A NIGHT AT THE MUSICALS review. Drag show with Le Gateau Chocolat and Jonny Woo. At Theatre on the Bay, until 5 October 2019.
SHEILA CHISHOLM reviews
Nigerian born Le Gateau Chocolat and British born Jonny Woo are physically as opposite as any two drag queens can be. Jonny, sporting an 18″ (45,72cm) waist, has legs model Kate Moss would die for. Chocolat’s waist, not much short of 60″ (150cm), has shanks ponies of a size Naomi Campbell would die rather than have, but he’s justifiably proud to own them. And why not? On them he can entertain an audience while strutting around in spangled outfits on glittering T-bar high heels flapping his long false-eyelashes under bright orange eye shadow.
Jonny, too, flutters false eyelashes, above bright blue eye-shadow, and were it not for his lack of a bosom and his broad muscular (obviously male) shoulders, he is so gorgeous looking he might well pass as a high society woman.
“The Ebony and Ivory of Drag”
Dubbed “The Ebony and Ivory of Drag” by the Australian press, this couple good-humouredly and repeatedly play up to their ethnic differences.
Chocolat’s black beard matches his dark chocolate skin. Clean shaven Jonny’s skin is white chocolate. Chocolat’s eyes are deep brown. Jonny’s are true blue. And that’s that. And therein lies an important message to us. Laugh and accept each other as we are and we’ll get along famously.
Advanced billing states that, during their 90 minute show, no songs from musicals are safe from Chocolat and Jonny’s (mis)interpretation. Chocolat has a deep rich baritone which he uses to scale up and down the scale. Jonny reckons that he has ‘perfect pitch.’ Problem is he thinks viewers don’t hear him sing that way.
Night at the Musicals begins on a bare dark stage, devoid of scenery or props. That is bar two free-standing mics and effective multi-hued lighting. As the pair enter we see bewigged Chocolat, dressed in a tight fitting gold lame gown and Jonny, wrapped in a black velvet cloak with his face hidden behind a Norman Conquest style mask. The Phantom of the Opera theme song kick-starts an evening of songs from popular musicals such as Les Miserables, Grease, Cats, Hair and others.
Noteworthy moments
Quick as a wink, onto their basic leotards, they add colourful bits and pieces. Wigs and headgear define character to their patter either in solo parts or duets.
The first bit of audience involvement was when ‘JP’ was hauled onto the stage to act as a human prop for Jonny’s high kicking acrobatics singing Cabaret. JP deserved the applause for good humouredly allowing Jonny to “crawl” all over him.
There is no accounting why audiences react differently to actors’ acts. Sad to say on this occasion, hard as they tried, Chocolat and Jonny couldn’t connect or fully engage the audience. Somehow their routines fell flat in a way that even when walking through the auditorium wearing their stunning Mrs Pott and Belle’s teapot and cup headgear from Beauty and the Beast, the audience reacted indifferently.
Despite these comments, the pair did produce noteworthy moments. Chocolat uses his fingers, hands and arms to very effectively dramatise his song’s lyrics. But it is Jonny’s Les Miserables multi-character portraits that receive the evening’s gold star.
To a backing track, at lightning speed, he twists and twirls a beige gilet into “garments” that the Les Miserables characters he mimicks would wear. This act is so clever, if for no other reason it makes buying a ticket to A Night at the Musicals worth seeing.
Book A Night at the Musicals tickets here.
What: A Night at the Musicals review
When: Until 5 October 2019
Where: Theatre on the Bay Cape Town
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