Martin Short consistently shines no matter what material he performs. He has brought a tremendous energy and enthusiasm to roles on stage and screen in a career spanning 40 years. At 61, he hasn't slowed down and, much like his The Goodbye Girl co-star Bernadette Peters, he's still looking good.
Martin Short last performed in Australia in 2009. I was there. On September 2, 2011, I was there again. I might have been naive to expect a vastly different show the second time around.
In fairness, Short has tweaked his act in the space of two years. In his opening number, "All I Ask (Is You Love Me)", he replaced the lyric "wife" with "Betty White" (Short's wife passed away last year). He has incorporated a new song about the death of Osama Bin Laden (which appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in May this year).
Last time I saw him, I was disappointed that he didn't bring out one of his classic characters, Ed Grimley. This time Grimley made an appearance, but in a surreal piece of mime involving a blow-up doll (bravely played by Hungry Beast and Live From Planet Earth performer Veronica Milsom). Grimley's appearance was greeted by silence, and there was a general feeling of discomfort throughout the sketch. I felt a little disappointed that he went to the effort to bring the character back, but then didn't proceed to perform his trademark voice and catchphrases.
Some of Martin Short's best work has come from his sketches on SCTV and Saturday Night Live, and we saw a taste of these in the video component of the show. They acted as filler while Short changed costume, but also acted as a reminder of some truly outstanding comedy that he's created over the years. It's my hope that he'll be given more opportunities to create new characters, as I think that it is as a character-actor that he really shines. As Hollywood overflows with reality TV stars, Martin Short harks back to the entertainers of yesteryear, song-and-dance men who are quick with a one-liner. You can't help admiring his genuine talent, but you somehow feel that more should be done with it.Last time I saw him, I was disappointed that he didn't bring out one of his classic characters, Ed Grimley. This time Grimley made an appearance, but in a surreal piece of mime involving a blow-up doll (bravely played by Hungry Beast and Live From Planet Earth performer Veronica Milsom). Grimley's appearance was greeted by silence, and there was a general feeling of discomfort throughout the sketch. I felt a little disappointed that he went to the effort to bring the character back, but then didn't proceed to perform his trademark voice and catchphrases.
One of the many strings to Short's bow is that he is a skilled impressionist. In quick succession, he jumps from Katharine Hepburn to Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor. They're all spot on, but you have to wonder how long you can continue to entertain audiences with impressions of dead people. He did get laughs, though, out of an energetic impression of Robin Williams.
Short was at his best when he was improvising, most notably when he pulled three guys from the audience to become "The Three Amigos". His frank commentary on their attire and behaviour was a welcome departure from his scripted material.
In addition to "All I Ask", the show incorporated two other songs from his 2006 Broadway Show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. These were "The Jackie Rogers Jr. Show" and "Step Brother to Jesus", the latter parodying Short's own appearance in Godspell in 1972. His unflattering nude-suit drew laughs and he proved throughout the night that he is still adept at physical comedy.
The appearance of Jiminy Glick, Short's obese Hollywood interviewer, again provided him an opportunity to improvise. The choice of entertaiment reporter Angela Bishop as his "celebrity guest" was baffling. In 2009, while Melbourne got to see the superb Shaun Micallef in the hot seat, Sydney was lumped with Kerri-Anne Kennerley. Strangely, when I saw Liza Minnelli perform in Sydney last year, she did a shout-out to her "new best friend", who once again turned out to be Kerri-Anne Kennerley. Although I have nothing against Bishop personally, I felt it was somewhat of an indictment of our entertainment industry that she was the best we could offer to this international star. To her credit, she handled herself well in a segment where she was never going to come out looking good, particularly as Glick mounted/dry-humped her before reclining, exhausted and requesting a cigarette.
A clear effort was made to adjust the show to local audiences by including Australian references where possible. These were largely on the money, but were sometimes strained. For instance a line that he uses in the US, "I remember what I learned from Donny Osmond - always leave the audience wanting less", was interchanged here with Daryl Somers. Fair enough. The references showed signs of strain in a musical number where he referred to Chris Hemsworth as Chris Newworth.
Franck, the flamboyant wedding planner from The Father of the Bride films was enthusiastically welcomed, but the character clearly works best when bouncing off someone's (ie. Steve Martin's) incredulity at his absurd speech patterns. On stage, you never feel that Short fully commits to the character as he slips in and out of accent while analysing a slideshow of "people with style". I felt the same about this two years ago, so I find it odd that he's not tried to incorporate this character in a different way. He seemed to consciously drop the accent on punchlines so as to ensure everyone got the joke. For my money, I think it'd be funnier if you couldn't understand him at all.
Short was at his best when he was improvising, most notably when he pulled three guys from the audience to become "The Three Amigos". His frank commentary on their attire and behaviour was a welcome departure from his scripted material.
In addition to "All I Ask", the show incorporated two other songs from his 2006 Broadway Show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. These were "The Jackie Rogers Jr. Show" and "Step Brother to Jesus", the latter parodying Short's own appearance in Godspell in 1972. His unflattering nude-suit drew laughs and he proved throughout the night that he is still adept at physical comedy.
The appearance of Jiminy Glick, Short's obese Hollywood interviewer, again provided him an opportunity to improvise. The choice of entertaiment reporter Angela Bishop as his "celebrity guest" was baffling. In 2009, while Melbourne got to see the superb Shaun Micallef in the hot seat, Sydney was lumped with Kerri-Anne Kennerley. Strangely, when I saw Liza Minnelli perform in Sydney last year, she did a shout-out to her "new best friend", who once again turned out to be Kerri-Anne Kennerley. Although I have nothing against Bishop personally, I felt it was somewhat of an indictment of our entertainment industry that she was the best we could offer to this international star. To her credit, she handled herself well in a segment where she was never going to come out looking good, particularly as Glick mounted/dry-humped her before reclining, exhausted and requesting a cigarette.
A clear effort was made to adjust the show to local audiences by including Australian references where possible. These were largely on the money, but were sometimes strained. For instance a line that he uses in the US, "I remember what I learned from Donny Osmond - always leave the audience wanting less", was interchanged here with Daryl Somers. Fair enough. The references showed signs of strain in a musical number where he referred to Chris Hemsworth as Chris Newworth.
Franck, the flamboyant wedding planner from The Father of the Bride films was enthusiastically welcomed, but the character clearly works best when bouncing off someone's (ie. Steve Martin's) incredulity at his absurd speech patterns. On stage, you never feel that Short fully commits to the character as he slips in and out of accent while analysing a slideshow of "people with style". I felt the same about this two years ago, so I find it odd that he's not tried to incorporate this character in a different way. He seemed to consciously drop the accent on punchlines so as to ensure everyone got the joke. For my money, I think it'd be funnier if you couldn't understand him at all.
The audience's response at the end of the show was loving and boisterous, but I felt that this was more a reflection of the collective admiration for his showmanship, career and, quite simply, likeability, than it was specifically for the evening's entertainment.
