2002
ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL FINISHES ON A HIGH NOTE
The second Adelaide
Cabaret Festival commenced on Friday, June 7th, marking the start
of seventeen days of international cabaret entertainment. Artists
from as far afield as Paris, the UK, New Zealand and Ireland join
with the best of Australia's cabaret performers to take part in Australia's
only large-scale international cabaret festival.
Presenting
328 artists in 73 acts over the course of the festival, it is probably
the most ambitious cabaret festival in the world. The festival set
attendance records. More than 45,000 people attendedovert the 17 days
of the festival.
Attracting
an audience attendance of 45,000 over the 17 days of the Festival,
the 2002 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, with its innovative programming
and excellent sales and marketing strategies, has been deemed a huge
success. In only its second year of existence the Festival has staked
its claim to being one of the world's great cabaret events. Utilizing
seven venues scattered throughout the Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival
Director, Julia Holt, cleverly pushed the boundaries by which we normally
define cabaret, and in so doing attracted audiences eager for new
experiences, who might otherwise not have been tempted to sample the
joys of the art form we know as "cabaret."
The festival was a dazzling
kaleidoscope of possibilities. Special highlights included brilliant
examples of New York style cabaret, from Toni Lamond, Kate Dimbleby,
Peter J. Casey, Combo Fiasco, Melissa Langton, and Chelsea Plumley.
Robyn Archer and Paul Grabowsky, Three Weill Men, and Ze Berlin Klub
offered German decadent cabaret. European fringe cabaret was represented
by The Happy Sideshow, and "Sleepless Beauty." Caroline Nin with her
"Scarlet Stories" was the definitive modern French chanteuse. The
songs of Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hart, Lerner & Loewe, Rodgers
& Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Noel Coward and Kurt Weill, vied it with
those of Burt Bacharach, Tom Waits, Tom Lehrer and Henri Mancini.
As well there were magicians, stand-up comedians, sword swallowers,
even "Forbidden Broadway."
In
fact "Forbidden Broadway" was an outstanding hit of the festival.
Adelaide audiences gave it a great reception its only two Australian
performances. With a superb all star American cast consisting of Christine
Pedi, Susanne Blakeslee, Jonathan Hadley and Edward Staudenmayer,
this production was presented in the 2000 seat Festival Theatre with
the 45 piece Adelaide Arts Orchestra. If you are wondering if the
large orchestra swamped the show, worry not, because here, brilliantly
conducted by Catherine Stornetta with her intimate knowledge of the
musical requirements of the show, the orchestra added a thrilling
Broadway show dimension to the performance, while still respecting
the necessity that all Gerard Alessandrini's witty, cheeky, outrageous
lyrics be heard and enjoyed by the audience.
The Four Kinsmen also
managed to sell out two performances in the same theatre. The first
Australian entertainers to have their own show on the "Strip" in Las
Vegas, The Four Kinsmen are disbanding after a hugely successful 20-year
career in which they toured world-wide. These performances at the
Adelaide Cabaret Festival were their final farewell to Adelaide.
Other highlights of the
last week of the festival included four performances by Robyn Archer
and Paul Grabowsky of the show they presented at the BROOKLYN ACADEMY
OF MUSIC last year. Robyn Archer's renown as a performer is based
largely on her virtuostic interpretations of the cabaret songs of
Eisler, Weill and Brecht. She is also well-known in Adelaide as a
former director of the Adelaide Arts Festival. Her four Cabaret Festival
performances attracted large audiences.
Cabaret
and theatre legend, Toni Lamond, together with her brilliant musical
director, Ron Creager, thrilled her legion of fans with an impeccable
performance of "Full of Life," the show she and Ron presented at ARCI'S
PLACE during the last New York Cabaret Convention. 1999 Sydney Cabaret
Convention winner Peter J. Casey, with a program of his own deliciously
satiric cabaret songs. In addition to his performances Casey also
conducted two very well received workshops during the festival, one
on song writing and the other addressing the age-old query "What Is
Cabaret."
A
presentation called "Dislabelled" written and performed by deaf performers
Caroline Conlon & Sofya Gollan together with Blair Greenberg, provided
a fascinating example of how effective cabaret can be when used to
enlighten. Combining songs, spoken word and Auslan, the show proved
to be a witty and moving insight into the world of deafness. Similarly
in "Sucker," Lawrence Leung used his experiences as a professional
con man, to construct an act that was as revealing as it was entertaining.
In only its second year,
The Adelaide Cabaret Festival has already been successful in considerably
increasing its audience base. While cabaret purists may question whether
some of the acts included really qualify as "cabaret," by casting
such a wide net, Director Julia Holt has very cleverly thrown out
the challenge, and refuelled that age-old debate. By demonstrating
its ability to successfully present such a diversity of cabaret acts
over the period of the festival, it seems more than likely that the
annual Adelaide Cabaret Festival will soon become one of the most
important events on the international cabaret calendar, with the potential
to stimulate and inspire future cabaret performers to develop the
much talked about definitive Australian cabaret style.
The 2003 Adelaide Cabaret
Festival will be staged from June 6th to 22nd.
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Attracting
an audience attendance of 45,000 over the 17 days of the Festival,
the 2002 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, with its innovative programming
and excellent sales and marketing strategies, has been deemed a huge
success. In only its second year of existence the Festival has staked
its claim to being one of the world's great cabaret events. Utilizing
seven venues scattered throughout the Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival
Director, Julia Holt, cleverly pushed the boundaries by which we normally
define cabaret, and in so doing attracted audiences eager for new
experiences, who might otherwise not have been tempted to sample the
joys of the art form we know as "cabaret." 
In
fact "Forbidden Broadway" was an outstanding hit of the festival.
Adelaide audiences gave it a great reception its only two Australian
performances. With a superb all star American cast consisting of Christine
Pedi, Susanne Blakeslee, Jonathan Hadley and Edward Staudenmayer,
this production was presented in the 2000 seat Festival Theatre with
the 45 piece Adelaide Arts Orchestra. If you are wondering if the
large orchestra swamped the show, worry not, because here, brilliantly
conducted by Catherine Stornetta with her intimate knowledge of the
musical requirements of the show, the orchestra added a thrilling
Broadway show dimension to the performance, while still respecting
the necessity that all Gerard Alessandrini's witty, cheeky, outrageous
lyrics be heard and enjoyed by the audience. 
Cabaret
and theatre legend, Toni Lamond, together with her brilliant musical
director, Ron Creager, thrilled her legion of fans with an impeccable
performance of "Full of Life," the show she and Ron presented at ARCI'S
PLACE during the last New York Cabaret Convention. 1999 Sydney Cabaret
Convention winner Peter J. Casey, with a program of his own deliciously
satiric cabaret songs. In addition to his performances Casey also
conducted two very well received workshops during the festival, one
on song writing and the other addressing the age-old query "What Is
Cabaret." 
A
presentation called "Dislabelled" written and performed by deaf performers
Caroline Conlon & Sofya Gollan together with Blair Greenberg, provided
a fascinating example of how effective cabaret can be when used to
enlighten. Combining songs, spoken word and Auslan, the show proved
to be a witty and moving insight into the world of deafness. Similarly
in "Sucker," Lawrence Leung used his experiences as a professional
con man, to construct an act that was as revealing as it was entertaining.
If
you would like to receive a free e-mail subscription to CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE,
please e-mail