Musical theatre confessions 9 - One is the Loneliest number, Everyman Theatre, ACT Hub, 17 Feb

 

"Music Theatre Confessions" has been going since 2016 in various arrangements - the early ones are reviewed here and here - and it's a format that has held its power throughout multiple permutations, locations, and lineups. The basic setup, performers have ten minutes to tell a story and sing a song or two (or, in one case, snatches of about four), has not changed, though fortunately, performers are more likely to bring a copy of the lyrics with them, saving us from the moments where a performer would busk a verse worth of la-la-las before launching back confidently into the chorus. And it's still a great mix of the fun, the emotional, the revealing, the therapeutic, and the dementedly hilarious. A chance to meet some of Canberra's finest musical theatre performers out of a role and in a mini-cabaret of their own where they get to drop the mask a little and be honest about their anxieties, their foibles, their medical impairments, and themselves. 

Kicking off the night was Joe Dinn with a fierce attack on "Moving too Fast" from the last 5 years, a colourful anecdote of life in the cruise ship industry including international accents and a duet with Dave Collins of the egocentric "You and Me (but mostly me)" from "Book of Mormon" (which Collins has clearly been rehearsing in his bedroom since the cast album came out). Followed by co-host of the night Jarrad West with "The Lives of me" from the US version of "Boy From Oz", a confession of various professional and personal frustrations and jealousies, and a duet with the other co-host, Jordan Best, of the all-time-bitch-fest "Bosom Buddies" from "Mame". Next followed Garret Kelly with an anecdote about being tied in with a friend's awful fate, and a duet on "Uninvited" from Jagged Little Pill. Joel Horwood continued with personal confessions about his mental health and a non-musical theatre song, followed by Jaine Lawson covering her entire performing career from the early seventies to 1999, including multiple songs from multiple shows. Demi Bryana Smith told of sibling rivalry, including songs about sibling rivalry (both solo and duets), and Jordan Best wrapped up the evening with a song by her in-the-audience dad, a story involving medical drama over about 10 months, and a rousing closing duet of "Islands in the Stream" with Jarrad West.. All accompanied by the versitliey-fingered-Alexander Unikowski on keyboard, with skilled sound by Nathan Patrech and elegant lighting from Nikki Fitzgerald.

If you've somehow missed this or the previous 8, 10 is a great time to join, and it's coming up in October. So break in and enjoy Canberra Music Theatre's greatest love-in whenever you can.