Glitter & Toast

Every dog, as the saying goes, has its day.

The pooches of Parkview – whether pretty, pug-faced or pedigreed – are being pampered, preened and prepared for their big occasion.

It’s the inaugural dog show being held at the Parkview Golf Club on the afternoon of Sunday, 25 September (starting at 14:00) as part of the club’s year-long centenary celebrations.

“It’s one of several events the club has arranged for the year to involve local communities in the celebration of our 100 years,” said Franco Pellegrini, chairman of the club’s centenary committee. “Of course, we welcome domestic pets and their owners from all the suburbs around us.”

He stresses that the accent is on fun rather than stringent examinations of breeding and appearance.

“The pooches will be judged in categories including puppies, the ugliest and cutest dogs, dogs who resemble their owners, the best six legs shared by dogs and their owner, and the dog the judges would most like to take home.  And we’ll have some great prizes for them,” Franco says.

The afternoon will include displays by the Marks Park All Breeds Canine Club Johannesburg and Dancing with Dogs.  There will be other attractions for children and food and drinks will be on sale.

“Most pets are part of the family,” says Franco, “so we’re looking forward to a great afternoon for everyone.”

All set for the big Parkview dog show … Rocky, the Yorkshire terrier and Zuzu, the daschund, with Ella Schonborn (left) and her friend, Sophia Pellett

To enter before the day, please phone the club at 011 646 5400 or email tracey@parviewgolf.co.za.

For images or further information please contact Theresa Gibbon on 082 820 8437 or theresa@theresagibbonpr.co.za

Distributed by Behind the Scenes Communications on behalf of Thresa Gibbon PR.

Performed by Cat Simoni with Original Orchestration by Johan Laas

Devised and directed by Paul Spence

Presented by Daphne Kuhn at Auto & General Theatre on the Square

Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s (especially if you grew up Jewish), Barbra Streisand was a standard feature in just about all of our parents’ music collections. Whether they loved her or hated her (and really, how could one every really ‘hate’ Barbra?), she just couldn’t be ignored. After all, who could ignore the only artist ever to receive Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Directors Guild of America, Golden Globe, National Medal of Arts and Peabody Awards and France’s Légion d’Honneur as well as the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award? Okay, so she hadn’t won all of those quite yet back then, but she was well on her way from the very minute she started performing in the late ‘50’s.

So one would expect, as tribute shows gain increasing popularity, that vocalists of every ilk would be clamouring to mimic the award winning Diva. However it seems this isn’t the case. It would take a very unique voice and a very bold performer to be able to execute Barbra’s timeless classics in a style anywhere close to those of the original.

And here we have Cat Simoni, who arrives with the voice, elegance, poise, and just the right amount of chutzpah to tell Barbra’s story and sing her songs with the precise measure of passion and intensity that they were composed for. This is a treat for true music lovers; the combination of a voice that understands the notes, together with musical arrangements created by Johan Laas, who South African muso’s appreciate for the maestro he is.

Simoni is so comfortable, both on stage and with her audience. From the minute we hear the first strains of ‘Something’s Coming’ (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim), and she appears on stage it’s clear that she is at home. She jokes easily with Laas (“a man of few words”), hams it up in a Bronx accent, and gives a blazing rendition of ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill) from Funny Girl, the story of the life of comedienne Fanny Brice, and the film that truly launched Barbra’s career (I have to admit, I can’t hear that song and not think of Lea Michele’s version in the TV show Glee).

But then, as you’re sitting there, nodding to yourself and admitting just how good Cat Simoni really is … she ups the ante. Her haunting version of ‘Memory’( Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Back, Tim Rice) from Cats, gave me goosebumps, and as if that wasn’t enough, she really came into her own when she sat down and played her own solo piano accompaniment to ‘Pappa can you Hear Me?’ (Michel Legrand, Alan & Marilyn Bergman) from Yentl followed by ‘Avinu Malkeinu’ – a version of the Jewish prayer that Barbra had sung at Shimon Perez’s 90^th birthday in Israel, and that Daphne Kuhn had asked to be added into the show. Simoni’s intonation and timing are pure perfection. Once again in the second half, she plays the piano for her own perfectly comic version of ‘Second Hand Rose’ (James Hanley, Grant Clarke) and this is where she truly shines.

The favourites are there, sung with such faultless clarity, and accompanied by short snippets about Barbra’s life: ‘Evergreen’ (Barbra Streisand, Paul Williams), ‘The Way We Were’ (Marvin Hamlish, Alan & Marilyn Bergman), ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg), ‘Send in the Clowns’ (Stephen Sondheim) and more.

The intricate musical arrangements by Johan Laas are a sheer labour of love. He doesn’t say much, he gives a wry smile here and there, but when his fingers hit those keys, he can transport you into a musical wonderland!

There’s not much in the way of a set, just a couple of leather chairs, some flowers and some velvet draping on the keyboard. But you’re not there for the scenery … this is all about the music, and boy … does it deliver!

Beautiful Barbra is on at the Auto & General Theatre on the Square in Sandton until the 30^th of July. Book your tickets at www.StrictlyTickets.com or call the theatre on 011 883-8606.

Photo Credit: Joburg Theatre

Photo Credit: Joburg Theatre

Bye Bye Baby is a thoroughly enjoyable tribute to the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. On until February 28th at Joburg Theatre, this show will have you singing along and tapping your feet (or, like the guys behind me, trying to copy the movements of the guys on stage – I kid you not!) to all those well-loved tunes that you never even realised you remembered all the words to!! It’s a feel-good, smile-inducing crowd-pleaser that ticks all the boxes to be an absolute winner!

 

Photo credit: Joburg Theatre

 

The four vocalists – Jamie Ledwith, Mitchell Rutter, Tim Kay and Dan Goddard – have the
charm and personality to woo their audience into a loved-up trance so that by the time they’ve reached their final number of the first act, Let’s Hang On, everyone was truly hanging on to every word they sang.

That charm carries them through a multitude of sins: the adorable choreography for example. None of these performers can be said to be dancers by any stretch of the imagination, but with their inimitable appeal they manage to carry it off with aplomb. At times, they also falter through some of their scripted lines, but again, we forgive them because they’re endearing and let’s face it, they’re here to sing, not to talk!

The simple backdrop screen takes us through a nostalgic photographic history of the original Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and stills of many of their hit singles in record format. Together with the simply draped red curtains and the basic costumes, it’s a reminder that back in the day, the original boybands just got up and sang with no special effects and no fuss and drama. It was all about the music, the performers and their voices. Things were certainly a lot simpler back then!

All the favourites are included in the line-up (Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You, Rag Doll, Walk Like a Man to name just a few), but by the time the boys were winding down to the inevitable end of the show, they’d definitely kicked things up a notch or two and when the intro to the title track of Grease started playing (to cries of “I’d forgotten Frankie sang this!” and, next to me “I didn’t know Frankie sang this!!!”), we were all singing along rather loudly! That merged into Can’t Take My Eyes off of You, and then Bye Bye Baby at which point nobody even cared if they remembered the words or not – they were all just singing merrily away because they were all just having such a good time! The Finale medley is just a whole heap of fun and there were people literally dancing in the aisles! (And by the way – there are no spoilers here – this set list is all in the program!)

So, for an extremely enjoyable night out at the Joburg Theatre, go and book some tickets at www.webtickets.co.za. It really is a lot of fun!

[Photo’s not credited are my own.] More

I do not exaggerate when I say that this is THE biggest film event to hit the circuit this year. It does not disappoint, and is a reminder to all stalwart fans as to why we have remained loyal to the Force for all these years, even when the Dark Side has threatened to overtake us (we won’t speak of that awful Clone Wars debacle).

The events in The Force Awakens take place 30 years after those in Episode 3 (Return of the Jedi – 1983). So this (episode 7) is the first of a sequel trilogy – I’m not going to go into how all that works again, it’s tedious, so just refer to my previous Star Wars 101 post  to discover the sequence of episodes, prequels, sequels and all that jazz!

What we have here is a very welcome return to much more authentic, original looking, less overplayed special effects. I know you’re thinking this sounds ridiculous – it is, after all, a science fiction action film – but Star Wars purists will understand what I mean. There is much less of the exaggeration that was evident in some of the prequel episodes, which led to a dilution of that genuine look and feel we’d become used to in the earlier films. Thankfully, director J. J. Abrams together with one of his original writers, Lawrence Kasdan, is right back on track here, and not only with his take on the cinematography, but with the script too. Once again, George Lucas plays a creative consultant role – his name being synonymous with the Star Wars franchise – with both Lucas’ and Abrams’ companies (Lucasfilm and Bad Robot) producing. For the first time, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will be doing the worldwide distribution for a Star Wars title. This is a truly exciting and tremendous collaboration of industry giants!

The quips, the witty repartee, the imparting of wisdom: pay attention, it’s all there! Han Solo, played by the rather rumpled and forlorn, but nevertheless endearing, Harrison Ford still gets the good lines, along with his delightful sidekick Chewbacca (he’s a Wookiee!). Carrie Fisher as General Organa (formerly known as Princess Leia), is surprisingly gentle. She’s understated and refined – I suppose I found her still more of a princess than a General!  Newcomers, Daisy Ridley as the scavenger, Rey and John Boyega as Storm Trooper Finn, are naturals in their roles, and it’s refreshing to watch their characters develop onscreen both as individuals and as part of a team. The incredible Lupita Nyong’o is the wise and wonderful Maz – for me, she’s the Yoda in this piece. You just want to hang on to every word she says! Adam Driver as Kylo Ren (the Darth Vader lookalike), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux) and Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke) deliver sufficiently chilling and evil roles. The only disappointment for me was Oscar Isaac as resistance pilot, Poe Dameron. I felt his performance was far too deliberate and forced, and it just fell flat.

Oh, and there’s an adorable little droid called BB-8!

(Just an aside here … Did you know Storm Troopers were human? I didn’t! I can’t believe it took me 7 episodes to reach that realisation! Were we supposed to think they were automatons all this time?)

There’s been much talk about the prominent feminist role in this film, but quite honestly, I don’t know why it has to be taken as a loud statement. For me, the louder message that needs to be heard is Rey’s constant yearning to return home to her desolate planet of Jakku (you’d be forgiven if you mistook it for Tatooine, they’re that similar), before learning that you need to find home within yourself, and with what you carry inside you. But ultimately, although many will interpret it in many different and convoluted ways, it will always come down to the fact that this is a story about the battle between evil and good – in this case, the First Order and the Resistance.

So … as you sit in the darkened theatre and the familiar music plays; as the words scroll up the screen in front of you (in 3DIMAX, I hope), as the goosebumps rise on your arms, settle down in your seat as you feel that warm, comfortable sense of coming home to that galaxy … far, far away.