What Do You Think of Me So Far?
30.04.2002
The Sunday Age

Melissa Langton won the 2001 Sydney Cabaret Festival Convention, and watching her in action at Chapel off Chapel this week, it's easy to see why. She has a knock-out voice, impeccable comic timing and a combination of self-confidence and self-deprecation which is perfectly suited to the intimacy of cabaret.

Melissa Langton: What do you think of me so far? Is directed by Shaun Murphy (currently starring in Sweeney Todd) and the style is as smooth and cheeky as that of Murphy's own group, Combo Fiasco. Even more important, though, is the on-stage relationship between Langton and her musical director (and husband), Mark Jones. He starts out playing the straight man to her funny woman, but as the show progresses, Jones becomes increasingly wacky, at one point even enticing Langton to the piano so he can sing a song.

The song list is eclectic, ranging from ABBA's I'm a Marionette, to a Tom Jones medley (Delilah, What's New Pussycat), to quirky musical-theatre numbers. The songs get raunchier as the night goes on, and a highlight is when Sigmund Freud (Jones) tries to persuade blues singer Honeypot Watkins (Langton) to stop using euphemisms and sing the word "penis".

Each night Langton invites a guest performer to the stage, and on opening night Shaun Murphy joined them for a breathtaking a capella trio version of Lean on Me, arranged by Mark Jones. Don't miss this show, and if you do, demand that Chapel off Chapel bring Melissa Langton and friends back again real soon.