I’ll cut to the chase. The imitator imitates just about every singer you can think of, 70 to be exact. And he’s pretty good at it. Taking you through the story of how he wound up at that very stage, singing his astonishingly accurate imitations, you’re in for a little bit more than what you’d think.
His early beginnings in South America set the scene for his passion for singing and performance. Putting on shows in his bedroom to no one, and dreaming about doing what he loves for a living. Though he meets the resistance of his mother, it doesn’t stop Julian Fontalvo from moving to New York to become a star. But as fate would have it, he falls in love, completely rerouting his road to stardom.
To be completely transparent, it isn’t my thing. The story line is as cliche as ‘a man with a dream to be a star’ could be. The wide-eyed look upon stepping in the Big Apple as a taxi driver honks, nearly running him over. The instant love at the bar with a fiery lady that’s hard to get but eventually gives in after a minute. That being said, it wasn’t unbearable, and the show most definitely delivers what it promises. The talent of the imitator is most definitely there. Fontalvo is undeniably spot on at his impersonations, and it’s most obvious in the way the audience is bewildered when he transforms into another artist, jumping vast genres, tempos and moods.
As I stepped out of the venue, one woman was awestruck, and implored me to sell Fontalvo as it was the best show she’d seen so far. I think that speaks for itself. The audience was having a ball as they clapped their hands and shook their heads in disbelief at Fontalvo’s knack for impersonating. Sure the story may not be sophisticated, but sometimes it’s the easier, simpler things that make us happy, and Fontalvo most definitely puts smiles on faces.
The Imitator
15:30 @ Assembly Room – Bijou
Aug 15-20, 22-26
