The Melbourne Cabaret Festival
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran
Reviewed on June 27, 2013
To paraphrase the opening lines from Jerry Herman’s classic Broadway anthem, ‘I Am What I Am,” Joey Arias is indeed his own special creation.
Like the legendary pop queen Madonna, he is forever in a state of constant reinvention. Further, Arias is at once Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich and Liza Minnelli. Femme fatale or delicious diva, he keeps our focus with a mysterious androgyny.
Drawing on cabaret’s rich German and American origins, Arias is not only a performance artist, he is a torch singer, and drag artist rolled together.
With striking, angular features made for the spotlight, it is his extraordinary voice for which he is most recognised and appreciated on the international cabaret circuit. This appropriately named show is both a loving tribute to the talented yet tragic blues singer, Billie Holliday, and to Arias’ own gifted vocal channelling.
Similar to the all – male ballet troupe, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, once one gets by the novelty value of men dancing women’s roles, only then can their skill and expertise can be fully and finally appreciated.
That is indeed the case with Arias here. You forget he is a man, and marvel instead at the skill.
In an hour – long set, Arias intertwines a generous handful of jazz standards sung in falsetto, with tales from his various professional collaborations. His vast resume ranges from working with David Bowie on Saturday Night Live, Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas, and the puppeteer, Basil Twist.
Thanks in part to a somewhat over-zealous smoke machine, the audience could have been relaxing in a basement New York club at 3am.
Sauntering through the throng with a torch in hand, Arias used the impromptu smog to his advantage. Playfully teasing the crowd, he fully capitalised on the moment.
Brash and bawdy like Bette Midler, singing firstly to one young man, Arias then shamelessly flirted with another. He also sang using a novel trick with his microphone. It left the audience in hysterics.
Audience interaction included joining Arias in the song, Be My Baby, complete with Ronnie Spector’s famous vocal running.
What a privilege to see this veteran talent working the room with confidence, command, and ease.
Image Source: Moniker MGMT