Secret Love - The Cabaret Musical
Fitting In
Queens Arms
Fri 30 March
season ended


Frank Ford has had a love affair with Angela McKay's 'The Alibi' since he directed the one-woman play five years ago. McKay wrote a little ditty about a couple of women in 'man's world' trying to wrestle away a little power. Kathy and Ronnie once ran a B&B where Ronnie entertained the guests with piano tunes, hosts Brazilian nights and meat tray raffles. Sounds more like a hotel, but OK. Kathy had husband problems and is accused of murder while Abigail her defense lawyer has envy problems.

Director Frank Ford adapted 'The Alibi' to the cabaret stage by bringing the dead Ronnie back from the grave in a two-hander sprinkled with songs from the likes of Kurt Weill & Ogden Nash, Gershwin and Hammerstein. The start of the show is rather lugubrious with the tragicomic corpse complete with ghoulishly pale face paint playing a faux piano coupled with the introduction of a grieving wife. The libretto lacks precision and the story wanders between the dichotomous motives of the two women instead of creating a more interesting relationship between Ronnie and Kathy, or even between the women in their common bond.

The former is romantically played in some moving scenes dealing with their courtship, enhanced by the bittersweet reminder using a time juxtaposition device that Ronnie is a corpse throughout the action, while the latter is completely absent. Learning that Ronnie is a rather flawed yet affable individual that maybe didn't deserve a fall down the stairs shows the formerly meek Kathy to be cunning, weak and demented. All in all, a rather dour and diffused story - barely a black comedy and certainly not a murder mystery as promised.

Craig Behenna and Catherine Campbell created impressively rounded characterisations augmented by their interpretations of the broadly sourced song list. Craig Behenna gives Ronnie the kiss of life - his energetic performance, charming parody and bright voice lifted the script out of the crypt. Catherine Campbell was not at her vocal best and had difficulty demarking Abigail and Kathy. Nonetheless, she has a huge stage presence and exuberance which combined very successfully in partnership with Behenna.

Musical director Nerissa Pearce had accompanist Dale Ringland play the real keys. I would love to see these people in a vehicle more deserving of Frank Ford's passion.

David Grybowski