CRUEL INTENTIONS

■ David Venn Enterprises (The W edding Singer, Bring It On: The Musical) announce the return of Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical by popular demand to Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre in Collins St from February 16.

Audiences will be able to sing-along to the line up of back-to-back hits including Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve), Every You and Every Me (Placebo), Bye Bye Bye (*NSYNC), Sometimes (Britney Spears), Just A Girl (No Doubt), Foolish Games (Jewel), Genie In A Bottle (Christina Aguilera), Candy (Mandy Moore), Breakfast At Tiffany’s (Deep Blue) and more.

Performance Details: From February 16

Venue: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne Bookings: www.cruelintentions.com.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

Kovid Rat Kabarett

■ Ella Filar and Cerise De Gelder have created Kovid Rat Kabarett Goes Spiral - What Doesn't Kill You Mutates and Tries Againuntil February 12 at La Mama Courthouse, Drummond St, Carlton.

It is performed by Ruth Katerlos, Chris Molyneux, Isabella Gilbert, Adam Ibbetson, Maureen Hartley, Ella Filar (keyboard), Martin Zakharov (sax), and Sally Banks (violin).

Promotional material for the show says "the COVID-19 pandemic generated the biggest global psycho experiment in history.

“At one point almost half of the world population were under strict lockdown orders and injected with substances.

“ In isolation on a treadmill of self-exploration, Karen, Adam, Claire and Andrew begin to identify as Lebo Rats.

“But as the acclaimed Rhodent Cerise de Gelder has been writing for the independent theatre scene for nearly 20 years.

“During lockdown she accepted the challenge "to add a touch of sanity to Krows Bar Kabaret’s crazy world." She didn’t succeed but she had fun trying.

Ella Filar was once hailed Melbourne's 'Queen of Cabaret'. Her original style draws on the Left-of-Berlin European post war heritage of Brecht/Weill, Grimm's Fairy Tale and Judeo Christian ritual.

Performance Season: Until February 12

Times: Wed 6.30pm, Thur-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4pm

Venue: La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton

Duration: Approx. 60 minutes

Tickets: $30 full price, $20 concession

Bookings: 9347 6948 www.lamama.com.au www.crowsbarcabaret.com

- Cheryl Threadgold

Glamour Pussy

■ Glamour Pussy and the Hip Replacements will be presented as a Sunday Soirée on the last Sunday of each month at 3pm at The Alex Theatre, St Kilda. The next show will be on Sunday, February 26.

Directed by Shaun Murphy, GlamourPussy shares the secrets of getting older that no-one tells you about. Dressed for success, GlamourPussy's mission is to spread the good word as she sings of the joys of post-menopause.

“GlamourPussy came about because I found myself at a ‘certain age’ - post-menopause and feeling fabulous," says creator Naomi Eyers "But all the messages were, “you’re done, love,” yet I felt far from it. Actually, I felt better than I had for as long as I could remember.

"Then something glorious started to happen. The less 'visible' I was to the outside world, the more ‘visible’ I became to myself, and others like me. This spark came from within, and not from being reflected and affirmed externally. It was like I stepped through the mirror to the real world: The world of GlamourPussy.”

Performance Details: Last Sunday in month.

Next show: February 26 at 3pm

Venue: Alex Theatre, 135 Fitzroy St., St Kilda

Tickets: $39 Full, $35 Concession, $35 Groups (6+)

Bookings: www.glamourpussy.com.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

House of the Heart

■ Cabaret provocateurs Finucane and Smith celebrate the Lunar New Year in Melbourne, melding the ancient with the contemporary for House of the Heart - a cabaret of home, belonging, journey and heart.

Until February 12, Chinese Museum’s Dragon Gallery will become a velvety lair filled with song, opera, storytelling and dance particularly spotlighting Chinese, Chinese diaspora and First Nations artists.

Inspired by nearly a decade’s collaboration in China and Australian adventures, House of the Heart is an intercultural celebration of home, ancestors and how we get there - a cocktail of voices, stories and artforms across ages, those from far away and those who have always been here.

Surrounded by large scale processional dragons and beneath intricate Chinese lanterns; indie-pop composer and vocalist Sophie Koh; proud Ngarluma First Nations jazz blues legend Lois Olney, rising talent Chinese classical singer Zitao Deng, cellist Xiao Xiao and dancer Paul Cordeiro will take to the stage.

The work also stars guitar virtuoso Dave Johnson, visual artist Emma Luk with Musical Director Rachel Lewindon, and is hosted by head diva and art alchemist Moira Finucane.

A revolving cavalcade of Finucane and Smith’s dancers, storytellers and singers will grace the stage during the season including country legends The Muirs – the soulful duo of Yorta Yorta/Wiradjuri artist Glennys Briggs (whose father and Jimmy Little’s father travelled together in a vaudeville band) and guitarist/singer Ian Muir; Melbourne’s celebrated gender transcendent diva Mama Alto; 88-year-old theatre maven Shirley Cattunar; and barkeep songbirds Lachlan Bartlett and Jens Radda.

The show's directors, Moira Finucane and Jackie Smith, were fascinated by the artistry, cultures, devotional art and operas of China; and began working in Hong Kong 20 years ago, and since 2014 have worked extensively in China and with Chinesediaspora artists.

After two decades of creating multiawarded cabaret across the world, Finucane and Smith have forged a partnership in the heart of one of the world’s oldest Chinatowns to create this new work.

"The work is a perfect match for a vibrant partnership with the Chinese Museum. We have long been members and admirers of the Museum and its unique place in preserving, celebrating and exploring the contribution and history of Chinese people in Australia,” says co-director Moira Finucane.

Performance Details: Until February 12 (Thurs-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 6pm)

Venue: Chinese Museum, Chinatown Melbourne, 22 Cohen Place, Melbourne

Tickets: $88 front row seats, $68 general Bookings and Information: www. finucaneandsmith.com

Just Briefly

■ The annual Melbourne Women in Film Festival has announced its 2023 program, including Freshly Squeezed Shorts, Next Gen Shorts and Reel Shorts.

Through the theme Connections, MWFF will explore creative collaborations and community through a dynamic program for its seventh year from February 23-27 at ACMI.

On Saturday, February 25, MWFF announces the Australian premiere screening of Patricia Cornelius’ award-winning drama, SHIT, starring Peta Brady, Sarah Ward and Nicci Wilks.

SHIT is a psychological drama which unfolds over one long night of incarceration in a bleak holding cell. Caged for hours on end, Billy, Bobby and Sam reveal their stories of a lifetime of violence, abuse, and institutionalisation.

Told with unsentimental, sometimes comical, often gut-wrenching insight. SHIT is directed by Susie Dee and co-produced by Trudy Hellier.

Other program highlights in the full MWFF program include screenings, special events, panels, workshops and education programs, whilst showcasing the best Australian, Aotearoa New Zealand and Pasifika women’s and gender diverse stories on screen, taking place at ACMI , the official presenting partner of the festival.

Melbourne Women in Film Festival aims to expand the vision of gender equality and diversity in the Australian screen industries and culture by creating dynamic and inclusive spaces that bring diverse practitioners and audiences together to be moved by compelling, provocative, and entertaining cinema.

For full program details, visit mwff.org.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

Midsumma Festival

■ The Midsumma Festival is finally here with more than 200 events across Melbourne and beyond.

The program boasts a diverse range of events, including the very best comics from Melbourne's thriving queer comedy scene, as well as a First Nations Drag Festival and even a Glam Slam in partnership with the Australian Open Some program highlights for the first week of the Festival include:

A Safe(R) Space Outdoor exhibition. Until March, Franklin Street Frames

Visual artists have been selected by Midsumma and the Metro Tunnel Creative Program to exhibit their work inside the Franklin Street Frames beside Melbourne City Baths. The works have been created by each artist to speak to Midsumma Festival's signature programA Safe(R) Space and what that means to each artist.

The five final artists, selected by an industry panel, include EmikoArtemis, Zoë Bastin, Kim Leutwyler, J. Rosenbaum and Wet And Free. They each delivered six works which explore the intersectional identity between different facets of queer communities exploring what defines a safe space for artists and communities.

ACMI X Midsumma. Until Feb. 12,ACMI ACMI will host a curated selection of contemporary and classic queer cinema, including Plein Soleil, Flee, Stranger by the Lake, Joyland, Loving Highsmith and Moonage Daydream.

Midsumma is Australia's premier LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural organisation. Sharing the lived experiences of voices at the margins, expressions of queer history, and the celebration of new ideas and stories that come to life through world-class art and performance.

Midsumma Festival 2023 - runs until February 12

Full program at midsumma.org.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

At the Gardens

■ Hello Sunshine, an all new music and food festival, is coming to the historic Caribbean Gardens at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges on Saturday, February 11.

■ I will never forget a wet May morning in 1992 when I went to see world famous female impersonator Danny La Rue in a concert at the Melbourne Town Hall

I arrived late and caught the last 20 minutes of the show which also featured Lennie Holmes, who became a dear friend of mine in later years.

I had my tape recorder with me in the hope of getting an interview with Danny

I had spoken to the promoter earlier and was told "Come backstage and let's see what happens."

I was lucky to sit down with Danny in his dressing room between shows and record a radio interview.

I noticed that he had a small statue of the Virgin Mary on his make up table.

He told me that he carried the statue with him all over the world and said a little prayer before every show.

It was the day that Marlene Dietrich passed away and Danny wanted to pay tribute to his friend on radio.

Danny La Rue was born Daniel Patrick Carroll in County Cork, Ireland, in 1927.

He served in the Royal Navy and then became a very popular "comic female impersonator" in stage productions, film and television.

He made his West End debut in a revue at the tiny Irving Theatre.

Danny became a phenomenal success and worked in pantomimes playing "The Dame" with