THE 2009 ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL - FINAL WEEK
The final week of the ninth Adelaide Cabaret Festival ended with a record breaking attendance of over 48,000 and 60 shows sold out. "We've doubled our national and international visitors," said David Campbell. Foxtel will be screening headline act Bernadette Peters on its Bio channel in Australia on 27 June.
The opening night of the third week had only eight empty seats in the whole Festival Centre complex, with at least two shows in each of the six venues. The excitement in the air was palpable.
So what could be a better way to start the final week than with the sassy, uninhibited Lillias White and her amazing voice in "From Brooklyn to Broadway". From dancing on her grandmother's dining table in Brooklyn to the shining lights of Broadway, Lillias takes us on her journey featuring songs from her Award winning work in theatre and film. From the beginning you immediately felt her command of the stage and her audience, and knew you were in good hands and in for a good time. Backed up by a terrific funky trio led by the talented Matt Carey, Lillias dazzled us with her rich vocal range and big voice. With a flirtatious look in her eyes, Lillias' ample body did a 'shimmy and a shake' to the rhythms of the music to the delight of the audience.
Donning a huge, dishevelled afro wig she gave us a "show stopper" number singing The Oldest Profession, as the tired old prostitute Sonya from Cy Coleman's Broadway Musical "The Life". Lillias' comic delivery had just the right touches of pathos to create the blase character of the hooker, which won her a Tony Award. For her finale, Lillias capped her stunning performance with a medley of gorgeous "Lilliasised" versions of songs made famous by contemporary greats like Streisand.
The "Carpenters From Kempsey" is a very different type of tribute show as two country hicks Darren and Sharon Carpenter perform the songs of those other famous siblings. Fortunately they do sing the songs well because their antics, bickering and 70's fashion look are hilarious. The audience happily joined in a sing-along of old favourites Close To You, Top of the World and Only Yesterday. The hicksville country line dancing and other routines were appropriately awful as was there 'back of the barn' stories. It was this clever juxtaposing of the lovely Carpenter style singing and the contrasting monotone drawl of the country bumpkins that made the show so amusing and enjoyable.
One of the great attractions of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival is the incredible variety of acts presented, with lots of surprises along the way. "Janet Kline and Her Parlor Boys" is one of these unusual delights. This Ukulele Lady from California takes us on a charming nostalgic trip down memory lane of the 1920' and 30's by researching and bringing to life "the innocent and happy songs" that peppered those boom and bust years. Delicately flouncing about in her pretty lavender chiffon frock this cute flapper recreates the dream world of Hollywood's depiction of the times. Rather than the harshness of life in the Great Depression and the brutal reality of the corruption and gangsterism fostered by Prohibition.
No wonder the act has such appeal to us in our depressing times. Janet Kline and her Parlor Boys charmed us into their make believe world. This escapism was made irresistible as Klein's flashing eyes effused a 'champagne bubbly' invitation to join in the fun. Launching into Who's That Knocking at My Door, Hello Bluebird Hello and what was considered bawdy in its day How Could Red Riding Hood Have Been so Very Good. Her Parlor Boys were equally talented and good fun such as when the piano player gave us When Erasmus Plays His Old Kazoo on a wahzoo.
Under David Campbell's artistic leadership the Festival is encouraging and helping established performers such as Mark Trevorrow to develop new shows. Mark's famous alter ego Bob Downe goes to war in a tribute to troop shows of the past in "World War Bob". With hilarious, satirical characters and songs of wartime, the history of war unfolds from the Crimean to the Cold War around the theme and song War: what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
With only four multi-talented performers we are treated to a spectacular show. A cavalcade of fabulous characters kept the show rollicking along. Jane Markey appeared as a formidable Britannia, Florence Nightingale and Bob's mum. Musical director/pianist John Thorn and drummer Jeremy Hopkins managed some nifty song and dance routines as well as playing multiple characters. Jeremy's beautiful tenor voice in Lili Marlene melted our hearts for the short lived lives of so many young that are always sacrificed in war.
Private Bob keeps making well timed entrances in his 'fabulous' costumes, even a flowing caftan from the Peace Movement of the '60's. The back projections drawn from authentic sources added to the validity and punch to the show's theme. Sing-alongs of the old songs were enthusiastically belted out by the audience with the help of song sheets. Private Bob brilliantly soldiered on entertaining the troops in a terrific show.
I never thought I would enjoy a yodelling show until I saw Mary and Melinda Schneider, mother and daughter, in "Schneiderville". This is the beauty of the quality and variety presented in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival that if you are prepared to take a few risks, new joys can be experienced. Mary is a showbiz legend having yodelled on stage with the likes of Jose Carreras and Peter Ustinov and has toured the world for over 50 years. Mary now joined by her daughter, award wining country singer/composer Melinda, make a formidable duo. Campbell saw them on a talk show and was so impressed with their singing and comic banter he immediately called them to do a show for the Festival ...and the audience loved it.
Comedians, who can sing, especially their own satirical songs, are delightful morsels in the feast of cabaret on offer at the Festival. In the smallest venue, funny lady Jackie Loeb in "I Really Am Lovely" delivers a solo, non-stop, one hour attack on many sacred icons. I thought there was a strong possibility of being struck by a vengeful lightning bolt as she lampooned the idiosyncrasies of the many different gods that humanity worships (Christian, Jewish, Hindu etc...). Loeb really stirred the pot when she cross-pollinated sacred beliefs of two religions to make a new hybrid religion. Loeb gave us a rip roaring act that recalled the German Weimar cabaret comedians 'who took no prisoners'.
What would a contemporary cabaret fest be without some reference to the Beatles so the aficionados turned up to pack the house for "Everybody's Got Something To Hide (except me and my monkey)". The rapt audience didn't seem to mind that most of the Beatles' biggest hits would be omitted and instead substituted with such lesser known songs as Crippled Inside, She's Leaving Home and a most moving rendition of Beautiful Boy. Libby O'Donovan and Melissa Langton sang up a storm with their rich, powerful voices. Mark Jones on piano joined in the singing and led a stunning band to the delight of the Beatles' fans in this cabaret show about the Fab Four and their repertoire.
One of the most original and moving shows in the Festival came form Ursula Yovich. Born of a Serbian father and an aboriginal mother her predicament is symbolised in the title "Magpie Blues", since the Magpie bird is neither white nor black. A natural story teller this young woman, exposed her very emotional journey in her search: for identity; for love; for acceptance; for knowledge and finally reconciliation with her aboriginal heritage. Her engaging inner beauty surfaced as she narrated in such an unaffected and honest way, growing up, nearly going off the rails, realising her singing ambitions and discovering her acting prowess that has won her roles in film and on stage. As she said "The whole 'somewhere over the rainbow' story for me hasn't finished yet as she launched into an almost mystical rendition of the song.
It was a frustrating experience being only able to catch a tiny segment of the premiere of Kate Ceberano's "Love & the Bottom Up". Her voice was as wonderful as ever but it was her acting that I was not familiar with which so impressed me. Pete Titcherner from the Independent Weekly said "What Kate does in this show is deliver a delightful insight into the female perspective of love...the good bits, the bad bits and the very, very ugly bits."
Patrick McDonald from The Advertiser commented that the appeal of the show "is due almost entirely to Ceberano's warmth, strength, humour and empathy. She sells the script as convincingly, emotively and powerfully as she does the song lyrics with the voice which has won almost every award in Australia." Apparently Kate's song journey of 'love gone wrong hits' was a hit, especially with the female members of the audience.
My final show left me with an unforgettable memory of this fabulous Festival. It was encapsulated in a vivid image of the handsome Nick Christo shaking it all about in a very sexy version of Shimmy Like My Sister Kate. Christo, without drag, re-creates the outrageous night club singer Francis Faye who visited and shocked Australia on a number of occasions. Dressed in a neat black suit, tie and silk shirt Christo channelled Faye, seducing us to experience her extraordinary life from singing in a speakeasy frequented by Al Capone to becoming a legend in her own life time. With his slinky hips, flashing eyes and sensual mouth Christo turned us on to what was so captivating about Faye. Her outlandish and flamboyant performance style influenced Bette Midler and Peter Allen. Certainly Nick Christos's highly skilled and finely tuned performance left a lasting impression and the desire to see more of his work.
It is nine years since The Adelaide Cabaret Festival was established and has become a hugely successful and popular event attracting cabaret artists and enthusiasts from around the world. This year's program continued to celebrate the diversity of cabaret and succeeded in attracting new audience streams.
Artistic Director David Campbell drew together a stunning program of some of the most successful artists of contemporary cabaret, along with exciting up and coming artists whose talent captivated audiences. He also challenged well known artists to push the boundaries and embrace the cabaret genre. With artists from the U.S., France, Canada, Argentina, New Zealand, along with a host of talented Australian performers the Festival attracted record attendances and accolades for the quality program. David Campbell has managed to extend the reach of the Festival and stamp his own vibrant personality on it.
This year's line-up included 257 Artists, 108 of them South Australian performers. The Festival presented 133 performances of 57 different shows in 6 venues across 16 days of the Festival opening on the Queen's Birthday long weekend.
In 2010 The Adelaide Cabaret Festival will celebrate its first decade, 11-26 June, so there is plenty of time to plan a trip to the best and biggest cabaret festival in the world. It's a great fun festival!
Full details of the program on
www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com/
