Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. 8 Jun 2025
I don’t know why I expected to see anything other than an audience comprised primarily of over 55s, but I had hoped! As it turned out, later during the show the magnificently dignified yet debauched Carlotta—never thought I’d use those words in the same line!—conducted a little survey and found one teen to be in the audience and promptly named her “the virgin.” A few people made sequined effort with jackets but for the most part, despite Carlotta’s later observation that “Adelaide audiences dress well” an abundance of leisurewear and running shoes was evident. A fur here and a pair of stunning red suede leather boots here did little to assuage the greyness of the audience. This is Cabaret Festival, for goodness’ sake! Can we aim a little higher with the risqué flamboyance, please? But I digress!
A medley of classics, among them Can’t Take My Eyes Off You preceded Carlotta’s entrance. Adelaide’s Cabaret maestro, Michael Griffiths entered to lead the tight trio from the grand piano seamlessly weaving through a song list thematically reflecting Carlotta’s raison d'être. When the winner of the 2025 Adelaide Cabaret Festival Icon Award took to the stage, resplendent in a magnificent jade green sequined gown, silver head and neck pieces and a sumptuous purple feather boa, it was clear the show would live up to reputation! The Kings Cross legend regaled us with stories of the past and assured us that “when you’re good to Carlotta, Carlotta is good to you!” This “poor old boiler” can still belt out a song, her voice strong and clear and, when needed, well supported by Griffiths.
Carlotta’s lamentations—half tongue in cheek, half serious—about aging, framed by the fact she will be 82 in September and met with a cheer, set up wonderful shtick. “What’s there to cheer about!?! Aging’s a shit! In the bathroom mirror I look like a Dugong with lipstick!” Such self-deprecating humour, skilfully balanced with political barbs, risqué comments to hapless individuals and barbed socio-political insights, show why this remarkable octogenarian hasn’t been out of work since she was sixteen! Dismissing political correctness as having “ruined a lot in this country,” this feisty chanteuse launched into a fabulous rendition of Rodgers and Hart’s 1937 show tune The Lady Is a Tramp. Carlotta’s recollections of meeting a range of greats like Debbie Reynolds while performing at RSL and Leagues Clubs segued nicely into generous praise for the abundant talent in Australia and closed with dropping the name “Barry Manilow” into the conversation before launching into a heartfelt rendition of I Write the Songs. A spirited rendition of Peter Allen’s I Go To Rio by Griffith saw a spectacular costume change and duet followed by some charmingly crass repartee. Observations of the dire state of the world made I Still Call Australia Home deeply warming while a quick little Q&A revealed the travails of being ‘different’ in the monoculture of Australia in the 1960s.
Carlotta has little time for whingers and has clearly endured more than her fair share of the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” However, there is no pathos here, simply matter of fact observations of what was. Michael Griffiths’ stood out with JPY’s 1978 smash hit Love Is In the Air, penned by the dynamic Vanda and Young, a song that simply keeps on keeping on, to cover the final costume change. To close, Gloria Gaynor’s I Am What I Am and Sinatra’s My Way were belted out with warranted ferocity while, sadly, Elaine Strich’s wonderfully defiant I’m Still Here, signaled Carlotta’s exit from the stage she has commanded for so long. Carlotta is, perhaps, “more famous than Ita Buttrose.” She has certainly paved the way for entertainers and audiences alike to unashamedly “be!”
The party may well be over, but what a way to go!
John Doherty
When: 8 Jun 2025
Where: Dunstan Playhouse
Bookings: Closed
