BWW Reviews: ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL 2014: VARIETY GALA PERFORMANCE Started the Festival With a Bang

Reviewed Friday 6th June 2014

The Adelaide Cabaret Festival once again begins with the Variety Gala Performance, an immensely popular part of the Festival which presents short performances by many of the artists appearing over the next three weeks. The Festival's Artistic Director, Kate Ceberano, started the evening with a reinvented version of My Way, then she introduced the ever popular, Todd McKenney, who was the master of ceremonies for the event, which was directed by Andy Packer and musically directed by Matthew Carey, who will also be accompanying a number of the artists during the Festival. Music for the Gala was provided by members of the superb Adelaide Art Orchestra, and other musicians from various shows working with the artists that they accompany. The Adelaide Art Orchestra will also be accompanying numerous artists during the Festival.

The remainder of the evening was a cavalcade of Australian and overseas stars, providing a brief taste of their shows, a very useful idea as audience members often discover an act or two that appeals to them and that they had not yet booked for. All areas were covered, from strong influences of Weimar Republic era Kabarett, from Caroline Nin, Sven Ratzke, and Kim Smith, through to reminiscences of Woodstock from Melanie Safka, with her son, Beau Schekeryk, on guitar. Adding a lot of colour, glitz, feathers, and verisimilitude to Nin's number were Shay Stafford, who has danced at Moulin Rouge and The Lido, and her dancers. A great favourite with Adelaide audiences is Rhonda Burchmore, who not only performed but was surprised by being awarded this year's Cabaret Icon Award, and the audience clearly agreed with that choice. The Class of Cabaret, a group of young cabaret hopefuls who have been mentored leading up to the Festival, also had a chance to appear, as a chorus, and a great sound they produced.

The show was off to a good start when the first performer, Nelson Aspen, gave a lively rendition of the humorous, Makin' Whoopee before handing the baton to Melody Beck, whose show is about Marni Nixon, who provided the singing voice for quite a few of the well known leading ladies of the cinema, sing a medley of Shall We Dance, I Could Have Danced All Night, and Tonight.

Caroline Nin and Shay Stafford and her Can Canettes then introduced us Le Lido de Paris, and so it continued, with Ali McGregor, Tim Campbell, Lizzie Moore, and then to Rachel Beck, another Adelaide and Australian favourite. Michael Falzon, Matt Lee, Luke Kennedy, Ben Mingay, Adelaide's own Carla Lippis, Szen Ratzke all followed in quick succession, packing the ninetly minute show with as much talent and great music as it could hold. Backstage in the green room was Amelia Ryan, who introduce a few of the guests before they appeared, and the Horns of Leroy, a fun trad jazz combo, bobbed up here and there during the evening too.

As always, the Variety Gala Performance was everything that the audiences expected, a high energy, fun, sophisticated, well, perhaps not always, but certainly a highly enjoyable start to the Festival.

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