Little Diana and The Big Fuzz

Bree Langridge is the full package… great looks, fabulous voice, terrific dancer and oodles of charisma. Accompanied by one of the most kick-ass bands you can imagine, she holds us in thrall for 60 minutes in great cabaret inspired by the legendary Diana Ross and the music of Motown. Langridge has a vocal range many would kill for. She’s a tiny woman, yet beautifully packaged, and with her wild hair, reminiscent of Ross’s in the late 70s, she looks for all the world like the icon she is paying tribute to….except that Ross never sang or performed as well as Langridge. She was, however, every inch a superstar and that’s one area Langridge can work on with costuming and appearance. Ross never skipped or ran on-stage…she walked with arms outstretched commanding the audience to adore her. Langridge already has the charisma so it’s easy to add the command.

The band – The Big Fuzz - is simply fabulous with the marvellous Kuki Tipoki on guitar and back up vocals. He even gets his own number “It’s a Man’s World” and does some great guitar solos throughout the night. He and Langridge have a great rapport, which isn’t surprising given that they are partners in real life. Darryl Beaton is a superb musician on Keyboards…and he plays mean Jazz piano and also lends back up vocals. Kevin Mendoza is a highly skilled drummer, and a driving force for the band, with every number building brilliantly as was the style of that era. Martin Carl Serra plays great bass and turns his natural shyness into a persona, becoming a Motown personality in his own right.

The show is full of great numbers interspersed with anecdotes about the days of Motown and with Kuki playing Berry Gordy to Bree’s “Diana.” There are brilliant songs like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Upside Down” (I’m pretty certain ‘Diana’ announced it was written by Michael Jackson…it wasn’t!). But the inclusion of “What’s Love Got to Do With It” is a mistake IMO. For starters it’s a Tina Turner song, written by Australians and nothing to do with Motown. A much better choice would be “Touch Me In The Morning” ….Ross’s biggest solo hit and a song which would work brilliantly in storytelling terms for her break-up with Gordy (especially since they broke up when she was pregnant with his child….though he continued to manage her until she realised that he had taken her money) and Miss Langridge would absolutely nail it with the band doing the countermelody vocals. In fact, for all the brilliance of the music, more research is needed on the story component of the show as it’s all over the place and full of inaccuracies. That’s fine for the demographic of the audience in general, who weren’t around in the day….but it’s a pity in terms of International appeal, and this show could easily travel to Britain and USA, where Ross is an icon….but not with so many mistakes. The Supremes recorded with the Funk Brothers – Ross didn’t. The drama of leaving the Supremes isn’t mentioned…in fact The Supremes aren’t mentioned at all, although it’s the encore of Supremes hits which really brings the house down. And while a song from the flop film The Wiz was included, Ross received an academy award nomination for Lady Sings The Blues (also not mentioned) and there’s a huge opportunity missed for “Diana” to do a Billie Holiday torch song. There’s also no sense of what “little Diana” herself was like in the period which the music covers…her solo career. She was fiercely ambitious, determined to be the greatest female star ever (and she made it.) She mentored Michael Jackson….helped make the Jackson Five stars, and was considered driven (or even cut-throat) by her peers. Born during the late part of World War 11, her parents were actually a sergeant in the Army and a school teacher. Diana certainly never grew up in a ghetto (the impression given) and she studied fashion design and pattern making at High School…at 16 she was Berry Gordy’s secretary so it’s unlikely her father ever suggested she could be a nurse. None of this would matter if Little Diana was fictitious…or just “Inspired by”…but Gordy is named and she is CLEARLY Diana Ross, so the research really does need to be accurate. What’s more, there’s so much great and emotional material left untapped.

This is a cracking 60 minutes of Cabaret (fabulously lit by Jason Bovaird) which left everyone (except those of us in the older age bracket) totally satisfied. However, more work on the book and bringing all elements up to the same standard as the music and vocals would surely make this delightful show a cert for a long life. Director Darren Yap HASN’T gone for a pursuit of excellence and that’s what Ross was all about. But there’s no doubt at all that Langridge and her band are Super Talents and Ross’s musical legacy is in great hands.

Coral Drouyn