Rhonda Burchmore: Vinyl Viagra

The vixens of vinyl were unleashed in Rhonda Burchmore’s vibrant and vivacious new show, Vinyl Viagra. Burchmore certainly succeeds in ‘making temperatures soar and hearts race’ as she channels the sex appeal and songs of divas through the ages.

Rhonda Burchmore, a permanent fixture in the list of Australian theatre greats, does not grace the audience with her presence in Vinyl Viagra. Instead, we are regaled by Burchmore’s naughty alter-ego, the one who comes out after midnight and is the life of the party – Ruda Brickmore. Ruda shares the amazingly long legs and feminine attributes of Rhonda, but that’s where the similarities cease. Ruda is naughty. And naughty is fun.

The show begins in true cabaret style, the glitz and glamour of a glittering black gown quickly make way for a tiny skirt and those long, long legs. If the costumes and the anecdotes didn’t get the heart-a-racing, the expertly arranged musical numbers perfectly compliment the raucous tone set by Burchmore.

Burchmore displayed supreme skill jumping effortlessly between musical genres, and across several decades of divas. Her deep, sexy voice is strained at times, but her stage presence and sensuality never falter. From Bette Midler’s In The Mood to Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball, the audience is with her all the way. Given the audience demographic, it was perhaps a risk to including so many current artists (Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce etc) – but the risk paid dividends, and Burchmore reaped the rewards.

[pull_right]We are regaled by Burchmore’s naughty alter-ego, the one who comes out after midnight and is the life of the party – Ruda Brickmore[/pull_right]

Crowd favourites included a hilarious medley of Pink’s Get This Party Started with Hey Big Spender, while dressed predominantly in balloons. Touch Myself with her scantily clad males ‘rudettes’ and Barbie Girl also achieved rapturous applause. In fact, most musical items were impressive, largely thanks to the expert musical direction of Matt Frank and his slick quintet.

In the interest of audience health and safety, there were some brief passages of reprieve where innuendo and smut were put on hold. The If I Could Turn Back Time medley was a beautiful alternative to the general tone of the show.

The quick changes, the dancing boys, the music and the Woman make Rhonda Burchmore’s Vinyl Viagra a cabaret show to remember. With equal parts sexy, raunchy, risqué and rude, it is perhaps best targeted to an over 16 year old audience (rather than the 12+ age group stated in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival program). With a number of curious musical omissions (Like a Virgin, Girls Just Want to Have Fun and I Kissed a Girl to name a few), wouldn’t it be fun to see Rhonda Burchmore back in Vinyl Viagra – Up Again?