So the annual coogee carols round up.... Ok so, as we all know this event has ALOT to live up to! It was at this event that I first met the woman who was to be my flatmate and regular carols of the bells singer, Ms. Jennifer Peers. It was here I first met Lucy Durack Horsey who told me she dreamed of playing Glinda in Wicked (though I have to say, she practically entered by balloon, such was the foregone conclusion of that one!) and it was here that I first sang when a Child is Born-with the monologue made famous by Kamahl. As I said coogee carols has ALOT to live up to! So it is with trepidation that I approach each year... We kicked off the night with Chloe Marshall who won the search for a Coogee star competition some years back ala Aussie Idol, when the producers decided to get hip and,at the age of about 12now she has grown up on the stage...The coogee carols stage. The year she advances to angels we have heard on high is the year I retire. Notable absentees were Ms. Peers herself, regular fan goer Queenie Van de Zandt and coogee local, come too-good-for-us-now-hes-comfortable-taking-his-shirt-off, Kurt Phelan. Then there was the usual suspects; Brendan Moore proving again he was not just a handsome host, Tony Cogin (who for the past ten years has brought a child onto the stage thereby winning himself a pass to get away with ANYTHING -which he doesnt need! I digress for a moment to recollect a year when I realised this ploy and thought, two can play at that, and retrieved the only willing child in the audience at the time. I sang my usual when a child is born with an awkward 15-year old. Ok, so maybe it doesnt always work?!?), Martin Crewes, who gives the evening some west end style class and of course Simon Pryce who brings the macho to music theatre. And me...drunk by sound check in the booze tent, eating party pies and cramming Christmas lyrics! So, for the first time this year, I decided to free-ball it! I went on without the words and,apart from a small glitch which i still maintain is the bands fault, I muddled through with a bit of charm, and the odd raise your candles to cover lost lyrics! Ben Mingay gave a perfect intro (no Tyrane this year!) though I believe when he went to give me a high-five I may have pinched him on the arse-Ill get better at those visual cues next year! There was controversy when Vanessa Fallon decided to display ALL talents( I can sing legit AND belt) in a mash up allowing her to wow any potential talent scouts in the audience and prove once and for all, she aint just a Christine from phantom. But she did it it great and could well get a call from Frosty about covering Caroline in Anything Goes next year. In a surprise move Jerusalem did not go this year to resident operatic bass/baritone (and full time wiggle) Simon Pryce but rather to Brendan Moar who equipped himself very well! Caroline Kaspar wowed the crowd with not just excellent singing but a fine attention to text during silver bells. Her gesture to the ear during the line hear them laughing was just the sort of clarity expected from such a seasoned performer. As usual, it was not just the traditional carols represented at Coogee and when it came to the pop classic, last Christmas I gave you my heart, the honour went to none other than coogees answer to George Michael...the resident operatic bass/baritone (and full time wiggle) simon Pryce (but its amazing what you can get away with a few sways- especially if the under 7s are already rooting for you!) There were a few coogee virgins this year-both Troy Alexander Wilkie and Phillip Lowe looked nervous before their respective carol but both triumphed. Both did well but both have a bit they could learn from a coogee carols veteran like myself. Well, actually if it comes to it, and it has, I have a bit of a bone to pick with Pip... Now, perhaps its sour grapes (when a child is born being one of my most acclaimed in the repertoire) but to do that most hallowed of numbers and omit the monologue; and all the world is waiting, waiting for one child;black, white, yellow... Is criminal and not what the good people of Coogee expect after a decade of my rendition. Sure, it May be a little outdated, but if its good enough for the Myer a Music bowl, its good enough for Coogee! (You could do what I did one year, and rather than pretend the term yellow wasnt there, I just drew attention to it proudly by adding ALL the marginalised communities; black, white, yellow, gay, lesos, spasos... But to just ignore it is not in the spirit of Khamahl, let alone Christmas! But pip did just that. And sure, sure, we all know that he is now in a relationship with Zoe Gertz but that-though fiercely impressive- Im afraid does not absolve all sins. He will know for next year. The other tradition that was upheld tonight was that of me getting riotously drunk before the finale and somehow being handed a mike for it. But dont worry, I didnt as in the Past years, thank the mayor of coogee, nor did I, like last year, invite the entire 20,000 plus crowd back to my place...this year, as the rest of the cast sang we wish you A merry Christmas, I did the only right thing To do; I did the monologue from When A Child Is Born Better late than never! Merry Christmas!
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 11:04:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015