Gotta love a show that lives up to its title!

By Dean Arcuri

Seasoned Butterfly Club performers Jade Leonard and Trevor Jones combined their musical prowess to create a non-stop cabaret train; having enjoyed their solo works before, I was eagerly anticipating this combination.

With the entire performance being one long medley of camp and classic songs, we were in for a real treat.

Creating The Greatest Medley of All Time is a daunting endeavour but with Jones accompanying their vocals for the full hour of performance as he and Leonard changed tones, styles and tempo with ease, they certainly hit the nail on the head.

Channeling a wide range of musical numbers they opened their mammoth medley with The Lady is a Tramp, but having Trevor sing that the tramp was actually Jade meant we immediately settled in for a night of fun!

Joking they were the best wedding band of all time, the two performers contrasted great jazz, music theatre and diva showstoppers with classic love ballads  like Endless Love and The Mirror Has Two Faces, changing tempo and mood by clever segues into Man in the Mirror and Valerie in tributes to musicians past.

Jade sings with such sweetness you would think her diaphragm is dipped in honey. This is singing with a tone and beauty that seems to surround and engulf the space around you, leaving the listener to be swept up by the sounds of this siren.

Trevor balanced with ease between fine vocals and continuous accompaniment: he never tired and his exuberance and uniquely enigmatic style was intoxicating. Sharing the spotlight we are swept up in the power of their duet ballads as well and the sass and spunk of their solo numbers.

The only problem with a never-ending medley is have to pick when to applaud, but the audience seemed content to wait till the show’s conclusion to cheer and even sing along when we hit the fabulous Grease Mega Mix.

Both performers have a sense of showmanship and musicality that carried through from number to number, keeping me transfixed. Many moments were spent fighting the temptation to just close my eyes and soak in the sounds: for while the staging was simple, closing my eyes would have meant missing the sight of the obvious joy they both brought to the medley. 

An hour was not enough – we need more! Fingers crossed for return seasons of this vibrant cabaret show in the near future…

The Greatest Medley of All Time  was performed at The Butterfly Club from 22-25 March.