Adelaide Cabaret Festival Artistic Director Kate Ceberano has secured the selection of international, national and local acclaimed artists for her debut year as Artistic Director. Tickets go on sale today for four shows ahead of the official program launch on March 31, so that audiences can get a taste of the look and feel that Kate will be presenting later this year. Today’s announcements already confirm she is set to present an unforgettable Festival in 2012.
The four shows include three Australian premieres and one world premiere.
The 2012 program will feature the USA’s Mary Wilson in Stormy Weather: The Lena Horne Project, 9 – 10 June, Dunstan Playhouse; Charismatic UK comedian Lenny Henry in his one man show Cradle To Rave, 23 June, Festival Theatre; New York based Australian Kim Smith performs Misfit in an Australian premiere, 8 – 10 June, The Artspace; South Australian company Various People Inc present The Velvet Gentleman: the odd story of Erik Satie, 15 – 17 June, Artspace.
Mary Wilson, a founding member of Motown’s The Supremes will perform Stormy Weather: The Lena Horne Project, about Hollywood’s first African-American goddess, from her reign at MGM’s “dream factory” to a fabled night club seductress and civil rights icon. Stormy Weather is a living, breathing biography based on the book by James Gavin. The show includes a combination of storytelling, live performances and rare audio and visual images from Gavin's wealth of material and interviews with Horne herself. Gavin joins Wilson on stage as the narrator, with orchestrations by seven-time Emmy Award winner Mike Renzi.
Adelaide Cabaret Festival Artistic Director Kate Ceberano says, “Mary Wilson still performs with the same passion as she did singing with the original Supremes. Cabaret Festival audiences will be blown away by her interpretation of the beautiful Lena Horne, who became a pioneering star for African Americans in the 40s and 50s. From the Cotton Club's glory days and the back lots of Hollywood studios to the glitzy resorts of Las Vegas, Mary takes you on a behind-the scenes look at this American icon”.
Mary Wilson says, “James Gavin put together a beautiful project. Everyone in Australia should come out to see us. James Gavin and I are having lots of fun and can't wait to share stories about Lena Horne!"
About the shows:
Acclaimed UK comedian, actor, writer, TV presenter, radio host and all-round Renaissance man Lenny Henry returns to his roots with a funky, funny and personal one man show, Cradle to Rave, about the thing he loves most: music. Cradle to Rave is Henry’s most personal show yet, offering a hilarious and touching insight into a man to whom music matters a little too much. From growing up thinking Elvis was a relative as there were so many pictures of him in the house, to missing a cue during his theatrical debut as Othello because he was listening to hip hop, Cradle to Rave sets Henry’s family, first loves and fame against a musical backdrop – a comic cabaret voyage through his life told via its eclectic soundtrack. Directed by the critically acclaimed UK theatre director Sam Buntrock, Cradle to Rave is Henry's musical journey from fan boy to the greatest singer the UK never had.
In Misfit, Kim Smith charts a dark and whimsical path through a ruined musical landscape of disfigured pop and peculiar period treasures, mischievously proving that misfits have more fun.
