One-man musical phenomenon Le Gateau Chocolat and UK drag artiste Jonny Woo took the stage on Wednesday night (25 January) for MELT Festival’s first night of ‘A Night At The Musicals’.
Brisbane Powerhouse was alive and full of colour as people poured in on opening night of MELT Festival.
It was my first time in the Visy Theatre to see ‘A Night At The Musicals’ and I was surprised to see how small it was. The stage was surrounded by close-knit, raised seating but managed to fit about 150+ people in so it was a very intimate show.
Show tunes were playing overhead and the audience were clearly jazzed and eager for the show to begin.
Le Gateau and Jonny opened the night with ‘The Phantom Of The Opera’, Le Gateau wearing a beautiful champagne chiffon gown and Jonny in a black cloak and Darth Vader mask. Without even a word, it was already funny. I was immediately taken by Le Gateau’s warm baritone voice that shook through my body. It was a rare pleasure to hear.
The pair were quick to undress, Le Gateau into a gold sequin number and Jonny into a black, shimmering one-piece. They brought their characters to life as they bantered and ripped our favourite musicals to shreds with dignity and respect.
Musical numbers included ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ from ‘Les Miserables’, a cliff-notes version of ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Beauty And The Beast’, just to name a few.
One highlight was when Le Gateau took the stage donned in a light-up cape to sing ‘Let It Go’ from ‘Frozen’. Jonny elegantly pranced around to assist with silly string, a smoke machine and a fan to take the piss of the corny reality that is musical theatre.
Jonny made the crowd laugh and cry when he asked an audience member up on stage to perform a lap dance with the world’s largest jazz hands. He displayed an enormous amount of talent as he sung note-for-note, danced and had every audience member hooked.
Jonny and Le Gateau were never too serious and were always having fun with the show, yet performed so seamlessly and perfectly.
Theatre, drag, song and dance are what they were born to do; it came so naturally to them. Their characters were loveable in every way yet so different from each other so they complemented each other well, while ripping each other to shreds.
The night concluded with a ‘Grease’ sing-a-long which finished the night on a high. The audience were in good spirits and ready to get involved by this stage.
I don’t think this is a show anyone could not enjoy. Even if you hate musicals, you’d still enjoy the comedy and entertainment. And if you love musicals then I’m sure you’ve already seen it. If not, I highly recommend you make a night of it.
'A Night At The Musicals' Tour Dates
25-29 January – Brisbane Powerhouse31 January-6 February – Perth Cultural Centre
