If you subscribe to the idea that you should leave a cabaret performance knowing more about the performer than when you went in, then Turner’s Turn ticks all the boxes.
Turner has the history, and among her accomplishments, she was the first female artist in the world to release a record album devoted entirely to the songs of Stephens Sondheim. She was also in the original Australian casts for four Sondheim musicals, and the show’s title Turner’s Turn hints at why she was not in the fifth.
In fact, her show commences with a riveting rendition of Roses Turn, following which she reveals how she was scheduled to star in four different productions of Gypsy – none of which transpired. A rueful parody of a song from the show, I Had a Dream, reveals how she coped with these setbacks.
Sondheim features largely in Turner’s career and elsewhere in her show moving versions of Send in the Clowns, together with snippets of songs from Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Chicago and a cheeky version of The Boy From……, reveal her mastery of the Sondheim repertoire.
But Turner’s Turn is not about Sondheim. It’s a celebration of Turner’s unique talent and her enduring success as a leading lady in a highly competitive art form. Her song choices are personal, but not self-indulgent, and chosen for what they subtly reveal about her.
There’s a long, often surprising, medley of songs from shows in which she has appeared during her career. There’s an emotional rendering of Jacque Brel’s Ne me quitte pas. A clever arrangement of two songs from two different musical versions of Sunset Boulevard allows her to pay tribute to another enduring leading lady, Gloria Swanson. There’s a song written for her by Tim Minchin, and even one of her own compositions from her forthcoming musical Drama Queen.
Turner doesn’t hold back, unselfconsciously sharing candid showbiz anecdotes and juicy backstage gossip with her audience as if they were old friends, which of course they are by the time the show ends, Subtle lighting design and superb piano accompaniment by Michael Tyack add gloss to a polished and memorable presentation. Directed by Caroline Stacey.
Geraldine Turner – Turner’s Turn
The Street Theatre, 15 Childers Street, Canberra City West
Performance: Sunday 1 November 2015 – 4.00pm
For more information, visit: www.geraldineturner.com.au for details.
Image: Geraldine Turner – photo by Kurt Sneddon (Blueprint Photography)
Review: Bill Stephens