She is the "mama" to the women and will take bribes in order to give the prisoners extra things like cigarettes. She also sets the girls up with Billy Flynn, the number one lawyer in Chicago, and is aware of the ways in which the girls can trick the jury into letting them go. This is shown in her conversation with Velma as she talks about her being acquitted and benefiting from the press from the trial. "Mama" Morton is not an upstanding citizen, but she has a strong presence and personality which makes the audience enjoy watching her performance "When You're Good to Mama". A number which closely resembles the performance style of Sophie Tucker.
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was born on January 13, 1884 and moved to America with her parents at the age of three after fleeing from Russia (Huey). Throughout her career she performed in minstrelsy, vaudeville, revues, and musicals. She was famous for her ballads and risque comedic songs, while wearing big and lavish costumes. Her songs were pulled from African-American genres such as jazz, blues, and ragtime. "Deemed "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas" Tucker was adored for her candor, bold sense of humor, powerful voice. and unwavering energy as a performer and as a women. Sophie never fit the typical Hollywood Beauty mold, but presented herself and her body in an empowering way that shut down any preconception of superficial standards"(Huey). In February of 1966 Sophie Tucker died but left an everlasting impact on American entertainment (Huey).
Matron "Mama" Morton as Sophie Tucker
When Matron "Mama" Morton sings "When You're Good to Mama" it is a great representation of Sophie Tucker's entertainment style. The song incorporates the comedic lyrics and risque style, in which Sophie tucker loved to incorporate in her songs. "When You're Good to Mama" shows the Matron dressed up in a revealing, and lavish outfit as Sophie Tucker often did and she performed a song that gave her a huge presence on stage which Sophie Tucker always had. One particular nickname Sophie Tucker had for herself was "mama" and she incorporated that into a lot of her songs, so its only fitting that the Matron is called "mama" by all the girls. Sophie Tucker was a full figured women who never held back in her performances, and in Chicago, "Mama" Morton also carried that attitude when singing "When You're Good to Mama".Below are is a visual of Sophie singing "Some of These Days" compared to the video on the right which is Queen Latifah performing as Matron "Mama" Morton in "When You're Good to Mama". In both performances you can see the lavish costumes and strong presence on stage both women have. Also on the bottom left there is an audio of Sophie Tucker singing "You've Gotta See Mama Every Night", which is to show the way in which Sophie Tucker would refer to herself as "mama".
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