The Cowgirl & The Showgirl.

The Cowgirl & The Showgirl.
Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Banquet Room, Festival Centre, Adelaide. June 11-13, 2014.

Sometimes knowing as little as possible when going into a show can produce the most delightful, even exhilarating, surprises. This writer was aware of Beccy Cole (and her chosen genre) but unfamiliar with Libby O'Donovan, and thoroughly unprepared for what a teaming of the two would entail. The fact that proceedings opened with a most familiar and recognisable piano intro to a modern-day cabaret favourite (one that was already covered during this festival - in multiple languages, no less - by Caroline Nin) did not exactly raise expectations that what was to follow would deviate from the well-worn path or attempt to break the mould.

How happily wrong a first impression can be!

With the singer dressed in glamourous white, sporting an impressive pompadour and impeccably bejeweled, O'Donovan's rendition of the Gloria Gaynor disco classic 'I Will Survive' has barely begun before being rudely interrupted by Cole ripping into Dolly Parton's '9 to 5', in turn silenced by the merest snatch of 'Let It Go' from Disney's Frozen - and back and forth in delightful fashion, until matters are brought to an appropriate climax with a certain number from Annie Get Your Gun (you can guess which one).

This colourful, good-natured, competitive counterpointing between the two artists (no more brilliant than when Cole's Slim Dusty tribute cedes ground to O'Donovan's lovingly hammy Little Orphan Annie) is more than just an entertaining gimmick. It serves to compare as well as contrast, to show how arbitrary the process of categorisation and compartmentalisation of music can be (the smooth-as-silk segue from Willie Nelson's 'Always On My Mind' to Les Misérables' 'On My Own' is a telling case in point).

It is also a rather brilliant showcase for these women's versatility and energy. Cole manages to find the spirit of soul in the world of country and Broadway, even successfully bringing a Randy Crawford-esque vocal tone to Doris Day's 'Secret Love', while O'Donovan proves that cowgirl sentiments can be delivered with jazzy sophistication, particularly with her impeccably beautiful take on Patsy Cline's 'Crazy', which offers up sophisticated hurt as an alternative to country's tendency toward openly wounded emotionalism.

All this mixin' and matchin', choppin' and changin'; sounds like a challenge for any musical accompanist, right? Fortunately, the all-male band members (among them Cole's ex-husband on fiddle and local lad Jarrad Payne at the drum kit), decked out in suits and ties, handle the sharp and crazy changes of the opening manic medley with dexterity and aplomb, and manage to deliver just what is needed throughout the performance, without feeling the need for unnecessary soloing or other such indulgences.

In a show that is chock-full of memorable highlights, one of the best is a duet performance of 'I Know Him So Well', which generates hilarity even before the first verse is over, but which always makes the singers themselves the target of gentle mockery, rather than the song. It is here that you will see Beccy demonstrate her drink-sculling abilities, as well as Libby's talent for holding a bottle, a glass, and a microphone all at once - while singing - and pouring!

In a pair of interludes coming directly from the hearts of both women, they each present to us an original song. Cole, inspired by the disdain of a former fan who believed that her performance for Australian combat troops equated to a support of the war they fought in, delivers a lovely, poignant, acoustic guitar ballad that is almost folk-like in its directness; no self-pity here, nor maudlin sentiment, it nonetheless made this writer absolutely melt. O'Donovan's piano ballad is in the venerable tradition of 'love letter to mother' songs; nothing revolutionary or edgy, but satisfyingly warm and heartfelt. It flirts more closely with sentimentality than Cole's song did, but it ultimately keeps itself honest.

To describe any more of the high points in detail would be to potentially spoil too much of the joy of surprise for anyone lucky (and smart) enough to snap up a ticket to The Cowgirl & The Showgirl. It has provided this critic with his happiest experience yet at this year's Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

Anthony Vawser

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