Presented by Adelaide Cabaret Festival
Reviewed Wednesday 19th June 2013
This concert was an interesting and eclectic mix of musical styles from a collection of composers who are famous in their own right. Tyran Parke has been working for some years in musical theatre and is a graduate of the prestigious Cabaret course at Yale University. This show is a result of his desire to combine his talent with that of his brother Trent, an acclaimed photographer.
Having conceived the idea for a show, Tyran showed an album of Trent’s shots to some very good composers and asked them to produce a piece inspired by what they see. Marvellously the likes of Stephen Schwartz, John Bucchino and even Eddie Perfect did just that, resulting in this show.
The opening song “I Remember” written by Scott Alan is beautifully crafted and haunting. Stephen Schwartz’s contribution “PDA” is upbeat and Tyran tells us that Schwartz wrote it on his mobile phone whilst they were lunching! A favourite for me was “Choose Happy” by Jeff Blumenkrantz but all were interesting and backed by some beautiful images.
The photographs were diverse and artistically interesting but occasionally did not seem to fit the mood of the musical piece they were paired with. The overall effect however, was, at times moving and uplifting, something a little different.
For a couple of songs Pyke’s undisputed talent was combined with another voice. For the Lance Horne’s offering “End of the Future” Marika Aubrey joined him, their voices blending beautifully. The powerful number “Colour My Life” was a duet with Gareth Keegan, a highlight of the show.
This is not the usual cabaret fare but the interesting music, which was debuted at this performance, was presented beautifully by the Adelaide Art Orchestra under the confident baton of Vanessa Scammell, making this worth a visit anyway. They are a pleasure to listen to any time.
Let us hope that future Cabaret Festivals bring us more interesting items like this.
Reviewed by Fran Edwards
Venue: Dunstan Playhouse
Season: 19-20 June 2013
Duration: 70 mins
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