La Femme Boheme - Review

Review originally posted at www.suzygoessee.com
Venue: The Spice Cellar (Sydney NSW), Wed evenings
Performers: Mariesa Mae, Penelope Morgan, Olly Stanton, Antigone Foster (guest)
Image by Matt Waugh

Theatre review (of Feb 26, 2014 show)
La Femme Boheme are two stunning burlesque performers, Mariesa Mae and Penelope Morgan. Their residency at The Spice Cellar begins at 8pm every Wednesday night, showcasing a series of numbers, solo and partnered, designed to fascinate and allure. Also present at tonight’s performance were pianist Olly Stanton and guest singer Antigone Foster, providing further entertainment to complement the stars.

The femmes’ show is raunchy but also elegant. It appeals to audiences of all sexual persuasions, as their work is not only about providing titillation. There is humour peppered throughout the evening, with a resulting experience that is cheerily light-hearted. There is a sweet fairy tale, a funny monologue about Mae’s early discovery of the art form in primary school, and a sequence involving multi-coloured balloons worn like bananas on Josephine Baker.

The women are a perfect visual match. They are virtually identical in height and shape, but they are also entirely distinct in personality and styles. Morgan is coy, while Mae is assertive. The yin-yang dynamic gives the show a lovely balance, but Morgan does stand out with a little more polish and confidence. Her sequence in a glorious mirrored bath tub is a show stealer, and truly breathtaking.

Most of the music is pre-recorded, but Stanton and Foster’s live performances add good variety to the evening. The grand piano in The Spice Cellar sounds and looks fabulous, and Stanton playing cabaret and burlesque classics on it certainly elevates the tone of the proceedings. Foster’s vocals are strong and idiosyncratic, giving excellent counterpoint to the headliners, especially in more familiar fare like “Cry Me A River” and “Hey Big Spender”.

At the core of their show is a commitment to creating images of beauty. It is an interesting and rare balance that La Femme Boheme explore, one that does not alienate any adult; man or woman, gay or straight. Desire exists in many forms, and the ladies allow us to relate to them in different ways. Are they goddesses, kittens, heroines, or clowns? The choice is yours, but the performance is best consumed with an open mind.
www.thespicecellar.com.au
www.lafemmeboheme.com.au

The Vaudevillians - Review

Review originally posted at www.suzygoessee.com
Venue: The Vanguard (Newtown NSW), Feb 18 – Mar 2, 2014
Musical Director: Richard Andriessen (Major Scales)
Performers: Jerick Hoffer (Jinkx Monsoon), Richard Andriessen (Major Scales)

Theatre review
The premise is simple. Spouses Kitty Witless and Dan Von Dandy were accidentally frozen under a torrent of snow and cocaine in the 1920s, but were discovered and revived in our very recent times of global warming. Both happen to be brilliant performers, and have found their way to Sydney, just in time to present their show for the Mardi Gras season.

Cabaret is about performance. Stories are rarely important, but storytelling is everything. The Vaudevillians are played by Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales, American artists who are truly of an “international standard”. Scales provides excellent support to his leading lady. He is superb on the piano, and the re-arrangements he has created are intelligent and delightful. The choice of familiar songs by the likes of Madonna, Daft Punk, Cyndi Lauper, M.I.A., and Britney Spears makes for a setlist that would appeal to most, but it is his extravagantly comical interpretations that make them all so thoroughly entertaining. Scales does falter a little in confidence when performing his solo number, but it is wonderfully refreshing to see a highly animated and energetic piano man.

Jinkx Monsoon is a comic cabaret artist of the highest calibre. Clearly, The Vaudevillians is a work tailored to her specific talents and abilities, but the 80 minute show impresses and overflows with scintillating wit, belly laughs and stunning singing. Monsoon’s vocals are powerful, and she seems to have an infinite well of techniques for turning every line in every song into something that earns the audience’s laughter. A segment referencing Henrik Ibsen, “A Doll’s House 2: Electric Boogaloo” sees the leading lady attack Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” with the greatest amount of flamboyant drama one could ever wish to see. She is like a young Gloria Swanson, only louder and a whole lot sillier.

Combining disciplined training (you can hear it in her singing, and see it with her splits and headstands) and a sense of looseness that is unafraid of heckles and other chanced occurrences, Monsoon’s style is deceptively casual, and incredibly brave. It is live performance at its most thrilling, where the audience feels that anything could happen because the performers and the show’s structure allow, or even ask for it. There is danger in the air, the kind that is completely delicious and irresistible. The Vaudevillians is fun, entertaining theatre. Monsoon and Scales are silly as they come, but without a hint of stupidity, and their show is filled with genuine talent and quite genius creativity.

www.theofficialvaudevillians.com