17 Seriously Satirical Songs: And A Hat For Every Occasion @ La Bohème ~ Adelaide Fringe 2019 Review

[CABARET/COMEDY ~ WORLD PREMIERE ~ SA] La Bohème – The Cabinet Room (Upstairs), Wed 27 Feb. A man with a hat for every occasion – at least 17 of them! David Cronin has a background in clowning and theatre, writing and songwriting and it shows with the many elements that are woven into this performance. The bedrock of the show is a body of songs of parody played on ukulele, starting with Pick A Peck Of Cotton being twisted into Taking Our Water, later on ukulele replaces Hallelujah in a version of the Cohen classic and somewhere towards the finish Dylan’s Blowing In The Wind becomes a PC song about man’s quest to master the household chores. There are plenty of others (you'll count more than 17) including a very amusing medley of well-known tunes. Besides sing-a-long choruses, there are several places for audience participation, including a showdown at the Umbrella Corral with the hombres, from which a very clever piece of physical theatre is started – David in a sphere of umbrellas, rotating inside them. There is also a bit of magic conjuring, some stand-up banter and the whole show strung along with cabaret style spoken word sometimes full of puns, sometimes word-play that morphs into the next song. So if ukulele is your thing, here is a man that can show you how versatile it can be helping to carry a tune and deliver some well thought out lines. And make no mistake, David is a wordsmith who is not only creative, but works hard to edit and sharpen his parodies! There is also an opportunity for a spot of Vegetarian Bingo in the rendition of the original folk song that Simon and Garfunkel popularised – if you can spot all 47 vegetables and herbs! 4 stars Clayton Werner 17 Seriously Satirical Songs continues La Bohème – The Cabinet Room (Upstairs), at various times, until Wed 6 Mar. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. #ADLfringe