The
City of Sydney Cabaret Convention 2003:
"Distinguished Guest Artists (Showcase Evenings)"
Sydney Town Hall (May 27th through 31st - 2003)
Sydney, Australia
2003 will be remembered as the year when "the stars" came back
to the Sydney Cabaret Convention. In my previous report, I described
some of the background for the changes that took place this year to
the Showcase Evenings. In recent years, the organizers of the Convention
had found it more and more difficult to attract distinguished guest
artists to perform. Much of the reason for this related to the focus
on untried performers and the talent quest element of the event. Other
than the Gala finale and a few token opportunities at the start of
each evening's program, there were few places on the bill for our
finest artists.
This year, Ron Creager
and Christopher Coogan (artistic director and producer, respectively)
decided to make each of the Showcase Evenings more than a talent quest.
With the reduction in the number of entrants from 40 - 42 to 12, there
was a unique opportunity to invite distinguished Australian guest
artists to appear as part of the event. With the participation of
these experienced performers, the Sydney Cabaret Convention 2003 would
also be able to fulfill the function of providing role models for
a younger generation. This innovation also made the Showcase Evenings,
previously a bit of a hit-and-miss affair in terms of entertainment,
more attractive for the public to attend. It was Ron Creager's idea
to organize the programs for guest artists around themes for three
of the four Showcase Evenings. The themes were new Australian cabaret
music, Singer/Dancers and Australian "Legends."
"Just For Starters"
The Opening Night program
had no stated theme, but the show might well have been tagged "Just
For Starters." The stars for evening were Phil Scott, Jane Rutter
and the team of Melissa Langton and Mark Jones. I am already on record
as saying that Phil Scott is one of the living national treasures
of Australian cabaret. He is a brilliant pianist, gifted accompanist,
composer, witty raconteur, novelist -- his series of murder mysteries
is currently being published by Alyson Books in the USA and, best
of all, an extraordinarily successful cabaret performer. His shows
are always a special treat because of his wide-ranging taste in music
and his ability to write special material that is both clever and
topical. Phil's recent show SERIOUS CABARET was seen in Sydney, Melbourne,
Canberra, Darwin, and at the inaugural Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
A CD of the show was recorded live here in Sydney at the Glen Street
Theatre and can be bought from the CD Collector at http://www.cdcollector.com.au/.
For his set at the Convention, Scott performed a deliciously eclectic
set ranging from Frank Loesser ("If I Were A Bell") to Irving Berlin
("Pack Up Your Sins"). In between, he managed to make art out of a
Kylie Minogue hit ("Better The Devil You Know" by Stock, Waterman
& Aitken), send up a town in South Australia that received dubious
acclaim with a particularly gruesome series of murders ("Snowtown"
by Scott and Nagle) and sing an new cabaret song about a very curious
friendship ("A Little Bit Special" by Stephen Lynch). Through it all,
Phil Scott wooed us with the sort of madcap humor that makes his work
so wonderful.
Jane Rutter was the next
act of the evening. One of Australia's finest flautists, she has been
working in cabaret in recent years with a blend of classical music
and songs. For the Cabaret Convention 2003, she performed a specially
written for the occasion, a celebration of the French writer Colette
entitled COLETTE SECRETS OF THE FLESH. At this stage, the piece about
the great writer and the milieu provided so much of her inspiration
is still a work in progress with far too much talk and too little
music to maintain interest. Perhaps it will ultimately become a theater
piece in the same mold as the great Cornelia Otis Skinner's PARIS
1900. At this point it was not consistently interesting to hold its
own as a cabaret piece.
Melissa Langton and Mark
Jones ended the evening with the sort of amazing performance that
they provide. Those of you in NYC may have heard them at last year's
NY Cabaret Convention, as well as a series of performances at DON'T
TELL MAMA. Melissa Langton's voice is one of the most remarkable instruments
I have ever heard. In a review of her recent show ME AND MR. JONES,
I described her work as follows: "As a performer Melissa Langton seems
to defy categorization; she can range over the entire spectrum of
musical genres, be it blues, pop, rock and roll, torchy ballads, show
tunes or comedy special material, always bringing total conviction
and verve to her performance. What is amazing is her ability to capture
the style of each number with truth, never cheating or condescending.
In addition to Melissa Langton's superb mastery of style, this artist
has a voice and technique that would be the envy of any performer.
Let me quote from the notes I made mid-way in this show: Langton is
able to go from a contralto growl in blues to the stratospheric heights
of gospel, moving seamlessly from murmuring pianissimo to roof-raising
fortissimo in a matter of moments, followed by a rapid return to whispering
near-silence. The marvel is that she accomplishes this feat at near
whiplash speed with never an obvious change of gears. I have never
heard such vocal dexterity and technical prowess carried off with
such natural aplomb in popular music." I cannot add anything to that
description. For their set in the last spot on Opening Night, Melissa
and Mark opened with "There's Nothing I wouldn't Do" (Heisler & Goldrich),
"Angie Baby" (O'Day), a very funny send-up of "Call Me" (Hatch) and
finished with a sizzling rendition of "I'm a Woman" (Lieber/Stoller).
After this performance, there was not a soul in the house who could
not say that Melissa Langton has "chops"!! For a good sample of Melissa
and Mark's work, you can purchase their CD entitled "When The Rain
Falls Up" from CD Collector at http://www.cdcollector.com.au/.
New Australian Cabaret
Music
Devoting a night of the
Cabaret Convention 2003 to new cabaret material was both admirable
and risky. In this instance, both the Showcase entrants and the guest
artists performed their own songs. This was yet another innovation
by the organizers to make this event a genuine cabaret convention.
Given the fact that most audiences go to cabaret to hear a succession
of well-loved standards, it was a big gamble to program so much new
material, but the evening was very rewarding. Apart for the highly
regarded performances by newcomers Matthew Robinson and Lucy Durack
(see my report on The Winners), we were given the opportunity to hear
new music by Max Lambert and his collaborator John McKellar, as well
as compositions by Eddie Perfect.
Max Lambert is one of
the finest musicians working in Australia. Recent credits include
acting as Musical Director for the opening and closing ceremonies
for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 and the Commonwealth Games in
Manchester in 2002. In addition, he has composed music for musical
theater and dance companies throughout the country. For this evening's
performance, Max made one of his very rare public appearances to accompany
a suite of six songs he has been composing with his current collaborator,
John McKellar. McKellar is a writer who created some of the finest
revue material ever heard in this country during the 50s and 60s.
His recent return to Australia is cause for rejoicing. For this outing,
Max Lambert persuaded five of our finest actor/singers (Linda Nagle,
Matthew Whittet, Neil Fitzpatrick, Genevieve Lemon and Chelsea Plumley)
to perform these new pieces. Each will doubtless find its way into
some lucky performer's repertoire. On the night, I was particularly
charmed by the whimsical "I've Got a Pet Anaconda," the poignant "Now
That You've Gone Away," the satirical "Dot.Com Let Us Adore Him" and
the haunting "Nobody Remembers The Songs I Know." It was a privilege
to have Max Lambert share this new material with us.
The final artist on this
evening of new Australian cabaret material was Eddie Perfect. This
young man has been one of the best kept secrets of Melbourne until
his appearance at this Sydney Cabaret Convention 2003. He is one of
those multi-talented artists (singer, actor, pianist and composer)
whose work is instantly attractive. Listening to his work for the
first time reminded me of the thrill I had with my first exposure
to the work of William Finn and Jason Robert Brown. Eddie's melodies
are immediately attractive, rooted solidly in the vocabulary of the
best standards. However, what was impressive about Perfect's songs
was the poetry and wit of his lyrics. As a performer of his own work,
he is equally fine with a delivery that is as smooth as a shot of
old Scotch. This man is a "one off." For his set, he performed 7 songs,
each one more striking than the next. The most powerful song was a
ballad about dealing with personal crisis entitled "What If" (performed
movingly by Chelsea Plumley). However, there was undeniable charm
in "I Want to Regret Loving Young" and "The Boat Song," as well as
remarkable feeling in Eddie Perfect's tribute to the recently deceased
playwright, Nick Enright, entitled "Someone Like That." After the
show, I asked Eddie what he was now planning to do and he said he
was about to record some of his music. I will definitely be in line
to purchase a copy.
Singer/Dancers
Singer/Dancers are not
usually associated with cabaret. However, in the days when cabaret
was associated with the chic night clubs of Sydney and Melbourne,
dancing and singing was always part of the bill. In a distinct change
of pace from Convention fare, Ron Creager put together a program of
three of our finest artists: Leonie Page, Drew Anthony and Nancye
Hayes. First up was Leonie Page, one of those elegant, long-legged
performers who was born to appear in musical theater. Not surprisingly,
Leonie has been performing since the age of twelve and has an extensive
list of stage, film, television and cabaret credits to her name. Readers
may recall her performance as Vanessa in Baz Luhrman's early film
STRICTLY BALLROOM and the recent version of SOUTH PACIFIC with Glenn
Close and Harry Connick, Jr. Page has also worked in cabaret, writing
and performing her own shows, TWO SIDES OF THE PAGE, RED HOT AND COLE
and FEVER A TRIBUTE TO PEGGY LEE. For the evening, she sang and danced
the music of Irving Berlin ("Cheek to Cheek") and Harry Warren ("Go
Into Your Dance" and "42nd Street"), as well as a clever cabaret number,
"What's A Girl Supposed To Do," devised by Ron Creager and Tony Sheldon.
Next up was Drew Anthony,
one of the best hoofers on our stages today. When not dancing, teaching,
directing or choreographing, Drew leads his jazz/cabaret band The
Fabulous Rhythm Boys with Leonie Page. Among future plans is his part
as resident director for the upcoming Australian production of THE
FULL MONTY. Drew Anthony's contribution to the evening was an exciting
dance routine to a medley of tunes by Berlin, followed by an amazing
tap routine that was breath-taking. He was then joined by Leonie Page
in a duet set to Gershwin's "I've Got Rhythm."
The final performer on
the evening's bill was Nancye Hayes. This dancer, actress, choreographer
and director is one of the most beloved personalities in Australian
musical theater. Her career began in 1961 with the Australian production
of MY FAIR LADY. However, it was the title role of Charity in SWEET
CHARITY in 1967 that established her name. Since then, she has sung
and danced her way through a cavalcade of musical successes including
PIPPIN, IRENE, ANNIE, CHICAGO, GUYS AND DOLLS, SWEENEY TODD, NINE
and 42nd STREET. In recent years, Nancye Hayes has moved into cabaret
and toured throughout Australia with her show, NANCY WITH AN E, written
and directed by Tony Sheldon. For her performance, Nancye opened with
a group of Cy Coleman songs ("Nothing To Do But Dance" and "Tin Pan
Alley"), after which she changed the mood with a beautiful performance
of John Wallowitch's moving "This Moment." She finished her set being
joined by Leonie Page and Drew Anthony in a rousing version of "I
Move On," the new Kander and Ebb song for the film CHICAGO.
Australian "Legends"
For the evening dedicated
to the "Legends," three great stars were brought together for an evening
that was, along with the Gala, a high point of the Convention. Australian
cabaret has a rich heritage that has grown out of vaudeville theaters
and nightclubs that were once such an integral part of our entertainment
scene. It was from this milieu that two or the three "Legends," Lorrae
Desmond and Toni Lamond, learned their craft. The third artist on
the bill, Stuart Wagstaff, was making his belated cabaret debut on
the night, but you might have thought that he had been born doing
it.
Lorrae Desmond began her
career in Sydney at the age of sixteen, working nightclubs as a "singing
cigarette girl." According to her biography, she saved the money from
tips and paid her fare to London, armed with a list of things to achieve.
"I'm going to London to be a star - I'll be back in six months." It
was to be almost a decade before she completed her "list." If there
was a cabaret room around, Lorrae played it, from the Savoy in London,
Checkers in Sydney to the Tropicana in Las Vegas. In between cabaret
engagements, she had a successful recording career, as well as garnering
many television credits, including headlining BBC TV's Meet Lorrae
Desmond and Swing-A-Long With Lorrae. She also guested on British
shows with the likes of Terry Thomas, Tony Hancock and in the US on
The Jack Benny Show. Back in Australia, she was the first woman to
head a television variety program, The Lorrae Desmond Show. By her
own admission, she had retired from performance two years ago to pursue
writing. In a tribute to Ron Creager's powers of persuasion and her
belief in cabaret, Lorrae agreed to appear in the Sydney Cabaret Convention
2003 and what a wonderful occasion it was. Her brief set began with
a medley of songs from her cabaret act ("Before the Parade Passes
By," "Don't Rain On My Parade," "Free Again" and "Nothing Can Stop
Me Now") and finished all too soon with the rendition of a song for
which she authored the lyric, "A Country Practice" (Perjanick and
Desmond)." Lorrae Desmond's performance may not have been very long,
but it was an object lesson in elegance and style.
Stuart Wagstaff has been
in show business for more than 50 years, working primarily in television,
drama and musical theater. After a successful early stage career in
England, he came to Australia in 1958. His first major hit here was
his starring role as Professor Henry Higgins in the original production
of MY FAIR LADY, leading to a reprise in the 1979 production, which
he also co-produced. Other lead roles in stage musicals have included
THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the Gershwin musical CRAZY FOR YOU, ROCKY HORROR
SHOW as the Narrator, as well as a number of other non-musical performances,
including NOISES OFF and BLITHE SPIRIT. Stuart is currently touring
with Cameron Mackintosh's production of OLIVER!. Off stage, he hosted
a number of television shows. With such a long career, it was surprising
that he had never appeared in cabaret before this occasion. For his
first foray into cabaret, Stuart Wagstaff chose an eclectic and very
sophisticated selection of songs. He began by charming us with Flanders
and Swann's evergreen "Have Some Madeira, My Dear," after which he
moved into the Burl Ives favorite, "Lavender Cowboy" (Hersey & Hail/B.
Miller). After confessing that cabaret was such a new experience for
him, he launched into an outrageous RAP number that he had written
for the occasion and had the audience in the palm of his hand. Next
came the Bea Lillie favorite, "My Yodelling Goldfish," another bit
of elegant fluff. For his finale, he chose an item from his repertoire,
"Accustomed To Her Face" (Loewe/Lerner). This was a very special debut
performance from a master. Let's hope a full show will follow soon.
Toni Lamond was the last
artist on this very special bill. It is difficult to adequately describe
her long career both here and overseas. Some of you in NYC may recall
her two appearances in the NY Cabaret Convention in 2000 and 2001,
as well as her performances at Arci's Place in 2001. In a career that
spans well over 50 years, she has won many professional accolades,
as well as received a number of honors from the Australian government
for her contributions to the entertainment industry. And yet, she
is in no mood to stop and look back. In the past couple of years,
she has been touring her one-woman cabaret, Full of Life, which she
conceived with her long time Musical Director, Ron Creager, and delighting
audiences all over Australia with. In addition to live performances,
she has found time to record two new CDs, "Moonlight Saving Time,"
a swinging collaboration with jazzman Bob Bertles on ABC Records/EMI
and "Toni Lamond Invites You To The Ultimate Sing-A-Long Volume
One". This last disc was created specially for aged-care facilities,
as well as those who, in Toni Lamonds words "enjoy an old fashioned
sing-a-long around the piano." I gather that volume two is in
preparation, and will be released in time for Christmas. Meanwhile,
her CD, "Still A Gypsy", has gone into its third pressing.
Should you be interested in purchasing any of the CDs, once again
I suggest you get them CD Collector at http://www.cdcollector.com.au/.
Other recent projects included the audio cassette version of her autobiography,
"First Half" and the publication of "Still a Gypsy"
(Lexington Avenue Press, 2002), the second installment of her life
story, chronicling her years in the USA. Toni Lamond closed the evening
of Australian "Legends" with a lesson in performance excellence.
For her contribution to this very special evening, Toni and her musical
director Ron Craeger, opened strongly with "This Life" (Nelson)
and "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore" (Loewe/Lerner with
additional lyrics by Tony Sheldon) and moved into the Sophie Tucker
crowd pleaser,"I'm Living Alone And I Like It" (Yellen/Dougherty).
Maintaining the light-hearted momentum, Toni performed her very amusing
"Seven Minute Spot" (arr. Lamond/Creager), a bravura stroll
down pop tune memory lane. Having demonstrated her credentials to
belt a tune as in the best tradition of a Red Hot Mama, Toni effortlessly
changed the energy in the room with a moody rendition of "Skylark"
(Carmichael/Mercer). She ended the set with a big-throated version
of Berlin's "I Love A Piano" that had the audience on its
feet. I have heard Toni Lamond sing on a number of occasions, but
this night was very special. The clarity, purity and power of her
voice were without compare. If I were asked to compile a list of Australian
cabaret landmarks for tourist promotion, my first recommendation would
be a performance by Toni Lamond.
At the start of this very
long report, I said that Sydney Cabaret Convention 2003 marked a major
change in the entertainment values of the Showcase Evenings. With
so much talent on hand, every night was special, not only for the
paying cabaret lovers out there in the dark, but also the young entrants
who were learning at first hand what it takes to create the art of
cabaret. In my final report, I will summarize the changes that made
this year's Convention such a success.
David M. Schwartz
Reports
of the 2003 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Reports of the 2002 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Reports of the 2001 Sydney Cabaret
Convention
Daily Reports of
the 2000 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Daily Reports of the 1999 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Daily Reports on
the 1998 Sydney Cabaret Convention
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