Frolic Cabaret – Saturday July 6
It may have been a cold Ballarat night but people turned out in droves to attend the first Frolic Cabaret as part of Ballarat Winterfest 2019. There was a buzz in the air as people lined up outside the venue waiting for the doors to open at 7pm. Thankfully there was a fire pit going outside to keep punters warm.
Once the doors opened and people rushed in their names were quickly checked off and they were shown to their seats by our wonderful volunteers. Having their seats now reserved people grabbed a drink, ordered some food, and mingled in the bar area and outside by the fire. Hint for those coming this Saturday – doors open at 7pm sharp, not beforehand – so be prepared!
Act 1
Host Nellie Minelli
Miss Nellie Minelli kicked off the show with the classic ‘Life Is A Cabaret’, introduced herself to the crowd and got some crowd participation happening. Cabaret audiences are expected to whoop and holler, and it wasn’t long before they were warmed up.
Nellie then introduced HollyPop to the stage – HollyPop may be a drag queen but she can sing live! HollyPop sang Kander and Ebb classic ‘Sara Lee’ as she comically stuffed brownies into her face.
HollyPop performing ‘Sara Lee’
Next up was Katherine Gale – wow, what a voice! Katherine did two songs, ‘Secret Love’ and ‘They All Laughed’. Her classical singing training really came across with some of those high notes.
Lil’ Jul was up next for something a little different that you don’t usually see at a Cabaret show. Lil’ Jul did two original raps – ‘Hi Skool’ and ‘Posiedon’. He had the crowd along with the ride for his performance.
Anna Phalaxis got the blood pumping with some burlesque next. Our first burlesque act of the night she took the stage by storm and ‘God’s Country’.
Katelyn Davey then did a Little Mermaid parody song about being short, ‘Part of your World’ and then some brilliant and sharp adult comedy afterwards. The crowd were laughing and cheering along to some of the blunt and witty home truths being delivered.
Maureen Andrew then took to the stage as the last performer of Act 1. She dominated the stage, chewed it up and spat it out. She had the audience both laughing at the start and then crying at the end of her two Shirley Bassey songs, ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘All by myself’. Definitely a highlight of the first act – her vocals blew off the roof!
Maureen Andrew or Shirley Bassey? You decide!
With that we had an emotional intermission where people grabbed some drinks, got some fresh air outside, sat around the fire pit raving about the first act of the show. When time came for people to come back inside for Act 2 people raced back to their seats.
Act 2
Nellie then told a very amusing story that had people laughing (especially that one woman up the back who kept setting everyone else off!) and then introduced Kara Chameleon to the stage.
Kara performed a very energetic burlesque performance to Adam Lambert’s ‘For Your Entertainment’ involving both a whip and a chair! It was clear who was in charge during this performance.
Kara’s energy was electric
Then Lil’ Jul was back on stage for two more pieces, ‘Cemetery’ and ‘Epilogue’.
Anna Phalaxis then graced the stage again for a particularly moving burlesque piece to ‘The Sound of Silence’. It was breathtaking.
Burlesque star Anna Phalaxis
Katherine then came back on stage and after opening up about her own story and the meaning of pride, and acknowledging those who have fought for LGBTIQA+ rights in the past sang two stunningly beautiful songs, ‘Love Never Dies’ from the musical Love Never Dies and ‘No-one Will Bruise’ from the musical ATLANTIS by Australian composer Matthew Robinson. Tears were shed again during some of those power notes. Katherine was truly superb!
Katherine Gale, singer extraordinaire
Maureen took the stage again and ran with it. Singing ‘I Who Have Nothing’ and pride classic ‘I Am Who I Am’ she had the audience eating out of her hand again with those incredible vocals and stage presence.
Miss Minnie Mayhem then took to the stage and showed that she really is the premiere burlesque performer of Ballarat in a strong and confident performance that teased the audience. She raised the roof and wowed the crowd!
Minnie Mayhem lit up the stage, but only just
Lastly, HollyPop invited us to take a ‘Selfie’ as she absolutely blasted the stage with a more traditional drag show. The show ended on a satisfying climax!
Many thanks to the performers who all did a beyond fantastic job, and to the audience who clapped, cheered, laughed, and cried along. Thanks for all the loving vibes and we hope you enjoyed the show as much as we did!
Don’t forget we’re back again on Saturday night with some new performers and completely new acts! If you’ve read all of this and don’t have tickets for Saturday night, what are you waiting for?
At only $10 for concession or $20 full price for a whole night of entertainment you can’t go wrong. As Dennis, one first time Frolic punter along on Saturday night said, ‘it’s such a great deal for a night of entertainment – you can’t even get a movie ticket for those prices!’
More info on the next show here: Frolic Cabaret Night 2 @ Ballarat Winterfest
Get your tickets to the next show by clicking here
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