Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Saturday 24th June 2017.
Each year, a fortunate group of young people in years 11 and 12, from a number of Adelaide high schools, are selected to be a part of the
Class of Cabaret, being mentored by experienced practitioners and leading to a performance. This year, the mentors of the 23 participants were two very popular, award-winning cabaret artists, Amelia Ryan and
Michael Griffiths. They also received further vocal coaching from another Adelaide favourite, that wonderful singer, Charmaine Jones. The musical director and course facilitator overseeing the whole thing was
Carol Young and piano accompaniment was provided by Alex Wignall,
David Campbell started this worthwhile and wonderful project when he was the artistic director of the Festival in 2010, and it has flourished ever since, showcasing people, some of whom have gone on to be performers in their own right.
The schools represented this year were: Adelaide High School, Australia Science & Mathematics School, Brighton Secondary School,
Charles Campbell College, Christian Brothers College, Cornerstone College, Faith Lutheran College, Gleeson College, Loreto College, Loxton High School, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Pembroke School, Playford International College, Riverton & District High School, Saint Martin's Lutheran College, Mt Gambier Saint Michael's College, Scotch College, St Marks College, Port Pirie, Tatachilla Lutheran College, McLaren Vale, and Woodville High School.
Because of the number of students, there are two performances, each featuring half of the group, but with the entire ensemble performing the opening number, The Spark of Creation from the musical Children of Eden, at each session. The audience members, naturally, included many friends and relatives of the performers, but there are plenty of others, like me, who attend these performances every year simply because the standards of the performances are so high that these are rightly a part of the Festival. It is also interesting to guess who we might be seeing next year in the Graduates performance, and who might turn up on Adelaide's entertainment scene.
The standard this year was a high as ever, and the individual performances as diverse one could imagine. Each performer had five to six minutes to introduce themselves and present a combination of a song and patter, plus any other features, which, this year, included people playing guitar, piano, trumpet, or ukulele.
There was a wide range of styles, music from many eras, hilarious comical songs, great poignancy, lots of great backing vocals, and marvellous piano accompaniment from Wignall, of course. Some of the performers shared very personal stories. Some were very clever comedians. All were talented.
The Class of Cabaret performances are always well worth seeing, and the number of extremely talented young people who have appeared over the years is remarkable. Be sure to put them on your list next year.
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