The variety gala started in a hot and sultry manner when the host Virgina Gray came out of a hot tub signalling the perfect way to kick off the gala. And gin in a hot tub, why not, its the Cabaret Festival after all.
It was now time for performers from the Cabaret Festival to perform a little taste of their cabaret show to the captivated sold out audience in the Festival Theatre.
Bert LaBonté definetely brought his sultry voice and sexy stage presence which definetely warmed up the audience, especially the ladies in attendance.
Gillian Cosgriff brought her fantastic comedic skills and songs which definitely illustrated why she won Most Outstanding Show at the 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Flo & Joan proved to be the most popular part of the gala with their amazing humour (had us crying with laughter) and entertaining deadpan charm. These sisters certainly raised the roof, and we cant wait to see their full show during the Cabaret Festival.
Jess Hitchcock brought her beautiful operatic voice to the gala which was calming for the soul. A better song choice for the gala may have been Chandelier to really showcase how world class Jess is.
Mark Nadler was the perfect choice to bring act one to an end with his incredible piano skills, his mega charm, and insane mayhem. This is a must see late night show for the opening weekend.
The second act commenced with Rueben Kaye bringing his regular hilarity and musical entertainment value. And it’s not a normal Kaye performance with some controversial lines thrown in. Yes, he absolutely delivered again. And just when we thought we saw the last of Rueben, Virginia Gray brought a surprise to the sold out audience and especially to Rueben Kaye when she delivered the news that Reuben Kaye was awarded The 2024 Adelaide Cabaret Festival Icon Award. It’s not often you see Rueben Kaye speechless, and he certainly was when hearing that he won this special accolade. Bravo Rueben.
Gabbi Bolt and Matthew Predney from Murder for Two displayed piano prowess and some physical comedy but were not given opportunity to sing or play any of the 13 characters from their show, which limited their chance to show what they could do.
Cassie Hamilton’s soaring musical theatre vocals and frank and poetic lyrics on gender identity and the search for love showed that A Transgender Woman on the Internet, Crying could be a sleeper hit of the Festival.
After 42 years in the industry, Rhonda Burchmore can still hot shoe shuffle; she can still smash Moving the Line out of the park. Host and Artistic Director Virginia Gay donned the leather jacket and strutted like Travolta, filling the shoes of David Campbell for the night on a Grease duet of You’re The One That I Want with Hopelessly Devoted’s Christie Whelan Browne, who looked just like a young Olivia.
While the eldest Jimmy Barnes offspring didn’t make it to the Gala, Mahalia raced from her opening night performance to finish the show with Tina Turner’s River Deep Mountain High; a difficult song choice for an audience who likely saw a remarkable staged version of this recently in Tina: The Musical. Joined by a quartet of the night’s performers, including Gay, it was still a high note to end on.
No Comments