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Chris McPhee Theatre Organ Concert
March 21 @ 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
With special guest Mark Oates (singer/actor) and featuring the 1921 Buster Keaton comedy ‘The Boat.’
Gershwin | Porter | Kern | Carmichael
Chris McPhee A.A.G.M., M.B.I.E., M.A.I.E. is a respected theatre organist. Based in Adelaide, Chris has performed at leading venues across Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
With a career spanning over three decades, Chris has had the privilege of performing at iconic venues such as the Adelaide Town Hall and Festival Theatre. He was honored to be the final organist to perform at the Adelaide Regent Theatre in 2004 and recently celebrated the centenary of the Prince Edward Theatre Wurlitzer in Sydney.
Chris’s international performances have taken him to esteemed venues around the world. Some notable highlights include performances on the ex-Gaumont Manchester Wurlitzer (UK), ex-Regal Kingston Wurlitzer (UK), ex-Regal Edmonton Christie (UK), Wurlitzer Manor in Gig Harbor (USA), Auditorium Theatre in Rochester (USA), Tacoma Pizza and Pipes (USA) and Auckland’s Hollywood Theatre (NZ).
Chris has released seven commercial recordings and regularly features on local and international radio broadcasts. He has shared the stage with notable Australian entertainers and continues to delight audiences with his performances at the Capri Theatre.
In 2025, Chris returned to the historic ex-Capitol Theatre Sydney Wurlitzer, now at the Orion Centre Campsie, commemorating 30 years since the release of his album Concert Hits.
Mark Oates – Bio The Magic Flute – State Opera South Australia
A long-standing State Opera South Australia artist, Mark was recognised by the Adelaide Critic’s Circle for his 2022 body of work, including premiering the dual roles of Ian Duncan/Don Dunstan in the Ruby Award winning Watershed: The Death Of Dr Duncan (Adelaide Festival), Lt Tom Radclyffe Voss, Gastone La Traviata, Jack – national tour – Love Burns, Bright Lights Big Dreams and the first orchestral workshop of When The Rain Stops Falling (State Opera SA). Mark debuted for Opera Australia in 2024, reprising Duncan/Dunstan Watershed, and will sing these roles again in the 2026 Season.
Previous Adelaide Festival appearances: Mozart Requiem, Street Singer Bernstein Mass, Ruffiak Le Grande Macabre.
Previous highlights for State Opera SA: Basilio The Marriage Of Figaro, The Defendant Trial by Jury, Beadle Bamford Sweeney Todd, Njegus The Merry Widow, John Styx Orpheus in the Underworld, The Cantor Maria de Buenos Aires (co production with Leigh Warren Dancers/Adelaide Festival Centre returning for the Brisbane Festival) and Caterpillar Boojum!
An in-demand concert artist, Mark tours nationally and internationally with Aerial Artists Australia.
The Boat
Considered one of Keaton’s favourites, Buster’s handmade boat, The Damfino, is finished and is, of course, too large to get through the basement door. When he drives off with it in tow, the side of his house, then the whole thing, collapses. At the harbor he rides the boat out only to have it sink beneath him. The rest is a series of adventures he and his family have with the restored boat.