Adelaide Fringe

Jazz, Food And A Cruise On Popeye; Don’t Miss This Fringe Show With A Difference

With a little bit of everything, this is one Fringe show that you need to write in your diary!

Food? Check. Music? Check. Comedy? Check. Popeye? Check….? Yep, this Adelaide Fringe show hitting town in February has something a little different for its audience!

Jump on board the famous Popeye (that would be the boat, not the spinach eating cartoon character) and cruise the River Torrens while you take in Godfrey Uke’s Tin Pan Alley; the show that has a bit of everything. And we mean everything!

This immersive experience will see vaudevillian entertainer Godfrey Uke take centre stage with an ensemble of award-winning jazz musicians, in an original cabaret-style homage to the great composers of American popular song.

‘Tin Pan Alley’ narrates the comic tale of a hapless song-and-dance-man to showcase some of the most influential music from the Golden Age of American jazz. Its unique brand of comedy is inspired by classic revue style banter, Groucho Marx witticisms and the more contemporary absurdism of Spike Milligan. With the music, humour and showmanship of the Roaring Twenties, you will feel like you have stepped into a scene from the Great Gatsby!

Along with a wonderfully entertaining performance, you will enjoy an evening river cruise along with an amazing selection of local food and wine. Yes folks, get the stretchy pants ready because this menu sounds unreal! From a delicious cheese plate, to sliders and something sweet that may involve Haigh’s Chocolate (drooling), this is more than just a performance, this is an experience!

The show is written, produced and directed by Dominic Santangelo whose previous work includes co-writing ‘Little Egypt’s Speakeasy’ which enjoyed a successful run in the Deluxe Speigeltent during last year’s Adelaide Fringe. The group also features critically acclaimed trumpeter and composer Ellen Kirkwood, recipient of the national Jann Rutherford Memorial Award for outstanding female jazz musicians.

‘Tin Pan Alley’ is Santangelo’s first credit as a producer-director and he says that the concept was the natural progression of existing collaborations: “Over the past few years I have had the extreme fortune of working with some phenomenal musicians and to my mind we are interpreting the greatest music of all time. Songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter form the foundation on which modern pop music is based, yet performing these songs demands a style of showmanship and virtuosity that has been largely forgotten in the mainstream”.

“The comedy and theatre is an extension of the Godfrey Uke character I have been developing over a long period of time. For three years the group has been performing music with a theatrical bent – at events like the Sydney Festival and Sydney Writers’ Festival – but this show is much more finely tuned. It offers a modern take on the crossdisciplinary quality of entertainment common to musical revues in the early to mid Twentieth Century”.

‘Tin Pan Alley’ puts the humble ukulele front and centre of a highly accomplished hot jazz band, something Santangelo sees as a fitting metaphor for the legacy of the music: “The uke is so unassuming; it evokes the beauty of simplicity. It’s also second only to the kazoo in terms of accessibility! However this means that the ukulele isn’t widely recognised outside of amateur settings. To me, this show is the perfect vehicle for celebrating the respectable musicality of the ukulele without losing its connection to humour and simplicity. The Tin Pan Alley era was all about that same winning combination – musical genius rendered unpretentious by an overwhelming sense of fun”.

‘Godfrey Uke’s Tin Pan Alley’

When: February 26, 27 & 28
Where: The Popeye
Tickets: $50 (Three course meal and first drink included)

More News

To Top