Considered one of the most prolific and multi-talented musical theatre practitioners, Jeremy Sams has written, arranged and directed music for around 50 theatre productions for companies including the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He wrote the stage adaption for the West End production of Chitty the Musical and previously was the musical director for the National Theatre’s production of Sunday in the Park with George. Recently, he directed the revival of The Sound of Music and the hugely successful Little Britain Live.

An Evening with Jeremy Sams was a special treat for lovers of musical theatre, not only did we get a rare insight into him as a person, but more so an evening of song and stories from his widely varied career. In the relative intimacy of the Dunstan Playhouse, Sams proved to be quite a raconteur taking the audience on a musical journey peppered with many anecdotes from his career including Michel LeGrand’s Amour, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Cosi Fan Tutti and favourites by Sondheim and Kurt Weill. The singers were accompanied on stage by Matthew Carey on piano and a trio of musicians including Jaclyn Hale on clarinet, Samantha Hennessy on flute and Pippa Strickland on double bass in specially arranged compositions for the evening.

Sams was joined on stage by a dynamic group of performers from opera and musical theatre including Adelaide’s Johanna Allen, who’s currently appearing in Opera Australia’s The Pirates of Penzance; perennial favourite, Simon Burke, currently rehearsing Company in Sydney; musical theatre star, Kaye Tuckerman (pictured) and the opera baritone, Douglas McNicol. Each shined in their selected repertoire including Sam’s new English translation of the libretto for The Threepenny Opera including Kids Today sung by Allen and McNicol and The Knocking Shop Tango presented by Burke and Tuckerman. Tuckerman’s rendition of Pirate Jenny, which can be heard on her recently released CD Siren, completed the set of Weill. The second half of the program included the magical music of Michel LeGrand and in particular the musical Amour, in which Sam’s provided the English lyrics.

However, the highlight of the night was the opportunity to hear one of Australia’s leading performers, Philip Quast, in Adelaide especially for the Cabaret Festival. Known for his roles including Les Miserables (Australia and London), The Secret Garden, Sunday in the Park with George and most recently as Peron in the new London production of Evita. He mesmorised the audience with his enchanting rendition of Shenendoah before embarking into a Rogers and Hammerstein duet of Some Enchanted Evening and Hello Young Lovers intermingling each selection of funny anecdotes from his career including his theatrical debut on the Dunstan Playhouse stage and then sang the appropriately titled I Was Here. Quast’s performance was heartfelt and fully displayed the rich emotive range of his voice. His rendition of Lily’s Eyes from The Secret Garden with Simon Burke was powerful and nearly brought the house down with the audience wanting more.

The evening concluded with a light hearted rendition (including audience participation) of the Duck’s Ditty from The Wind in Willows in which Sam’s composed the music.