The Tuxedo Cat - Red Room. 26 Feb 2012
In the Red Room of The Tuxedo Cat Amy Abler presents her well toured show PianoDivalicous!. Mashing classical, pop, rock and blues numbers together Abler's show is a feast of fast paced piano fingering fun. Seamlessly combining a range of numbers Abler effortlessly blends songs like The Black and White Rag, ABBA's Dancing Queen and Moonlight Sonata as if they were always meant to be one.
Elements of comedy are incorporated such as a re-worded version of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and an interesting Turkish travel story told to Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca.
Abler describes herself as a 'recovering classical concert pianist - on the 12 week program', but despite her energy and abundance of talent, something is missing. This production would benefit from a director to help find a line of continuity through the many interesting yet oddly unrelated acts she performs. Abler sings, dances, plays piano with her feet and tries to blend a few jokes, but its all a bit slapdash and sadly too low on production values.
Despite all this she maintains wonderful energy and the tradeoff is witnessing her amazing skills as a pianist. In a rock-and-roll section she covers Jerry Lee Lewis's Great Balls of Fire and with a piano accordion we get the theme to Rocky and a version of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long. Its hard not to get caught up in the laughs as Abler seems to have so much fun on stage. Don't expect a grand piano and surround sound system - just get along to enjoy one big personality and a bucket load of talent.
Paul Rodda
When: 27 Feb to 18 Mar
Where: The Tuxedo Cat - Red Room
Bookings: www.adelaidefringe.com.au
