Tag: The Butterfly Club

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Anya Anastasia in FEAR-EATER THEATRE

Promise of more…

By Myron My

In Anya Anastasia’s Fear-Eater Theatre, we are treated to a variety of songs and performances that have been inspired by various fairy tales or iconic figures.

Anastasia’s grand and glamorous entrance as Marie Antoinette was effective in grabbing our attention, but soon after the attention waned and unfortunately I found myself encountering less and less to enjoy about this show.

Fear Eater Theatre

Granted, this was a preview performance for this Melbourne season, and there were a few overt things that needed refinement, such as call cues and effective positioning of UV lights, but I must admit for me, the show itself failed to entertain on the level one would have expected.

The inclusion of guest dancer Briohny May not only felt completely out of context with what the rest of the show was about, but the three songs to which she danced felt like three too many. I found no charisma or charm in the performance personally, and was left puzzled as to why Anastasia has chosen to include the numbers in Fear-Eater Theatre.

Similarly, Anastasia’s performances appeared to be too focused on getting out the right moves, rather than enjoying herself on stage. Again however, I would like to put this down to preview-night nerves and an artist testing new routines.

Anastasia’s greatest strength lies in her songwriting; her ability to take an idea and spin it around until a different perspective is revealed is intriguing to witness. Her skill is evident and admirable in creating quirky and original songs.

I walked out of Fear-Eater Theatre not feeling I had been transported into an “extravagant fantasy realm” as stated in the show’s description, but that this was a performance that perhaps still needed more work and thought before being put on stage again.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (entry via Carson Place), Melbourne

Season: Until 14 September | 9:00pm, Sunday 8:00pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $22 Conc

Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Whats On

REVIEW: Drew Collet in TALES OF A USED CAR SALESMAN

Come along for the ride

By Narelle Wood

Tales of a Used Car Salesman is an interesting cabaret glimpse into the world of used car sales. But instead of the stereotypical dodgy dealings of the used car salesman, it’s the customers that come under scrutiny. Drew Collet tells his first hand account of his dealings with these customers through stories, songs and a little bit of psychoanalysis.

Tales of a Used Car Salesman

It’s clear from the outset that a used car salesman is privy to all sorts of details about his customer, and does much more for his customers than just sell cars. From stories about stalkers and employees with some interesting fetishes, to the lengths people will go to in order to get a discount, Collet seems to have seen it all and a whole lot more.

The songs are familiar, with numbers such as the aptly selected “Who’s Gonna Drive You Home” and parodies of “It Was a Very Good Year” and “Rocket Man”. Collet’s acting and musical background from VCA means that he can not only belt out a tune, but has the singing range that makes his musical numbers both entertaining and a pleasure to listen to as well. Sophie Weiss provides both musical direction and some fairly fancy accompaniment on the piano.

The show seemed to be over fairly quickly (it was about an hour), and I left wanting a few more stories about Collet’s quirky customers. While it was very entertaining there were a couple of the songs that only seemed to repeat the story being told; they were very enjoyable, but it did leave me curious about how Collet came to select his songs.

Tales of a Used Car Salesman is fun, quirky and thoroughly enjoyable. So if you like some good light-hearted comedy, or perhaps in need of a new used car, this show is worth checking out.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, off Little Collins Street
Season: Until Sunday 24th August, 8pm
Tickets: $28 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com/show/tales-of-a-used-car-salesman

Cabaret Review, Music, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Rita Costanzi has A SCORE TO SETTLE

Held an audience entranced

By Jessica Cornish

A Score To Settle is the one-woman musical cabaret performance starring the vivacious and extroverted Rita Costanzi and her grand harp. This former principal harpist of the Vancouver Symphony and CBC Radio Orchestra did not disappoint her opening night audience.

The musical monologue loosely followed Rita’s life, from her glorious and grandiose birth under a pregnant moon, to finding a partner crazy enough to love another harpist, her experiences with a tea-reading fortune teller and an exploration of why she has dedicated her life to this instrument that has essentially become an extension of herself. The narrative was very neatly scripted and clearly well-rehearsed, but having been expecting a more casual cabaret-style narrative it took me a few minutes to ease in to the dialogue and readjust my expectations of the evening.

A Score to Settle

With music weaved between her bubbly narrative, Costanzi was easily one of the most incredible harp players I have ever been privileged to see. And being in such an intimate venue such as The Butterfly Club the experience was even more unique- when else do most people get to sit within meters of a beautiful unamplified harp and hear it played so exquisitely? The audience was consistently blanketed in silence as soon as her fingers hit the strings. I myself was constantly mesmerized by her pieces, but my favourite piece for the night was a beautiful rendition of the Celtic classic, “Danny Boy” – clichéd, I know, but lacking a strong classical background and any type of program I found it hard to identify many of the compositions by name. A little informational playbill-style sheet may not go to waste in future performances.

I particularly loved the small excerpts where she sang into her harp whilst playing. The ethereal and mesmerising result sounded like was an ancient Elvish song taken from straight from Middle Earth, and made me wish she had done more singing and playing, although I can imagine this would be incredibly difficult.

A Score to Settle is an extremely unique and entertaining 70-minute piece of musical art that Melbourne audiences are lucky to experience for another couple of days. The fact that Rita and her harp made it to Australia in one piece is a major effort in itself that deserves rewarding if nothing else.

A Score to Settle will be performed for the next three days at the iconic Butterfly Club in Carson Place, CBD.

Friday 01 August 2014 7:00pm
Saturday 02 August 2014 7:00pm
Sunday 03 August 2014 6:00pm

Full $23
Concession $20
Group (8+) $18

http://www.thebutterflyclub.com/

Cabaret Review, Events, Performances

REVIEW: The Butterfly Club Presents #FIRSTWORLDWHITEGIRLS

Hashtag this

By Myron My

Don’t you hate it when your most recent Facebook profile photo gets fewer than 50 likes? Or when you have more clothes than wardrobe space? Or when you’re too hot with the heater on but too cold with the heater off? Welcome to the world of first world problems brought to the stage in #FirstWorldWhiteGirls.

Performed by Judy Hainsworth and Kaitlin Oliver Parker, #FirstWorldWhiteGirls is a one-hour, laughs-aplenty cabaret of petty issues that we all seek to embrace as real problems.

#FirstWorldWhiteGirls

Hainsworth and Parker appear on stage dressed in their floral skirts, with furs and jewels, make-up on and hair in a quiff and master their portrayal of the cliche of well-off white girls – but in a way that still seems fresh and new. Significantly, these characters are not depicted as stupid, just hilariously privileged and ignorant.

A variety of musical styles are used throughout the show, which showcases the talented voices these performers have. There is a country music-themed song on the joys of retail therapy and a Broadway Julie Andrews-esque song on making our lives better. However, it’s their superb opening number that had me – and much of the audience – in utter stitches. The simple choreography throughout the show was used effectively and added an extra element to their songs.

There are a couple of “infomercial” moments thrown in, a memorable one – with the help of an audience member – being the benefits of going “bulimia shopping” and owning a tag gun. Hainsworth and Parker’s creativity and confidence showed in their ability to interact and use audience responses to build on,and their quick wit and good-natured humour was evident throughout.

The social media hashtag “FirstWorldProblems” has no doubt inspired #FirstWorldWhiteGirls and despite its title, you did not need to be white or a girl to understand and empathise (albeit shamefacedly at times) with all the problems they have. It’s a shame there were only two performances of this show at The Butterfly Club as word of mouth for this one would have spread like a wildfire for these two talented Brisbane performers.

#FirstWorldWhiteGirls was performed at The Butterfly Club between June 28 – 29, 2014.

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Whats On

REVIEW: Hannah Day’s WEILL CREATURES

Into the dark…

By Jessica Cornish

In the appropriately atmospheric Butterfly Club, twenty-something-year-old songstress Hannah Day is currently staring in the one-woman cabaret Weill Creatures, composed from a tapestry of Weill’s musical creations.

Weill Creatures

The hour-long performance features the music of Kurt Weill, and dramatist Bertolt Brecht, and if you’re not familiar, the pair were notoriously known as the founding fathers of Episches Theater (the epic theatre movement) established in twentieth-century Germany. The majority of the numbers Day utilises are from well-known musicals such as The Threepenny Opera and Happy End, which were popular musicals of their day that appealed to the masses whilst retaining their literary and musical integrity.

Weill Creatures is sung in a mixture of French and English, which was an interesting decision as the original pieces were actually composed in German. Due to the Franglish, it was sometimes slightly difficult to grasp the story line, especially for those less familiar with the works of Weill and Brecht. This confusion was further deepened due to the various segueing monologues introducing and entering different characters’ lives.

Many of the characters portrayed are heartbroken women tormented by unrequited love, women who are suffering in the knowledge that their husbands have returned to a life of crime, women who are themselves swindlers and women forced to live a life of prostitution. It is quite an intense and serious hour of cabaret, which draws its audience dramatically and musically into the bleak reality of these women.

Similar to the plot, the lighting was ultimately a tad too dark for my liking: the performance could have benefited from a little more light and shade, rather than just the enduring darkness. Indeed, the big mystery of the evening, as articulated by my Weill enthusiast companion, was where was the “Mack the Knife” rendition went? With its blackly humorous lyrics and jazz-standard fame,  this Threepenny Opera delight could have added some needed upbeat relief and engaging familiarity in an otherwise grim and sombre performance.

Vocally, Day is impressive. Her words were well-articulated and notes, particularly in the higher register, were all well-executed. She had great projection and vibrato was added appropriately to colour the songs, nicely emulating the singing style of the 1930’s. She is clearly a confident young performer, with a strong support network and a definite future in the Australian musical theatre scene. Weill Creatures is definitely not for the faint-hearted, and I warmly applaud Hannah for exposing the daring and dramatic works of Weill to a new generation.

The Butterfly Club: Carson Place, off Little Collins St (between Swanston & Elizabeth) in the Melbourne CBD.

Tuesday 20 May 2014 8:00pm
Wednesday 21 May 2014 8:00pm
Thursday 22 May 2014 9:00pm
Friday 23 May 2014 9:00pm
Saturday 24 May 2014 9:00pm
Sunday 25 May 2014 8:00pm

Full $23
Concession $20
Groups (8+) $18

http://www.thebutterflyclub.com/show/weill-creatures

Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Bethany Simons in RECEPTION

Witty and winning cabaret

By Myron My

Two-time Green Room Award-nominated writer/performer Bethany Simons is back on stage with her comedy cabaret Reception, in which she recalls some of the more interesting and memorable moments of her job as a receptionist at the Australian National Academy of Music.

Simons’ caricatures of the different customers, co-workers and people she comes across at work are brilliant, with ‘Gillian’ in particular being just hilarious. The brisk flow of plays on words and other puns is very clever, and laughs constantly filled the room in response to Simon’s witticisms.

Reception

There are a number of memorable songs throughout Reception, but the one that received most laughs – and my favourite – was the rap song, “I Can’t Help But Help”. The fabulous lyrics, along with its simple choreography and Simons’ hysterical facial expressions made it a definite crowd pleaser. Show opener “My Name is Bethany”, and “They Ring My Bell” also showcased Simons’ talent as an impressive all-round cabaret performer. My only quibble would be that her voice needed more volume at times during the songs, as there were moments when she was more audible speaking rather than singing.

Accompanying Simons on piano is Peter de Jager, whom she fortuitously met whilst working at the Australian National Academy of Music. A highly established and talented pianist, de Jager’s skills more than shine through with the variety of songs played.

As funny as Reception is, it is also a little frightening how much I was personally able to relate to Simons’ anecdotes and experiences from working in administration for an arts organisation: the constant mishearing of her name resulting in such variations as Destiny, Stephanie and Melody (Byron, Brian and Simon for me), the hazards of the “reply all” button (been there, done that), and the cursed affliction of “type fright”. Her stories are both striking and familiar, and I certainly could empathise.

Reception should definitely sit on your latest list of cabaret shows to see, especially if you want to be completely entertained by interesting stories, clever writing, great songs and lots of laughs – and who wouldn’t?

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (entry via Carson Place), Melbourne
Season: Until 4 May | Tues, Wed, Sun 8pm | Thurs, Fri, Sat 9pm.
Tickets: $25 Full | $22 Conc
Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com

Comedy, Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Pop Mashup: Happy Birthday Doctor at MICF

Cult characters cross paths in quest of comedy

By Narelle Wood

I love the premise of this show: Dr Who meets Harry Potter meets other pop cultural icons all in the name of saving the world. The idea is that on his birthday, Dr Who finds himself making friends with Hermione Granger, and thus begins their journey to prevent the Grumpy Cat from achieving world domination (hopefully reuniting Hermione with Harry along the way).

Pop Mashup

Ruben Francis‘ portrayal of Dr Who was fabulous and he did appear to be one of the only performances whose acting wasn’t at all awkward. While Grumpy Cat (played by Melinda King) had an amazing singing voice, the sexiness was uncomfortable to watch, not because it was overt but because it was odd.

The endearing minion character Zip (Andrew Cross) really held the show together; partly because his acting was also good and partly because his storyline seemed to be the only one that had continuity. That being said, I’m not a dedicated Dr Who fan, so it was more than probable that there were a few jokes and storyline quirks that went over my head.

There were some very funny moments and some extremely persuasive poignant discussion about the benefits of being a minion. The song parodies were really cute, for the most part both well-selected and well-performed, although again the dancing was awkward and not in a particularly funny way.

I was disappointed that there were only a spattering of other pop-culture references and often these seemed to rely on the obvious, apart from Harry’s wand being a drumstick (the percussion kind not the chicken kind). The Harry Potter references were fairly thin, and for a die-hard fan (which I am), not particularly clever; the brandishing of the wands didn’t even have the appropriate swish and flick. I did however love the My Little Pony moments: they were gold, and the Tardis was also fabulous.

Despite Francis’ great depiction of Dr Who and reasonable performances by the rest of the cast, the show lacked fluidity and the funny moments were random and spread fairly thin: I suggest this is one for hard-core Dr Who devotees.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, CBD
Season: Saturdays at 5pm and Sundays at 4pm until 20th April.
Tickets: Full $23 | Conc $20
Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com/shows or www.ticketmaster.com.au

Comedy, Events, Performances, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Parallelogramophonograph

Farce with finesse

By Warwick Moffat

Parallelogramophonograph (or Pgraph for short) are an improvised theatre troupe from Austin, Texas. All four members are experienced players, having established local reputations both individually and as a group. With a weekly show back home, Pgraph have developed a number of themes or ‘formats’ to keep their improvised plays fresh. It would normally be my duty to at least loosely describe the plot, but I am happy to assure you this show will definitely be different every night. Their French farce format is a delightful excuse to allow the silliest sense of humour to almost mask what is clearly a deep appreciation of surrealist theatre.

Parallelogramophonograph

The makeup and costume help pull off this very clever trick. What you see is four eighteenth-century French fops a-la-Tartuffe with plenty of pancake, rouge cheeks and dramatized speech. What you get is a nineteenth-century plot of middle-class listlessness, ambition and intrigue.

AND improvisation. There is no hint of any preparation, apart from the French farce style and some extra costumes backstage. Quite obvious mishaps such as a slip of the tongue or accidental contact become the basis for key changes in the story-line. There is also a charming ability for the players to allow themselves to highlight the ridiculousness of how the show is progressing without stepping completely outside it.

This work is only possible through talent, practice and teamwork. Valerie Ward artfully weaved insane ramblings with helpful plot developments. Roy Janik gleefully provoked pity and laughter from the audience in equal measure. Kaci Beeler freely adapts to anything her colleagues throw at her. Kareem Badr particularly shone as the authority figures who lacked any true authority.

The name Parallelogramophonograph suggests an absurd but smoothly crafted muddle of things that only brave people would try to combine. In the case of Pgraph, the name does say it all: both improv and play, masterful and wacky, clever and slapstick, worthy and entertaining. The Butterfly Club with its eclectic furnishings and expertly mixed cocktails is this talented troupe’s natural Melbourne home-away-from-home.

Dates:

Wed 26th February to Sunday 2nd March.

Times:

Thurs, Fri, Sat at 7pm. Wed and Sun at 6pm.

Location:

The Butterfly Club, Carson Place (off Little Collins Street), Melbourne CBD.

Tickets:

$23, $20 Conc, $18 Group (8+).

03 9663 810703 9663 810703 9663 810703 9663 8107 or online at www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Music, Whats On

REVIEW: Will Packvance’s ANATOMY OF THE PIANO

Dramatic musical dissection in harmony with delicate endearing dialogue

By Myron My

Will Pickvance has brought his critically acclaimed and sell-out show from the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival to Australia, and all I can say is how fortunate I feel to have been able to see this brilliant performance.

Anatomy of The Piano

In Anatomy of The Piano, Pickvance presents the physical, emotional and spiritual inner workings of the piano in a whimsical and ethereal way. His presence on stage is so relaxed and serene that you are instantly swept up for the ride as he tells his stories and sings his songs around the dissection of a piano. We begin with the skin of the piano: its largest “organ”, and how it protects the piano from “toddler invasion, curiosity blunders and drunken burns”. As we delve further into the dissection, descriptions become more and more detailed until it feels like we are, in fact, taking apart a living thing – a real character.

Throughout the show, Pickvance uses a projector on the other side of the stage to display various diagrams, charts and drawings of pianos. It creates the didactic feeling of being a child again and the simple black and white drawings bring a level of innocence and open-eyed wonder to the possibility of what can be – and now I can admit I finally know the actual difference between a grand piano and an upright piano…

The finale had audience members shouting out for an encore: Pickvance kindly obliged and took us out with a highly impressive final play on the upright piano (see what I did there?) Anatomy of The Piano is not a show where a lot happens but the eloquence and poetry of Pickvance’s words combined with his spectacular piano skills ensured that his audience and I remained highly enthralled by this performance.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (entry via Carson Place), Melbourne

Season: Until 23 January 7:00pm, Sun 6:00pm.

Tickets: $28 Full | $25 Conc

Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Greg Peterson’s SONGS IN THE KEY OF ME

A stage cast and songbook of significant talent

By Narelle Wood

Songs in the Key of Me does not just have an awesome title: it also has a selection of songs with music and lyrics by a very talented Greg Peterson. In just over one hour we were given a taste of a variety of musical genres from Peterson’s repertoire, including heart-break ballads, Broadway tunes and even a little bit of self-proclaimed lame country and western that demonstrates just how ridiculous country and western lyrics can be.

Songs in the Key of Me

Providing the vocals for this show are Adam Bianco and Samantha Du Rennes. Bianco starts the show with the title song, “Songs in the Key of Me”: a brilliantly-orchestrated Broadway number that explores the glitz and glamour of the stage and how easy it is for a performer to become lost in the moment. Bianco is a clear embodiment of this sentiment throughout the show, giving his all to every song no matter what the genre or performance style is required.

Du Rennes has an amazing vocal range, and the power with which she sings the James Bond-esque espionage song, “A Secret to Die For”, would make Shirley Bassey proud. Whilst Du Rennes has a strong voice, she sometimes lacks the charisma of Bianco and their relationship seems a little more brother-and-sisterly than the intimate relationship required by the stronger love ballads. Du Rennes’ strongest performance by far is “The Things I Left Behind”, which clearly has personal meaning for her.

Danny Forward provides accompaniment on the keyboard and deals deftly with some of the very complicated, fast-paced and intricate orchestrations required by Peterson’s songs. At times the intricacy of the orchestrations do seem to be competing with the vocal performances, although this may be due to the acoustics of the room and the gusto with which Bianco, Du Rennes and Forward perform. It is great to see Bianco and Du Rennes playfully interacting with Forward throughout the show. This provides some cohesiveness to a cabaret that does sometimes feel a little disjointed with Bianco and Du Rennes coming on and off the stage.

I would have liked the show to have finished with a full encore of “Songs in the Key of Me” as this was by far my favourite number of the night along with Peterson’s ‘coming out song’; both these pieces have clear similarities to some of the great Broadway musical numbers of the past which is especially evident in Peterson’s clever use of word play. Songs in the Key of Me hits just the right note and is well worth a look.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, CBD

Times: Until 16th Feb, Wednesday and Sunday 8pm, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9pm

Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com/shows