Reviews

Dita Von Teese – Strip Strip Hooray!

Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Festival Theatre. 13th June, 2016

“Queen of the New Burlesque” Dita Von Teese graced the Festival Theatre stage to rapturous applause in her show Strip Strip Hooray! It soon became apparent why this forty-something temptress has become an icon in this genre in recent years.

New York comedian and host extraordinaire Murray Hill was a vibrant and hilarious emcee for the evening. Facilitating as much sexual innuendo and audience participation as possible, he kept everyone engaged between acts. He was pure show business.

Bring It On - The Musical

Book: Jeff Whitty, Music: Tom Kitt & Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lyrics: Amanda Green & Lin-Manuel Miranda. WAAPA 2nd and 3rd Year Music Theatre Students. Directed by Jay James-Moody. Regal Theatre, Subiaco, WA. 11-18 Jun, 2016

WAAPA's annual showcase musical, featuring Musical Theatre Students, and involving many WAAPA departments, is an eagerly anticipated event.

Barb Jungr – Hard Rain: The Songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen

Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. Adelaide Cabaret Festival. 12 & 13 June, 2016.

The promise of an evening spent with interpretations of the work of two of the greatest and most distinctive of modern songwriters was more than enough of an attraction to a reviewer who was unfamiliar with the interpreter herself. Fortunately, Barb Jungr does not disappoint. Her stated aim is to present ‘P’ songs: philosophical and political – but she does so with an impish persona that is delightful.

Robyn Archer – Dancing on the Volcano

Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. 11-12 June, 2016

Robyn Archer’s love affair with Adelaide continues as she premieres her latest show Dancing on the Volcano, which is a name adopted for a period where cabaret had a rebirth in Germany between 1919 and 1933.

Tripod with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra: This Gaming Life

Conductor: Austin Wintory. Director: Andrew Pogson. Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. Adelaide Cabaret Festival. 11 June, 2016.

This reviewer considers himself a long-time Tripod enthusiast, but has also been a long-time non-gamer since about the age of 12 when the family Amiga 500 computer console both broke down and was rendered obsolete (whichever came first). The Tripod fan elected to see this new show, in the hope that it could deliver engaging entertainment and hilarious humour for someone who does not currently lead a gaming life.

Keep

By Francesca Pazniokas. Owl and Cat Theatre, 34 Swan Street Richmond VIC. 7 – 17 June 2016.

The stage is piled high with tottering piles of junk – the kind of junk that would still be there when a jumble sale is over.  A dead plant, fluorescent flower jewellery, ghastly ‘art’, lurid soft toys piled on a battered cabinet, a headless but pregnant mannequin, bags of who-knows-what.  You know the place smells off.  A peremptory knocking at the apartment door.

Heathers: The Musical

By Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy. Showwork Productions. Playhouse Theatre, Sydney Opera House. June 8 – 26, 2016.

Having partially recast the show and returned to Sydney to a bigger stage and audience, I’m thrilled to see that Heathers: The Musicalis still as slick and entertaining as ever.  Production specifics aside, it’s hard for a show like this to flop with thanks to the gritty, intelligent writing of Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphey, favourites in the contemporary musical theatre sphere, and the same guys who brought us the smash hit Legally Blonde The Musical.

To the Naked Eye

Written by Cerise de Gelder. Directed by Brenda Palmer. Set and Props by Harry Patternoster. Stage Management and Lighting Design by Meika Clark. La Mama Theatre, June 8-19, 2016

The bitter feeling of loneliness drives the actions of each of the characters in the play, To the Naked Eye. How far would you go to avoid loneliness?

Many people are battling loneliness. A quarter of Australian households are people living on their own. And some research suggests social media increases isolation.

In Tothe Naked Eye, Claire (Stephanie Lillis) saves her neighbour from a car accident. Stephanie (Carolyn Masson) appreciates Claire’s help and does everything she can to turn her into a friend.

Megan Hilty In Concert

Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide. June 11, 2016

2016’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival got off to a bold start with this singularly inspiring performance from Broadway star Megan Hilty – best known for her starring role in the TV soap opera, Smash and for her four-year stint playing Glinda in the enduring hit musical, Wicked. It is unfortunate that she was only able to grace Adelaide with one performance before jetting off to New York, where she will be attending this year’s Tony Awards, as a nominee for her performance in the revival of Michael Frayn’s classic backstage farce, Noises Off.&nbs

Twins

Rhonda Burchmore and Trevor Ashley. Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. June 10-12, 2016

What do you get when you combine a statuesque red-head with a portly drag queen? One of the most hilarious combinations to ever hit the cabaret stage. Their paradoxically named show ‘Twins’ is full of sass and sexual innuendo that will leave you rolling in the aisles.

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