Kaye Tuckerman. Broadway Bound(but not gagged).
The Blue Room. Adelaide Festival Centre. Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2019 June 13-14
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Kaye Tuckerman in Broadway Bound (but not gagged) |
From the back of The Blue Room
Kaye Tuckerman sidles amongst the tables, urging audience members “Let’s raise
the roof, hold on to the bladder and make a scene”. Songwriter, Luke’s Raise the Roof is the perfect entry to
set the Adelaide Festival Centre’s The Blue Room aflame and draw the audience
in to Tuckerman’s cautionary tale. Broadway
Bound (but not gagged) tracks Tuckerman’s journey from the Northern beaches
of Sydney to WAAPA and NIDA and across the seas to the Big Apple in search of a
life on Broadway. Throughout the life story she sings songs of ambition (Corner of the Sky from Pippin),dream
songs ((Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics), songs of success (an Abba
Medley including Waterloo, danced t with a surprised audience member and Money, Money , Money) and the song of Disillusionment and Despair (Don’t Wish Too Hard by Peter Allen). But through it all Carol King’s Beautiful
is a constant reminder that You’ve Got To
Get Up Every Morning With A Smile On Your Face.
Broadway Bound (but not gagged) is must see cabaret by any aspiring
performer with stars in their eyes and a dream in their hearts. From her early
beginnings in Oliver under mentor Bob
Wells, who set her on the road to Broadway, to the thrill of receiving a Green
Card from Obama and embarking on a taxing but exciting tour in Mamma Mia to rejection and survival
Tuckerman has hit the highs and the lows of the performer’s destiny. She is
quick to repeat Nick Enright’s line in the Boy
From Oz. “There are the good times and the bad times, but in between you’re in
for an interesting ride”
And Broadway Bound (but not gagged) is an interesting ride. Tuckerman sings from the heart belting
out the songs of experience and breathing the notes of despair. Hers is an
emotional rollercoaster ride and from the steely resolve of Let’s Raise The Roof to the soulful
enticement of Bob Telson’s Calling You Tuckerman cautions any starry-eyed dreamer with the sound advice in George Benson’s Ón Broadway -And I
won’t quit til I’m a star on Broadway!
Backed by a wonderful musical
trio of musical director, John Thorn on piano, Shireen Khemlani on bass and
Jarrad Payne on drums, Tuckerman, simply dressed in black, sings from the heart
with forceful renditions that could have perhaps given way at times to softer, subtler
moments and gentler, less strained vocals, but for anybody who dreams of
Broadway and anybody who loves musical theatre and cabaret, Tuckerman’s personal
tale is a moving and salutary tribute to
those who dare to follow their dream.