A woman with fair skin and long wavy blond hair sits on a brown leather couch, one arm relaxing behind her head, she is looking at the camera. She has bright red lipstick and smokey eyes, she wears a large ruffled black and white headpiece.

CANCELLED Ali McGregor - A Sweet Beginning

Cabaret • Music

Victoria • World Premiere

Audience favourite and former Adelaide Cabaret Festival director, Ali McGregor, returns to the Fringe with a brand new show. Backed by 3 of Australia's finest jazz musicians expect the perfect mix of old and new.

Classic songs like 'My Baby Just Cares for Me', 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon' and Mean to Me' mingle with new compositions from Casey Bennetto (Keating!), jazz musician Tamara Murphy and Ali herself collaborating with her musical director, award winning Jazz pianist Sam Keevers.

'A Sweet Beginning' is a show that dances on the ashes of a year full of uncertainty and fear. Celebrating the way music and laughter can overcome even the darkest,
most carb-filled and pandemic-ridden winters.

★★★★★ 'Money can't buy this much heart, sass and pure, mainlined joy' Herald Sun.

Presented by: Ali McGregor

ALI McGREGOR started her career as a principal soprano with Opera Australia before running away with the Famous Spiegeltent. She’s now an award winning cabaret artist performing everywhere from Glastonbury to Carnegie Hall. Nominated for an ARIA award in '14, winning Green Room awards in '05 & '15 & a Helpmann Award in '19 for ‘Yma Sumac - The Peruvian Songbird’. During Melbourne’s lockdown Ali created the ground-breaking ‘Choose our Own Variety’ for Arts Centre Melbourne bringing new interactive technology to online performance. After two critically acclaimed seasons as Co - Artistic Director for Adelaide Cabaret Festival alongside Eddie Perfect, Ali returned as sole AD in '18. Most recently she conceived an opera ‘Lorelei’ that debuted at Victorian Opera in '18 & tours nationally in 2021

Reviews & Fringefeed Reacts

the big star of McGregor’s act is her voice, that does tricks that even a circus performer could only dream of replicating. - Matt Gilbertson, Adelaide Advertiser
First class, and top shelf. There’s no reason why Yma Sumac, The Peruvian Songbird should not tour all over the world. It is that good. - Peter Burden, The Advertiser
Ali McGregor In Decadence was faultless - Brian Godfrey, GlamAdelaide