Simply Brill
Performed as part of the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival
Step inside the legendary Brill Building, the New York hit factory where a generation of teenage songwriters reinvented pop music and the sounds of the 60s. In Simply Brill, three of Australia’s most acclaimed cabaret artists, Amelia Ryan, Michaela Burger and Michael Griffiths bring this golden era to life with irresistible charm, whip-smart storytelling and a catalogue of hits.
From the very first beat, Simply Brill sweeps the audience into a world where melody ruled, and teenage songwriters shaped the future. What follows is a vibrant, affectionate, and musically rich journey through one of the most influential creative hubs in modern music history: the Brill Building. It is a show that does not just revisit the past. It revives it.
The trio at the heart of the performance, Amelia Ryan, Michaela Burger, and Michael Griffiths, step into the spotlight with an ease that comes from deep respect for the material and a shared love of storytelling. They do not rely on elaborate staging or flashy costumes. Instead, they use their voices, their humour, and their chemistry to conjure the bustling energy of mid‑century Manhattan, where young writers hammered out hits in cramped rooms with cheap pianos and big dreams.
Supported by a tight live band, the trio launches into a setlist that feels like flipping through the greatest hits of an entire generation. Rock Around the Clock kicks things off with a jolt of electricity, and suddenly the room is alive. Shoulders sway. Feet tap. People grin at one another as they recognise songs they have not heard in years. That is the magic of the Brill era. The music is timeless, familiar even to those who were born decades after its peak.
But Simply Brill is not just a concert. It is a carefully crafted narrative that blends music history, character work, and theatrical storytelling. The performers guide the audience through the lives and legacies of the Brill Building’s most iconic writers: Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Neil Sedaka, Jeff Barry, Bobby Darin, and many more. Their stories are told with warmth and wit, revealing the rivalries, romances, and creative partnerships that fuelled the era’s biggest hits.
The structure is tight and purposeful. One moment you are listening to a raucous rendition of Da Doo Ron Ron, and the next you are hearing about the teenage writers who penned it between school assignments. The show moves quickly, but never feels rushed. It is one‑third history lesson, one‑third musical celebration, and one‑third theatrical vignette. The balance is impeccable.
The harmonies are a highlight. When the three voices blend, the sound is lush and full, like a well‑loved vinyl record spinning in a quiet room. Michaela Burger’s range is astonishing, soaring into high notes with clarity and control. Amelia Ryan brings brightness and charm, grounding the show with her playful energy. Michael Griffiths adds warmth and comedic timing, anchoring the trio with a steady vocal presence.
The band deserves its own applause. They play with precision and heart, capturing the bounce and optimism of early pop without slipping into imitation. Their respect for the era is evident in every note.
The setlist is a treasure trove. Up on the Roof. Oh Carol. Calendar Girl. Locomotion. Who Put the Bomp. We Gotta Get Out of This Place. Uptown. Each song is delivered with a mix of reverence and reinvention. The arrangements are faithful enough to honour the originals, but fresh enough to feel alive. The audience responds in kind. By the halfway point, people are dancing in their seats.
What elevates the show is the storytelling. The trio slip effortlessly between characters, adopting accents and mannerisms with nothing more than a shift in posture or a tilt of the head. It is minimalist theatre at its finest. A single chair becomes a songwriting desk. A spotlight becomes a recording booth. The audience fills in the rest, and the illusion is complete.
The humour is sharp but affectionate. The performers poke fun at the melodrama of early pop lyrics, at the earnestness of teenage heartbreak, at the quirks of the writers themselves. But the jokes never feel mocking. They come from a place of love. The show understands that the Brill Building was a place where sincerity and silliness coexisted, where young writers poured their hearts into songs that would become timeless.
The pacing is one of the show’s greatest strengths. At just around an hour, it is tight, punchy, and perfectly calibrated. There is no filler. Every moment serves the story. The audience is left wanting more, which feels exactly right for a tribute to a building where ideas were always in motion.
There is also a deeper layer beneath the nostalgia. The show touches on the pressures of the industry, the gender dynamics of the era, and the cultural shifts that shaped the music. It acknowledges the grind behind the glamour, the long hours, the competition, the heartbreak. But it never becomes heavy. It simply adds texture to the celebration.
By the final number, the room is buzzing. Older audience members are mouthing every word. Younger ones are discovering songs they did not realise they knew. The performers take their bows to a standing ovation, the kind that feels earned rather than obligatory.
Simply Brill may be one of the more restrained acts in the cabaret festival, but that restraint is deceptive. Beneath the polished delivery is a deep well of passion. The trio are not just performing songs. They are honouring a legacy. They are reminding us that music history is not just dates and names. It is people. It is stories. It is the spark that happens when creativity meets opportunity.
This show is a celebration, a history lesson, and a party all at once. It is warm, funny, musically rich, and utterly charming. It leaves you humming, smiling, and maybe even wishing you had been there in the Brill Building when it all began.
Part of the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival. Find tickets and event info here
Review written by Alex Moulton
