BWW Reviews: ADELAIDE FRINGE 2014: LILI LA SCALA: SIREN Sings Bewitching Songs of The Sea

Reviewed by Blake Parham, Tuesday 18th February 2014

Lili La Scala's tantalizing, siren like voice, coupled with haunting, mesmerizing and bewitching songs of the sea, makes for an incredibly enjoyable evening of cabaret in Lili La Scala: Siren. She is hilarious, graceful and spellbinding as she guides the audience through some rarely heard musical gems. The evening included stellar performances of works by Kurt Weil, songs made famous by Edith Piaf, songs from Guys and Dolls, classical French chanson, and new works composed by Michael Heath for this show. Scala, moreover, is able to sing all of these various and diverse genres with ease and to great effect.

Scala's presentation is flawless and relies on discreet but effective gestures, coupled with emotive facial expressions. Her humorous anecdotes, the ease with which she interacted with the audience, and her ability to gracefully climb onto an upright piano, wearing a full-length gown, also deserve to be noted. Throughout the evening Scala is expertly accompanied by Daniel Brunner, who makes complicated music sound and appear almost effortless. It is Scala's strong, warm and amazingly expressive voice, however, which steals the show and, if for no other reason, although there are many, this is why everybody should see this show.