HEART TO HEART

The group known as Promise Adelaide are rapidly establishing a strong reputation for themselves, as an invaluable performing outlet for young up-and-comers, as fund-raisers with commendably noble motives, and as purveyors of thoroughly entertaining musical, ‘dance-ical’ evenings.

Director Ben Francis once again makes an engaging host, assisted this time by MD Camryn Jordans; guest speaker Simon Renshaw (of the Heart Foundation) is just as amiable when reminding us of where this show's fundraising efforts are being directed this time, and fellow guest speaker Michelle Nightingale (a noted professional performer and supporter of the arts) makes an encouraging argument for turning off technology and emphasising the thrill of live performance. The red-and-black costuming worn throughout is an excellent bit of design that keeps the focus on the performers' talents.

Choosing to launch the evening with a Proclaimers classic arranged in the style of a romantic ballad is audacious-bordering-on-wacky, especially given the increased focus on the lyrics, but in the end, with all involved contributing equally large amounts of sincerity and bravery, the result is just gorgeous. (Apparently the arrangement is borrowed from the film Sunshine on Leith.) Opening soloist Rory Adams has superb expression and control in delivering John Legend’s wonderful All of Me; he certainly has a voice that might just make you melt!

The impishly charming figure of Ned Baulderstone introduces Randy Newman's Toy Story theme, You've Got a Friend In Me, with impressive feel for jazz phrasing, while his duet partner Ella Waters is more of a Broadway belter; together they make a charming odd-couple. Sarah McLachlan's Angel is an iconic modern pop performance if ever there was one, and Charlotte Hill makes a pretty good go of it, with Tahlia Fantone's backing vocals an excellent (and well-judged) addition.

Fantone and Harry Ngyuen blend well and lift the spirits with Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Luke Wolianskyj attempts to take us back to the days of Nat King Cole and Let There Be Love; while he certainly has the level of confidence and the cheeky attitude to make an impact, the song is of a style that he seems less than fully comfortable with.

Mariah Carey's Hero is the kind of song that, for this reviewer, has a tendency to bring back memories of never-ending school-camp bus trips and equally interminable karaoke nights, but Ella Waters (by far the youngest of the evening's singers, at 10 years old) does herself proud with a pleasingly confident and surprisingly stirring rendition. Christina Perri's A Thousand Years was a title previously unfamiliar to this writer, and Heather Koufopoulos does a nice job with a song that, compositionally, seems relatively drab, though enhanced by some striking choreography from two guest dancers.

Ned Baulderstone returns with Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely, a heartfelt trifle from a genius songwriter about his newborn daughter, and the young singer seems to want to compensate for its musical slightness by over-selling the song vocally; he should perhaps aim for a more relaxed delivery. Paige Dobie comes reasonably close to capturing the blend of frustrated urgency and dreamy shyness that characterises Taylor Swift's You Belong with Me, but the overall arrangement and presentation feels too middle-of-the-road to be very exciting.

Hooked on a Feelingis, yes, the "ooga-chaka" arrangement with the entire male cast, and it's a fun interlude. Eternal Flame is a great pop ballad that flows from delicacy to swelling emotion, but Hannah Dandie is not yet equal to the crucial task of control on this particular song, though the strength and force of her basic vocal equipment suggests that she has the potential to become a fine, expressive singer.

Ben Francis and Tayla Coad exude confidence and romantic spark with the fun, fluffy Don't Go Breaking My Heart, and the choreography helps to make it a memorable number (especially with Francis at times seemingly trying to out-camp Elton John!)

Kyle Hall absolutely nails Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You from first note to last, with his smooth moves as impressive as his vocal tone.

Once the full group performance of recent hit Somebody to You hits its stride, it comes to epitomise the sweet sense of optimism and togetherness that these young talents radiate at their best. Queen's Somebody to Love is such a towering classic that a group of tuneless drunks could massacre the song and probably still make this critic like it. The post-interval version here is thrilling, with Ella Waters threatening to blow the roof off in her solo moment!

Serena Martino-Williams is, once again, almost startling in the maturity and assurance of her vocal accomplishment, and equally impressive in the easy comfort that she radiates on stage; her Saving All My Love for You is one of the evening's undoubted highlights (as well as a horribly sad reminder of the recent death of Whitney Houston’s daughter). A live acoustic accompaniment powers a duet of Maroon 5’s She Will Be Loved into a refreshing change-of-pace, charmingly harmonised by Francis and Hall.

As an admitted non-fan of The Exciters' Tell Him, this writer found the female cast's rendition to be accomplished and fairly painless, while Harry Ngyuen takes on the might of Tom Jones with It's Not Unusual, and impressively manages to make the song feel like his own; Jordans' trumpet backing is a nice touch here.

Bruno Mars' Just the Way You Are is given an ambitious group arrangement with multiple live instruments; it dazzles in spots but has to struggle its way there. (I've Had) The Time of My Life can't quite escape that 'played-out', 'wedding dance' feeling, and aims here for a vocals-with-choreography presentation that stumbles a bit and never becomes as much fun as the song deserves.

This reviewer's heart admittedly leapt when sighting Frankie Goes to Hollywood's transcendently wondrous jewel The Power of Love listed in the programme; even though the backing track can't match the perfection of the original, Tayla Coad does a very fine job with this special gem and its rather idiosyncratic lyrics. Tahlia Fantone is reliably outstanding on Home (from The Wiz), so impressive that the mass of backing vocalists behind her are almost a distraction.

The Rory Adams/Charlotte Hill duet Lucky (originally by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat) gets about halfway towards fully succeeding, but it's not as relaxed and carefree as it should be. Francis and his lively back-up dancers make Crazy Little Thing Called Love a lot of fun, though the opportunity for a sparkling group vocal arrangement seems to have been overlooked here.

Martino-Williams and Fantone are practically professional-level vocalists, and their combined power on (the second tune of the evening to be called) Tell Him is as thrilling as the song allows; one hopes that these two continue to collaborate into the future. The second Mars-composed number of the night, Marry You, is given a charming group presentation with matrimonial couples left-right-and-centre!

The Greatest Love of All is a song that this writer could happily live without, but the plainly good intentions of these youngsters, combined with the expertise of their harmonising, means that the listener’s heart still goes soaring towards the heavens…

In short, it is a pleasure to report that Heart to Heart generally manages to match the high standard set by the recent Songs of Stage and Screen, and makes one eager to see (and hear) the forthcoming Out of the Blue from these impressive Adelaide performers.

Anthony Vawser