Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 6 Jun 2013
For the first time this year the Variety Gala Performance, which usually signifies the opening of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival will play for 2 nights. The first performance, and the one I attended, is a special performance which marked the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Adelaide Festival Theatre that was built in 1973 and first opened on the 2nd of June that year.
In usual Gala style the evening was made up of a selection of performances by artists who are participating in the Cabaret Festival itself. Those to take to the stage included Catherine Alcorn, Joey Arias, Tommy Bradson, Hans, Emma Hamilton, Simone Page Jones, Barb Jungr, Bradley McCaw, Ali McGregor, Miles O’Neil, Mojo Juju, Darren Percival, Molly Ringwald and Amelia Ryan.
The night was hosted by the Festival director Kate Ceberano and the Master of Ceremonies and Host was Craig McLachlan. Ceberano and McLachlan got the night off to an energetic start, but the first few acts were a lot less upbeat and it was a while before the Gala fired up again. First cab off the rank was Joey Arias with the sombre Billy Holiday number, ‘You’ve Changed’. Arias’s performance was wonderful and his vocal quality was so much like Holidays’ – many of the patrons immediately around me were so convinced that they were shocked to learn the performer was male.
Barb Jungr hit the stage next and delivered a seriously upbeat version of Leonard Cohen’s, ‘Everybody Knows’ – taking the number to completely new, far less depressing, places. Simone Page and Miles O’Neil were the third act and together they sang a wistful piece that softened the mood again. Next up Emma Hamilton sang a Gypsy song in French entitled, ‘Je Pense A Toi’, and showed us her skill on the accordion.
Catherine Alcorn took to the stage and gave a gorgeous rendition of the Eva Cassidy classic, ‘Songbird’ before Darren Percival lifted the roof with a hip shaking version of ‘Hallelujah, I love Her So’ by Ray Charles. This song really marked a turn in the proceedings and had the audience up and clapping for the first time in the evening. It was then that Ali McGregor put her operatic touch on ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, by INXS and morphed into Blur’s, ‘Song 2’ ending on a glass breaking high note that had the audience in raptures of applause.
Throughout the proceedings, host Craig McLachlan, “kept the show well lubricated” as he put it. Despite being a little self-indulgent, his talent is undeniable and he is very good at what he does. Mojo Juju was up next and performed some hard-core Blues that were well received, despite really putting the brakes on the show. Amelia Ryan took to the stage with a comedic re-write of ‘What’s Going On’, originally by 4 Non Blondes. Bradley McCaw took to the piano next, with a number that I found a little confusing; I couldn’t tell if it was meant to be funny or poignant, and by the end of what was a lovely song, it was no clearer.
Strutting onto the stage in his usual hat and fishnet combo, Matt Gilbertson as Hans, brought the house down with his all singing all dancing pop cabaret version of PSY’s, ‘Gangnam Style’ and ‘Everyday I’m Shuffling’ by LMFAO. After a short video of original file footage of the construction and opening of the Festival Theatre, Kate Ceberano announced a new award, called the Cabaret Icon Award, and proclaimed that the first recipient was Reg Livermore. After a brief acceptance speech by Reg himself, Tommy Bradson took to the stage and performed ‘Celluloid Heroes’, by the Kinks and from his show ‘Reg’.
McLachlan finally got a chance to perform a number, and made an appearance from behind the piano dressed as Frankenfurter to perform ‘Sweet Transvestite’. It is fair to say he got a little caught up in the moment, because he forgot to introduce the next, and most highly anticipated, act, Molly Ringwald. Simple Minds was on the menu for Ringwald, and ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ was her song of choice.
The Class of Cabaret joined Ceberano, McLachlan and most of the other performers on stage for a group number the close out the show. They sang Russel Morris’s, ‘The Real Thing’ and ‘Everything’s Alright’ from Jesus Christ Superstar.
The Adelaide Art Orchestra, under the baton and musical direction of Vanessa Scammell were wonderfully on song. There was an unusual amount of errors for a Festival Theatre show however, with mikes not coming on in time, projection errors, excessive smoke effects, and leg curtains being flown out at, what were clearly, wrong times – revealing artists and crew walking back and forth in the wings.
The Gala is absolutely just a taste of what the Cabaret Festival has to offer, and should be viewed that way. Sitting in the dress circle, seemingly miles away from the performers, does not give a great cabaret vibe – so save up and make sure you get to see these artists up close and personal in their own shows. The wonderful atmosphere of a small intimate venue cannot be replicated on such a large scale, so get booking now to avoid missing out.
Paul Rodda
When: 6 and 7 Jun
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
