Midsumma Night's Scream, Jan 21, 2000

Midsumma Night's Scream by Lieder of The Pack

at Chapel off Chapel, Jan 20  until Feb 2000

Midsumma Festival

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

The gay culture certainly stakes a claim on particular icons of the music and music theatre world. Streisand, Diana Ross, Madonna, Shirley Bassey and both Minogues are the property of the gay world.

Such blatant appropriation and obsession cries out loud to be ridiculed. Ron Bell's satirical lecture is undiscovered treasure. In Midsumma Night's Scream he presents a sardonic and often vitriolic  analysis of gay icons and pop music.

Bell presents his glib and hilarious opinions as pseudo-academic links between songs by cabaret group, Lieder of the Pack. (Renee Cash, Connie Panagakis, Ian Sequeira, Matthew Richardson).

Songs are bastardised for comedy. I Go To Rio is sung to the tune of Don't Cry Out Loud. Torn Between Two Lovers becomes a renaissance madrigal. Locomotion is sung backwards to reveal itself as Kylie's satanic plot to recruit lesbians. He subtitles her songs to reveal that her real sentiments are mere moneymaking ploys.

Bell uses low-tech projections to illustrate his point. He demonstrates the continuum of gay musical tastes from bisexual to university educated opera queens, from techno to Celine Dion. His flow chart is a comedy highlight.

The voices of the four singers carry the pop tunes commendably. This is a very entertaining show. However, opening night felt awkward and under-rehearsed. The singers badly need some 'attitude'. They seemed uncertain how to deliver the comedy.

The satirical edge was left to the deadpan Bell who delivers his gags tongue-in-cheek. His theory, which blows the lid off myths surrounding The Carpenters, is a treat. Bell is a truly gifted comedy writer.

With pianist, Warwick Sharpin they do fine renditions of ABBA songs, musical comedy tunes, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, YMCA, Carpenter and Minogue songs.

Director, Luke Gallagher, keeps the pace moving. However, the segues between Bell's jokes and songs are clumsy. The most successful moments are when the songs overlap and collide with the dialogue and gags. Otherwise, the format is fragmented. Songs and jokes were disconnected and links were tenuous.

There are moments when they try to do songs seriously that is out of step with the tone of the evening. With some smart restructuring, tight changes and slick technology, this could be a fabulous cabaret evening.

by Kate Herbert