Arts

Cabaret Festival Review: Hayden Tee – Bad Guy

International star Hayden Tee, known for his starring role in many musicals in the USA, UK, Australia and his native New Zealand and well-known cabaret performer was a huge hit in his Adelaide Cabaret show Bad Guy

5


Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre

Reviewed 19 June 2022

International star Hayden Tee, known for his starring role in many musicals in the USA, UK, Australia and his native New Zealand and well-known cabaret performer was a huge hit in his Adelaide Cabaret show Bad Guy. Taking to the stage in front of an excellent ensemble of musicians, with a comfortable, casual style he was able to win the audience over immediately.

Focussing on the many villain roles he has played in his extensive career, he gave us a glimpse of his versatility, after opening with Bad (Michael Jackson) and Evil (Eartha Kitt) then changing with ease from Disney villains such as Ursula from The Little Mermaid to more conflicted antagonists such as Javert from Les Misérables. His version of Poor Unfortunate Souls dripped with sarcasm while Stars showed a deeply troubled humanity. Tee’s version of Trunchbull singing Smell of Rebellion from Matilda was delightfully malevolent and his song Molasses to Rum from 1770 the musical even made him uncomfortable. I Don’t Care Much from Cabaret (the musical) gave a change of pace.

Along with all these musical theatre goodies Tee also gave us some popular music hits such as Creep from Radiohead, Every Move You Make from Police (the original stalker’s song) and Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy. An interesting addition was Language by Sir Dave Dobbin and Good Old Days by Macklemore definitely less bad, more pensive. He discussed his reasons for playing the villain so often, but as an audience member remarked to him, he’s just good at it.

His Musical Director Nigel Ubrihien on the piano (and occasional squeezebox) lead a tight ensemble with vibrating bass, (Nick Sinclair) and cello (Jacqui Finlay) joined by fine violin (Sonya Mellor). The drums were beautifully handled by Chris Neale with the magic fingers of Sam Leske on a variety of guitars. The simple ruched curtain backdrop enabled the lighting to enhance the various moods

Reviewed by Fran Edwards
Twitter: @franeds

Season Ended – One Night Only

Rating out of 5: 5

Photo Credit: Claudio Raschella

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