IT STARTED OUT LIKE A SONG

IT STARTED OUT LIKE A SONG
Savoyards. Co-Directors: Kaitlin Bell & Mathew Nutley. Musical Director: Mathew Nutley. Star Theatre, Manly, Brisbane, 10 November 2012

Savoyards finished their year with It Started out like a Song, a strong cabaret-concert whose proceeds went towards the purchase of a new grand piano at the Star Theatre. The show featured a cast of nine female singers, a Steinway grand, and songs which celebrated the piano and songwriters with material culled from the catalogues of Billy Joel, Peter Allen, Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Aside from solos, there were duets, trios, lots of medleys, plus counterpoint and some a-capella. Best performances came from Emma Tavianni, Kimi Tsukakoshi and Kelli Ireland. Tavianni scored well with “I’m Not Afraid” a song by Jason Robert Brown, Tsukakoshi has fun telling how she’d fall in love with any guy who had an “Air-Conditioner,” and Ireland did nicely on “Love Changes Everything” part of a Lloyd Webber medley which also included “Unexpected Song” (also sung by Tsukakoshi) and “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” sung by Bec Swain. A salute to three divas - Streisand, Garland and Minnelli – found Ireland and Natalie Lennox bravely attempting the Streisand/Garland duet of “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again” to mostly pleasing results, but Asabi Goodman irritated by singing the wrong words, and continuing to sing the wrong words throughout “Over the Rainbow,” which was done as a duet with Tavianni. Mathew Nutley on piano negotiated some fiercely difficult charts with skill. For my personal taste there were far too many ballads. More light and shade would have given the concert a better balance.

Peter Pinne

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