1998 SYDNEY CABARET CONVENTION - GALA FINAL NIGHT

Please note, this program is not sponsored by the MABEL MERCER FOUNDATION, and should not be confused with that organization's annual Cabaret Convention held each year in New York City.

Before I tell you about the finale to this year's SYDNEY CABARET CONVENTION, I want to tell you something about the cabaret scene here in the premier city of the Land DownUnder. In April of 1986, two out-of-work actors named Geoffrey Williams and Michael Freundt set up a cabaret space in the Tilbury Hotel, a pub close to one of the docks of Sydney Harbor in a rather romantically named (and somewhat seedy) suburb called Wooloomooloo. For a little over ten years this spot was Mecca for all of us who loved the art of cabaret. This was our version of the Blue Angel, the Bon Soir, Tony's and so many more, those legendary New York performance spaces that James Gavin wrote about in his book INTIMATE NIGHTS.

Many Australian artists received their start in this unique space and a number of established performers chose the Tilbury to make the leap into cabaret there. The space was intimate, comfortable and informal; in other words, just right for creating a "loving moment" that is the essence of the art. There were no other spots quite like it that were able to stand the test of time. A few of the big hotels had spaces that were used for cabaret (notably the Don Burrows Supper Club at the Regent Hotel where Steve Ross performed magnificently on several occasions), but one by one these locations were closed down and converted for other uses. Alas, when the owners of the Tilbury decided to use the cabaret space for other purposes in late 1996, Sydney lost this "sacred space."

I provide this sad tale by way of explaining that it was through the extraordinary efforts of those two men, Geoffrey Williams and Michael Freundt that the Sydney Cabaret Convention began in the first place. Knowing full well that artists may be born, but true art must be perfected through performance, Williams and Freundt attempted to set up this showcase for the cabaret talent of Australia to "show their wares" and keep alive the fire that burned so richly at the Tilbury. They convinced the Lord Mayor of Sydney to support the Convention as a municipal project and so the Convention was born in 1997.

In many ways, last night's finale to this year's SYDNEY CABARET CONVENTION was an homage to the Tilbury. Most of the artists on the bill performed at the Tilbury: Toni Lamond revived her Australian career after many years of working in Vegas and LA, Geraldine Turner refined her cabaret acts in between appearances in musical comedy, Genevieve Lemon and Jonathan Biggins (the guest MC for the night) enjoyed enormous success in their satirical comedy musicals and Mark Fuller received his initial cabaret engagements. I cannot for the moment recall if Margi De Ferranti or Combo Fiasco worked there, but I would be very surprised if they did not. Not surprisingly, many of last night's performers bemoaned the loss of the Tilbury.

And so, how fitting was this gala as a tribute to the halcyon years of the Tilbury? The answer is mixed. It was fantastic to see so many folks crowed into the cavernous space of the Centennial Hall of the Sydney Town Hall -- there must have been nearly 500 folks at 45 or more tables and many others seated above us in the gallery. But this was not a good space for this celebration. The sound system was not suitable to carry all that was sung and spoken throughout the hall and that, in itself, spells disaster to the communicative art which we came to celebrate. Also, there was a bit of echo that "clouded" the sound.

The talent worked hard, but the odds were stacked against them. Of the acts that performed, the best two were COMBO FIASCO (soon scheduled to open EIGHTY EIGHTS new venue in Miami) and MARGI DE FERRANTI, the winner of last year's Convention prize of a trip and performance at the New York Cabaret Convention last October. It is noteworthy that these youngsters managed to out-perform the veterans, such as Toni Lamond, Geraldine Turner and the special guest star, Lana Cantrell. I suspect this was the result of bright, clever material. The others seemed to lack the vitality and zest of these acts.

In addition to the evening, the winners of the various prizes were announced and each of them performed a set for the crowd. Interestingly, all three winners had performed on the 5th evening of the Convention. JACKIE LOEB, the belting comedian, was awarded with the week's engagement at Sorlies Cabaret at the Glen Street Theatre and a cash prize of $500. There was a surprise award of an additional round-trip ticket to New York and the Convention there and that was awarded to COLLIN SALTER, the piano man who is seeking to emulate the late Peter Allen in both style and performing verve. And finally, the big award of the round-trip ticket and opportunity to perform at the 1998 NEW YORK CABARET CONVENTION went to the wonderful MAREE JOHNSON, just as I had predicted. It was a tribute to Ms Johnson's art that she once again made the earth stand still as she performed the Legrand/Bergman classic "Summer Me, Winter Me." LOOK OUT FOR THIS WOMAN WHEN SHE COMES TO THE USA!!

And so ended the 2nd SYDNEY CABARET CONVENTION and my own very personal reviews of the series. It was, as the saying goes, "like a curate's egg, good in parts." Next year, perhaps the organizers will choose a more suitable venue for the finale and insist that a uniformly high quality of artistry is on display. Perhaps an attempt might even be made to set aside one or two evenings for classic cabaret song styling and allow other time for the other talent that was on the program this year. In spite of these cavils, I must echo the lyrics of Bart Howard (with the sound of Portia Nelson and Mabel Mercer in my ears) by saying that "all in all it was worth it."

David Schwartz

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