The 2013 Variety Gala performance will toast the Adelaide Festival Centre’s 40th anniversary and the opening of the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival with some of the finest cabaret performers around the world. Due to popular demand the Gala will run over two exclusive nights in spectacular style.
The Gala is firmly secured as a feature on the Adelaide entertainment calendar and a staple in the diet of every Cabaret Festival fan – the performance is the appetizer to the grand buffet of performances that are on offer at the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The performance will feature highlights from international and local cabaret stars backed by the Adelaide Art Orchestra in a 90 minute showcase of outstanding talent.
The 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival program is set to sizzle with four artists announced ahead of the official program launch on 6 April. Tony Award Winning performer, Idina Menzel will lead the charge. The star of Broadway’s Wicked and the original stage production of Rent will headline the closing weekend of the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival on 22 June, Festival Theatre.
Menzel will enchant audiences with the 55 piece Adelaide Art Orchestra and demonstrate why she is one of the great vocal performers of our time, with a diverse repertoire of classic pop and musical theatre favourites including hits from Wicked and Rent. Garnering huge critical acclaim, she has a diverse career on the stage, in film, television and in music. A favourite in the smash hit television series Glee, she is exactly the type of star Cabaret Festival audiences have grown to love and expect.
Also hailing from the US is two-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer and composer Cassandra Wilson, who is renowned for her ability to cover everything from British pop to American country. She transcends any one musical genre, deftly reinventing the jazz repertoire. Wilson will appear with her incredible sextet made up of some of the best musicians in the US.
Flying the Aussie flag will be Australian star of stage and screen Tom Burlinson, who will bring his sensational salute to the masters of swing in Now We’re Swinging. Burlinson will perform a montage of classics by Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra as well as contemporary swing sensations Harry Connick Jr, Michael Bublé and Robbie Williams. Accompanying Tom on stage will be an eight piece band featuring some of Australia’s best jazz musicians. 12 – 13 June, Dunstan Playhouse.
Another Aussie tribute sees the return of Eddie Perfect in Shane Warne The Musical in Shane Warne The Musical. First seen in 2008, it has become a smash hit with critics and audiences alike and has even been endorsed by Warne himself. Premiering in the Cabaret Festival this new concert presentation opens on 5 June ahead of the official Cabaret Festival Variety Gala and opening weekend. Perfect stars as Shane Warne and leads an exceptional cast in this epic hero-worshipping, PR spinning, celebrity-slaying, satirical homage. With new arrangements and musical direction from multi-award winning Iain Grandage, Perfect’s brilliant score will be brought to life by the 24 piece Adelaide Art Orchestra, fusing soul, gospel, rock, power ballads, opera and even a touch of Bollywood. 5 – 9 June, Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Adelaide Festival Centre's CEO and Artistic Director, Douglas Gautier is pleased to announce that Kate Ceberano will continue as Artistic Director for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival for 2014.
“We are delighted that Kate has accepted the opportunity to lead the Adelaide Cabaret Festival program in 2014. She is doing an outstanding job and has brought her unique sense of style to the Festival which continues to attract new audiences.”
“The success of last years’ festival was testament to Kate’s creative programming, which has really connected with audiences. Continuing to program for the 2014 Festival will allow her to keep building and growing the reputation of the Festival, not only with audiences but also with artists from all over the globe.”