I have lost count of the number of excellent Fringe or Cabaret Festival shows I have reviewed involving Libby O’Donovan. Two things always stand out.

The first is that O’Donovan is highly skilled at compiling a show around a theme. The second is that she is a highly skilled and generous collaborator. Standing a mighty four feet 11-and-a-half inches tall, the Broken Hill-raised O’Donovan teams up with the four-foot-eleven Coober Pedy-raised Michaela Berger to give us Short, a tribute to the pocket rockets (mostly female, but some male) of the entertainment industry.

Libby O’Donovan: Short. Photo © Claudio Raschella

Surprising a packed Space Theatre by entering from the back and moving to the front with a medley of Hello, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and You Raise Me Up, O’Donovan and Berger establish the theme.

Short people earn less than tall people. Short people have to be faster production workers than their taller counterparts. Short people do not get to be supermodels. If you believe Randy Newman, “Short People got no reason to live.”

However, it is not all bad. Short people are more likely to have careers in the entertainment industry, and it is in that industry that the pocket rockets emerged.

O’Donovan’s pocket hero is Judy Garland, and her understated version of Over the Rainbow contrasts beautifully with Berger’s La Vie en Rose from her own pocket hero, Edith Piaf. There is some childhood regression as Berger belts out her dream role, Tomorrow from Annie. O’Donovan tries to pivot to For Good from Wicked, but Berger repeatedly intercepts to thwart her.

Another benefit of being low to the ground is that it helps you play younger than your actual age — think Stockard Channing in Grease or Michael J. Fox in almost everything. And if you are a tall woman and successful, you still deserve praise, so O’Donovan and Berger graciously include a “tall chick” medley of classics from Taylor Swift, Cher, Whitney Houston and Adele.

Michaela Berger: Short. Photo © Claudio Raschella

The highlight of the show is an a cappella tribute to short men, where, assisted by pianist Siara, the now-trio of voices covers Prince (When Doves Cry), Frankie Valli (Can’t Take My Eyes Off You), Charles Aznavour, Leo Sayer (You Make Me Feel Like Dancing), the Young brothers (You Shook Me All Night Long in the style of Cathy Berberian) and Paul Simon (Bridge Over Troubled Water).

A final tribute medley to contemporary pocket rockets Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, Stevie Nicks, Chappell Roan, Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Kylie Minogue and Dolly Parton has the audience on its feet. The most interesting decision of the night is the pair’s intertwining of Garland’s Get Happy with Piaf’s Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.

Berger eventually capitulates in the encore, allowing O’Donovan to perform For Good, but then retaliates with Defying Gravity. The audience loves it, and I suspect the show will live on at future festivals.

Bravo!

Adelaide Cabaret Festival continues until 21 June.