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Martin Short - Live
Presented by:
Crown Melbourne & A-List Entertainment
Venue:
The Palms at Crown
Reviewer:
Simon Parris
Date
Reviewed: Thursday 28th May, 2009
 Martin
Short - what a career he had! Ok, so that is a little cruel, no
crueler than his many taunts and barbs to a long list of Australian
and international celebrities, but with his best movie and stage
roles possibly behind him it is worth reflecting on what iconic hits
they were. ‘The Three Amigos’, ‘Father of the Bride I & II’, ‘Mars
Attacks’, not to mention ‘The Goodbye Girl’ and ‘Little Me’ on
Broadway. Throw in years of comedy performances and two Broadway
‘one man’ shows and you have plenty of material for a night of solo
comedy and music.
After a
hilarious highlights reel, Short took to the Palms stage with gusto.
The large auditorium felt like a more intimate comedy venue, such
was the strength of projection of his warmth and humour. With just a
pianist for accompaniment, he created a world of characters and
characterisations that made for non-stop laughter.
While there
was plenty of heightened fiction mixed in with Short’s
reminiscences, even exaggerated sequences were surely based on some
facts. One could certainly imagine young Martin creating the Jackie
Rogers Jr talk show in his attic, interviewing a shaky Katherine
Hepburn, a somber Richard Burton and an extravagant Elizabeth Taylor
(not sure how Gen Y fans coped with all this but there was plenty
for everyone overall).
  Further
classic clips were scattered throughout the night, each introducing
the next segment. We were treated to a ‘Three Amigos’ tribute, a
visit from the mincing Franck from ‘Father of the Bride’ and, as the
climax of the evening, a fully staged interview by Jiminy Glick. A
very quick change turned Short into the sweaty, obese madcap
celebrity interviewer Glick. The ‘unwitting’ celebrity interviewee,
Shaun Micallef, fielded probing questions on his past, with Jiminy
reminding him all the while that he was not actually interested in
any of his answers. Comments like “You must have been a really
boring lawyer” made Dame Edna sound polite.
For the
Broadway fans, Short performed some of ‘Real Live Girl’ from his
Tony winning turn in ‘Little Me’. A couple of songs were from his
recent Broadway outing ‘Fame Becomes Me’, which featured music and
lyrics by Scot Wittman and Marc Shaiman of ‘Hairspray’ fame.
Martin Short
claims that “he wouldn’t be here if he’d saved”. Lucky for the
audience he didn’t!
Simon has
appeared in about 40 productions over the past thirty years. Recent
roles include Uncle Henry/Guard of the Gate in The Wizard of Oz
(Catchment) and Eugene Fodor in Crazy for You (Whitehorse). Other
favourite roles include Mr Fox in Mack and Mabel, Max in The Sound
of Music, Freddy in My Fair Lady, Julio in Paint Your Wagon,
Marcellus in The Music Man and Grantaire in Les Miserables.
Simon has
directed several school productions. Recently he choreographed
Urinetown and Little Shop of Horrors for St Michael’s Grammar
School. He is currently directing Hot Mikado for St Michael’s, to be
staged at the Athenaeum Theatre in May.
Simon has served
on the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Committee for five years, and
is currently Treasurer. He is also a keen audience member, having
seen over 50 shows in five weeks on a recent trip to New York and
London.
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