Listen to My Heart
David Friedman is one of those songwriters that most people don’t know by name but do know the work. As well as conducting the scores for Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas, Friedman produced and wrote for legendary cabaret singer Nancy LaMott and has had his work performed by countless others. Listen to My Heart: The Songs of David Friedman is a song cycle collected from Friedman’s extensive catalogue of work (his songbook is several inches thick) showcasing his skills as a songwriter.
Although there’s no narrative in the show per-se, the songs are arranged to follow a ‘life,’ that is birth, life and death, with a healthy dose of happiness and despair thrown in along the way. The cast of five (Margi de Ferranti, Tony Farrell, Tyran Parke, Saskia Smith and Kaye Tuckerman) take turns singing the songs (there are a few group numbers but no duets) and each is given the chance to shine solo.
Listen to My Heart includes ballads, up tempo songs and comedic numbers, but it becomes obvious early on that Friedman’s strengths lie in his ballads and as a result the show is skewed towards them. While this isn’t a bad thing - Catch Me, You’re There and We Live on Borrowed Time are some of the best ballads ever - when performed one after the other light and shade tend to go missing.
The cast do a great job, connecting well with their songs and making the most of their solo spots. Director Neil Gooding keeps things moving, making sure that after the slow-down ballads things are speeded up again.
Altogether an entertaining evening featuring some very intelligent songwriting, it is wonderful to see this show in Australia, and we can hope it might mean we will hear more of Friedman’s work.
You can hear an interview with Kaye Tuckerman in Episode 23 of StageCast.
The show runs until May 5 at the Statement Cabaret Lounge and tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
