Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except for Melissa, Mark and Libby)
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 11:53PM Melissa Langton, Mark Jones and Libby O’Donovan present their hit show from the Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2009 at this year’s Fringe. They’ll be performing at the Speigeltent in The Garden of Unearthly Delights Wed Feb 17 & Thurs Feb 18.
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey) may be the longest title of an Adelaide Fringe show in 2010. Interestingly it is one of the lesser known tunes written by one of the best known songwriting teams, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
I get the impression that the show is probably filled with that sort of juxtaposition of familiar and foreign, but when I asked Melissa Langton about it she explained it in far simpler terms.
Can you tell me what I can expect when I come to see Everybody’s Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey)?
You can expect 3 great vocalists doing some hot harmonies and fab arrangements of some well known and some lesser known Lennon & McCartney numbers.
The show was premiered at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2009 to much acclaim. My friends told me how much the enjoyed it. What did you learn from that first season?
We learnt that everybody loves a good Lennon & McCartney song, no matter what the age group. We had everyone from teenagers to nanas there!
Lennon and McCartney wrote some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. What legacy do you think they left for songwriters that followed them?
I think they challenge songwriters to write songs that explore all different genres and sounds. The Beatles were the most inspired writers of the 60’s. They dared to jump from the stereotypes of the day and follow their own instincts.
Paul McCartney has continued to release albums so we’ve been able to follow his musical progression. If John was still living, in what direction(s) you think his songwriting and performance would have developed?
Mmmm, tricky! John Lennon became very involved with politics and the social unrest of the 70’s. He was very vocal and passionate about his beliefs and many of his songs reflected his feelings. Even Imagine, which seems like just a really good ballad when you let it wash over you, is making huge social comment. I think Lennon would still be writing songs about the society we live in. He had a particular fascination with American politics, so I’m sure that would be a big part of his song themes.
Are there particular songs that you feel work better than others in a cabaret situation or is any song fair game?
I think the best cabarets are shows that can take any genre of music and arrange it to suit a cabaret audience. I think you have to be particularly careful when songs are pulled from musical theatre shows in particular. Sometimes they don’t work without the costumes and sets of the show that they are taken from.
Is the Melissa onstage during Everybody’s Got Something to Hide any different to the person you are when you’re offstage? Would people who have got to know you through you performances be surprised by the person they met if they ran into you on the street?
No, I think I am exactly the same person onstage in my shows as I am offstage! Pretty daggy really!
You’ve worked extensively in musical partnership with your husband Mark Jones in a number of different shows. What is it like to bring Libby O’Donovan into the musical relationship? Do you find having a third person changes the way you and Mark usually work or relate to each other as performers?
Yes. We can’t fight as openly as we do when it is just the two of us. We just go into the next room! It doesn’t change our onstage relationship though.
Once you’ve conquered the Spiegeltent here in Adelaide, what project is next on the cards for you in 2010?
I am doing Threepenny Opera at The Malthouse! I am pretty excited about this. Firstly it is Kurt Weill, which can’t be bad. Secondly, many of the performers in this particular production are great cabaret performers. Eddie Perfect, Paul Capsis, Casey Benetto, Judi Connelli! I can’t wait!
Venue: The Garden of Unearthly Delights - The Spiegeltent
Feb 17 & 18 @ 8.15pm
Adult $28/Concession $25
Book at FringeTIX (1300-FRINGE) or click here.
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Other cabaret shows featured in Adelaide Fringe 2010:
Ali McGregor in ‘Jazz Cigarette’
Grocery Girls Gone Wild OR Lock Up Your Porters


