Boswell And Beyond… Sing The Devil’s Music At Nexus Cabaret – Adelaide Fringe Review

Nexus Cabaret, Fri Mar 6 With a 1930s start (film screen included), the show begins ‘doco’ style with the sharing of family history on the original Boswell Sisters - Martha, Connie and Vet – 3 young girls singing the Devil's Music! Tonight we have The Boswell Project - Red, Blonde and Brunette – in a sell-out premiere show for the Adelaide season of The Fringe. We were treated to some performance ‘firsts’ as they sung their meticulous harmonies, strutted their stuff, and took us back to the feel and sound of the good ol’ days. The cabaret performance was well paced, interspersing tunes with history and comedy, delivering diversity in sound and visuals – and our attention was captivated from the start. Their Radio Show segment cleverly added depth to the story as we really got to know who this show is about. The original Boswell Sisters were known for their variations from the norm that was typical of their era. They varied timing and rhythms, and added unexpected sounds such as train whistles and scat. The performance tonight was infectious, and the girls were clearly having a great time on stage with their ‘Applause’, ‘Laugh’ and ‘Gasp’ placards. You have never seen such elegant nose trumpet! The vocals shared the limelight with the instruments – keyboard, double bass, trumpet (the real thing), clarinet, sax and percussion. The band got in on the comedy skits, and coped ably with the costume additions the poor chaps had to balance on their heads while playing their instruments! The original Boswells inspired great artists of the times, such as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and the evergreen Andrews Sisters. After a quick costume change the ‘Andrew Sisters’ swanned on stage in their smart khaki uniforms and delivered impeccable renditions of some old favourites, including the classic Rum and Co-ca-Co-la. It was a swell affair! Karen Bailey & Terry Izatt Boswell and Beyond... continues at Nexus Cabaret until Sun Mar 8. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. Image courtesy of Chloe Gehrke