BARRY MORGANS WORLD OF ORGANS

BARRY MORGAN

BARRY MORGANS WORLD OF ORGANS

8:15pm til March 13th

Cupola - Garden of Unearthly Delights

Last September I was in Melbourne when their Fringe was on and I wanted to see BARRY MORGANS WORLD OF ORGANS. Every one of his shows was sold out. All the extra shows in the venues largest room all sold out in record time. After seeing Mister Barry Morgan at last, I can understand why. The global economic crisis has caused a plunge in electronic organ sales, so Mr Morgan has been forced to go on the road to spruik the many features of the Hammond Aurora Classic organ. The stage is set up in classic ‘demonstration’ mode. A screen on each side of the stage (with over-head camera to catch all the keyboard action) and Barry Morgan makes his entrance, bouffanted hair, freshly pressed safari suit, Alan Border moustache, gaudy jewellery and the cheesiest smile ever. He greets us warmly “Hello customers” and explains that one of us will be going home tonight with his organ. That doesn’t sound like a great gag, but trust me it’s all in the delivery. While demonstrating the many attractive features of the Aurora Barry also demonstrates that he is also a great keyboard player and I find myself alternating between wanting to make a bid on this fine instrument at the end of the show or starting a band with him. As a 70’s light entertainment character Barry Morgan nails it like nobody else since Bob Downe. With a great line in hilarious facial expressions, beautiful line of catch phrases (‘Oh Barry!) Morgan does a few infomercials for his fellow store owners in the Sunndyday Mall (‘Lately I’ve been getting all my meat at the butchers’) and enlists members of his audience to help him demonstrate his ‘one finger method’ on his classic and classy instrument. As word gets around I suspect Mr Morgan’s show will be hard to get into. Highly recommended folks.

Ian Bell