(Above: Jaques Heyns & Judith Hawthorn in Liza Doolittle costume. Pic by Roland Perold)
If you love the songs from the musicals – as I do, having performed in some of them such as My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music - then watch out for Judith Hawthorn’s next presentation of her show I Love a Show Tune. Even if you are unfamiliar with the songs, you can’t fail to enjoy her engaging personality. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Getting to Tina’s Hotel in Kloof during a load-shedding period is quite an eerie journey but successfully achieved, thanks to GPS and an excellent driver! As with many planned events, loadshedding really turns everything upside down, especially when it is announced at short notice.
Therefore hats off to the Rhumbelow Theatre crew at Tina’s for holding off the performance of Judith Hawthorn’s I Love A Show Tune! for a further half hour until the lights came back on and then sensibly waiting for another 15 minutes to make sure they stayed on!
This kind of situation also puts pressure on performers as suddenly their normal preparation warm-up time goes awry.
However, Judith Hawthorn came onto the stage confidently, all-smiles and engaging immediately with her audience. She has an excellent accompanist in Jaques Heyns, who gave us a pleasant quarter of an hour after the lights came back on, just in case they went off again! This meant the unplanned intro moved smoothly into the show itself.
I Love a Show Tune!, which is directed by Paul Spence, echoes Hawthorn’s own musical preferences and so we had an enjoyable programme of well-known numbers from musicals such as Beauty and the Beast, My Fair Lady, Annie Get Your Gun, Sweet Charity, Gigi and Sound of Music.
She takes us through her early life, saying she can sing and play the piano, which she then does, accompanying her chat with gentle background music. With the occasional change of props like hats and scarves, her easy presentation includes interesting information about the original performers of the numbers or the musical itself.
Hawthorn teaches music and is a generous performer, inviting those whose talents she respects to join her on stage. These included Allie Kietzmann who is a close friend from her schooldays. Also showing their talents were Lara Wessels and Curro Hillcrest students Megan O’Riley and Calleigh O’Riley who joined Hawthorn in numbers from Sound of Music. The proud expression on their tutor’s face said it all!
The second half of the show takes a completely different turn – with Hawthorn now dressed in a glamorous ball gown and performing more dramatic pieces such as taking off her Sunday School teacher who is explaining to her youngsters all about Noahhhh (with huge gasping emphasis on the “h”) and what he got up to.
Some Things Are Meant To Be from Little Women is handled with sensitivity as the character tries to encourage her much-loved sister to continue living, although she knows there is no hope for her recovery.
Alongside a highly amusing rendition of Supercalifragilistic, she dons a long black wig representing an eccentric European maestro infected with the Victor Borge genius. I was a great fan of Borge who had an individual way of smoothly turning a classic piece into a contemporary one.
If you love the songs from the musicals – as I do, having performed in some of them such as My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music - then watch out for Judith Hawthorn’s next presentation of her show I Love a Show Tune. Even if you are unfamiliar with the songs, you can’t fail to enjoy her engaging personality.
The production is available for corporate bookings. Contact Paul Spence on 084 341 1742 – Caroline Smart
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