Sibling Revelry: Ann Hampton Callaway & Liz Callaway

Sibling Revelry: Ann Hampton Callaway & Liz Callaway
Dunstan Playhouse, Festival Theatre, Adelaide. Adelaide Cabaret Festival June 20-21, 2014

Having made various solo appearances at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival over the years, Award winning singer/songwriter Ann Hampton-Callaway and her sister, Broadway star Liz Callaway, make their “sisterly debut” with this lively collaborative piece.

Their set is a mixture of original material, including some eerily familiar material that Hampton-Callaway has written for television and Broadway standards by the likes of Sondheim, Bernstein, Schwartz, Loesser, Schonberg and Kander. It’s a testament to the strength of the original material that it can stand shoulder to shoulder with such greats and to the interpretative skills of both sisters that their renditions make each and every number feel truly their own.

Each of the Calloways gets a few songs where they have the chance to dazzle the audience with a solo performance, such as Liz’s sublime, soaring rendition of “Meadowlark” and Ann’s convincingly world-weary piano bar lament, “My Buddy”. When the two appear onstage together, their harmonising is downright mesmerising, even when they’re performing material as lightweight as the theme song to “The Nanny”. Their live band – Alex Rybek on keys, Alana Dawes on bass and Chris Neill on drums – impress with the same mixture of technical virtuosity and impassioned showmanship as the leading ladies. The audience needed little encouragement to clap along to their rousing, spirited rendition of “Brotherhood Of Man”.

In between the songs there is some amiable comedy, with the Calloways initially adopting exaggeratedly diva-ish personas and indulging in playful one-upmanship banter. Their schtick is generally amusing, even if some of the puns are a bit predictable. Fortunately, there is also a more serious side to their patter, in which the Calloways regale the audience with fascinating anecdotes about the struggles of making it in show business, and make some droll observations on the subject of aging.

The audience on opening night greeted the Calloways to a standing ovation and it’s no wonder. This is cabaret at its very best.

Benjamin Orchard

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.