Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - Page 33
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Radio Confidential: News around Victoria .... Page 34 Veritas: Radiothon dumped by 3AW ................ Page 35 The Spoiler: Next week’s ‘soaps’ plotlines ............ Page 35 Jim and Aaron: Best DVD-film selections ................. Page 36 Cheryl Threadgold: Community Theatre - it’s a wrap ...... Page 37 PLUS THE LOVATT”S MEGA CROSSWORD
‘DOUBT’ STAGED BY STAG Max Bygraves dies at 89
● Max Bygraves
South Pacific opens
■ Veteran singer-comedian Max Bygraves, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, has died at the age of 89. He emigrated from Bournemouth to the Gold Coast in 2005. He appeared in many Royal Command concerts.
‘The Well’ plays at La Mama
● Jack Beeby in The Well opening at La Mama Theatre on September 13. Photo: Sarah Walker ■ The Well is being presented at La Mama Theatre from September 13-30. Devised with Monash University Student Theatre, The Well is a new work based on an original text by writer/ director Robert Reid. It uses a physical theatre approach to explore the collapse of the real, rituals of the absurd and global weirding. When the earth’s magnetic poles flip and the planet falls out of orbit, life on the ground gets colder and crazier. Long lost civilisations turn up in the drive through, exgirlfriends turn into crude oil and the edge of the universe is a giant super charged cloud of candy floss. Even by comparison, Gareth and Elliot are having a strange day. Gareth is going blind and travelling backwards through time and Elliot is turning into a giant ant. It’s the strangest end of the world you can imagine. The Well is an immersive production in which the audience are given the freedom to move around and engage with the performance from all different angles, pass whispered stories amongst each other and help construct the physical images of the show. The audience becomes the returned ancient Aztec civilisation, wandering through the suburbs catching glimpses of the stories that slip by them in the night of dissolving global sanity. Performance season: September 13-30. Times: Wed, Fri, Sun 8.30pm | Thu, Sat 6:30pm Running time: 70 minutes Venue: La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday St, Carlton Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Concession Bookings: online www.lamama.com.au or call 9347 6142 - Cheryl Threadgold
● Sister James (Jess Maitland) at left, Mrs Muller (Asha Sebastian), Father Brendan Flynn (Andrew Scarborough) and Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Michelle Tanner), in John Patrick Shanley's Doubt: a Parable, being presented in Strathmore until September 8. ■ Mel de Bono's directorial experience of 62 shows shines through in Strathmore Theatrical Arts Group's (STAG) production of Doubt: a Parable, being presented until September 8 at 8pm at the Strathmore Community Hall, Loeman St, Strathmore. Written by the 2005 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama, John Patrick Shanley, the drama is set in New York in the St Nicholas Catholic Church and School. The story's main theme is the issue of certainty. We learn the consequences of principal Sister Aloysius's suspicion creating doubt about the moral character of Father Flynn, a popular parish priest who coaches boys' basketball. Father Brendan Flynn is played by Andrew Scarborough, who elevated from stage manager to play this role only three weeks before opening night. Bravo to Andrew for a fine performance. He captures well the transition from Father Flynn's jovial personality to bewildered devastation. Michelle Tanner has transformed from a singing and dancing 'Scrubber' in STAG's last production, to impressively portraying the austere, unsympathetic Sister Aloysius Beauvier. Jess Maitland is gently appealing as the naïve Sister James perhaps a little too softly spoken at times. Asha Sebastian delivers a naturalistic performance as Mrs Muller, challenging Sister Aloysius with the logical questions many of us would like to ask. Mel de Bono's artistic direction and determination to achieve the full potential of Shanley's powerful script is evident throughout the production, including his clever set design, constructed by Tony Leatch. The play leaves us with much to think about. As Shanley's script says: "doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustainable as certainty". Well done to STAG on another good show. Tickets: $20/$15. Bookings: 9382 6284 or www.stagtheatre.org - Review by Cheryl Threadgold ■ The premiere of the musical The Tuxedo and The Little Black Dress is being presented from September 27 to October 14 at Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran. With book and music by Louis Nowra and Stewart D’Arrietta and directed by Christopher Parker, The Tuxedo and the Little Black Dress stars Stewart D’Arrietta and Rebecca Mendoza. This is a musical about love, betrayal, romance and the resilience of the human spirit. A man and a woman are suddenly trapped together after an earthquake hits the ballroom of a grand Edwardian hotel. Performance Season: September 27 – October 14 Times: Tues – Sat at 8.00pm, Sun 6.30pm, Sat matinees 3.00pm. Tickets: $35 Full, $30 Conc/Group 10+, $25 Preview Performance (plus Transaction Fee). Bookings: www.chapeloffchapel.com.au
● Lisa McCune as Nellie Forbush ■ In an era when it's trendy to break new ground and not revisit classics, Opera Australia's forthcoming production of Rodgers' and Hammerstein's great musical South Pacific will be a welcome visit to the theatre for Melbourne theatre and opera lovers. Kicking off at the Princess Theatre on Thursday, September 13, this particular production of South Pacific has drawn on the best talent from some very different musical genres. From the world of opera comes one of the world's best bass-baritones in Teddy Tahu Rhodes, in the complex role of Emile La Becque, who gets to sing those timeless standards Some Enchanted Evening and This Nearly Was Mine. From the world of theatre, TV and musicals, not to mention those early Coles ads as everyone's favourite check out chick, is Lisa McCune as the all-American gal Nellie Forbush, who has to make a few decisions and challenge some inner prejudices. Interestingly, the Melbourne production has a parallel with the original Broadway production which also mixed the vocal sounds of opera and music theatre, with opera singer Ezio Pinza singing Emile, with Broadway Queen Mary Martin as Nellie - the same Mary Martin who was the mother of Larry Hagman, (JR Ewing in Dallas many years later.) Cabaret genius and all round singer, writer and actor Eddie Perfect is sure to light up the stage as wisecracking black marketeer Luther Billis - a perfect fit for his talents. Jazz great Kate Ceberano should make a superb Bloody Mary, having the vocal depth to really belt out Bali Hai, and she is renowned for her terrific stage presence. Having played the role in London, Daniel Koek, comes to Melbourne to sing his heart out as Lieutenant Cable. Sometimes it's worth looking at who might be taking the more minor principal roles, and in this production, one of Australia's most enduring and talented music theatre performers will take to the stage as Captain Bracket. Regular Melbourne theatergoers will have enjoyed John O'May's many fine performances on anything from a Melbourne Theatre Company stage to commercial musicals like Mamma Mia. And for those who love trivia, in the ensemble as Seeable the sailor is Todd Keys, who will be remembered by devotees of the 2006 classical musical reality show Operatunity Oz, as one of the final 20 participants. He didn't make it to the final, but the former car wash worker went on to understudy Anthony Warlow in Opera Australia's Pirates of Penzance. Directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, South Pacific has a 25-piece orchestra conducted by Vanessa Scamell, a favourite conductor of fans of The Production Company shows. Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini is delighted that this is the first Broadway musical the company has presented. "South Pacific has many strands, and, apart from its wonderful music, there are the underlying issues of race and prejudice. Bartlett Sher has given us a superb, finely tuned, elegant piece of theatre," Lyndon said.. Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com or 1300 111 011 - Julie Houghton