REVIEWS FROM OPENING CONCERT OF 2007 NEW
REVIEW
Comic behind the keyboard
David Scheel In Concert, Royal
Wanganui Opera House, Friday.
Reviewed by Mary Bryan
ALTHOUGH it’s some years since For me his funniest comedy
David Scheel sealed his reputation routine was trying to buy a
as a world class pianist-comedian frozen turkey without a bar
with this hit show in
End, and at Edinburgh Festivals, it purely British area just outside
still has a captivating freshness.
A superb, extremely witty racon- He is a superb mimic.
teur and pianist, with a great sense of His retelling of the dialogue
fun, he entertained for almost a solid he had with the British shop assis-
two hours. tants, all of whom had different
The entire show was as scintilla- accents, was side-splittingly funny.
ting as his nimble, quick, light touch
playing.
A brilliant mix of the classics,
send-ups of the classics, and topical/ [Wanganui Chronicle, Sat.
social satire, which on Friday target- 9th September, 2007]
ed MP Benson-Pope, it was a show
one didn’t want to end.
I don’t think I will ever again
listen to Scotland the Brave in the
same way, after hearing it played in
the style of Mozart and other classi-
cal composers.
Nor Bach’s Jesu, Joy of
Man’s Desiring, which he com-
bined with Lloyd Webber’s Mem-
ory, from Cats.
Other highlights included Walt-
zing Matilda, his favourite Gersh-
win tunes, a medley of the 20 most
requested tunes - including the
William Tell overture and Beet-
hoven’s Fur Elise, and his own
composition, Fall, in which he used
music to paint a picture of a Canadi-
an autumn scene.