More picks for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival

Phil Scott 1Our Top Ten Picks for the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival were so popular last week, we have decided to list more performances you must see before the Festival finishes on Saturday 22 June.

Adam Guettel in Concert
In 2007 Adam Guettel, struck by inspiration, disappeared into his studio to emerge with five new shows: a fairy tale adventure, the tale of an invisible man, a love story, a parable about the desire to be good and, most controversially, an opera for the devil. Under the musical direction of long-time collaborator, Kim Grigsby, you’ll be among the first to experience selections from these new shows. In this rare stage appearance this extraordinary musical theatre team will also perform highlights from his critically acclaimed musicals The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, Myths and Hymns and Floyd Collins. The grandson of the great Richard Rodgers, Adam Guettel is one of Broadway’s most vibrant new voices – a composer/lyricist who has created some of the most adventurous musical theatre of the last decade.

Joey Arias – Arias on Holiday
New York cabaret icon Joey Arias is joined by jazz piano virtuoso Charly Zastrau in this intimate show featuring selections from his first recording Arias on Holiday as well as highlights from his recent sold out concerts at New York’s Central Park Summer Stage and London’s Meltdown Festival. Celebrated for his channelling of legendary jazz and blues singer, Billie Holiday, Arias has gone on to become a world class vocalist with his own, unique style.

Lady Rizo
Be seduced by a sultry New York cabaret superstar. Mistress of Ceremonies for current New York hotspot The Darby, Lady Rizo combines vintage arrangements with theatrical explorations of pop songs and originals. This Grammy award-winning diva fills intimate cabaret spaces to the rafters with a signature mix of elegance, blue humor and a voice that has been described as the product of a night of unrestrained indulgence between Peggy Lee, Mel Brooks, Nina Simone, Dean Martin and Janis Joplin.

Marika Aubrey – Last of the Red Hot Mamas
Sophia Kalish was born in a poor village in Ukraine in 1884. She became known as the oversexed, outspoken and outrageous American star of vaudeville, Sophie Tucker, aka the Last of the Red Hot Mamas. Cabaret Festival’s resident Red Hot Mama, Marika Aubrey celebrates Sophie’s brilliant life and career, highlighting her own personal connections to the country that got left behind. You’ll be transported to a 1920s speakeasy featuring the hit songs, You for Me in the Summertime, The Lady is a Tramp and her trademark song Some of These Days.

Martha Wainwright – Come Home To Mama
Immersed in the rich sounds of the famous Wainwright/McGarrigle musical dynasty, this Brooklyn based chanteuse has cemented her claim as a bona-fide artist in her own right. With her expert control of timbre and depth, Martha displays a remarkable polarity between songs of harrowing despair and uplifting spontaneity. She is simply unmatched in her ability to use light and shade, coupled with dynamic arrangements and lyrics of remarkable candour and acerbic humour. Martha will present a richly diverse repertoire from several of her albums including her recent acclaimed release Come Home To Mama and songs by her late mother Kate McGarrigle, including the hauntingly beautiful Proserpina, the last song Kate wrote before she died in January 2010.

Phil Scott – Cabaret Survivor
Thirty years ago in 1983, pianist, singer, writer and satirist Phil Scott created his first solo cabaret show. Since then he has been recycling the same material under different titles (Serious Cabaret; My Long Awaited Comeback; The Twink and the Showgirl), and performing in the annual Wharf Revues for the Sydney Theatre Company (Sunday in Iraq With George; Pennies from Kevin; Red Wharf). One of Australia’s national showbiz treasures will take you on a personal, idiosyncratic and at times hilarious mid-life cabaret career journey. More a rehash than a retrospective, Cabaret Survivor brings together Phil’s favourite songs and parodies to reveal his unique perspective on life, politics and music.

Sarah-Louise Young – Julie Madly Deeply
The hills are alive… with the sound of Julie! Award-winning West End singer and actress, Sarah-Louise Young, uncannily recreates the sound of Julie from musicals such as Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady intertwined with true stories from Andrew’s life. From wrangling child actors in Salzburg, going topless on film, to her tensions with the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Christopher Plummer – Julie Madly Deeply delves into the inner life of a true show business survivor.

For more information including performance times, visit: www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au for details.

Image: Phil Scott