Out of The Shadows

The Melbourne Cabaret Festival is upon us and for lovers of 60s music, Coral Drouyn talks to Bree Langridge, who brings her show “Little Diana and The Big Fuzz” to Chapel off Chapel this week.

If you haven’t seen the film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, you really should. It’s a fascinating history of music in the sixties and the marvellous session musos known as The Funk Brothers who provided the Motown “Sound” and made stars of people like Diana Ross and The Supremes. It inspired performer Bree Langridge to create a cabaret show called Little Diana and The Big Fuzz which plays at Chapel off Chapel this week as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival.

“I just loved the movie. Those guys were such amazing musicians and they really were responsible for the huge hits Motown had,” Bree told me, “and I loved the glamour of Diana Ross and the stars of the sixties and seventies – Tina Turner; Martha Reeves and so many others. They were just amazing and so theatrical.  My partner Kuki Tipoki is a musician and between us we decided to make The Big Fuzz a tribute to The Funk Brothers.” Kuki is a gifted musician and a well-known singer and guitarist. Musical Theatre fans will remember him as “Daddy” in Sweet Charity earlier this year, and from the smash hit We Will Rock You.

So how does an indigenous girl from Hobart, Tasmania become Diana Ross….via a career in Musical Theatre? Bree studied as a dancer in Hobart and then moved to Melbourne to work on her voice and study for Musical Theatre at Victoria College of the Arts. Many of us have seen her in such shows as Wicked and Into The Woods. She was a top six finalist in the Rob Guest Endowment, and she also spent a year in Japan playing Wendy in Universal Studios version of Peter Pan.

A real triple threat, Bree has a pragmatic approach towards her chosen profession.

“You have to be able to diversify, and to go where the work is,” she says. “And if the work isn’t there, then you have to create your own. I do spend quite a lot of time teaching, and that’s my way of giving something back. But the cabaret scene is growing every year, and when I saw a DVD of Diana Ross Live in Central Park, a little light went click. If I’m honest, who wouldn’t want to sing those songs and wear those gowns. She was a huge influence on the pop music scene, and there are so many interesting things about her life that I’ve incorporated in the show.” So Bree conceived and wrote the show; Darren Yap, whose credits are impressive, directed it and it has already played at The Hayes in Sydney.

Bree’s voice embraces all kinds of music, from pop to opera, but she concedes there were so many great songs for female singers from the Motown era. A tiny “pocket rocket” of a performer, she stands just 152cms tall, but don’t let that fool you. The voice is huge and she’s a powerhouse performer. The Big Fuzz brings together some terrific musicians to join Kuki. Darryl Beaton (keyboards) is a highly sought after Musical Director who has worked not only with Australian stars, but with such luminaries as Harry Connick Jnr and Kanye West. Kevin Mendoza (drums) is a highly valued percussionist, most recently Creative Director, Drummer & Percussionist on Jessica Mauboy’s ‘To The End Of The Earth’ Tour. Martin Carl Serra (Bass) is one of our most eclectic bass players.

If you think you need to be an older person to enjoy this show, think again. Sixties music is timeless and its influence is still around us. “I wasn’t born when Diana Ross became a star,” Bree says, “but I recognise her magic, and I love the idea that I can perhaps help keep the legend alive and entertain people who may not know her.”

Little Diana and The Big Fuzz plays at Chapel off Chapel on 25^th, 26^th, 27^th June. I’ll see you there.