Written By David Allen
To observe Maria Venuti once is to instantly commit the name, the face and the persona to memory. There really is no choice in the matter. She’s just too much of a character!
To see her perform is to gain an instant wish to see more of her. Having seen Maria Venuti live in cabaret just once, I departed with the sense of elation a true performer alone can give you. I also possessed a genuine disgust at the lack of understanding in the Australian culture for our own entertainment industry’s royalty – and Maria Venuti is just that: royalty.
The first time I encountered Maria Venuti was a few years ago, backstage at the State Theatre after a generally lackluster Petula Clark concert. The English diva had proven bored and condescending and in spite of this, the eager crowd (myself included) rushed to the stage door of the State after the single curtain call with Sharpies poised over glossy programs waiting for a signature.
Time passed. Nothing. The less dedicated started to trickle away. More time passed. Watches and iPhones were consulted and murmurs began to circulate through the gay and the faithful as to what exactly was keeping the diva.
At a point when I was about to give up and hail a cab, a ripple ran through the crowd that instinct will tell the keen observer means a celebrity entrance is at hand. I craned to see the arrival and found myself confronting an unbelievably curvaceous, ageless woman, wearing a whole lot of bling and, if I am not mistaken in my recollection, a vast feather boa. The guy I was with, a pianist who, for the sake of my nerves we won’t mention, murmured – “That’s Maria Venuti!” He might as well have been saying – “That’s Cher!” for the excited reverence that came with it.
I looked closer and discovered that this was indeed Maria “Tutti Fruity” Venuti of Fat Pizza, Good Morning Australia and Always Greener – or thusly I knew her then. (Her career in the big screen and the stage I would learn of in time.)
The crowd parted instinctively for her and her guest, and suddenly programs were being replaced for other available flat surfaces and Sharpies acquired a new target as gushing voices asked for autographs and pictures.
Mine wasn’t one of them. Ok, she was on TV. Being a fierce devotee of Chayevsky’s movie Network, I considered TV celebrities a pleasant and pleasing crew, but my inner gushing fan lay more disposed to the autographs of music theatre divas and the photos with movie stars in which they look patient while you in turn try desperately to have a facial expression that does not say “Look who I’m standing next to!!!”
If only I’d known at the time that I was passing up a chance for both experiences I would have made a far more concerted effort at seeking out Maria than I later did when Petula Clark finally deigned to appear and snub everyone by sweeping almost instantly into a town car.
Being in my mid-twenties I only know names such as Don Lane, Mike Walsh and Graham Kennedy from retrospective documentaries, DVD box-sets of classic episodes and the all-seeing eye of YouTube. They represent an epoch in the Australian showbiz industry that I understand I should envy because it allowed for the blossoming of our own culture in a way that Australia’s Got Talent and X-Factor can only weakly aspire to. In that period, home-grown artists trod the stages of what are now unimaginably glam nightclubs such as Colonnades and Checkers cheek-by-jowl with the likes of Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, Sammy Davis Jnr, Shirley Bassey and a long list of other iconic international talent. They could then in turn, look to invitations from TV shows like In Melbourne Tonight, Bandstand and The Mike Walsh Show for a nationalized showcase.
For decades, Maria Venuti was a staple figure on the scene – and rightly so. Not only was the Double-D Mediterranean beltress a knock-out to behold, she was also an exuberant and charismatic performer and a musician of skill.
For me, cabaret is often an art lost in the swathe of treacle that surrounds the performers who indulge in it. And cabaret, sadly, is often treated as an indulgence these days. A performer involved in a hit show or two finds themselves at a loose end. With a strong cult following at their beck and call, a cabaret at an intimate venue suddenly becomes a great opportunity to perform a string of the showstoppers their audiences know and love. The art of cabaret as a casual and interactive affair involving songs mainstream, obscure and absurd is often replaced by a love-in between the singer and their fans. A genuinely organic cabaret performed by a genuinely skilled cabaret artist is a rare and fantastical thing to behold. So it is the case with Maria Venuti live.
Walking in to Slide bar (that divine Sydney venue where said cabaret was held) I passed Maria on the way in. Dressed to the nines, the hair was up, the neckline was down. The sequins glittered and feathers flew. I smiled warmly and took me seat knowing exactly what to expect from the evenings proceedings – only of course I didn’t at all.
About an hour into the performance, so far typified by laughter, warmth, boob jokes, moet et chandon and a true sense of la dolce vita, Maria Venuti sang “The Theme From the Godfather” – and I found myself rooted to the spot. Suddenly, the performer before me transformed. Not only a camp comedienne, not only a beltress – here too sat a genuinely skilled musician, perched in her finery on a stool pouring her soul out with an honesty and a gentility that made my heart ache!
And thus a star was born.
Though, naturally, chronologically speaking, Maria Venuti’s star began its ascendency a good fifty years ago, for this noob, her star peaked that night at Slide Bar in the middle of a classic Hollywood love ballad. Much as “Defying Gravity” nightly leaves audiences of Wicked to pour into the foyer of so many theatres around the world craving CD’s and T-shirts, I left Slide bar craving more of the music of Maria Venuti. I also couldn’t help but wonder how many others of her ilk are populating the Australian landscape, lost to those who would appreciate their skill.
Fortunately, Maria will be going nowhere anytime soon. In her recent autobiography A Whole Lot of Front – a really warm, cheeky, disarmingly honest read – Maria confesses in the final pages a desire to be such as Lena Horne and Elaine Stritch who defied and defy longevity with their careers stretching well into their 80’s. At age 70 in 2011, Maria Venuti possesses a commanding vocal skill. She can belt up a storm! Likewise she can croon her way into your heart and purr in a way that makes your cheeks redden instinctively. In those sequinned gowns stands tall a beautiful performer equal parts diva to chanteuse. And as Australians we possess the right and the privilege of her on our stages.
I spoke, all too briefly with Maria Venuti after the show and congratulated her on an absolutely hilarious, touching evening. And the club was indeed abuzz with an audience blown away by her stamina and by her flawless ability to hold a crowd just so in the palm of her hand.
Sizing me up instantly, Maria smiled warmly and thanked me for coming “I’m glad you enjoyed the night. My performance style is very organic so we had a much longer set list – but as it went I really enjoyed myself! I’m glad everyone else did too.” She then looked me straight in the eyes, kissed me on both cheeks, thanked me again for coming and departed. And in my head the definitions of “effortless”, “warmth” and “goddess” immediately readjusted themselves.
Celebrating 50 years in showbiz and her 70th birthday this year, Maria Venuti is an Australian entertainment institution and we are unbelievably lucky to have her! In 2003 she became a Member of the Order of Australia (ie. Maria Venuti AM) and in the same year was honoured on Chanel 9’s This Is Your Life with Mike Monroe.
If only someone would produce her singing an album of ballads and standards – I would absolutely buy one, and you should too! Now go check out your local cabaret scene. Like me with Maria – you may not know what you’re missing.
Maria Venuti will be performing at Melbourne’s Newest Cabaret Venue — Downstairs At Alma’s — this December. Stay tuned for more information.
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