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Melbourne Cabaret Festival: Any Moment

by Jon Jackson 29th June, 2019
by Jon Jackson 29th June, 2019

The Melbourne Cabaret Festival 2019 has presented a new Australian musical at Chapel off Chapel. True to their values, the festival has championed Australian talent for the past ten years. This new work by Australian composer, orchestrator and performer, Bradley McCaw, has a distinctly local flavour. Originally workshopped in Brisbane, this Melbourne production is a further step in the show’s evolution, but it’s still a work in progress. Presented concert-style as a series of scenes, the story is quite basic. The action takes place over the space of 24 hours on New Year’s Eve somewhere in the suburbs of Australia. We hear stories from various characters as the hours draw them into the New Year.

Starting out at a New Year’s Eve party, we meet four characters who are looking for a new beginning and hoping that things are going to get better. There are some terrific comic moments like “Comin’ in from the Suburbs”, a quasi-rap style group number with some very slick soul-style singing from Imogen Spendlove. “Doin’ it for the Kids” was another crowd pleaser with two competitive couples taking their kids to weekend sports. My personal favourite was “The Man in the White House down the Street”, sung with real sincerity by Natalie O’Donnell. In fact there were ten very gifted singers in this production and to hear any of them sing was worth the price of admission.

On this occasion, the order in which these scenes happened were not in sequence, so the narrative was unclear unless explained by the composer as it progressed. Thankfully, the musical numbers are strong enough to hold the audience and the performers talented enough to keep us listening. Some numbers bordered on mawkish, especially with their overtly Aussie references, but there were much more sophisticated pieces. The ones that really moved me were those most recently added. The numbers with piano accompaniment, skilfully played by Shanon Whitelock were the ones that showcased the compositions best. Some songs had backing tracks and piano, which were too dense and drowned out the voices. The singers then sang more loudly over them and it was just too amplified for the setting of a musical.

Luckily, most of the songs stand up on their own merit and McCaw was fortunate that he was able to assemble such a fantastic group of singers to bring them to life. Bradley McCaw himself is a fine singer in his own right and at one stage was one of the Ten Tenors. His solo number, “She Walks In” is a very moving piece that sets up the group finale. The audience were very entertained and it was a pleasure to hear such talented performers in a new work that deserves to be staged in full. I’d like to see it fully developed so that more Australians can see and hear other Australians tell their stories.

__________________________________

Jon Jackson reviewed Bradley McCaw’s “Any Moment” presented at Chapel off Chapel on June 25, 2019.

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Songmakers Australia: Schwanengesang

August 1 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Songmakers Australia: Schwanengesang

Program Franz Schubert Schwanengesang D 957 Songmakers Australia Schubert’s last song cycle was published after his untimely death at the age of…

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6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Seraphim Trio – Gallic Charm

August 1 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Seraphim Trio – Gallic Charm

A performance of cherished works and Gallic beauty. About the artists Seraphim Trio is as much a lifelong friendship as a…

$40 – $50

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1 event, 3

11:30 am - 12:40 pm

Mostly Mozart – Musical Mavericks

August 3 @ 11:30 am - 12:40 pm

Mostly Mozart – Musical Mavericks

Riveting passion balanced with delicate lyricism. About the artists Scottish born James Crabb is widely regarded as one of the world’s…

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Ray Chen

August 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Ray Chen

World-renowned violinist Ray Chen makes his long-awaited return to Australia with some of the most demanding, impressive, and emotionally riveting works…

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Flinders Quartet Concert 2

August 7 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Flinders Quartet Concert 2

Join Flinders Quartet for the sumptuous romanticism and grandeur of Brahms, and the ingenuity and wit of Haydn. Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba -…

$29 – $38
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Corpus Medicorum Concert #3

August 7 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Corpus Medicorum Concert #3

Corpus Medicorum Rebirth 2022 Concert Series. Artists Charlotte Miles cellist Keith Crellin OAM conductor Program Edward Elgar Cello Concerto, Op.85 Antonín Dvořák Symphony No.7…

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6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Stewart Kelly – Schubert’s Swansong

August 8 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Stewart Kelly – Schubert’s Swansong

A journey to the corners of human experience with Schubert’s Schwanengesang. About the artists Stewart Kelly is one of Australia’s most sought-after…

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Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

August 20 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

"Real and Right and True" - a celebration of the art song tradition of Australia and the United Kingdom. Lotte Betts-Dean,…

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August 1
August 1 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Songmakers Australia: Schwanengesang

August 1 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Seraphim Trio – Gallic Charm

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August 3
August 3 @ 11:30 am - 12:40 pm

Mostly Mozart – Musical Mavericks

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August 6
August 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Ray Chen

August 7
August 7 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Flinders Quartet Concert 2

August 7 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Corpus Medicorum Concert #3

August 8
August 8 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Stewart Kelly – Schubert’s Swansong

August 20
August 20 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

August 7
August 7 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Flinders Quartet Concert 2

August 7 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Corpus Medicorum Concert #3

August 8
August 8 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Stewart Kelly – Schubert’s Swansong

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August 20
August 20 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

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