Queenie van de Zandt as Jan van de Stool in I Get The Music In You

PAST PRODUCTIONS
Brisbane Powerhouse

5th Jun - 5th Jun, 2016

Hamilton Performing Arts Centre

29th Mar - 29th Mar, 2022

Queenie van de Zandt as Jan van de Stool in I Get The Music In You

Written by Queenie van de Zandt and Peter J Casey

Directed by Craig Ilott

Written by Queenie van de Zandt and Peter J Casey

Directed by Craig Ilott

Chanteuse and musical comedy star, Queenie van de Zandt, finally brings her cult-character Jan van de Stool, back to the stage in this multi-award nominated satirical swipe at self-help.

Queenie has long been well known for her many leading roles in musical theatre such as Into the Woods, King Kong, and The Full Monty and for her heartbreaking performance of the Bearded Lady in the award-winning Smoke & Mirrors. And Jan van de Stool is no slouch either – coming to prominence for her The Voice Vlogs with van de Stool – a web series satirising The Voice in 2013 and with regular guest appearances at previous MICF's.


In I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU, an evening with Jan van de Stool, Jan flogs her courses, books and BBQ aprons with hilarious monotony, takes interpretive dancing to new heights, and finishes with a 'colonic irrigation of the spirit'. Being Dutch-Australian Jan's grip on the English language constantly comes unstuck, as does the evening, when insecurity about one of her student's extraordinary singing talent makes for an ending that leaves the audience floored and screaming for more.

REVIEWS

Reviews of "I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU an evening with Jan van de Stool" – The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre – NSW - 2009

"...queen of comedy and song dazzles her delighted audience...a night of sheer entertainment and satirical, side-splitting hilarity....tight, taut and terrific. With impeccable comic timing, artful adlibbing and uncanny audience manipulation, van de Zandt cajoles, coaxes, commands and castigates...an artist of extraordinary talent and remarkable vocal versatility and range..."

"Like all great satirists and actors, van de Zandt has a strong affection for her characters. We laugh at their foibles, but empathise with their condition. Her characters are unique...van de Zandt is a rare and refreshing comic and musical talent, whose star could light the firmament on any world stage. This is a show not to be missed!"
Peter Wilkins
The Canberra Times

Reviews of "I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU an evening with Jan van de Stool" – Melbourne International Comedy Festival – Melbourne - 2007

"...the audience was lapping up Queenie van de Zandt's new age music therapist character, Jan van de Stool...van de Zandt had the small but enthusiastic crowd whole-heartedly participating...she is a versatile performer...sharing her beautiful voice...I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU is an enjoyable comedic hour and much more evolved than the comedy festival's average stand up fare...quite hilarious..."
Stephanie Glickman
Australian Stage Online

"Van de Zandt's diverse background in cabaret and music theatre really shines through...it's a spirited reminder that Australia has produced a comic genius whose satire is well-written, nicely paced and beautifully executed...it seems likely that van de Stool may become immortalised in Australia's fine history of comic characters".
ArtsHub.com.au

"...there's something satisfying about poking a pointy stick into the flabby nether regions of personal development. Comedienne Queenie van de Zandt does it brilliantly..."
The Age

Reviews of "I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU an evening with Jan van de Stool" – Ensemble Theatre – Sydney - 2006

"Queenie van de Zandt's hilarious one-woman exploration of the dark side of music therapy, I Get The Music In You, was a deserved cabaret hit first time around in 2004-5...van de Zandt brought in musical-comedy script master Tony Taylor to co-write the new version. The result is that on July 24, 2006 a new star of Australian comedy theatre was born.

In Jan...van de Zandt and Taylor, with director Craig Ilott...have given us a character who provokes simultaneous laughter and shudders and recalls nothing less than the frightmare early-glory days of Dame Edna and Betty Blokbuster.

Don't miss her. I Get The Music in You, Ensemble Theatre (this one will run and run). 5 stars."
Diana Simmonds
Sunday Telegraph

""Is your life just one big bum note? says Jan van de Stool...If so, then perhaps she can help with a "colonic irrigation of the spirit"...The snippets above don't do justice to the wonderfully deadpan comedy of Queenie van de Zandt, who wrote (along with Tony Taylor) and performs this merrily malign swipe at loopy New Age gurus. Imagine a cross between the unshakeable self-importance of The Office's David Brent and the cringe making terror tactics of Marjorie Dawes, the abusive flab fighter from Little Britain...Van de Zandt can (also) sing like an angel..."
Colin Rose
The Sun Herald

"Jan is the comic creation of van de Zandt and Tony Taylor, and she has been peddling her new-age musical therapy in I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU to deadpan satirical effect since last year. Van de Zandt sustains with vigour the unsubtle assult Jan makes...Presenting each hapless victim of Jan's mentoring, van de Zandt transforms in a single movement from Dutch despot to damaged dependants...The writing is sharp...The opening night had a ball...For the theatrically aware...an extra layer of self-referenced humour exists...a joyful collaboration of talented artists mocking a form for which they have a great facility...if the audience response is a guide, van de Zandt just might have van de Stool on the verge of comic greatness."
Mark Hopkins
Sydney Morning Herald

"Queenie van de Zandt is brilliant as the deranged musical therapist and teacher Jan Van de Stool, who proves the old adage 'Those that can, do; those that can't, teach.' The audience was in stitches."
Ian Phipps
ABC radio

"I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU...is a vehicle to showcase the considerable talents of one of our leading music theatre artists, Queenie van de Zandt...Opening night went down well...and gave her a standing ovation when one of the most bizarre music workshops ever undertaken came to a close...The verdict was that Taylor and Queenie had a show with a winning recipe. Amongst the main ingredients were...Queenie's warm, easy going stage presence and flair for ironic comedy...Queenie, in one of the show's highlights, does deliver a few songs straight, and shows off her powerful voice."
David Kary
Stage Whispers

Reviews of "I Get the Music in You" – Adelaide Cabaret Festival – Adelaide - 2006

"Queenie van de Zandt...adopted the persona of...Jan van de Stool, to induct her audiences into her wonderfully wacky world of music therapy. Van de Zandt also took on the roles of several of van de Stool's singing students, displaying her acting versatility and the voice that has won her feature roles in national productions....Her act was witty, intriguing and very funny."
Bill Stephens
Stu Hamstra's Cabaret Hotline Online

"Queenie van de Zandt is the talented singer/songwriter behind the character of Jan. She brings a dry comic flair to her...Queenie is able to step seamlessly between the neurotic Jan and the various characters...Who could ever imagine the sound of an entire audience simulating a hearty projectile vomit. This is the magic that Jan brings to the stage in I Get the Music in You."
Mark Thompson
Blaze

"Spiritual parody conjures laughs. This sly parody of new age spirituality is biting but playful...Queenie van de Zandt is comfortably comic...Jokes, lessons in interpretive dance, and anecdotes about her cheese sculptor husband keep the laughs coming. Van de Zandt also plays the parts of the bumbling music therapy students, switching easily between different roles...The show ends with a song belted out at full pelt, wishing you had heard more of van de Zandt's impressive voice."
Tory Shepherd
The Advertiser

Reviews of "I Get the Music in You" – Teatro Vivaldi – Canberra - 2005

"Dutch treat in voice and humour...Queenie van de Zandt plays everyone...the singing voice is terrifically versatile and satisfyingly lets rip late in the piece...it's a lot of fun...good to see van de Zandt back in town and in fine voice and humour."
Alanna Maclean
Canberra Times

Reviews of "I Get the Music in You" – The Store Room – Melbourne Fringe Festival - Melbourne - 2005

"Queen of music therapy hits the right notes. Just when you think dry, underplayed, deadpan comedy is a lost art in Australia, along comes Queenie van de Zandt to restore your faith, recalling another comedienne...Anna Russell....Van de Zandt's poker-faced characterisation of...Jan van de Stool...is an amusing hour of clever satire...The script, by van de Zandt and Tony Taylor, is sly and funny, and van de Zandt plays the character with total conviction...as well as switching mercurially to portray a handful of hapless students."
Jim Murphy
The Age

"Queenie van de Zandt is not only a great cabaret singer, she is hilarious, too. I Get the Music in You is a delightful parody...outrageously funny...then she sings a truly beautiful love ballad...teaches us a series of very funny and literal interpretive dance moves...Queenie plays herself and other students at the end and sings a grand finale of songs including a marvellous rendition of Barbra Streisand's very difficult song, A Piece of Sky. A real laugh-out loud hoot."
Kate Herbert
Herald Sun

"Queenie van de Zandt has created a comic masterpiece with Jan van de Stool, the despotic Dutch 'music therapist' ...Much of the comedy comes from van de Stool's hysterical mispronunciation of words...van de Zandt pulls off 'bad singing' in a way that only vocalists of extreme craft can do. An unexpected highlight of the show is a performance by Queenie herself, who's voice strikes resonances with Barbra Streisand and Linda Eder, and lets us know just what a true talent this lady is. She not only hits the 'big note', but she nails it...A definite must-see!"
Aaron Joyner
Australian Musicals.com

"Queenie van de Zandt MC'd the Fringe launch and did so in style. Just going by what I saw there I can recommend Queenie's fringe show "I Get The Music In You" which she performs in character as Dutch Music Therapist "Jan van de Stool". She involved the audience in a fabulous rendition of "Wind beneath my wings" proceeding to take seemingly innocent pot shots at the attending dignitaries including Lord Mayor John So, Minister for the Arts Mary Delahunty ("let's give her the clap") and the Creative Producer for the Fringe, Elena Vereker ("I think she's the bee's dick"). Queenie got rave reviews for this show in Sydney and she captured the room beautifully providing us with another example of a local comedian who has a wonderful take on an original character."
Annette Slattery
The Groggy Squirrell

Reviews of "I Get the Music in You" – Statement Cabaret Lounge - Sydney - 2005

"Queenie reigns supreme. Queenie van de Zandt's new one-woman show has one more Saturday to go and you shouldn't miss it...Jan van de Stool – the Netherlands' most awesome export to Australia – is surely destined to become one of our great comic creations...Watching her develop and grow...is amazing. It must have been a bit like that when Mrs Edna Everage first picked up her handbag...Jan has a way with chakras, the English language and a winsome if lethal smile that has her audiences both cringing and rolling in the aisles. And if Jan isn't enough, there's also Queenie herself, who gets a look in at the end and reminds us what a fabulous singer she is..."
Diana Simmonds
Sunday Telegraph

"...Then the comedy is abruptly suspended, and via another of van de Zandt's effortless character changes our ribs recover while Kirsty sings with unexpected poignancy. To provide respite amid such a constant stream of laughs without it jarring or without sending up the attempt is a triumph of it's own..."
John Shand
Sydney Morning Herald

Reviews of "The Brisbane Cabaret Festival" – Powerhouse Theatre - Brisbane - 2005

"...the fresh perspective, confident delivery and great songs are a winning formula. Van de Stool was a total crowd pleaser..."
Carolyn Huges
Media-Culture.org.au

"Queenie van de Zandt, through the incarnation of her character, singing teacher Jan van de Stool, took an enormous stick to the genre of "new age" buzzword types. 'Jan' is a prize bitch, all too willing to stifle her talented students. Roll-playing several of Jan's students allowed Queenie to morph into different characters, showcasing her remarkable voice. Van de Zandt has the funnybone of an old-school vaudevillian and it shows. If there's anything she can't do...we did not see it."
Ewan Yamates
Scene Magazine

"...within minutes of Queenie van de Zandt's solo spoof on a neurotic music therapist, the crowd was on a serious laughing jag. This "musical masseuse" urges her patients to move through the "molasses of their pain" as they take the stage to sing. Van de Zandt's caustic take of troubled Carol's "Shattered Illusions", a catalogue of disastrous relationships, was very funny."
Gillian Wills
The Courier Mail

Reviews of Jan van de Stool in "Women in Voice 14" – Playhouse, QPAC – Brisbane and Showroom – Star City Casino - Sydney - 2005

"Queenie van Zandt created a comic character; a chakra-emancipating nazi of a singing teacher who, in a pretend-you're-a-bell exercise, exhorts her class to "move your donger freely and share your bong". Van de Zandt is both a fine actress and a powerful singer."
John Shand
The Sydney Morning Herald

"Seasoned performer Queenie van de Zandt effortlessly milked the crowd for laughs in a musical theatre routine. The guy behind me was snorting helplessly trying to keep up as she dropped into one character after another, delivering songs that were alternately funny and touching...others I talked to said she was their favourite of their evening."
Mark Bretherton
The Courier Mail

"Cabaret performer Queenie van de Zandt appears in character as a herbal voice teacher obsessed with charkas an stacking up the chairs in the community hall where she teaches. Van de Zandt then goes on to play some of the teacher's students. She's very funny and has an incredible vocal range."
Jamelle Wells
The Drum Media

"Another change of mood brought on Queenie van de Zandt, an actor-singer whose routine in this show is to run a music therapy workshop as a very scary, vaguely Eastern European teacher, which gave her an opportunity to change characters and vocal routines at the twist of a shoe. She had the audience in stitches."
Alison Cotes
Stagediary.com

"Queenie van Zandt (sic) is a great comedic actress and delighted with her impersonation of a musical therapist complete with clichéd mantras and affirmations. It is here the format of Women in Voice excels; the women are able to experiment and are encouraged to shake-up tired formulas."
Kellie Riordan
612 ABC Brisbane

"...the night most definitely belonged to Queenie van de Zandt and Alison St Ledger. Van de Zandt's take on a music therapy class had the audience on (sic) stitches..."
Nigel Munro Wallis
612 ABC Brisbane

QUOTES FROM NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES

"...Queenie van de Zandt unveiled the music therapist from hell at Statement Cabaret Bar last year and was an immediate cult hit..."
Diana Simmonds

The Sunday Telegraph

"...a great deal of laughter and merriment among the audience...(Jan van de Stool) is likely to become our next big lifestyle guru and millions of Australians will enroll in her music-therapy workshop...a truly wonderful comedy character...I am sure van de Stool is likely to become famous like Effie...but will appeal to much more sophisticated and educated audiences...(Queenie van de Zandt) has a strong voice, incredible stage presence and excellent comedy timing..."
Domenic Mico
Canberra Times

"Our top choices...comedy...I Get the Music in You. An intensive one-night new-age musical with the charismatic and hilarious Queenie van de Zandt"
Danielle O'Donohue
Herald Sun

"I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU...Don't miss the last chance to see this hilarious spin on new age therapies, ranging from musical mantras to interpretive dance".
Spectrum
Sydney Morning Herald

"...Queenie van de Zandt, the spectacular musical theatre and cabaret performer who's wowed Sydney in recent years, despite being Melbourne based...The congenitally hilarious van de Zandt's act features a session with the voice therapist from hell, who fancies herself as a cross between Athena Starwoman and Sigmund Freud. Somehow, this creation finishes with a show-stopping Streisand number."
Diana Simmonds
The Sunday Telegraph

"Queenie van de Zandt, the actor/singer/writer who stunned audiences in her role as Deirdre in Queensland Theatre Company's Road to the She-Devil's Salon in 2003...Her enthusiasm is infectious...van de Zandt's segment allows her talents as an actress and playwright to shine."
Mary Nemeth
Time-Off Magazine