Catherine Friends review Songs fun and innuendos galore
CATHERINE & FRIENDS â â â ½, Concourse Theatre, July 16
We now know what Jason Arrow does when heâs not playing Alexander Hamilton â" not that he has much choice at the moment. The shame was that he sang only one song in this 75-minute show: Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittmanâs They Just Keep Moving the Line (from the Smash TV series), a song that sounds like it fell off the back of Cabaret while Kander and Ebb were looking the other way, and in which Arrow cannily kept building the intensity.
The shame was that Jason Arrow sang only one song in the 75-minute show.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
This live-stream cabaret was just what it set out to be: fun. Catherine Alcorn doesnât always choose songs that best suit her talents, but she sure knows how to choose guests, pitting Arrow with iOTA, Jacqui Dark, Verushka Darling (as co-compere) andElouise Eftos (as the outrageous Mandy, a diamond queen from South Africa, via Vaucluse).
In terms of surprise value, iOTA stole the show. The only commonality between his performances is his capacity to reinvent himself, and here he made I Donât Know How to Love Him (Jesus Christ Superstar) more compelling and even more troubling than was previously conceivable, his startling attire capped by a crown of thorns. Jacqui Dark was also formidable, interweaving her glorious mezzo with her non-operatic voice, and lending Tainted Love a Weimar veneer by singing it in German.
Alcornâs three-quarters of the show displayed her ample vocal power, quick wit and winning smile, delivering Joni Mitchellâs River beautifully by not forcing it and just letting it be. But she also sabotaged herself with pieces where âoverwroughtâ is the only destination, such as Phil Collinsâ In the Air Tonight (partially saved by Tina Harrisâs supple bass) and Christine McVieâs Say You Love Me.
The genuinely funny and wickedly satirical Verushka Darling had the âtween-song chat laden with more innuendos than a Carry On movie, and the whole show was underpinned by Anne-Maree McDonaldâs competent quartet. Catherine & Friends do it again for Melbourne Digital Concert Hall on July 30: a guaranteed â" and sometimes riotously entertaining â" escape from reality.
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John Shand has written about music and theatre since 1981 in more than 30 publications, including for Fairfax Media since 1993. He is also a playwright, author, poet, librettist, drummer and winner of the 2017 Walkley Arts Journalism Award
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