@ Assembly George Square Gardens, Edinburgh until Sun 16 Aug 2015 @ 19:20
YouTube sensation, American Christina Bianco, singer, actor and impressionist returns to the Fringe this year on her own, in Party of One, taking you on a musical comedy journey of versatile vocals, celebrity impressions and unlikely interpretations of your favourite songs.
Bianco celebrates the iconic celebrities who have inspired her over the years giving us a whistle-stop tour of an A to Z of impersonations of singers including Ariana Grande, Leone Lewis, Norah Jones, Olivia Newton John to Shania Twain. She changes characters seamlessly, channeling their mannerisms and vocals effortlessly.
She also impersonates singers by singing the polar opposite of what you might expect; think Celine Dion singing Bruno Mars and Bianco takes a satirical look at how different artists might interpret the life lessons from Barbara Streisand’s book, A Passion for Design, with readings from Ab Fab’s Bubbles warning us to ‘Stay away from orange. It’s too in your face!’ and Cheryl Cole.
She certainly packs a punch with a voice escalating from this pint-sized songstress which is a force to be reckoned with. Close your eyes and you can imagine you’re listening to the original artist. If you missed the recent Fleetwood Mac tour, her impersonation of Stevie Nix is faultless, as is Billie Holiday.
Beautifully conceived, with musical direction from Joe Louis Robinson and fabulous storytelling, Bianco is a real star, giving a stellar performance. This show certainly has feel-good factor.
If you missed the party this year (her show only runs until Sun Aug 16) and have a case of “FoMO”, you’ll either need to make do by watching her on YouTube or get in there early for next year’s festival as this show was a sell-out.