Michael Griffiths To Celebrate A Decade Of Going Solo With His Adelaide Fringe Show, GREATEST HITS

Fringe-goers can kick off the opening weekend of the Adelaide Fringe in style with the world premiere of Michael Griffiths' 'Greatest Hits'.

The Helpmann Award winner and Adelaide Cabaret Festival darling has dusted off his LPs and perused his one-man shows to curate a solid gold line-up of his favourite tunes especially for this year's Adelaide Fringe.

From Madonna to Cole Porter, Kylie Minogue to A-ha, Eurythmics to the Violent Femmes, every song's a feel-good winner in 'Greatest Hits', which will be performed exclusively at Adelaide's newest Fringe hub, The Queens, from Friday, February 19 to Sunday, February 21.

"This new show will be a fond look back at my career with an emphasis on fun and feel good tunes!" Michael says.

'Greatest Hits' marks a decade since Michael's first solo show for Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2011, a major turning point for Michael and his career.

"I was performing in 'Jersey Boys' in Sydney and scored a week off to come back to my hometown," Michael says. "It led to a pivot where I left working in musicals to return home and forge a solo career in cabaret. I thought I'd last a year or two in Adelaide but seven years later I'm still here doing my thing!"

And thank the cabaret gods he is still here. Since going solo with his first show, 'In Vogue: Songs By Madonna', Michael has won a swag of awards including Best Cabaret Adelaide Fringe 2014 for his Annie Lennox tribute show, a Helpmann Award for his Cole Porter show while his Kylie Minogue tribute got him a star on the Adelaide Walk of Fame at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

For 'Greatest Hits', Michael will be joined by a three-piece live band (featuring local musicians Felicity Freeman and Steve Leske) where he will be selecting the best of his best for just three exclusive performances at The Queens for this year's Fringe.

"I'll be looking back at all seven of my solos shows and hand-picking my favourite tunes, some, like my Madonna and Annie Lennox tributes, have never been done with a band before and I'm having fun rearranging them," Michael says.

"It's also a nod to earlier times when artists' released Greatest Hits compilations which I was obsessed with collecting on vinyl and cassette. I'm a massive `80s tragic so there'll definitely be lots from that decade. I love the 'old world' too, so there'll be a couple from Cole Porter and a song or two from the `60s."

Michael was recently announced as the inaugural artistic director of the Perth International Cabaret Festival (that kicks off in June) and he is the musical director of another special Adelaide Fringe show at The Queens, the legendary Carlotta and her show 'I'm Not Dead Yet Darlings!' Michael's been Carlotta's musical director for the last five years and working with the legendary drag performer has rubbed off on Michael.

"I've learned to trust in my ability to simply chat with an audience in the moment and resist the temptation to script it all out beforehand," he says.

"There's a thrilling danger about flying free for an hour and that's what I'll be doing. It's what I did in October last year when I performed at the Regal Theatre Opening and it was the most fun I've had on stage. It's trusting that there's a little magic about meeting an audience in a room and surrendering to it. Of course, I'll know what I'll be singing (in theory) but no two shows will be quite the same and I love making things up on the spot."

Michael Griffiths 'Greatest Hits'

The Queens (Queens Theatre), corner Playhouse Lane and Gilles Arcade

Shows:

Friday 19 February, 7.45pm

Saturday 20 February, 6pm

Sunday 21 February, 4.45pm

thequeensadelaide.com.au

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