My Leonard Cohen

The gift of Music is a powerful thing. Cohen has that gift not just in his music but in the power of the lyrics that go with it. Stewart D’Arietta, a great musician in his own right, has the gift of interpreting what Cohen has created, and he brings to that art all the power that a master craftsman can give. He’s charismatic, gob-smackingly good and, dare I say it, even sexy, his slight frame filling a much larger space and giving an aura of command and authority to the performance. At the piano he draws us in; at the mike stand, with mercurial hands worthy of Shirley Bassey, he defies us not to be impressed.

He’s backed by a fabulous band of consummate professionals, doing what they do best. Their multi instrument musicianship alone allows for an incredible depth in the arrangements. Musical Director Rex Goh has made great use of the talented Nick Lyons who plays sitar, violin, viola, harp and giant gong (I’ve probably missed a couple), and Ben Edgar who swaps slide guitar for acoustic and banjo. There’s a slight niggle with some pitch problems in the back up vocals of The Mendoza Sisters, but nothing can mar the joy of hearing a great band with a great front man covering the music of a great songwriter. Stewart sings all the hits, but my favourite number was A Thousand Kisses Deep, with Stewart on the “key-tar”! Why? Because, before singing it, he tied it to a personal story of what it meant in his life. And herein lies the only weakness to the show – and it’s easily fixable. Stewart has called the show “MY” Leonard Cohen, and he gives some wonderful anecdotes about Cohen’s life and the writing of the songs. But the through-line would be more powerful if Stewart juxtaposed the Cohen anecdotes with more insights into what these songs meant to him and his journey personally. D’Arietta is showman, genuinely witty and very smart, but he’s also a human being clearly on a spiritual journey and that moment of letting his guard down and allowing us to see his vulnerability was very special indeed. Right now the show sits somewhere between “Theatre” and the dreaded “C” word (cabaret). A stronger (but still casual) narrative thread would erase any doubt over where the show is pitched.

This is not just a show for Cohen fans (I must confess I’m not) but for anyone with a true love of music and theatre, and great musicianship. I suspect this show will be around for a very long time. Last night I met a couple, Leanne and David, who had driven from Marysville (where they own the Tower Hotel) despite barely having heard of Leonard Cohen and only knowing of Chapel off Chapel through the newspapers. By chance Dave recently picked up a marked down DVD of Cohen. They played it once and liked the songs, so daringly made the long trip. Throughout the show, sharing a can of coke and some jelly snakes, I could see they were enthralled. They loved every moment. “Better than Cohen” was the judgement. And who am I to argue?

Coral Drouyn