The Q –
Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre
Friday 6th
October 2017.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
Husband and
wife duo, Paul Martel and Jane Scali, have been treading the boards on and off
stage for over 20 years around Australia in clubs, casinos and cruise liners. Between them they’ve won 17 MO Awards, and
judging on their performance at the Q, it’s not difficult to see why.
Their act is
slick, fast moving, polished and professional. Working to recorded backing
tapes, they quickly establish an easy rapport with their audience. Martell
possesses an attractive and flexible baritone voice, well suited to his choice
of songs which ranged from Richard Rodgers’
“The Lady is a Tramp” through to a clever version of Anthony Newley’s “Talk
to the Animals”, which he used as the theme for a series of very funny vocal
impressions of the likes of Silvester Stallone, W.C.Fields, John Wayne, Kirk
Douglas, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Between songs he regaled his audience
with a string of jokes that were fresh, genuinely funny, topical, and
refreshingly clean.
Looking a
million dollars in a figure hugging green sequin dress, the first of three
stunning outfits she wears during the act, Scali impressed with her rendition
of the Amando Manzanero classic, “It’s Impossible”. Many associate this song
with Shirley Bassey, and Scali’s interpretation lost nothing in comparison. She
also delighted with a bouncy version of the Fred Ebb song “Sara Lee”.
Later in the
program she sang a charming selection of popular Italian songs in deference to
her heritage. Throughout they linked the
songs and jokes with affectionate husband and wife banter with the occasional
romantic duet, creating an atmosphere in which their audience felt comfortable
gently singing along, rather than being harangued to join in.
Theirs is a class
act which left their appreciative audience longing for more. Which perhaps
explains why the Q’s “Morning Melodies” initiative under Stephen Pikes careful
curatorship, which this year included similarly polished and professional acts
from Joey Fimmano, Luke Kennedy and Melody Beck, has developed such a loyal and
appreciative return audience?
