Tag: The Butterfly Club

Cabaret, Performances, Review

Kurt Phelan is PHELAN GROOVY

Pacy, playful and exceedingly entertaining

By Jessica Cornish

A little bit of drag, a little bit of Liberal-bashing, a sprinkle of Aussie pop and some good old musical theatre as packaged and presented by charismatic Kurt Phelan was an hour well spent this week at The Butterfly Club.

Phelan Groovy.jpg

Growing up in far north Queensland in the town of Townsville, Kurt moved down to Sydney as a talented young man to pursue his career in the arts. And clearly he’s done well for himself in the industry and on the stage, being cast in multiple professional musicals such as Dirty Dancing and Singing In The Rain, and even having a stint in Disney Land playing Prince Charming, appropriately fitted with brown contact lenses and all, to truly channel the part.

The NIDA grad has a beautiful voice with impressive vocal technique and control, transitioning with ease from falsetto to chest voice and consistently used good articulation so every word was easily understood, never once being lost amidst the punchy piano accompaniment. Squeezed into the hour-show were a lot of well-chosen upbeat songs, that seamlessly flowed with the dialogue and mood from one scene to the next. The cabaret also incorporated story snippets of personal experiences with musical theatre greats such as Jason Robert Brown, Rhonda Birchmore and Todd McKenney (which my fellow musical theatre buffs would appreciate), as well as touching briefly on more serious issues dealing with the premature loss of friends and also exposing performers for the people they really are rather than merely as their stage personas being presented to the world.

Phelan was supported by his excellent pianist Jack Earle, the dialogue and banter was well-rehearsed and structured, subtle light changes in the venue were able to nicely augment the changing moods of the piece, and the night ended with some fabulous crowd karaoke – so what more could you want?!

Phelan Groovy was a lot of fun, and charming Phelan didn’t take himself too seriously. His current season at The Butterfly Club has unfortunately ended, but when he returns (which we hope he does), you should definitely go check it out.

Cabaret, Comedy, Impro

The Butterfly Club Presents UNDERSTUDIED: Tales from the Hollywood Back Lot

GOSSIP FROM HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN ERA

By Narelle Wood

With the Oscars just around the corner it seems a very appropriate time for some gleeful gossip from the back lot of MGM studios.

Marzipan_web2

Understudied is an improvised show, so no nightly gossip will be the same. Our cast of characters – the carpenter and also patient in bed no. 3, Frank (Karl McConnell); the professional stand-in, Muriel Longford (Jenny Lovell); and Mr O’Malley’s unacknowledged daughter Marzipan (Anna Razenbrick) – are hiding out in an unused room escaping the fakery and abnormality of the MGM studio lot. While they pass the time away there is chatter of Clark Gable’s bad breath, Frank Sinatra’s ability to communicate with just one look, and the trouble brewing between Bogie and Bacall.

The show’s creator, Renzenbrick, is gorgeous as Marzipan O’Malley. There’s a wide-eyed naivety in her character that makes her dreams of a Gone with the Wind sequel, Even More Wind, seem almost plausible; that is until Tara is turned into a goat farm. There was a lot of chemistry on stage with the combination of McConnell, Razenbrick and Lovell; so much so that the improvisation seemed more like natural conversation than story telling on the fly.

As with any impro, at least ones I’ve seen, the sets and props are scarce, but it is amazing what you can do with three chairs, continuously hungry chickens, and a little bit of imagination. The one additional element that tied the whole show together was the use of the Gone with the Wind soundtrack; it provided the perfect daydreaming music for our cast of characters to think about what their futures in the movie industry holds.

Understudied: Tales from the Hollywood Back Lot is a unique glimpse into the behind the scenes of Hollywood’s Golden Era. It’s fun, frivolous and possibly even touches on some truths.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, Melbourne

Season: 8.30pm until Sunday 28th

Tickets: Full $32| Conc $28

Bookings: thebutterflyclub.com/show/understudied

 

 

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Scarlett Belle’s SCARLET LETTERS

Embracing female sexuality?

By Caitlin McGrane

It’s difficult to know where to begin with this production. The show was full of promise – tantalisingly suggesting that ‘sex, love and the space in between’ would be embraced and examined by Scottish chanteuse Scarlett Belle. And indeed the evening started promisingly enough with Eyes Wide Shut-esque masks handed to the audience on their way in, and the opening song that cleverly played on the idea that little girls dream of marrying millionaires, if only to exploit them for money. I started off really rather enjoying the no-holds-barred nature of Scarlett Belle’s exploration of young female sexual identity,,but as the performance went on I admit I started to fall out of love with her brand of sexual emancipation that seemed to involve disparaging sex workers and women who lead sexually adventurous or risqué lives.

Scarlett Belle.jpg

This performer does have a wonderful singing voice, and the potential to be very funny, but as the performance went on I started to become uncomfortable with how the stories were played out – where her character seemed to have no agency, instead appearing incredibly and worryingly passive in her behaviour, while still trying to make people laugh. The scene transitions were also confusing – going from an awfully sad story about an extra-marital affair into the whimsical and playful scene transition music without any emotional pause or consideration.

I really wished I could have enjoyed this more; I am a sex-positive feminist, and the moralising concluding monologue really upset and bothered me in the way it chastised young women and girls for their sexual appetites and behaviour. If Scarlett Belle wants us to learn from her character’s mistakes, I think it would be better to critically examine why one’s sexual history can be retrospectively unfulfilling, rather than encouraging women to find love (as if it’s something one can just do).

Scarlett Belle showed some great talent, so I hope she will continue to grow and develop as a performer. I think I ultimately interpreted the sex-comedy writing as rather trite, and had hoped for more as we really could do with more women exploring sex and sexuality without shame of either oneself or others.

Scarlett Belle’s Scarlet Letters is showing at The Butterfly Club until 14 February 2016. For more information and tickets visit: https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/scarlett-belle-s-scarlet-letters

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW:The Butterfly Club Presents INTERNATIONAL STUD

Beguiling and beautifully unexpected story-telling

By Amy Planner

International Stud takes a rather philosophical approach to life, love and all the messy stuff in-between. Searching far and wide for love, whatever that may be, and finding nothing but slightly crushed hopes and a list of ‘not enoughs’; that is the intriguing comedic romance of International Stud.

International Stud.jpg

International Stud follows Arnold, a twenty-something drag performer, on his eternal search for love. When Arnold meets Ed, love blooms but as quick as it comes, it may go.

This small cast is surprisingly diverse. Jacob Antolini stars as the somewhat troubled Arnold. Antolini’s interpretation was fascinating, although comfortably clichéd in parts. Adam Hetherington is Ed, the slightly older yet unsure side of this tumultuous relationship. He was supremely charismatic and charming which lent itself to the allurement Arnold’s character was trying to portray.

Antolini and Hetherington should be commended for the large amounts of dialogue they executed. The use of a type of one-sided storytelling was a fresh way to utilise the quaint space of The Butterfly Club stage and to make great use of the small cast. It allowed the audience to get to know the characters individually by focussing on every subtle aspect of the performer’s interpretations. Finding reaction from no real counterpart can be difficult, but Hetherington especially, glided through it with ease and charisma.

When Ed and Arnold are finally brought together on stage, the pair reaches a poignant culmination, searching through a long list of emotional responses and fighting for a love that seems it will never be enough.

Their relationship wasn’t explored a great deal on stage, which left the audience unsure of where the dramatic change came from when it arrived. However, filling the gaps in the story meant the more emotional moments had more of an impact in the best way.

The musical composition was truly distinctive. Caitlin Berwick (who also played Lady Blues) and Paddy Adeney took popular songs and gave them new life in an unpredictable musical journey through Arnold’s love life.

Some scenes were quite lengthy and could have used a little trim here and there but the flow of conversation was very natural. Other scenes were shockingly unexpected but perhaps that’s a surprise best left for those venturing into the this particular theatrical world.

This self-proclaimed Freudian love-romp is a feast for the mind and will make you wonder, consider and question your boundaries.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Off Little Collins St, Melbourne.

Season: February 10th-14th, 7pm.

Tickets:https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/international-stud

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Bradley Storer in TRICKSTER

Deliciously dark

By Narelle Wood

Trickster is a cabaret stripped down and redressed to reveal the sinister side of the musical genre.

Trickster.jpg

Performed by Bradley Storer, the show begins in the shadows with a great rendition of Kate Bush’s “Babushka”, and then briefly hovers around the expected with some songs and jokes about sex. But just when I thought it was going to be a show based on easy laughs, Storer plunges head-first into the darkness of a number of insensitive topics. There are a few haunting arrangements of some popular songs to drive the insensitivities home: pop songs with a happy-go-lucky vibe all of a sudden take on an entirely new, and extremely menacing, meaning.

The song selection is a fascinating mix, from Aqua to Rage Against the Machine, with a brilliant mash up of Guns ‘N’ Roses and Judy Garland. Under the direction of Emma Clair Ford, Storer delivers some must-see moments; a tap dance that words could not possible describe and an execution of a Dresden Dolls ‘classic’ that borders on the sociopathic.

There are tasteless jokes touching on a whole range on taboo topics, but Storer seems to have found the line between funny and offensive, often acknowledging that he is pushing the boundaries of socially acceptable comedy. Some of the funniest moments come from Storer’s self-deprecating humour where he unabashedly voices what everybody is probably thinking. This, coupled with Storer’s interaction with the audience, makes the show charming despite the disturbing and sometimes ominous topics of choice.

Trevor Jones, the accompanist, provides a stellar performance on the piano, adding more to the show than the instrumental. Jones’ interactions with Storer, along with the lighting (provided on the night by Sam Duncan), work together to alter the mood of the show, sometimes instantaneously. There was one point that the lighting of Storer’s pale made-up skin was so eerie that we could have been watching a dead man singing on stage…

While the show purports to be a ‘dark-indie cabaret’, it is so much more; it’s also very funny and strangely cathartic. If you have an hour to spare, go indulge the more disturbed parts of your sense of humour and see Trickster.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: 8.30pm Until 7th Feb
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Midsumma Presents THE LATE NIGHT SEXY SHOW

Sex and all that jazz

By Myron My

Even though it plays at the not-so-late night sexy time of 8.30pm, you may want to fasten your seatbelts with The Late Night Sexy Show, as you’re going to be in for a bumpy night! Performed as part of the 2016 Midsumma Festival, musician, singer and comedian, Grant Busé humorously explores the wonderful world of sex, sexiness and everything else in between.

The Late Night Sexy Show.jpgBusé enters the stage in a suit, gradually losing one piece of clothing with every sexy song he performs. Between songs, we are treated to some erotic reading material that will have everyone getting a little hot under the collar and spend some “quality time” with Busé in which he calls out questions to the audience and in return, we direct questions to him regarding sex, desire and anything else we can think of.

Talking about the topic of sex can be an incredible awkward thing to do, as is creating a safe and welcoming environment for all audience members regardless of sex, gender and sexuality. Whether it be singing about the perils of car sex or having that connection with someone, Busé’s cheeky sense of humour allows him to build a strong rapport with everyone and therefore welcomes us to relate to his experiences and observations.

Busé has a strong  appealing singing voice which he puts to full use. The variety of original songs he sings and music he plays nicely showcase the range in which he can perform. Much like the show itself, Busé allows sex to be imaginative, emotional and invigorating but also for it to be fun, respectful and not dirty (except in the good way). Even when he takes on a more serious tone with regards to sexual consent and equal marriage rights – in one of the best numbers of the evening, “Hypocrite” – it is executed in a suitably serious yet light-hearted manner, where the laughs are permitted to keep on coming.

At one point during the show, Busé referred to The Late Night Sexy Show as being a “silly, stupid, sexy show”. I would like to add ‘highly entertaining, cleverly constructed, sharply written and full of laughs’ to that description. There’s a reason this show has received sell-out seasons throughout the country and overseas, and with its short run during the Midsumma Festival, I would act quickly on seeing this one. Busé has a burgeoning talent and charm that is very close to exploding onto the Melbourne comedy scene.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Until 24 January | Wed – Sun 8.30pm
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: Midsumma Festival

Cabaret, Comedy, Review

REVIEW: Daniel Oldaker is DANDYMAN

Ring in the silly season

By Myron My

Christmas, the festive season – the silly season some might say, especially if that person is Dandyman. Celebrating 20 years in the industry and having toured over 30 countries, the brains behind the silly, Daniel Oldaker, returns to The Butterfly Club as his alter-ego  in his Christmas-inspired show, Dandyman – Mocktales.

Dandyman

He appears on stage dressed in pyjamas but it’s not long until they come off and the trademark bright-blue suit with bow tie makes its appearance. Throughout the 30 odd-minute performance, Dandyman recalls various childhood memories of Christmas time accompanied by a variety of routines consisting of clowning, magic or dancing and sometimes all three. At one point, I distinctly feel like I am watching an episode of Mr. Bean, but one in which he speaks.

Oldaker has such a strong stage presence and is full of charisma, so it’s disappointing to see a number of these routines that feel surprisingly awkward and pointless. In contrast though, one of the more memorable scenes involves Dandyman reminiscing about his grandfather and the magic trick he used to perform to the grandchildren. It brought a feeling of quaint nostalgia to the audience as we were invariably led to thoughts of our own special family memories. There is also an intriguing thread of darkness running through Dandyman – Mocktales, of something ‘not quite right’ that is briefly touched, but which would have been brilliant for Oldaker to explore and take Dandyman into previously uncharted territories.

There appeared to be some repeated lighting and sound issues on the night I attended. While mishaps will occur with a live show and can often be overlooked, it is still quite awkward to the artist to have to stop the show and wait for the right track to be played. 

I’m one of the few people out there that doesn’t like Christmas nowadays. Call me a grinch if you must. Watching Dandyman – Mocktales is the most Christmassy thing I will be doing this year. While there is definitely room for improvement, I did enjoy some of the silliness and playfulness on stage and the memories of childhood Christmases it permitted me to revisit.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Until 13 December | 7pm
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: The Butterfly Club

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Anne Gasko in WHEN I GROW UP

Charming, clever and well-crafted cabaret

By Narelle Wood

When I Grow Up is a truthfully whimsical trip down memory lane when adulthood seemed so simple and anything was possible. Anne Gasko, in her one-woman cabaret show, asks all the important questions about what growing up really means and if being an adult means giving up on the dream of owning a unicorn.

When I Grow Up.jpg

Through the combination of song and stand-up Gasko begins with her young and impressionable childhood where eating sprinkles for every meal was an acceptable dream and making friends was as simple as identifying one, potentially tenuous, similarity. Gasko contrasts this with the awkwardness and self-consciousness of making friends as an adult. This is just the beginning of stories of growing up and the harsh realities of grocery shopping, paying bills and growing boobs, and the effects of watching too much Disney on your relationships.

Gasko’s performance is both endearing and edgy; her comedy starts in seeming innocence but as the performance continues, it becomes increasingly more adult and a little bit angsty. The combination works, and much like growing up you come out the other side relatively unscathed at the humorous reminiscing. The song component of the cabaret are well selected, reworded, and just as well performed: Gasko’s rendition of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was captivating. The only disappointment was that the show didn’t seem to go for long enough and I left wanting more. All of Gasko’s humour hit the mark and it was easy to identify with her observational comedy.

While Gasko does lament the difficulty of making friends with the cool crowd, everything about her performance oozes cool. This a short but sweet way to spend some time having a chuckle at the naivety of childhood and the difficult, but mostly awesome journey, into adulthood.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place
Season: 7pm until 29th November
Tickets: Full $32 | Conc $28
Bookings: thebutterflyclub.com/show/when-i-grow-up

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Avid Theatre Presents TENDER

Abandonment, emotion and mystery unfold

By Myron My

We all love, have loved and have lost: these are the times where we are at our happiest, but also then our saddest and most vulnerable. But when you open up to someone and plan a life together, what happens if your partner strangely disappears and you have no memory of what happened? Presented by Avid Theatre and written by Nicki Bloom, Tender is a tale of moving on when it seems impossible to do so.

Tender

The past/present/future structuring of the narrative is used effectively with scenes shifting adroitly between before the event, the night of the event and after the event. This gradually provides pieces of information to the audience to draw us into the unfolding narrative, and also shows the characters in different and revealing lights. This in turn builds on the intense emotional states explored throughout Tender, which would prove challenging and rewarding roles for any actor to take on.

Unfortunately on the evening I attended, Tania Knight and A.J Steele as Sarah and Michael never seemed to quite grasp the complexity of their characters, especially with the difficulties of Sarah. This was their preview night so understandably, nerves may well have been the cause here, but I felt there were not enough nuances in their respective characterisations and the ensuing lack of chemistry between the two resulted in lessened emotional investment for me in the audience. Hopefully the actors can find that spark as the season progresses, as there is certainly potential there. On the other hand, Josie Eberhard and Peter Hatherley’s portrayals as Yvonne and Patrick are highly convincing as the desperate parents trying to find out what happened to their son. Theirs is a very natural and instinctive dual performance that resonated strongly.

Despite its compelling premise, the prose of Bloom’s script is quite difficult to connect with its constant shift between full sentences and natural conversations to rapid firings of short incomplete dialogue. For most of the show, I felt this prevents the characters from coming across as real people going through a genuine loss, which was an additional pressure for the performers. Many scenes are also question after question, and while I don’t expect everything to be revealed, it is frustrating when you can’t even have one answer.

Tender is an ambitious piece of theatre, both in its writing and in the demands on the actors. While the promise of these  aspects in this preview performance from Avid Theatre is not quite there, as the actors become more comfortable with the text and each other, I am confident this will improve greatly.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Until 25 October | Thur – Sat 7pm, Sun 6pm
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: The Butterfly Club

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: The Candy Topps Present FEMME FATALE

Talented trio of funny and fabulous femmes

By Bradley Storer

Flashlights in hand, blinding the audience as they crept through the curtains, The Candy Topps stole into the showroom of The Butterfly Club under cover of total darkness. After a series of comic mishaps, the three ladies – Stella, Kitty and Fifi – took their positions and launched into a dark and sinister version of Pink’s ‘Get the Party Started’ that launched us off onto a rollercoaster ride of entertainment for the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Femme Fatale

Like a twisted version of the Andrew Sisters with a dirty sense of humour, The Candy Topps present jazzy and swing versions of popular modern songs arranged in harmonies ‘tighter than the Virgin Mary’. The evening is themed along the concept of the ‘femme fatale’ – a sexy, mysterious and powerful modern woman, represented here in works from female artists such as Cher, Beyonce, Doris Day and Lady Gaga. The strongest number of the evening (hard to pick among such rich offerings!) was ultimately a medley of Adele’s ‘Rumor Has It’ and Britney’s ‘Womanizer’ that had the audience quivering with excitement.

The arrangements are fantastic under the accompaniment of pianist Danielle Buatti, and the harmonies are impeccable: all three voices equally strong and blending remarkably well. In their stories of sexual escapades, murder and depravity the three ladies have perfect comedic timing, and execute some surprisingly intricate choreography to match their complicated harmonizing.

The performance hums along at such a pace that it all seems over too soon, The Candy Topps so fantastically appealing that it seems impossible for anyone who sees the show to have a bad time. A definite crowd-pleaser, and an evening of pure entertainment!

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, Melbourne.
Date: 29th September – 4th October
Time: 8:30pm
Tickets: Full $32, Concession $28, Group (6+) $26, Members $26, Tight Ass Tuesday $25
Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au, www.thebutterflyclub.com, at the door.