Comedy Festival 2018: George Dimarelos presents a chortle-worthy celebration in George Michael Is Greek ★★½

LESS a musical tribute, more a chortle-worthy celebration of all things Greek.

THE show’s title might be something of a misnomer. The familiar chimes of a cathedral organ heralds the opening of Faith, as George Dimarelos struts on to the stage in an impressive replica of the leather jacket ’80s pop idol George Michael donned in the video.

Then the music cuts out and Dimarelos announces: “I can’t sing.”

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Still, that jacket — bought for a dress-up party and now a tax write-off thanks to this show — deserves a second showing. And it gets one, this time to the tune of Careless Whisper. Alas, Dimarelos admits: “I still can’t sing.”

No, this is not a George Michael musical tribute. But it is an amusing meditation on Greeks, their traditions and their quirks.

George Dimarelos’s show, George Michael is Greek, will hit its target in Melbourne.

And it’s a show that will find its target in Melbourne, which is home to one of the largest Greek communities in the world.

Of course, George Michael was of Greek Cypriot heritage. But that doesn’t stop Dimarelos from claiming him, along with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and our very own Hugh Jackman (whose paternal great grandfather was Greek).

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The show is a little uneven, and Dimarelos occasionally loses his way with the material. But he is on song (pun intended) with his mimicry and terrific multiple accents.

And the show-stopping closing musical number, centred around chatting up girls in clubs through the decades, is worth the price of admittance alone.

George Dimarelos, George Michael Is Greek

Greek Centre, cnr Lonsdale and Russell sts, until April 22.

comedyfestival.com.au