Unescorted.
Lady Rizo. Musical Direction Yair Evnine. Space Theatre. Adelaide Festival Centre. Adelaide Cabaret Festival. June 17-19 2015
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Lady Rizo . Photo by Lilac Scarf- Brochure |
She’s brash. She’s brazen and
she’s sensational. Lady Rizo brings her sexy, edgy, gutsy brand of New York
cabaret and cheeky irreverent comedy to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The girl from Oregon and Princess cruises to
Alaska turns on a powerhouse performance of original songs of love and freedom
and mish mashed versions of classic numbers from the great American songbook,
such as Cole Porter’s soulful, doleful, painful Love For Sale. Wild and wanton, her voice tears through the air, at
times terrifyingly primeval, at others alluringly beguiling, taunting convention,
and teasing with a sensual gaze or
slinky touch of burlesque.
Pregnant with child, Lady Rizo
flaunts her newly shaped figure, making the most of an audience member’s
awkward help to haul her onto the piano for a torch song rendition of Neil
Gaiman and Amanda Palmer’s ballad for the 21st. century, I Google You. Another unsuspecting audience member
volunteers, with a cheerful “Bye Honey” to his partner, to help Rizo change
behind the coloured screen in a shadow display of disrobement and sexual frivolity.
Kevin is a happy choice. Not everyone would so willingly reveal how they lost
their virginity. But it’s all in good fun before the stunning chanteuse appears
in a spangled white gown.
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| Lady Rizo |
When she sings, the roof lifts
with the sheer power of her voice. But in an instant, it is interrupted by
another humourous anecdote of the trip to the eighties in the Intercontinental
Hotel’s décor, the Dali Llama’s blessing of the wombats in the hotel foyer, the
staring ovations of bucket list octogenarians on luxury cruises and her passion
for meat pies. It’s all fun banter, culminating in a final blessing of the
audience and a communal group hum to the
Bee Gees To Love Somebody. An angel
in white, Lady Rizo, bathed in a spot, leaves the Space to the gentle hum of love,
a possible reminder of her childhood and her Hippie parents. Bathed in an aura
of healing, the audience applauds the departing spirit and, unescorted, Lady
Rizo leaves the theatre.
Unescorted is an anthem to love,
the love for her unborn child, the love for her music and the unbridled passion
of her song and the love for her first original happy love song. Wild she may
well be, rebellious and fierce, independent and strong ,but one with a lot of
love to give, laughter to evoke and the full throttled talent to
enterLady Rizotain. I would have preferred less
chat, less audience banter and more unbroken song by a singer with the voice to
rip and tear through the air and a band under the direction of Yair Evnine to
bring her unique brand of cabaret to town. But then, the comedienne is sister
to the chanteuse, and in Unescorted Lady
Rizo will wow an audience in any way she wants, wild and wicked and with a lot
of love to give.