2 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
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In this issue
Queen: Still Rocking You ........................................................................... 8 We Will Rock You cast and creatives share Queen memories
8
Singin’ In The Rain .................................................................................. 12 The classic Hollywood musical dances onto Australian stages M Is For Mavellous and Megan ............................................................... 16 Megan Hilty on Broadway, Smash and her Australian tour
12
10 Of The Best On Broadway .................................................................. 18 David Spicer’s musical highlights on the Great White Way Broadway To TV ...................................................................................... 22 The resurgence of ‘live’ musicals on television Dramatic Vision ...................................................................................... 26 Insights into Angels In America and Tribes
21
Broadway If You’re Broke ........................................................................ 28 Enjoying New York’s hit musicals on a budget Technical Spotlight ................................................................................. 31 Lighting, Sound and Staging features
32
Musical Froth And Bubble ....................................................................... 54 Musical Theatre New Zealand’s 2016 ‘Rotovegas’ Conference
Regular Features
43
44 76
Stage Briefs
6
London Calling
48
Broadway Buzz
49
Stage On Disc
50
Stage To Page
52
On Stage - What’s On
56
Auditions
67
Amateur Stage Briefs
68
Reviews
71
Musical Spice
92
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92 4 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
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Editorial Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, Stepping into the spotlight in this edition is the technical side of theatre: from lighting a classic disco musical or a circus, to the challenges of engineering sound for a school musical extravaganza or Sondheim in an old gaol, integrating multi-media into a NIDA production or creating the spectacular staging effects for an opera afloat on Sydney Harbour. Yet, while technology plays a huge role in the latest musicals on our stages, we shift focus in our features on We Will Rock You and Singin’ in the Rain, chatting with cast members and creatives about the legendary rock band Queen and classic Hollywood Musical influences behind the shows.
Rob Mills and Jemma Rix. Photo: Lightbox Photography. Mark Mitchell (Lazar Wolf in Fiddler on the Roof).
In the meantime, for anyone planning a trip to New York, David Spicer has just returned with tips for getting the best deals on hot Broadway tickets. Though if you’re content to wait for the Broadway hits to arrive here, David also caught up on several Australia-bound musicals. For those of you who prefer your musicals from the comfort of your lounge chair, Peter Pinne looks at the revival of interest from US and British TV networks in broadcasting Broadway shows ‘live’. Happily, however, the best of both worlds come together in June. Broadway’s Megan Hilty - known here for her starring role as Ivy Lynn in the Musical Theatre TV series Smash - chats to Coral Drouyn ahead of her first her Australian tour. Yours in Theatre,
Neil Litchfield Editor
CONNECT
Cover image: Gareth Keegan (Galileo) and Erin Clare (Scaramouche) from the cast of We Will Rock You, which has begun it’s Australian tour at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre. Read our feature article on page 8. Photo: Eden Connell (Zoom In With Eden). www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 5
Stage Briefs
Online extras!
John Cleese announces the Sydney Premiere of Fawlty Towers Live On Stage https://youtu.be/ubpWojUiaYA
The full cast for the Australian tour of Fawlty Towers Live on Stage has been announced. Stephen Hall, pictured here with John Cleese, will play the role of Basil Fawlty, with Blazey Best as Sybil, Aimee Horne as Polly and Syd Brisbane as Manuel. The tour begins at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre on August 19, with seasons in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide to follow. For full cast and more details read our full story at http://bit.ly/1qIYZh3. Photo: James Morgan.
Don’t Bother To Knock, starring Helen Dallimore, celebrating the women who knew how to use their sex appeal to make their way to the top, plays at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival from June 10 to 12 and as part of the Hayes Theatre Cabaret Season on June 18 and 19. Photo: Marnya Rothe.
6 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Hannah Fredericksen (Sandra Dee) and David Campbell (Bobby Darin) wiil star in the World Premiere production of Dream Lover - The Bobby Darin Musical, which plays at Sydney Lyric Theatre, The Star from September 30, 2016. Read more at http://bit.ly/1qIYLGL.
Online extras!
Watch David Campbell perform “Dream Lover”. Simply scan the QR code or visit https://youtu.be/CEIcfHVt8i8 www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 7
Online extras!
Join the cast of We Will Rock You during the 2nd week of rehearsals. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/UiMyqUYz67I 8 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
International production cast.
As the cast of the new Australian production of We Will Rock You rehearsed ahead of opening night, guided by writer / director Ben Elton, they chatted about Queen, and the show, with Neil Litchfield.
“Queen was so eclectic. If you go to a wedding you’re going to hear ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ just before ‘Dancing Queen’.” Musical Supervisor Guy Simpson remembers, “I grew up as a nerdy classical pianist at the Conservatorium. I was a bit narrow in my musical upbringing but I always loved Queen. I remember going to the Hordern Pavilion and seeing Queen in Concert. They’d just released A Night at the Opera, which for all us classical music nerds combined everything - classic with rock. I’ll never forget seeing Freddie Mercury The songs of rock super band Queen strutting around that stage. Then it was have their place in the soundtrack of such a wonderful thing to meet Brian most of our lives. In my early twenties, (May), one of my idols from the past, my then-girlfriend and I claimed ‘You’re when I conducted the show twelve My Best Friend’ as ‘our’ song. It’s only years ago.” natural, then, that everyone involved in For Jaz Flowers, playing Oz, a show featuring Queen’s music has “Growing up I always heard their songs, their own personal connection. but didn’t know who they were by. Ben Elton clearly recalls “listening to Then I came into the rehearsal room, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ through the realizing on the spot that they wrote so entire autumn of 1975. So my memory many amazing songs that I’d grown up of being a lonely, sad slightly scared listening to, enjoying, and singing along student was listening to Freddie and the (Continued on page 10) boys. That memory has always stayed with me.
Cover Story
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Cover Story
Gareth Keegan (Galileo) and Erin Clare (Scaramouche). Photo: Eden Connell.
We Will Rock You premieres at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre on May 5, ahead of seasons at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, Brisbane (July); Melbourne’s Regent Theatre (August); Perth’s Crown Theatre (November); then the Festival Theatre, Adelaide (January, 2017). (Continued from page 9)
in the car trying to do 75 parts at once in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on long trips. It’s fun how it’s all of a sudden become a massive part of my life.” As for a favourite song she sings in the show, Jaz says, “Mine’s got to be ‘No One Like You (Only the Good Die Young)”. That’s Oz’s big song, and I think everyone, at some point in their life, has had someone disappear a little bit too soon. It’s a magical experience to be able to express that through singing.” Brian Mannix, who plays Buddy, loves that moment in the show too. “I’m in that scene. It’s the most tragic, sad song I’ve ever heard, and the way Jaz Flowers sings it just about makes you cry. I think about the footie while it’s on, otherwise I’ll start sobbing. The guys wrote it after Freddie died, and it’s just about death - it’s tragic, but beautiful.” It’s lesser-known Queen songs that stand out for Simon Russell (Khashoggi). “When I was a teenager, I found a tape of my mum’s or my 10 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
uncle’s which had all the early Queen hits on it, so for me, all the really obscure ones are the ones that I love. There’s a couple in the show - ‘Now I’m Here’ and ‘Seven Seeds of Rhye’, which I sing in the show. “I remember just rocking around my bedroom singing ‘Seven Seeds of Rhye’. I had a tennis racquet, which doubled as a mic, and then as the guitar - you had to have a prop.” Erin Clare (Scaramouche) loves the theatricality of Queen. “Look at Freddie as a front man, and I think it resonates for anyone who is in music theatre because it’s so much larger than life, it’s quite ridiculous, and my life can sometimes emulate the ridiculous. “We’ve been talking a lot about why Freddie wrote Scaramouche’s main song ‘Somebody to Love’ - not really outwardly finding somebody to love, but finding the love for yourself, and that kind of self-acceptance. That is something that so many people struggle with now, so I love the frustration, and the human element to that song.”
Watching a rehearsal of We Will Rock You, I can’t help but marvel at the Ensemble; talented triple threats all, they’re the heart and soul of Australian musical theatre and potential stars into the future. With the media scrum forming around the stars at this press call, I chatted to a group of the ensemble members who had just treated us to the high energy act two opener. “My parents loved Queen, and at every get-together ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ played about 10 times,” says Sheridan Anderson. “The first album I was given, when I was ten, was Queen’s Greatest Hits. I grew up with every song, but, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ aside, ‘You’re My Best Friend’ is my favourite - it’s just got such a nice message.” “I collect vinyl,” Erinn Arnel tells me, “and when I was in Year 10 I found Queen’s Greatest Hits in a second hand record store. The song I loved most was ‘I Want To Break Free’. There’s something about it - I love the guitar riff. I performed it with Chunky Move a
few years ago, so it will just never get old and will be one of those very special moments that you bring yourself back to.” “I really love ‘I Want it All’, because I grew up in the suburbs,” says Mike Snell. “I started dancing when I was 17, and just didn’t think I could do what I’m doing today - perform every night of my life and earn money. I didn’t know it was an actual career path. It’s got a great message for young people who are setting huge goals in their lives, who think they can’t do it.” “I first discovered Queen because I grew up in a rural area with dial up internet, so I wasn’t listening to anything over the internet,” Hugh Barrington recalls. “I was going through my parents’ records all the time, and I found A Night at the Opera. I fell in love with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, but if I had to take that out of the mix, my favourite song would be ‘Love of My Life’. I love the live version, where Brian May is playing on the 12 string acoustic guitar - Queen flies into a massive concert on a helicopter - they rock out, and then there’s this moment where it goes very quiet. There’s just Brian May playing on a twelve string, and Freddie singing, and the crowd goes nuts, and sings along in that brilliant way the British just sing along at rock concerts.” Technology has mushroomed exponentially since We Will Rock You
Ben Elton (front row centre) with the cast during rehearsals. Photo: Brian Geach
premiered in 2002, and the musical we are seeing in 2016 has been re-worked to reflect those changes. “When we were working on this in 1999, it was all about a possible time when people could literally access all their entertainment online,” says Elton. “That was five years before the iPhone, and the technology predicted in We Will Rock You is happening much quicker than anybody thought. Facebook hadn’t been invented, and one of the themes in We Will Rock You is social isolation. Scaramouche and Galileo want to be different, but the media is constantly trying to get them to be the same, and buy into an
L-R: Simon Russell, Brian Mannix, Casey Donovan, Gareth Keegan, Erin Clare, Jaz Flowers and Thern Reynolds. Photo: Brian Geach.
American Idol version of what rock’n’roll is, and this isn’t what they want to do. They want to be friends. “I thought, how about introducing a new element with Facebook, where not only are electric guitars banned, but real friendship is banned - only online friendship is seen as valid to society. So I’ve introduced an element into the show, whereby when Galileo and Scaramouche meet, they’re scared, because real time friendship is illegal. So they meet for the first time, and even though they’ve got a million friends on Facebook, they realise that they’ve only just met their first friend, which makes them their best friend, and they sing. ‘You’re My Best Friend’ wasn’t in the musical originally - it hasn’t been in for the first 14 years. It’s life, but it’s in the show now, and I think it’s a lovely way to introduce a beautiful song about friendship in a very interesting, satirical manner.” One thing is certain, we don’t need to rely on memory, the music of Queen continues to attract music lovers of all ages and Jaz Flowers sums it up beautifully. “I hate stating the obvious, but it’s Queen,” says Jaz. “It’s not a bit from here, and a bit from there, and a band that someone sort of knows at one point or another - it’s Queen. Everybody in the world knows who they are. The music just speaks for itself.” www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 11
Online extras!
Step behind the scenes of rehearsals of Singin’ In The Rain. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/kSocZonL-Tg 12 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Adam Garcia in Singin’ In The Rain. Photo: Brian Geach.
Coral Drouyn gives her umbrella a Morning’, ‘All I do is Dream of You’ we’ve all heard more than one of workout as the national tour of these in our lives. Singin’ In The Rain takes shape. Yet it’s the dancing that makes It’s sixty-four years ago - and the the show so special, and it’s not surprising that Andrew Wright has Golden Age of Hollywood Screen been nominated for multiple awards Musicals is at its peak. Within a for the choreography. decade Movie Musical production “A lot of people think that will be halved, then halved again by Andrew (Wright) has just re-created 1970. It took until 1977, when the choreography from the movie,” Saturday Night Fever revived the genre, to have people flocking back says Jaye Elster, the assistant choreographer, “but that’s not the to musicals at the movies. But in late 1952, as a seven year case. Andrew pays homage to the original, but he’s incorporated so old, I saw Singin’ In The Rain on screen and fell in love with the genre much more. There’s even a Tango - along with most of my generation. routine and far more expansive The love affair lasts to this very day. dancing with a variety of styles from Interestingly, the film is set in 1929 all of the dancers. And don’t forget and the advent of talkies is the core that this is all done live, there’s no stopping the camera for another of the plot. It was a case of art imitating life. True musicals started take. These dancers are athletes, and being released in 1930 - over 150 of they need to be incredibly fit. It’s such a demanding show.” them in the first year. They were It’s most demanding on the man heady days. It was a given that Singin’ In The playing Don Lockwood, Gene Kelly’s Rain would move to the stage, but it role. Adam Garcia has made his mark on international stages and in took until 1985 for it to reach Broadway, after a run at the London movies, but he is the first to admit that the stamina needed for this kind Palladium, with a book by Comden of role gets harder with age. and Green and the songs we know “I’m a new dad, and I stay fit, but and love by Nacio Herb Brown and there’s no denying that I’m also over Arthur Freed. 40 now. Eight shows a week is tough The Chichester Festival Theatre created the current production, with on any dancer, and we have to train its 12,000 litres of water on stage in like any other athlete. People don’t think of dancing as a sport, needing every performance, in 2011. The music is the same as it was in 1952 constant work-outs, probably (with the addition of one extra song) because it’s such a ‘feel-good’ thing and if you strip away the marvels of to watch, and a joyous thing to do. the production, you are left with a classic boy meets girl love story with marvellous songs and brilliant dancing. “It really is timeless,” says Gretel Scarlett, who plays Kathy Selden, the role originated by the iconic Debbie Reynolds. “The songs truly are ‘standards’ - we all know them, even if we don’t know where they came from. And they are just a joy to sing - clean simple melodies which don’t rely on vocal tricks, but you need to be spot on key.” It’s not just the title song, there’s ‘You Are My Lucky Star’, ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’, ‘Broadway Rhythm’, ‘You Were Meant For Me’, ‘Good
Believe me, we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t totally love it. And it’s great to get to do solo routines, after playing Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever where all the dancing was partner work. I’ve always been a Gene Kelly fan, so this role is just a dream.” And what about getting wet twice a night, eight performances a week? And in a Melbourne Winter? Adam laughs. “Yes, Melbourne winters can be harsh because the weather is so changeable, but they’re not as bad as English winters, and I’ve survived them. The main worry is catching a bad cold, especially when you’re getting wet twice a night. Let’s not forget - I certainly haven’t - that I turn 43 during the Melbourne run. That’s … um … ‘mature’ in dancing terms. But then Kelly was 41 when he made the film, and he had a high fever when he actually shot the famous rain dance. I’m just going to have to stay fit.” So just how high is the standard of the dancers in the show? “It’s phenomenal,” says ex-pat Associate Director Cameron Wenn. “We knew it would be of course, having people like Adam and Tap Dogs on the world stage for some years now. But when we were creating this production in Chichester I kept saying, ‘Wait till we get to Australia. Wait till you see the auditions there’ - and they were completely blown away.” (Continued on page 14)
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The cast of Singin’ In Photos: Jim Lee.
. The Rain in rehearsals
(Continued from page 13)
Adam Garcia, Gretel Scarlett and Jack Chambers in Singin’ In The Rain. Photo: Brian Geach.
Singin’ In The Rain plays at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, from May 7, before moving on to the Lyric Theatre, Sydney from July 7, then Brisbane (September), Adelaide (December) and Perth. 14 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Erika Heynatz plays Lina Lamont, the silent movie star with the voice of a squeaky lawnmower. Although she is also a triple threat, she doesn’t get to dance in this show. “I don’t mind,” she tells me. “I have a great comic role and I’m happy to let the others do the hard slog. But its interesting that so many of the musicals of the last twenty years or so have not really been dance shows singers have really been at the fore, which is great for them, but there haven’t been a lot of dance shows.” The reason might be the ascension of Stephen Sondheim as the doyen of Musical Theatre and those acolytes who have followed his style. There are great musicals like Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, and even Dreamgirls and Wicked, where the dancing is totally incidental and not integral to the storytelling. That makes Singin’ In The Rain all the more special. It was only revealed a few years ago that Gene Kelly actually recorded and overdubbed the tapping on the film so that the beats
feeling like a kid again. It’s just a ‘feel good’ experience and reminds me of when I first saw the movie. And look at their skills. The training is just so phenomenal. We have so many great Performing Arts academies now. Back in the sixties we had to pay for every class separately and jump on and off trains and buses to get from one to another. Yes, it gave us tenacity and persistence, but it made things harder. These ‘kids’ are so gifted, and have the training to really help them reach their potential.” Robyn has just finished a long tour with Jonathan Biggins’ play Australia Day and seems to move seamlessly from would be heard - he even recorded show keeps up the same energy one production to another. the taps for Debbie Reynolds. There’s levels and momentum throughout. It “I’m just grateful to be working, nothing quite like hearing the crisp sweeps you along, and you feel part and especially glad to be working sound of taps during a musical of the story. with a whole new generation of number. Robyn Arthur, who plays two performers.” Don’t expect scene changes every character roles in the show, and has As our Kathy (Gretel Scarlett) says few minutes. There are no cameras been in theatre for 41 years now, is “This is a show for grandparents and to call “Cut” to, and so Chichester having the time of her life watching grandkids and everyone in between. Director Jonathon Church (now dance rehearsals. No bad language, no rudeness. Artistic Director of the Sydney “I can’t remember a more Wholesome isn’t a dirty word. Theatre Company) has re-staged and delightful experience,” she tells me. Singin’ In The Rain is just fabulous re-imagined the setting so that the “This show is about laughing, about entertainment.”
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Imagine making your stage debut on Broadway in the hottest musical in town. It’s just one of the reasons why Coral Drouyn enjoyed chatting to Smash star Megan Hilty before she headed down under. Megan Hilty is beautiful, super talented and has a voice to die for. She’s also open and friendly, easy to talk to and laughs a lot. Life is good, and she’s holidaying at Disneyland with husband, Brian, and 18-month-old daughter Viola, before making her trip to Australia for a concert tour. “I’m so excited,” she tells me. “It’s my first trip to Australia and I so wish we were bringing the baby. She goes everywhere on tour with us and we’re just nuts about her, but the nanny persuaded us it was far too much travelling, and you just don’t argue if you’ve got a good nanny.” Known on Broadway as a musical star, Megan is gracious when I bring up the subject of her character Ivy Lynn in Smash, the TV series for which she is best known in Australia. It’s the story of creating a musical based on Marilyn Monroe, and Megan is a natural to play Monroe. “I don’t mind one little bit that Smash is the first thing anyone mentions. First off, without it I would only be known to theatre-goers on the East Coast (of America). And I certainly wouldn’t be doing this concert tour. People outside
of the East Coast think I am ‘an overnight success’ but the truth is I was lucky enough to have been working on Broadway for ten years before the TV show. Smash has given me some kind of international status, a profile, and I am so grateful; I don’t have to tell people what I do. But it hasn’t changed who I really am.” Who she really is, is a girl from the suburbs of Seattle, Washington who started vocal lessons when she was 12 and wanted to sing opera. “It sounds kind of pretentious now,” she says with a giggle, “and I changed my mind as soon as I saw my first musical. I mean, who wouldn’t? Wow.” We’re used to hearing stories of endless auditions, part -time jobs, pounding the streets and missing out on shows at the final call-back, but it didn’t happen that way for Megan. “I should feel guilty,” she says, “but it really wasn’t that difficult for me. I’m so conscious that the timing was so perfect, and I didn’t have to go through years of
16 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
knocking on doors. I’ve been incredibly lucky, and I never take that luck for granted.” Megan was still at drama college when she was asked to audition for Wicked. “I did the audition just for the experience, to find out what I was getting myself into - and then, OhMy - God, they offered me a role - well, not exactly a role
but cover - standby - for Glinda, the Good Witch.” The newly graduated Megan moved to New York and got to watch Idina Menzel do her thing from the wings. “It was a great learning curve,” she says. “I didn’t have to wait tables, I got paid to watch great music theatre performers. I figured I would never have to go on because Jennifer Laura Thompson had just taken over the Glinda role.” But Megan guessed wrong. It was only a few weeks before she got just two hours notice to go on in the role. “Can you imagine how terrified I was? I mean, I’m from Bellevue Seattle and suddenly I’m playing the hottest role in town? This wasn’t just my Broadway debut, it was my stage debut. Unbelievable. I remember thinking, ‘Well I’ve peaked, it’s never going to be this good again’. Megan was wrong. She impressed so much that she took over the role when Thompson left, and then returned to do a national
Online extras!
Megan channels Monroe in her rendition of Diamond’s Are A Girl’s Best Friend. https://youtu.be/OwHH7mbGjBc
tour. She finally parted company with Wicked in 2008, and went straight into a series of TV roles before starting workshops for the musical version of 9 to 5, playing Doralee, the role originated by Dolly Parton in the film. “You know, when I went into Smash it was such familiar territory,” Megan explains. “9 to 5 was one of those shows where I was there right from Day 1, and we really didn’t know the shape of the show - much like Bombshells. There was a sense of déjà vu.” I ask about the rumours, fuelled by last year’s one night concert version, that Bombshells, with the original songs from the TV series, is heading to Broadway. “I keep hearing those rumours too,” she responds, “but no-one has asked me, or anyone that I know. If there really are Broadway plans, they are very secretive. In all honesty I’d probably be too old to play the role anyway. But the one night get together was fantastic.
So many good friends, and good songs, and to sing them to a live audience was so special. It triggered the idea of a concert tour because the year before I had put out my first album. It just seemed like I was being lead in another direction.”
my name on it. Plus, I’ve never done a Sondheim show and I have to do at least one. But for now, I’m just in love with the concert tour. It’s such a thrill that I’m working with (husband) Brian (Gallagher), who is such a great guitarist. And I get to be me - not a
Megan Hilty and her band. Photo: Michael Wilhoite
That doesn’t mean that Megan is finished with Broadway, and I asked her what prize role is on her bucket list that she just has to play. “That’s easy,” says Megan, without hesitation, “Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. I just adore that show and I will play her sometime, I have to. That character has
Megan Hilty appears at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne on June 8, Concert Hall, QPAC on June 9, Theatre Royal, Sydney on June 10 and Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre on June 12.
character - and sing songs that I have chosen.” I’m curious. Will there be show tunes, standards, jazz? “All of the above,” she says with a giggle. “You’ve picked it in one.” Time is running out and I ask her one final question. “Television, musical theatre, concert gigs with your own band, if you had to choose just one and give up the others,” I ask, “which would you choose?” She lets out a shriek, “Oh no, don’t do this to me. I
love them all. I’m greedy. I don’t want to give up any.” I press her further. “I guess, since realistically there aren’t that many roles that I would be right for, I would choose to do the concert tours. It’s just so much fun.” I’m about to thank her for spending time with me and say goodbye, but she stops me. “No wait, I’ve changed my mind. I think I would drop all three of them in favour of cartoon voicing. I’ve done several Disney films now and I love that whole process of watching a cartoon character and then bringing her to life with my voice. It’s so completely different and I kind of think Viola would love to tell her friends when she was older that her mum was the voice of a Princess. As you get older you realise it’s not about bright lights or stardom or travelling or billing - it’s about being with your family and loved ones and making them happy. Yes - I think cartoon voicing would be a great choice and I’d get to tuck Viola in at night.” M is indeed for Marvellous Megan.
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Centre: Daveed Diggs as Thomas Jefferson with the ensemble of Hamilton. Photo: Joan Marcus.
David Spicer enjoyed a musical theatre marathon for eight days during a snowy February in New York. His mission - to see ten productions not yet seen in Australia. Which did he enjoy most? I’m reluctant to give standing ovations, yet An American in Paris propelled me to my feet. It is the most entertaining musical on Broadway winning four Tony Awards - but surprisingly not Best Musical. An American in Paris is a re-imagining of the 1951 film starring Gene Kelly. The lead is an American ex-GI who stays in Paris after the war to become a painter, falling in love with a Parisian dancer who is also being pursued by two other suitors. 18 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
The George and Ira Gershwin score is sublime, ranging from the melodious overture to great tunes such as “I Got Rhythm”. Taking it to another level is the stunning lighting design resembling modern art, chic costumes and a joyous choreography. The leads must be good looking, and sing, act and dance like they just left the stage of a ballet company. For the first year Robert Fairchild (Jerry Mulligan) was exactly that. Normally a New York Ballet principal, he had all the goods. Garen Scribner, a soloist with the San Francisco Ballet, replaced him in the demanding role in March. Dainty Royal Ballet trained Leanne Cope remains in the female lead (Lise). This show will run, or should I say dance, for years.
The buzz started in the foyer at Hamilton, with a frantic scramble for merchandise. Sitting in the front row I could almost feel the spittle. Is Hamilton worth the hype? Yes. The heady mix of a pulsating rap score, the sharpest of movement, hilarious colour -blind casting (for instance Thomas Jefferson has the frizziest black hair) and a gripping story, makes it an extraordinary piece of theatre. We were told in the opening song that Alexander Hamilton, the genius first US Secretary of the Treasury and American War of Independence leader, ended up being shot dead. He was killed in a duel with the Vice President of the United States, in New Jersey where dueling was legal at the time. Add to this a sex scandal and a
L-R: Rema Webb, Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in The Book Of Mormon. Photo: Joan Marcus.
Garen Scribner and Leanne Cope in An American In Paris. Photo: Matthew Murphy.
personal tragedy, which left a fellow member of the audience a blubbering mess. The presence of the writer and composer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, as the leading man added to the charisma of the production. He’s single-handedly wrenched musical theatre back into the popular music arena, establishing a new genre which will be replicated for decades to come. Not knowing much about Carol King when I entered the theatre, my education was swift at Beautiful - The Carol King Musical. As a teenager she had the chutzpah to get a song published by a major record company. With her husband she became one of the leading writers of Afro-American pop music, composing music so unlike her own white middle class
background. Later she flowers to find her own voice as a solo artist. Beautiful has one blockbuster hit after another. The staging, singing and choreography are also spectacular. At first blush the story, a backstage look at the song publishing industry, had the potential to be on the dull side. But thrown into the mix is King’s struggle as a young mother torn between the comfort of suburbia and the temptations of the pop music industry leading her husband astray. It proves to be an excellent vehicle to showcase her music. I expected spectacle in Kinky Boots, a musical about a drag queen who helps transform a struggling boot factory into a fashion icon. I anticipated a few laughs from Harvey
Fierstein, the playwright whose credits also include La Cage Aux Folles. My biggest surprise was the quality of the score by Cindy Lauper. Time after time she is on the money (pardon the pun). Highlight’s include “I’m Not My Father’s Son” - a sweet ballad, “Sex is in the Heel” - a funky romp and the electro pop “What a Woman Wants”. Kinky Boots is based on a film, inspired by a documentary about a real life Northamptonshire boot factory, which struggled at the box office. The musical adaptation, which won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Musical, has loads of colour and heart. It requires a charismatic male lead as Lola. Making an appearance whilst I was there was the statuesque (but straight in real life) (Continued on page 20) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 19
teacher at an exclusive private school. It ticks all the boxes in the rock music department. What is unexpected are a few delightful operatic arias performed by the school principal. Before the curtain rises the voice of Andrew Lloyd Webber comes over proudly explaining that all the children in the musical are performing live. They were so thumping good many had thought they must be miming. Also in thumping good form was the lead, Alex Brightman as Dewey Finn, Stark Sands as Charlie Price a dead ringer for Jack from the original Broadw (Continued from page 19) ay cast of Kinky Boots. regularity of Black. Surely it can’t be Photo: Matthew Murph y. Wayne Brady. Can’t wait to find out Annie and too long before School of who boots up for the Australian Oliver! when the Rock is seen down under. opening in Melbourne in October. rights are released to amateurs and Disney’s latest Broadway Andrew Lloyd Webber has had schools because of the strength of the extravaganza, Aladdin, delivers on more misses that hits of late. School of children’s cast. spectacle without breaking any new Rock is firmly in the Phantom, Jesus Like many Broadway musicals of the ground like The Lion King. As you’d Christ Superstar and Cats mode. It is moment it is based on a movie. School expect there is the perfectly formed destined to be a global blockbuster of Rock is about a shambolic guitarist male lead, from the wrong side of the and will be performed with the who accidentally fills in as a music tracks, who meets the beautiful Beautiful - The Carole King Musical. Photo: Joan Marcus.
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Princess in an unexpected place (a bit like Mary meeting a Prince Frederick at a pub). They ride a magic carpet together and sing some sweet tunes. There’s a nod to other Disney musicals in a pastiche sung by the Genie - on steroids - performed in New York by the Tony Award winning James Monroe Iglehart. The Broadway production was unexpectedly camp. I thought I must have been seeing Kinky Boots a little early. The costumes worn by the Genie and his cohorts were fabulous, perhaps that brought it out. Be ready for a night of absolute silliness with Something Rotten. Set in the days of William Shakespeare (who resembles Mick Jagger), rivals to The Bard (Nick and Nigel Bottom) get a tip from Nostradamus that the next big thing in theatre will be musicals. “It’s a musical, it’s a musical” explains one of the songs. Unfortunately Nostradamus gets his wires crossed and ‘Hamlet’ becomes ‘Omelette’. So they start writing ‘Omelette The Musical’. As in Spamalot there is a shameless pandering to New York’s Jewish community. The more you know about Shakespeare, and the more you know about musicals, the funnier you will find it. Although splashes of extravagance and cleverness abound, I grew a little weary of it during the second act. Finding Neverland faced the formidable challenge of being compared to the delightful movie starring Johnny Depp, which tells the story of how J. M. Barrie created Peter Pan. The musical had its own mega star in the guise of Kelsey Grammer as Captain Hook/Charles Frohman. He was well disciplined, only making one reference to his TV series Cheers. It was a rollicking and entertaining production. There were a few exceptional moments of staging, particularly when the set suddenly becomes a ship. Overall, however, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the film. Five years after The Book of Mormon won the Tony for Best Musical, this most politically incorrect of musicals is still regularly putting up the full house sign. Penned by the South Park team it exposes the seemingly far-fetched origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Alex Brightman and the kid band from School of Rock - The Musical. Photo: Matthew Murphy. Disney’s Aladdin. Photo: Deen van Meer.
Saints. Two reluctant young recruits get sent to try to convert some unsuspecting folk in Africa. Apparently even less religious Mormons get a giggle from it. There is the cheesy music and only two dimensional attempts for realistic looking sets and characterisation (a bit like a cartoon). It goes way over the top in the second act. I have to confess I was a bit jaded after having seen Hamilton that same day, so I look forward to seeing an Australian take on the show when it opens in Melbourne next year. Chamber musical Fun Home has taken off after surprising pundits by winning the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical. It was lauded for tackling subjects considered impossible for a
commercial musical, as the writer Lisa Kroin lists them, “butch lesbians, a funeral home, closeted gay men and suicide.” It is staged in a small theatre in the round with parts of the set popping up and down. The story is confronting but it is beautifully executed. The central character is Alison, small, medium and grown up. As a child she is smitten for the first time by a woman. Later she has her first relationship when she enters college and finally reflects on her life as an adult. Exceptional performances by small Alison Gabriella Pizzolo (a former Matilda) and Tony Award winning Best Actor Michael Cerveris make it an exceptional night of theatre but not much fun. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 21
Live television broadcasts of Broadway musicals are proving to be a ratings bonanza again for TV networks. Peter Pinne reports that everything old is new again. The recent phenomenon of Broadway musicals being performed “live” on TV is not new. Back in 1954 Mary Martin’s Tony-winning Broadway outing in Peter Pan was televised live in black-and-white by NBC. A kinescope (film pre-cursor to videotape) remains of the event and apart from showing us Martin in top form as the gamin-like Peter it also shows us how inventive and boisterous Jerome Robbins’ production was. The telecast received so much acclaim that NBC decided to videotape a colour version in 1960, which was repeated in 1963, 1966 and 1973. The same year (1954) Ethel Merman brought her brassy portrayal of Reno Sweeney in Cole Porter’s Anything Goes to life in a truncated one-hour version, with Frank Sinatra as Billy and Bert Lahr as Moonface, so it’s no surprise TV networks have jumped on the bandwagon again. The Wiz Live! was NBC’s Thanksgiving musical last year. According to the critics it was a “colourful triumph” and the best of their three recent “live” musical attempts. Although it didn’t reach the astronomical ratings of 18 million for Carrie Underwood’s The Sound of Music in 2012, with 11.5 million viewers it was up on Peter Pan’s dismal 22 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
heavy show worked remarkably well on multiple screen sound-stages, which included colourful LED screens designed by Derek McLane. Paul Tazewell’s costumes were described as “eye-popping” and “ostentatious”. As Dorothy, newcomer Shanice Williams lit-up the small-screen with powerhouse diva vocals on “Be a Lion”, “If You Believe” and “Home”. The whole production, including the A-list cast and Cirque du Soleil performers, takes a trip to Broadway later this year. It came as no surprise that TV networks in the UK followed the U.S. trend. As a 2015 Christmas treat ITV broadcast its own “live” version of The Sound of Music, which had started the latest trend at NBC in 2013. Heading the cast was former Eastenders star Kara Tointon as Maria, with Julian 9.1 million in 2013. Top-starred was Queen Latifa as the Wiz, in a cast that Ovenden (Downton Abbey) as Georg and multi Olivier Award-winning Maria included several pop performers and Glee star Amber Riley. Stephanie Mills, Friedman as the Mother Abbess. With a set budget of 750,000 Broadway’s original Dorothy, was a pounds, it was produced on welcome addition as Aunt Em. A big production, with the inclusion soundstages at 3 Mills Studios in of Cirque du Soleil acrobats adding to London. Like NBC’s version it was an the mix of singers and dancers, the FX adaptation of the stage musical and NBC’s Peter Pan (1954).
not based on the film, although the score did include the movie’s “Something Good”. Creative director Coky Giedroyc said she wanted to “keep it true to the original” and maintain a focus on the political aspects of the story. To this end, when the Nazi’s invade Austria, historical black-and-white footage of the real thing was included, helping give the production authenticity. Reviews were mixed but the Daily Telegraph judged it “more a success than a failure”, with praise for Tointon’s “refreshing earthiness and grit” as Maria. Casting Ovenden, a true musical theatre leading man, as Georg meant his songs had vocal heft with the second act duet “Something Good” particularly pleasing, whilst the roles of Max and Elsa in the hands of Alexander Armstrong (host of game show Pointless) and Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge’s Lady May) could not have been bettered. BBC also got into the act at Christmas by broadcasting a “live” performance of Imelda Staunton’s Mama Rose in Gypsy, filmed at
ITV’s The Sound Of Music (2015).
Online extras!
Join Kara Tointon on the set of Sound Of Music Live. Scan the QR code or visit https://youtu.be/GlpOrmMTyaU London’s Savoy Theatre, where the Evening Standard Awards’ Best Musical sold-out its entire West End season. Appearing with Staunton was True Blood’s Lara Pulver as Louise and UK Law & Order’s Peter Davison as Herbie. Staunton’s riveting performance, called “exquisitely brilliant” and “triumphant”, was not only a viewing treat but an archival gem.
The latest live-to-air musical has been Fox’s Grease Live! It aired 31st January 2016, and, as far as the viewing numbers go, was a worldwide hit, airing in Canada the same time as it did in the U.S., then in Australia, the UK and N.Z. in early February. The U.S. broadcast pulled 12.2 million viewers, which increased to 14 million after the (Continued on page 25)
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NBC’s The Wiz Live! (2015).
Online extras!
Check out a preview of The Wiz Live! Simply scan the QR code or visit https://youtu.be/97m0soGP1oU
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(Continued from page 23)
figures for the digital soundtrack, which went to #5 on iTunes, were added. It was replayed as an encore performance on Easter Sunday, 27th March. Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko and Julianne Hough as Sandy didn’t erase memories of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in the movie, but although they lacked chemistry their dancing was superb and helped make the telecast the success that it was. Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical films/Gigi) was a cool Betty Rizzo. The difference in this “live” production was that you saw the cast move on the studio lot from soundstage to soundstage with the subsequent exterior locations adding enormously to the “live” feel. The production was based on the stage version but did include the songs that were added to the movie. It also featured a new ballad “Angel” by Tom Kitt and sung by the character of Frenchie (Carly Rae Jepsen), which felt like it was in a different show and was totally out-of-place with the rest of the score. To produce an event like this takes an enormous amount of rehearsal and split-second timing. The fact that the only technical hitch was some audio static during Hough’s singing of “Hopelessly Devoted To You” was an amazing feat. Even a shower of rain just prior to the performance starting didn’t throw the techs or performers off. Apart from being a technical triumph for veteran Dancing with the Stars television director Alex Rudzinski, it was also a triumph for creative director Thomas Kail, fresh off his award-winning chores on Broadway’s Hamilton. “Born to Hand Jive” sizzled, but it was the concluding numbers “We Go Together” and “You’re The One That I Want” which provided the goose-bumps, along with the finale run-down as the performers took their bows to camera as they would in the theatre. What does the future hold? More of the same, with Fox announcing their fall schedule will include a TV remake of The Rocky Horror Show, starring Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Annaleigh
Fox’s Grease Live (2016).
Ashford (Sylvia) as Columbia, Reeve Carney (Spider-Man) as Riff-Raff, Adam Lambert (American Idol) as Eddie, Staz Nair (Game of Thrones) as Rocky, with Ryan McCarten (Heathers) and Victoria Justice (Victorious) as Brad and Janet. Tim Curry, the original Frank-N-Furter, plays the Narrator. It’s being directed, choreographed and executive produced by Kenny Ortega. The Rocky Horror Show is an obvious choice, as it blitzed the boxoffice in the UK and across Europe when it was broadcast “live” on its 40th Anniversary from London’s Playhouse Theatre on 17 September 2015, in a production starring the show’s creator Richard O’Brien. Screened in 600 cinemas across the UK and Europe it took more than £600,000 at the UK box-office alone. An edited version was later broadcast on BBC America, Sky Arts in the UK, SBS in Australia, Canal+ Extra in Spain and YLE Teema in Finland. NBC have announced their next musical, which will premiere on 7 December 2016, will be Hairspray Live. It will be the first time a title from the contemporary Broadway catalogue will be produced “live”. Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who also produced NBC’s three previous “live” entries, are attached to the project along with director of The Wiz Live Kenny Leon and original choreographer Jerry Mitchell. Most of the creative talent associated with the hit Broadway production will be on hand to recreate
it on television including the composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and book writer Harvey Fierstein, who originated the role of Edna Turnblad on Broadway. No casting has been announced but a search is underway for an actress to play the lead role of Tracey Turnblad. With production budgets in the stratosphere, television “live” versions of Broadway classics give musical theatre geeks a great chance to see their favourite shows and performers. The TV medium adds another dimension to the theatrical experience and, while it in no way replicates seeing a performance in the theatre, if you can’t see it in the flesh watching it “live” on television is definitely the next best thing.
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Dramatic Vision
The play continues to be relevant today for many different reasons. There is a monstrous character called Roy Cohn who is based on an actual historical figure - a Jew hating Jew, a homosexual hating man who had sex with other men. It links the era of tumult and confusion to the pogroms in Russia. It looks at climate change, Mormonism, being true to ourselves, looking after people who are vulnerable. The play will appeal to a wide variety of people. When Tony Kushner wrote the play he had been caring for a female friend, who had suffered a brain injury and had to undergo a series of operations. The play has a lot to say to people who care lovingly for anyone who is vulnerable and dependent, and it also has a lot to say about those who can’t offer themselves up to full-time care. The character, Louis, is incapable of rising to the occasion and doing all it takes to look after a person who is very ill. The audience feels sympathy for a range of characters. I think the play is brilliant because it puts an impossible group of people together, and it is able to illuminate their contradictions with great compassion. _______________
Felicity McKay in Angels in America. Photo: Robert Frith
know or care about. When I was 24, and I thought the play was just about AIDS, the scene drove me crazy. Why was it there? Let’s just get to the Black Swan State Theatre Company politics, to AIDS and the cultural war. May 28 -June 19. Funny isn’t it? Now 25 years later I look at the play Set in 1985 New York City, this and I think the whole thing comes ground-breaking Tony and Pulitzer from that first scene. It talks about the winning drama follows Prior Walter, a dreadful pogroms in the early 19th young gay man diagnosed with AIDS century in Russia and the woman being and abandoned by his lover. Desperate buried in a cemetery in New York who and alone, he is visited in a dream by escaped all that, and then we watch an angel that brands him a prophet her inheritors play out their battles. We and tasks him with saving humanity are reminded in the midst of brilliant from themselves. writing and great hilarity that the 20th century was the product of genocide Kate Cherry - Director and no matter where immigrants went This is not just a play about AIDS. they took the shocks they had It’s a play that starts with an old Rabbi experienced with them. burying an old woman none of us
Angels in America Part 1, Millennium Approaches By Tony Kushner
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Tribes By Nina Riggs
Ensemble Theatre Sydney Premiere May 26 - July 2. Billy (Luke Watts) was born deaf, but has grown up lip-reading in the midst of his fiercely intelligent and unconventional Jewish family. Meet Sylvia (Ana Maria Belo) she was born to deaf parents and is gradually losing her own hearing. As Sylvia teaches Billy sign language, their worlds begin to align just as Billy's family grapple awkwardly with his new-found independence. Susanna Dowling - Director This play examines the privileged place that spoken language plays in our world, and the limitations that ultimately make language a false friend. The play exposes the chasm
Ana Maria Belo in Tribes.
When I first read Tribes I was left sobbing for hours. Sylvia is losing her hearing. When we meet her in the play, she is very much in denial. I lost some of my hearing at 14 and lost a whole lot more just recently. That was a very dark time for me and like Sylvia I was in denial for a very long time. There are a lot of differences between Sylvia and I: she has deaf parents, she can sign fluently, and she can play the piano - the list goes on. But the one thing that connects me so deeply to Sylvia is the fear and struggle with losing her hearing. I have never seen my own thoughts written out so precisely for a character before. Sylvia Ana Maria Belo (Sylvia) isn’t a character I was born to play; As an actor I relish the opportunity Sylvia is a character that I have to play. to delve inside the life and mind of The line between art and reality blurs someone so very unlike myself. Usually sometimes and I am so excited to get I find similarities in my own life and use mixed up in the magic of that blur with that to help with emotional recall. Sylvia. between what the characters feel, and what they can say to each other. Billy, a deaf child in a hearing family, is the emotional heart of the ‘tribe’, and yet he struggles to communicate in the hearing world, a world which makes no allowances for him. When Sylvia exposes Billy to an alternative world, he jumps at the chance. This rocks the foundations of his family, and they struggle to pick up the pieces in the wake of his decision. Ultimately, language has let them down, and they have to find other ways to connect to, and love each other.
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David Spicer and his much sought-after ticket to Hamilton.
David Spicer reveals the very cheapest ways to see musicals and plays on the Great White Way. But SHHHHHH, keep these secrets quiet. For an Australian in America, enjoying a top Broadway production is more expensive than ever.
four then you may only be able to afford one outing at that price. Most travellers to Times Square think they know the drill. You line at up the TKTS discount booth and find out what is on offer. Run by the Theatre Development Fund, the booth advertises same day “half price� tickets. That may only mean half the full premium ticket price, and you might not get a premium seat. The lines can also be very long, eating into time for other tourist The Aussie dollar is way shows were sold out midattractions. down on that blissful time a week. I picked up one ticket for few years back when there Sitting in Aladdin, I felt a musical for $80US at the was parity or better. for a family of four who Producers also charge top misread the starting time for TKTS booth, which is hardly dollar for quality seats. Sunday night performances. in the bargain basket. I did much better hunting $150US is standard price for They forked out $500US+, many shows. In mid winter but, because they were late, around for the best deals, with bargains including during my recent visit to missed the first act. Ouch! School of Rock for $37, Fun New York, many major If you are travelling to Home for $50 and the New York with a family of
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They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway.
Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time for $32. I learnt from a guru. Whilst waiting in line for tickets to Hamilton at six o’clock in the morning, a fellow traveller spilled the beans on his secrets. The same organisation that sells ‘cheap’ tickets in Times Square offers much better discounts to members who live outside New York, and who book well in advance. To become a member of the Theatre Development Fund you need to be a student, a member of a Union or a Performing Arts professional. They also admit ‘freelancers’. My source said you can join the Freelance Union for free. Once you are a member you can log in and book tickets in advance for many premium shows at genuinely discounted prices
(70% off), without having to line up on the day. www.tdf.org Another great resource is the website ‘Broadway for Broke People’, which is updated regularly, listing shows that have lotteries and rush tickets. www.broadwayforbrokepeople.com These days lotteries are usually run digitally. You log into a website and get selected by a computer to win tickets - usually the front row or partial views - for around $30US. Many of the lotteries are run from a free app called Today Tix. Make sure you download this app before you go overseas. www.todaytix.com Today Tix has been called the Uber of the theatre industry and claims to have 500,000 members. In many (Continued on page 30) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 29
40 minutes at the theatre box office. Getting into Hamilton is in a league all of its own. It is booked out almost a year in advance. The official reseller’s site has tickets for $400US each, but you have to buy two. The lottery is like winning a lottery. You also have to watch your phone in the afternoon for notification. In the middle of winter when I was in New York, the brave lined up outside in blizzard-like conditions in the hope of getting a return ticket. I zeroed in on a Wednesday matinee and joined the line at 4.12 am. I was third in line. I shared the waiting duties with a professional roaming in New York to ask the box office attendant line sitter who runs a (Continued from page 29) cases the website offers take part, otherwise you some questions the day company called ‘Same Ole better discounts than the could miss the opportunity before you want to see a Line Dudes’. TKTS booth. to win. show. Ask what time you www.sameolelinedudes.com Most major shows have Rush tickets are a more would have to turn up the At around 12.30 I scored about 20 tickets or so in the reliable way of getting next day to get a rush a front row seat. The ticket lottery. You may have to be discounted tickets. These are ticket? How many rush cost $167US plus a $25 an available at a certain time to returns, and odd tickets, tickets are available each hour waiting fee to Mr pay for them on the spot. which producers like to sell. day? ‘Same Ole Line Dudes’. If it When Hamilton moved They could have a partial You may only have to is raining or snowing he from a lottery on the street obstruction, or you might arrive at 9.00am for a charges $500. to a digital lottery, 50,000 have to be prepared to sit in 10.00am Box Office opening All up, my front row entered and the system single seats separately from to be guaranteed a rush ticket cost close to $300US. crashed. your friends. ticket. This is how I got into Broadway can make you The best strategy is to You need to have a School of Rock for $37. I broke even if you don’t start mobile phone with global turn up to the theatre and only had to wait in line for that way. They say there’s always magic in the air.
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Jason Bovaird from Moving Light Productions was asked to provide the lighting design for StageArt’s production of Saturday Night Fever The Musical in February. He explains how he put together the biggest conventional and moving lighting rig ever set up in Melbourne’s Chapel of Chapel in a four day bump in. In the 1977 movie John Travolta is seen dancing on a traditional disco floor flashing light grid. For this production the director wanted to simulate a dance floor with light. The set had scaffolding as the backdrop. Two scaffold boxes, either side of the set, were built to incorporate the band. The edging of these boxes had a simulated LED Dance Floor “look”. Eight LED tubes in three layers surrounded each box. This lighting rig was the biggest conventional and moving light rig that Chapel Off Chapel had ever seen (specifications on opposite page). At the back of the stage 56 Mirror balls were hung on separate channels. The strings rotated throughout the show. 32 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Photos: Belinda Strodder.
When you have a stationary audience watched the set, the lighting needs to take the production. We had to be super audience on a journey through prepared both on paper and in the different locales and looks in the efficiency of programming the show. We used LED pars to up the show. light all the scaffolding. Using thorough pre-production For the chase scenes, we used paperwork and magic sheet a metronome to work out the technology from the GIO lighting beats of the music. This allowed console, we were able to us to get the exact times of the incorporate multiple LED happy chases to match the tubes with a large scale moving choreography. The lighting was Specifications: The lighting rig comprised light rig to achieve the look the timed on a stop watch and visual show required most efficiently. 37 generic fixtures, 20 LED Multipars, 24 moves were written down by the The lighting added another visual moving light fixtures and 48 LED happy tubes. board operator then cued with dimension to the slick This was run over 3 universes of DMX with the the script. choreography throughout the big LED tubes taking up 387 channels alone. Each This required a lot of planning and bold dance numbers, in a of the LED Tubes ran in 8 pixel mode which and paper work, so I brought on story about one man who just allowed us to split the tubes into 192 board an Associate Lighting wanted to dance. different coloured LED sections a side. Designer, Maddy Seach, a 2012 VCA graduate, to assist. This allowed me effects that became a strong element of Moving Light Productions has a big to be able to concentrate on the design the production. year ahead. Projects include collaborating element and the final look of the show. The ability to be able to quick on a World Premiere musical, Antarctica, The Moving Light production team reference lamps, effects and palettes in Hobart, lighting design for three prepared visual magic sheets of the rig using the touch screen of the GIO enables national tours, two new Australian works, and LED Tubes on an ETC GIO console. It us to program more efficiently an International tour with Live Nation’s gave us a visual representation of the 387 There was a super tight production popular children’s show Mister Maker, pixels of happy tubes in colour, schedule. The show bumped-in on the and various high school productions. movement and particularly the chase Monday and by Thursday night the www.movinglight.com.au
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Greg Ginger from Outlook Communications volunteered for some hard labour in the main cell-block of the old Castlemaine Gaol, built in 1861. It was the setting for Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, staged by Three’s A Crowd Inc.
When Director Matt Sheehan approached me with the idea of using the gaol for the production I knew we were in for a challenge. The reverberation in this concrete and stone building was an audio nightmare for musical
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theatre performances. The more amplified and complex the sound signals, the more difficult they are for the audience to understand. The company wanted to integrate the architectural features of the historic building as the set, which was dramatically exciting for a production about killers. The atrium where the stage was situated had a 10m corrugated iron ceiling. The performance area was in an open corridor, which joins three cell-blocks together. A stage was built for the cast of 19 and seating for 150 people. To make this production work we created an isolated band room for the 12-piece orchestra, with carpet and
exhibition partitions for walls and ceiling, with a large window into the space so the audience could still see them. Drapes were run along the back of the stage up to 4 metres high and wrapped behind the audience. More drapes were hung upstairs in the cell block arches, from the ceiling down to 4 metres above the floor. Behind the seating banks, the drapes ran the full 8m height. Tiered seating on carpet covered risers was used to improve sightlines while reducing the reflections from the concrete floor. This treatment reduced the reverberation from around 5 seconds to about 1.8 seconds. This was
Three’s A Crowd’s Ass assins at the Old Castlem aine Gaol. Photos: Christine Sayer.
For more information contact Outlook Communications. www.outlookcomms.com.au enough to provide clarity of vocals and orchestral articulation via a distributed sound system to the audience.
The amplified sound was collected by 16 Sennheiser radio mics and 14 microphones in the orchestra, to provide a light
reinforcement to the live vocals in the space and control of the orchestral balance to the entire audience. This would not
have been possible without the acoustic separation. Sound design is so important when staging musicals. The audience engagement with the show can be lost if words are difficult to understand and acoustic anomalies in the performance venue are left untreated. Just adding more speakers and making it louder is not enough and sometimes makes it worse. Overall the design achieved all its objectives. The sound was well controlled and the audience experience was excellent. The Bendigo Advertiser described the setting as “eerie and perfect” for Assassins.
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Respected theatre brands, including Digico and Avid Venue, continue to add features demanded by industry professionals eager to take the audiovisual component of the show to the next level. Other brands, such as Allen & Heath, Midas and Soundcraft, are hugely popular in school theatres, not only for their outstanding performance and feature set, but also because of their invaluable teaching tool status for the next generation of theatre technicians. So, which one is better - analogue or digital? It's almost “no question” these days. With so many features available Artie Jones from Factory Sound Top shows rely on digital consoles. on the current generation of digital mixing systems, and audiences with a Gone are the days of a massive reports. voracious appetite for innovation, it's a analogue sound desk (and the match made in digital heaven. When there is dialogue to be associated racks of equalisers, amplified, the audio mixer is arguably compressors and other effects) to help Analogue most certainly has the the most important link in the chain. control and shape the sound. The most benefit of being low-cost and simple to Not only does it give you a spot to plug sophisticated shows around the world use for compact and portable solutions, being especially good for are using digital consoles now, with all the microphones, it’s the control smaller, compact work situations. But centre for balancing levels, and dealing every tool available at the operator’s once the size gets increased, go digital. fingertips - often via touch screen with the intricacies of a show, before the sound hits the speakers. control.
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John McKissock from Clearlight Shows we are meticulous about maintenance. “We win jobs because we are a speaks to David Spicer about lighting performers on a tightrope and small rental company and all the gear companies with tight budgets. goes out exactly as it should be.” What are Clearlight's most popular Lighting a production is important, fixtures? He nominates Martin Vipers, and but in the case of a Circus it could be Robe Robin 800 LED Wash Light life or death. “It is very hard to light a circus. The because of its “fantastic colours”. Also the Phillips Showline SL 155, a position of the fixtures is crucial. You can’t blind the performers. So the light variable beam LED Par. design is critical,” John McKissock said. “It has great colours. We have sold Images come to mind of a juggler lots to performing arts centres. tossing swords suddenly losing track Everyone just loves them.” Clearlight has not given up on of a blade or a tightrope walker losing tungsten lights. his/her step. Clearlight Shows, based in “They have at least another ten Melbourne's south-east, is the official years. Many venues are still using Pattern 123 Strand fixtures. It still supplier of lights to Circus Oz. Managing Director John McKissock works fine if you have a globe.” “Lamps are getting harder to says his company has to be meticulous. source, so we are stocking up.” What new products excite you? “A touring company like Circus Oz “We are investing heavily in LED has to get a rig up very quickly. They don’t want to be pulling down products for rental such as the Selecon RAMA Frenels. These are 120 watts fixtures.” Circus Oz gives his company a wish but equivalent to a 1000 watt frenel -list to take on the road. and you don’t need any dimmers.” And then there are the fancy “They are taking Robe Robins (a moving light LED wash fixture) and special effects lights. “The AX3 Astera battery LED Vipers (a powerful follow spot). Both product is wirelessly controlled. are reliable and quality products.” John McKissock has been in the “They run for hours, and have an in built stand and a magnetic back to industry for 40 years. He's worked on them, so you can dot them around the events at the big of the town such as The Logies and Prime Minister's set and control them from a lighting console with no wire. dinners. The company still dabbles in light production. “They come in kit. The lights are 60 millimetres across and 30 millimetres “I get as much satisfaction supporting a local community theatre deep. as big events.” “The lights have little infrared remote controls with a colour chase. Clearlight's main business, You can do cute things with them. however, is renting and selling lights from its Moorabbin showroom to For more information contact venues, corporate events and art Clearlight Shows. galleries. www.clearlight.com.au “We don’t have a lot of gear but 38 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Circus Oz. Lighting by Paul Jackson, Console Operation by Tristan Bourke. Photos: Robert Blackburn.
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40 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Colour Control On Small Stages Colour-changing LED luminaires are becoming more common in venues large and small. According to the global lighting manufacturer ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls) the results aren't always pretty. The company says small venues around the world have experienced a rash of purplish light and poor colour rendering. “It sounds basic, but many LED lighting systems these days can't do a reasonable fade from, say, pink to sky blue without passing by some ghastly shades on the way,” says Adam Bennette, a technical director with ETC. The company is now releasing a new generation of ColorSource AV consoles to integrate with its other
ColorSource consoles works just as if you had two gelled tungsten lights and faded from one to the other,” setup, the fixtures can be explains Bennette. assigned to channels using The company says that the touchscreen and unlike other small lighting dragged into position on the consoles that operate in a onscreen stage map for easy limited range of colors, direct-selection and ColorSource desks support programming. the color-mixing systems of “Fading color with all mainstream fixtures.
The new AV consoles will be available in Australia and New Zealand in July from Jands. www.jands.com.au “family” of ColorSource products. The company says when a console powers on, it immediately identifies any intelligent lights in the rig and populates their profiles in Patch. Within minutes of
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Drew Bisset, Senior Systems Engineer from Sydney’s Loud And Clear Audio, explains the audio challenges of staging a very large school musical. He draws on a recent example: the school was Reddam House, the musical was Cats, and the stage was the Everest Theatre at Sydney’s Seymour Centre.
Only moments into our first production meeting it became clear this show was going to be different. With a 180 student cast and crew, a 37 piece orchestra, a trapeze and a six metre stage extension, pyrotechnics and blast cannons involved, it was less pussycats, more Big Cats.
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The season was short just four days in the venue, including bump in and out, all technical rehearsals and two evening performances. This needed some serious production planning! With schools the focus is on giving every student the opportunity to be in the spotlight (and on a microphone). Casting is often
distributed among many students, creating much larger microphone plots and a more complicated mix for the sound operator. The microphone plot is the result of combining the script and cast list, which gives us the “who has which microphone at what time” information.
With a cast this big, and with so many solo lines, it was not going to be a case of one microphone per cast member. Changes during the show were required. We got the number of students wearing microphones down to 44 headsets distributed across 32 radio packs. This meant there were quite a few transmitter swaps back and forth during the show. Many of these happened very quickly, as many cast members never leave the stage, and if they do, it’s only briefly. There are other challenges. Costumes make it tricky to conceal belt packs, while the choreography can strain headsets and cables. We had two microphone technicians
to manage the large number of cats and kittens. The 37 musicians (half students) were set up in the dedicated orchestra pit beneath and in front of the stage. Considering the size of the orchestra and the number of radio mics, we pulled out one of our newest mixing consoles to the family, the d-Live from Allen & Heath. The S7000, a 36 fader frame, combined with the DM64 and DX32 input modules, gave us 96 inputs into 128 channels of audio processing which was plenty of room to accommodate the scale of this production. Aside from a few ‘first version technical gremlins’, the versatility, intuitive user interface and sonic standard of the d-Live turned out to gham. Photos: Sarah Cunnin
be the purr-fect choice for this production. During our venue site inspection we assessed many elements including the stage layout and the proposed extensions. It became clear we needed to supplement the venue’s PA with some of our own equipment, as the stage extension put much of the cast in front of the existing system. With some careful measurements and calculations of the room dimensions, stage and audience area, we decided to bring in a line-array to be rigged in the centre, along with additional subs and front fill. The system of choice was a 6-element LR14 medium format line-array by Alcons Audio. This gave exceptional coverage across the audience area with world-class definition and clarity. What makes Alcons unique is their use of high power ribbons in the high frequency drivers, enabling ultra-clear sound reproduction which has
highly accurate and focused sound dispersion across the chosen area. This system also gave exceptional gain before feedback, which is vital in the context of mixing a school production, where, while you often encounter incredible voices, you also find those little voices that need all the help you can give them. The overall challenge with school productions is the often-limited time to put all the elements together. It takes good pre-production planning, the right personnel and a full team effort to pull the cat out of the bag. At Loud & Clear, school productions have become a speciality of ours. This was our 10th production for Reddam House. Their standard is high. With two outstanding performances by the students it is hard to believe that the production went into rehearsals just six weeks prior to opening night. We are looking forward to the next challenge they throw at us.
www.loudandclear.com.au www.alconsaudio.com www.allen-heath.com/dlive-intro
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Turandot’s Grandest Stage
Photo: Hamilton Lund.
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It was the biggest show in Sydney since the Olympics. The set for Handa’s Opera on Sydney Harbour included a sixty-metre fire breathing dragon and a tower as tall as a five-storey building. David Spicer spoke to the company that built it, Stage Rentals and Construction.
would like one) imported from Germany. It sliced the polystyrene to an impressive degree of mathematical accuracy. “It does 95% of the carving and the bigger pieces are glued together, which is when our scenic sculptors come in to do the finishing touches,” said Michael Stokes, Head of Sometimes you can have Sales, Construction & so much fun as a journalist Operations. From a small scale that you feel guilty about model came a giant dragon being paid. Such was my feeling when I was assigned longer than an Olympic to watch Stage Rentals and pool. Its tail was modelled on the Great Wall of China. Construction carve out a It was also custom built to dragon from polystyrene. Snow-like flurries of the breathe fire. “We had to make sure material were swirling around as its feet and head the nostrils were a certain diameter for the clear space took final shape, hand for pyro to work effectively carved with small saws. without doing any damage. The bulkier work was “The audience near the done by a new tool, a robotic arm (a Kuka, model front of the dragon weren’t KR 300 R2500 Ultra if you
prepared for it. I am sure they felt the warmth. “The eyes were 60 cm in diameter. One ball was cut in half and inserted into the holes cut by the robot.” The dragon was fireproof and cockatoo-proof. “Last year we had a lot of problems with the cockatoos eating the polystyrene (in the set for Aida). This year we used a polyurethane hard coat. You can hit it with a hammer and it does not chip away.” Even more impressive than the dragon was the giant tower built for the Ice Princess, Turandot. It was 18 metres high or about five storeys. Inside was a drawbridge. “A door opened on the third level to reveal Turandot. The drawbridge would remain open while she stood on top of it. It
opened down and stopped in two places before it reached the ground.” At the end of the opera it lifted two singers back to the top, where the tower opens up to become a lotus flower that blossoms. “The three front petals would mechanically open and hinge downwards to reveal the Soprano at the top.” On the night I went it was raining and the drawbridge was visibly shaking as it rose from the ground. The singers appeared vulnerable, being hoisted up a five-storey building without a barrier. “The whole stage is temporary. There are no concreted pillars so we do get a shudder in them.” The leads looked very brave sustaining their notes as they were lifted higher and higher.
Online extras!
Join in the guilty pleasure of watching the dragon get carved out. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/Var7RTGU2s0 “They did have a safety pole at the back which had a harness. They were not free standing.” Higher still was a giant crane, which hoisted the Emperor on a throne over the back of the stage in another scene. It too was swinging slightly in the breeze.
With the season over the entire set has been pulled apart and put in storage. One day the dragon will return to Sydney Harbour. In the meantime, Stage Rentals and Construction is building an even bigger set, this time for the movie Aliens. The robot is hard at work.
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Multi-Media At NIDA
NIDA chose to highlight the use of multimedia in its 2015 production, Regan Kelly. A growing focus of the training at NIDA explores the ways video can be incorporated into contemporary theatre. Smartphones, personal computers, social media and 24-hour
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The NIDA team included: Director: Ben Schotakowsk Writer: Lewis Treston Set Designer: Jeremy Allen A/V Designer: Liam Barwick Lighting Designer: Michael Soul
Achieving these effects, though, was not simply a matter of incorporating relevant technology into the theatrical process. There was a constant need to balance the requirements of the physical space with that of the video space. Decisions needed to be made about how prominent the video element would be in relation to the live action, where the Regan Kelly. team wanted the audience to focus at Photo: Mark Nolan. any given moment and whether it was news services are now ubiquitous, so it possible to alter technical elements, such as lighting and audio, in a way is only natural that theatre-makers that maximised an effect for one would reflect that reality. aspect of the show without overly In Regan Kelly a combination of compromising the other. video projection and live camera The result was an engaging and techniques provided the audience with entertaining piece of theatre that an insight into the text messages, accurately reflected the realities of life videos and online social interactions in a modern mediatised world. that permeate the characters’ lives.
Classic Gets An Update
The Toi Whakaari team included: Director: Jonathon Hendry Technical Designer: Toi student Kirsten Lee A/V designer: Chloe Alderton
Woyzeck.
In its 2015 production of Woyzeck, Toi Whakarri students worked with the director throughout a re-write to embed contemporary context in all aspects of the production, in their roles as designers and managers. The unfinished play by medical student Georg Büchner (who died of
typhus in 1837 aged 23) is about a poorly-paid soldier, Corporal Franz Woyzeck, who suffers from an undiagnosed mental illness. John Smythe wrote in Theatreview: “The design elements are exemplary. What we see - on an open space loosely caged by scaffolding - is a world increasingly
distorted through Woyzeck’s subjective perception. The soldiers’ military uniforms are contemporary desert warfare kit. “Songs - always beautifully sung are integrated into the show and TV screens evoke what is addling Woyzeck’s brain. Some of the imagery is astonishing, especially the sequence where soldiers arise from under the sand. “Psycho-sensory disruption and challenge are part of the aesthetic for this sort of production and here it allows us to empathise with Woyzeck’s experience, which is all too redolent of the overstimulation and disorientation modern life can so easily impose as we attempt to find a place and a way to be.”
Take Your Seats
Hadley/Series Theatre Seating have had a busy start to 2016, installing their high quality Series theatre seating in the Regal Theatre, Perth; Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat; The Princess Theatre, Launceston; Wyong PFA; Gippsland PFA Centre and more. Amongst other projects for this year they have been appointed to supply the seating for the new Adelaide Convention Centre, Canberra Theatre, Cairns Performing Arts Centre, Beckett Theatre, Melbourne and Mentone Grammar. If you are thinking of seating, Hadley/Series have a very proficient design and layout service and can provide budget quoting - all without cost or obligation. This includes sight line analysis, critical dimensions, seat numbering etc. Series Theatre Chairs are designed and manufactured for a life of 40 years so that the cost per chair can be as little as $14 a year. Interested? A quick e mail to hadley@hadleyaustralia.com.au will get you started. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 47
London Calling By Peter Pinne High-profile young star Jesse Eisenberg is about to make his West End debut in his own play, The Spoils. The 2015 Off-Broadway hit transfers to London’s Trafalgar Studios for a season 27 May to 13 August. Eisenberg, renowned for his Oscar nominated portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, stars alongside Kunal Nayyar, best known as Raj in television’s The Big Bang Theory. Eisenberg plays Ben, a narcissistic bully, whilst Nayyar plays his Nepalese roommate, the serene Kaylan. The plot revolves around Ben, who discovers his school crush is to marry a straight-laced banker and sets out to destroy the relationship and win her back. New York critics were wildly enthusiastic for the production, which the New York Times said was “engrossingly acted” and “impeccably staged”. For Nayyar it’s a return to his birth city. His previous theatre credits include the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Love Labour’s Lost.
Jesse Eisenberg and Kunal Nayyar in The Spoils. Photo: Monique Carboni.
Critics were unstinting in their praise for Glenn Close’s Norma Desmond in the recently opened semi-staged concert production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard. Called “triumphant” in the Telegraph, “mesmerising” in The Times, and “gives the show a new lease of life” in the Guardian, Close is giving London audiences a chance to see her Tony winning performance 22 years after she originated it on Broadway in 1993. But 22 years have obviously had some effect on Close’s voice. In the musical’s two big numbers, “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye”, according to Mark Shenton (londontheatre.co.uk) “Close compensates in acting chops what she lacks in musical accuracy.” Still the fans didn’t seem to mind giving her prolonged ovations for both songs. Michael Xavier’s performance as Joe Gillis also won approval - “[Xavier] makes Joe a plausibly drifting opportunist”. 48 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Dame Judi Dench made history at the recent Olivier Awards by winning the best Supporting Actress award for her performance in The Winter’s Tale at the Garrick Theatre, bringing her total number of Olivier Awards to eight, more than any other performer. Kinky Boots won Best New Musical, Gypsy Best Musical Revival, with Hangman taking home Best New Play. Imelda Staunton picked up a Best Actress in a Musical for Gypsy, whilst Lara Pulver won Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for the same show. Best Actress in a Play went to Denise Gough for People, Places and Things, while Best Choreographer went to Drew McOnie. Since coming to notice on So You Think You Can Dance - Series 1, Drew McOnie has become the UK’s new wunderkind of dance. An Associate Artist at the Old Vic, he’s played Mr Misoffelees in Cats, choreographed Chicago, Bugsy Malone and In the Heights, which won an Olivier, but also set-up a dance company, The McOnie Company, which aims to bridge the gap between dance and musical theatre. He’s also inked to choreograph the first international production of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, due to premiere at the West Yorkshire Playhouse at Christmas 2016. Prior to Strictly Ballroom he’s attached to the Old Vic’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and a Regents Park Open Air Theatre production of Jesus Christ Superstar, the first time Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock-opera will have been performed as “outdoor theatre”. Denise Gough’s Olivier Award-winning performance of Emma in Duncan McMillan’s play People, Places and Things originated at the National Theatre before it transferred to Wyndham’s in the West End. The play, about an actress recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, has elevated Gough to stardom for a performance “that burrows into the heart, the guts, the brain, the soul”. It’s been flagged as “unmissable theatre” and the “play of the year”. Two Shakespeare plays head the 2016/17 season just announced by the Almeida Theatre in North London. Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave are to star in a new production of Richard lll, whilst Andrew Scott and Juliet Stevenson head the revival cast of Hamlet. Richard lll opens the season on 7 June and will play until 6 August. Artistic Director of the company Rupert Goold directs with Fiennes playing the title role and Redgrave as Queen Margaret. Hamlet, directed by Robert Icke, is scheduled for February 2017. Other plays in the season include They Drink It In the Congo by Adam Brace, and Oil by Ella Hickson. Following mixed reviews, the new British musical Mrs Henderson Presents will close 18 June after a run of only four months. The Guardian was effusive saying it “not only improves on the original movie, but also gives the comatose British musical a healthy injection of energy”, but the Evening Standard gave it the thumbs down - “this homegrown fare simply isn’t good enough”. The musical stars Tracie Bennett and Ian Bartholomew, has a book and direction by Terry Johnson, lyrics by Don Black, music by George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain and is based on the original screenplay by Martin Sherman.
B
roadway uzz
By Peter Pinne
Andrew Rannells, best known as the original Elder Price in The Book of Mormon, and currently playing Elijah on TV’s Girls, is to head a star-studded cast as Whizzer in the Broadway revival of William Finn’s 1992 Falsettos. Joining Rannells will be Christian Borle (Something Rotten) as Marvin and Stephanie J. Block (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) as Trina. James Lapine, who co-authored the book with Finn and directed the original Broadway presentation, is once again director. The musical combines two one-act musicals, The March of the Falsettos (1981) and Falsettoland (1990). Lincoln Center is producing the revival with Jujamcyn Theatres. The plot follows the lives of five people: Marvin, his ex-wife Trina, his psychiatrist Mendel, his son Jason, and his lover Whizzer, who eventually contracts AIDS. Rannells recently subbed as a temporary replacement for Jonathan Groff in Hamilton playing King George lll. Flavour-of-the-month Belgian avant-garde director Ivo van Hove, whose reimaging last season of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge brought ecstatic acclaim, has done it again with his contemporary retelling of Miller’s 1692 Salem witch-hunt trials drama, The Crucible. The A-list ensemble cast is headed by James Bond’s Q, Ben Whishaw, as the adulterer John Proctor, Sophie Okonedo as his stoic wife Elizabeth, Ciaran Hinds as Deputy Governor Danforth and Brooklyn’s Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan as the horny and mendacious teenager Abigail Williams. The New York Times said, “an endlessly revived historical drama from 1953 suddenly feels like the freshest, scariest play in town.” Variety claimed “the play sustains its power to shock and thrill,” whilst the New York Daily News thought “it pays off, but it takes time to get to the shattering finale.” Despite a rave for the cast, Variety questioned Hove’s concept, calling it “baffling” and “abstruse”. It plays until 17 July. Love Never Dies didn’t die after its 2011 Australian production, but surfaced in Denmark in 2013 and Germany in 2015 and now, to complete the resurrection, its composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced a major U.S. tour will commence in Washington, D.C. in 2017. The current German production is based on the Australian version and according to Lloyd Webber is a “major improvement” over the original 2010 West End show, which he acknowledged was “a bit of a catastrophe”. The sequel to Lloyd Webber’s phenomenal Phantom of the Opera has music by the legendary composer, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Webber and Slater, Ben Elton and Frederick Forsythe. Set in 1907, ten years after the original, it finds the Phantom living at Coney Island and still pining for the love of his life Christine Daae, now one of world’s finest sopranos. She accepts an offer to sing in the U.S.,
Ben Whishaw and Tavi Gevinson in The Crucible. Photo: Jan Versweyveld.
unaware it is from the Phantom and the fate that is in store for her. Stars keep lining up to appear in Off-Broadway’s White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, one of the most unusual plays around at the moment. Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick opened the season end of April, with Cynthia Nixon, Martin Short, Bobby Cannavale, David Hyde Pierce and Alan Cumming to follow. The play, by 29-year-old Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour, originally premiered in New York in 2011. Being a conscientious objector who refuses to take part in military service, which is mandatory for all Iranian men, and unable to leave his country, Soleimanpour turned his isolation into a play, written in English, that requires no director, no set, and no rehearsal for a cast of rotating actors. Each performer reads the script for the first time when they walk out on stage. The play blends drama, comedy and social experiment into an evening of theatre that is never the same two nights running. It plays at the Westside Theatre. The hit West End musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will make its Broadway debut in the spring of 2017. The musical, based on the Roald Dahl book, has a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and will be directed by Jack O’Brien, who previously directed their hit Hairspray. The book is still in the hands of David Grieg, whilst choreography will be by On the Town’s Josh Bergasse. Shaiman and Wittman’s score will be augmented with Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s classic songs from their original 1971 movie adaptation, which starred Gene Wilder as Willie Wonka. The London version, which opened at Drury Lane in June 2013, will end its run in January 2017. Producers of the Carole King musical Beautiful are targeting Broadway with their next project, a new musical adaptation of the 1953 Audrey Hepburn-Gregory Peck movie Roman Holiday, featuring a score culled from the Cole Porter songbook. It premieres at the Golden Gate Theater, San Francisco, and runs from 24 May through 28 June 2017, prior to a Broadway transfer. Paul Blake, lead producer of Beautiful, has co-written the book with TV veterans Kathy Spear and Terry Grossman (The Golden Girls). It’s not the first iteration of the concept, which had a season at The Muny, St Louis, Missouri in 2001 and later appeared at the Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis in 2012. Songs include “Night and Day”, “Easy to Love” and “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”. The story follows a European princess who goes absent on a tour of Rome, and learns the joys of being a commoner from an American journalist. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 49
Is” (Zorba), while Murney and Blickenstaff have fun with “The Apple Doesn’t Fall (Very Far From the Tree)” (The Rink). David Loud’s musical direction of the 18-piece orchestra is By Peter Pinne exemplary, as are his vocal arrangements which are never hackneyed and always of interest. Eric Schaeffer’s direction, First You Dream - The Music of Kander and Ebb (HMS Media FIYD601). From the moment it starts you know this which says so much with the flick of a wrist, a glance, or a crossed leg, is perfect. tribute to Kander and Ebb is a notch or two above any The disc comes with eight bonus songs which were edited recent concert of show songs, with its dazzling performances by an outstanding cast of Broadway from the PBS broadcast. They include Scott’s buoyant performers. It is a perfect match of performer with song reading of two Kiss of the Spider Woman numbers, “She’s and a brilliant showcase of the Kander and Ebb songbook. a Woman” and “Dressing Them Up”, Clow’s The Rink First staged at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia in double of “Blue Crystal” and “Marry Me”, and Lewis’ deeply 2009, the tribute was videotaped at the North Shore Center moving “Love and Love Alone” from The Visit. for Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois, and broadcast on PBS in November 2015. Driving Miss Daisy (PBS The concert stars Norm Lewis (Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess/ GPR64007). John Frost’s Phantom of the Opera), Kate Baldwin (Finian’s Rainbow/Big acclaimed Australian Fish), Heidi Blickenstaff (Something Rotten/The Addams production of Alfred Family), Julia Murney (Wicked/Evita), James Clow (Peter Pan/ Uhry’s award-winning Wonderful Town) and Matthew Scott (Jersey Boys/A play Driving Miss Daisy, Catered Affair). which starred Angela They sing a selection of songs from Chicago, Cabaret, Steel Lansbury, James Earl Pier, Flora the Red Menace, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Jones and Boyd Gaines, Happy Time, Zorba, The Rink, The Act, All About Us and has been captured for New York, New York. posterity by Broadway Although there are some familiar titles amongst the mix - a Near You and Umbrella mournful ballad rendition of “Cabaret” by Scott, and Entertainment in a Baldwin’s slow-build and thrilling take on “New York, New performance at York” - there are also songs that have never been Melbourne’s Comedy performed since they were first heard on Broadway and Theatre in 2013. On stage, the trio of performers (who some that have only ever been heard regionally. “Military have won a total of 11 Tony Awards between them) gave Man” from All about Us, their long-in-gestation musical searing and compelling performances of Uhry’s play about version of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth which race relations in America’s South between 1948 and 1973, never made Broadway, becomes a riveting contrapuntal trio which is equally impressive on television. The verbal clashes for the guys, whilst “The Movie Medley” supplies the girls between Lansbury’s cranky opinionated school teacher and with similar when they mash-up “Happy Endings” (New her black driver Jones blaze with truth, whilst their York, New York), “Only in the Movies” (Kiss of the Spider friendship and growing respect for each other have Woman) and “At the Rialto” (All About Us). Norm Lewis impresses with “Seeing Things” (The Happy Time) and “Life undeniable poignancy. Gaines’ Dooley, the son caught in
Stage On Disc
50 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
the crossfire of these two feisty octogenarians, is a marvel of restraint. Peter Ots’ camera direction captures every flinch and expression in close-up, which makes for a perfect front-row centre-seat theatre experience.
album was recorded with members of the Peterborough cast and West End performers. It is this version that Stage At Last - The Etta James Door has chosen to release in their latest Story (Room 8 R8CD 2001). Vika Bull is outstanding as “lost” British theatre rhythm and blues legend scores. Musically it is not without its charm and has Etta James on this album which features a collection a lot of the colour of Half of 13 songs from her a Sixpence and Pickwick, and reminds one of a BBC touring tribute show At Last. Accompanied by the period TV drama. “A Fine and Gracious City” sets the tone Essential R&B Band, Bull nicely, “One Love” is a pretty ballad, Lady Bracknell’s “Your Engagement” has a touch of acid, whilst Miss Prism and was born to sing this music, which blisters with the Reverend’s “Every Flower in the Garden” and Cecily’s energy and grit. Songs “Sincerely Yours” are sweet. The cast includes Nigel Williams, Jill Martin and Susan Jane Tanner. include “I Just Want to Make Love to You”, “Something’s Gotta Hold On Me”, “A Sunday Kind of Love” and Kiki Dee’s “Sugar on the Floor”. Guitarist Dion Hirini leads Clinton The Musical (Paul vocals on “Spoonful”, trombonist Ben Gillespie does Hodge) (Ghostlight likewise on “Roll with Me Henry”, but it’s Bull’s Records 8-4490). I would smouldering take on “At Last” which burns and makes it like to be enthusiastic the album’s best track. about this show written by Brisbane brothers Paul and Kerrie Anne Greenland Michael Hodge because Pictures (No Label/No they have achieved much Number). Kerrie Anne - seasons at the Greenland was the best Edinburgh Festival, King’s Head Theatre London, thing about the recent production of Les and the New York Musical Theatre Festival Misérables and this EP is one of the best of the new but it’s all very sophomoric, lacks wit, and is musically runreleases. Performing with of-the-mill Off-Broadway. The brothers were inspired to write the piece after being taken by their father to see a the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, she performance of Keating the Musical in Brisbane. A chance sings five big-voiced diva remark by their dad that Clinton would make a good subject for a musical proved irresistible. The musical ballads from movie musicals, including “Run To You” (The Bodyguard), “The Man That Got Away” (A Star is Born) and received good to excellent notices when it opened at New World Stages, New York, on 9 April 2015, and is blessed “Let It Go” (Frozen), doing more than justice to the with a terrific cast headed by Kerry Butler doing sterling originals of Whitney Houston, Judy Garland and Idina service as Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton is played by two Menzel. Daniel Belle, a co-star Marius in Les Miz, duets on actors, Tom Galantich, who portrays the statesman side of the tender “Once Upon a Dream” from Disney’s Sleeping the man, with Duke Lafoon as Billy, the party animal. But Beauty), whilst “On My Own” captures her highly-praised the score is mediocre. Even “A Starr is Born”, Kevin Zak’s Eponine performance in Les Miz. Steven Baker conducted turn as prosecutor Kenneth Starr in which he sheds his and wrote the arrangements, which are first-class all the clothes and strips down to fetish gear, lacks genuine razzleway. Only minus about the whole enterprise is that an EP dazzle. This leaves Veronica J. Kuehn as Monica Lewinsky to doesn’t really display the full range of her talent. There give the score a lift with the oft-quoted in reviews earwig should be more. ditty “Monica’s Song”, or to give it its real title, “I’m F**cking the F*cking President”. Former Brisbane based The Importance (Sean O’Mahony) (Stage Door STAGE 9044). The Importance is a musical version of Oscar Wilde’s musical director James Dobinson leads a tight four-piece band on keyboards. The Importance of Being Earnest and the only musical version of the play to ever appear in London’s West End. The show had a brief run at the Ambassadors Theatre in Rating 1984, closed early, but reappeared revised two years later Only for the enthusiast Borderline at the Key Theatre, Peterborough, with a name change to Worth buying Must have Kill for it Borne in a Handbag. Following the season a studio cast www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 51
Stage on Page By Peter Pinne
HECTOR - The Story of Hector Crawford and Crawford Productions by Rozzi Bazzani (Arcadia $39.95). Hector Crawford and his sister Dorothy shaped the listening and viewing habits of Australians for over 40 years. Their names were synonymous with high quality popular radio and television drama and their end credit, “This has been a Hector Crawford Production”, was as well-known as Heinz or Dulux. Their series are legendary - radio produced Sincerely Rita Marsden, Inspector West, No Holiday for Halliday and D24, whilst their TV titles include the iconic Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, The Box, The Sullivans and The Flying Doctors. This book covers the company from its beginnings in a former air-raid shelter in Little Collins Street, Melbourne, until
a fire-sale of equipment out of its Box Hill studios after it was sold at the end of 1988. Familiar and famous names dot this 40-year landscape, which encompasses the heyday of radio production and the momentous and historical development of early Australian television drama. Dorothy was born in 1911 into a middleclass church-going family two years before her brother Hector came along in 1913. Their father was a leather goods salesman and their mother a choir-master and church organist. The early 1920’s saw Hector become a choir-boy at St Paul’s Cathedral, where on occasions Dame Nellie Melba sang with the choir. In the 1940’s free orchestral weekend concerts in the Botanical Gardens, conducted by Melbourne Conservatorium director and composer
Stage Whispers Books Visit our on-line book shop for back issues and stage craft books www.stagewhispers.com.au/books 52 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Fritz Hart, were the inspiration for Hector’s outdoor music series Music for the People, a huge success which became a Melbourne institution, putting Hector and the Crawford name on the map. Later, managing Broadcast Exchange, a failing music recording business, Hector’s acumen turned the fortunes of the company around. During World War 2 imported radio programs were hard to come by, so radio stations turned to local programming to fill their schedules. Hector, through Broadcast Exchange, was there to help. His first productions were musical, Spotlight on Music and The Magic of Massed Voices. In 1943 Dorothy left the ABC, where she had been producing radio versions of Australian plays, to join Hector, who had resigned from Broadcast Exchange to start his own company. They set-up shop at the top of Little Collins Street and became the top radio production company in Melbourne, rivalling the success of Grace Gibson Productions in Sydney. One of Crawford’s most successful radio series was The Life of Melba, which starred soprano Glenda Raymond whom Hector later married after his first marriage failed. Crawford’s first foray into television was HSV 7’s Wedding Day, a game show in which a wedding was filmed with the bride and groom later receiving white goods prizes in the studio. In 1964, against impossible odds from cheap American imports, Crawfords sold Homicide, a police procedural series, to HSV 7, pioneering the integrated film and video production technique. It was not Australia’s first local drama but it was the first successful local series in prime-time. To get Homicide on air Crawfords subsidised the making of it and didn’t break-even until after 100 episodes had been made. Division 4, Matlock Police and its spin-off Solo One followed as well as the talent quest Showcase. After the success of the all-videotape Sydney produced salacious Number 96, Crawfords came up with an equally raunchy nightly strip program, The Box. The Sullivans, Cop Shop and
Carson’s Law brought later success as did the Hallmark movie-of-the-week The Hands of Cormac Joyce, the sitcom The Last of the Australians, and miniseries All the Rivers Run and My Brother Tom. In ill-health for many years, Dorothy died in 1988, the year the company was sold, and Hector died three years later in 1991. Hector was passionate about Australian drama and throughout his career lobbied government and fought hard for a quota of local drama to be mandatory for all broadcasters. The fight was still being fought when he died and is still being fought today. Despite some unfortunate errors (Homicide began on air on 20th October 1964 not the 24th) Bazzani’s book is a good read and not only captures the eras and the turbulence, political or otherwise, but manages to put a human face on Hector and Dorothy’s achievements. With little in print about Australia’s early radio and television production, the book is a welcome addition and a worthy tribute to two of its most respected pioneers.
role of Lucy Brown in the smash-hit Off producers, writers and personalities -Broadway production of Kurt Weill’s referred to in the main text, giving The Threepenny Opera, and appeared them each a paragraph on who they in Julius Monk’s Upstairs at the were and what they did. It’s a great finale and a great read! Downstairs revues in 1956. Her first major musical on Broadway was the ill STILLWAYS by Steve Bisley (Fourth -fated Judy Holliday Estate $27.99) starrer Hot Spot. In their publicity blurb, the publishers Holiday only said one of this book claim it’s destined to word to her during the become an Australian classic and I entire run, likewise Liza agree. We all knew Steve Bisley could act, but who knew he could write, and Minnelli, who said, “We must have write as well as this. Stillways is a coffee,” but never did, coming-of-age tale and simply a beautiful piece of writing, which makes when Wilson played the dour communist the everyday poetic. Ada in Flora, The Red The memoir follows Bisley growing up on a rural property with his parents Menace. During the sixties she and brothers and sisters, attending appeared in summer state and secondary schools, reaching stock productions of puberty, sneaking in to see strippers at the Wyong show, his first date, first Oklahoma! (Ado Annie) and The Boy kiss, and his first job drawing Friend (Dulcie), and, like most actors at advertisements for Woolworths. A simple tale, eloquently told, but also the time, eked out a living doing one that has dark passages where a industrial shows. She played stripper father takes the frustrations Tessie Tura in Angela of his life out on his Lansbury’s 1972 kids by beating production of Gypsy them. and stayed with it for Bisley’s mother was the entire Broadway a school teacher run and regional who loved and tour. For a time she wrote poetry and it was a regular on is this love that television’s One Day shines through in his at a Time, and had prose. In fact Bisley bit parts in the honours his mother MY FIRST HUNDRED YEARS IN SHOW movies Up the BUSINESS by Mary Louise Wilson by publishing some Sandbox, The of her poems for the (Overlook Press US$28.95). Money Pit, Pet first time at the back At the end of this colourful, amusing Sematary and of the book. It’s been and delightful book, Mary Louise Green Card. shortlisted for the Wilson calls herself a proud member of Wilson cleverly NSW Premier’s the “Character Actors’ Club”, a group seeds the writing of Literary Awards, the of actors whose names may not be the Vreeland play, Queensland Literary familiar to the general public. Their from acquiring the rights to her Awards, and the 2014 National faces may be familiar from television autobiography, to concept and Biography Awards, and it deserves it. appearances, but not their names. It production, with wry and funny Set in the 1950’s and 1960’s, it’s took her until she was sixty to become theatrical anecdotes throughout the tender, joyful, evocative of a simpler a star in 1996 in her self-written onebook. time, and as Australian as the smell of woman play Full Gallop, based on the In place of an index the book lists eccentric Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, alphabetically all the names of actors, eucalyptus. and another eleven years before she finally won a Tony for her performance Please note: Yes, Miss Gibson which was recently reviewed in Stage to as Big Edie in Grey Gardens. Page can be obtained from Grace Gibson Productions, PO Box 7377, Leura Her first appearance on stage was in NSW 2780. Telephone 02 9906 2244, email: Our Town at Circle in the Square in info@gracegibsonproductions.com.au or www.gracegibsonradio.com.au 1955. She followed Bea Arthur in the www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 53
Belching lava pools and sulphuric pong were no deterrent for the record number of participants attending the 56th Musical Theatre New Zealand conference in Rotorua. Amidst the success of companies around the country, there is the nagging challenge of getting young people involved. David Spicer reports. It seems almost every town in New Zealand, large and small, has a community theatre with their own venue. It might not be on the main street. You might have to go to an industrial zone to find it, but more often than not it will be a multi-purpose theatre come
picture in a poster from Rose Marie, staged in 1961. “We were only the ballet and were over-ruled by the chorus ladies,” she recalls. The club’s President Natasha Benfell took me stage/costume construction through the theatre centre. restaurant. It is a very long In Rotorua I was taken on building with a back stage a tour of the Casa Blanca that stretches into the Theatre, which has a suitably dressing room. Spanish facade. Stepping Whilst she is proud of the inside, the madam of the company’s 70 year history, foyer is the company’s recruiting young people secretary Neila Blackmore. remains a challenge. She proudly showed off her “We have an aging population and membership. Rotorua does not have a huge university so once kids reach a certain age they all go off,” she said. Most of the volunteers are retirees.
The company stages three theatre restaurant productions a year plus a blockbuster in the city’s major venue. This year’s program includes The Addams Family and Evita. Across New Zealand musical societies have a large footprint. Last year member companies of Musical Theatre New Zealand had 1,877 cast members for 84 productions. More than 150,000 tickets were sold to 62 productions. Overall young people spend more time on the stage and less time helping to get the shows on. A survey found 66 percent of production crew are aged over 30. One of the keynote speakers at the conference was Cindy Ripley, a former school
Online extras!
Watch our report from the 56th Annual MTNZ Conference in Rotorua. https://youtu.be/1TDIyXCS2jA 54 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Natasha Benfell
teacher who works for Music Theatre International in promoting and developing their junior musical catalogue. She was a teacher at a school in the small outlying town of Gowanda in New York State, where the main business was a prison. Most of the students were either children of prison wardens or prisoners. Cindy’s humble musical theatre productions blossomed into a dynamic multi-school program which received a “football game” response from the community. She said that following the model of professional sport is the way forward.
“Why are professional sports a multimillion dollar industry?” she asked. “Why do we all know the rules to so many sports?” “This is not an accident. It is carefully planned and strategically promoted. From a very young age kids are immersed and supported by parents and mentors,” she said. “How can we recreate the enthusiasm in our creative worlds. We, as artists, need to emulate their success. Our community should be actively building quality arts programs in schools.” As it happens, the best entertainment at the conference came from local
school children. They performed a Haka and songs with a South Pacific flavour. The grown-ups went fancy dress Las Vegas style at the main dinner. An impressive collection of gangsters, Elvis look-a-likes and even a deck of cards turned up to the ball. For reasons that are not entirely obvious, Rotorua is known in New Zealand as Rotovegas. But just having fun putting on a show is no longer the primary focus of musical theatres in New Zealand. Running successful businesses is the goal. Musical Theatre New Zealand has published a
strategic plan for 2015 2020. Many of the member companies work together in consortiums to build and share sets. In recent years these have included sets for Phantom, Evita, Mamma Mia! and soon Sister Act and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. They secure rights well ahead of Australian community theatres. They know how to put the business into show business. Watch our special episode of Stage Whispers TV from Rotorua including the key-note speaker Richard O’Brien, the creator of The Rocky Horror Show.
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On Stage A.C.T. Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov. Canberra Rep. Until May 14. Theatre 3. (02) 6257 1950. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Belvoir. May 3 - 7. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700.
A.C.T. & New South Wales
Mario: The Story and Music of Mario Lanza by Blake Bowden & Phil Scott. May 19 - 21. The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700. Motherland by Katherine LyallWatson. Critical Stages & Ellen Belloo. May 25 - 28. The Q, Queanbeyan. (02) 6285 6290.
Jun 16 - Jul 2. Theatre 3. (02) 6257 1950.
Genesian Theatre, 420 Kent Street, Sydney. 1300 237 217.
Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. Sydney Theatre Company. Jun 22 - 25. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700.
The Great Fire by Kit Brookman. Belvoir. Until May 8. Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir. (02) 9699 3444.
Replay by Phillip Kavanagh. Pigman's Lament by Raoul Griffin Theatre Company. Until Craemer. The Street Theatre. Jun May 7. SBW Stables Theatre. Little Shop of Horrors by 24 - Jul 3. Street 2. (02) 6247 (02) 9361 3817. Sugarland by Rachael Coopes Howard Ashman and Alan 1223. with Wayne Blair. Performing Georgy Girl - the Seekers Menken. May 25 - 29. Canberra Lines for Blak Lines. May 6- 7. Melbourne International Musical by Patrick Edgeworth Theatre. (02) 6275 2700. The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Comedy Festival Roadshow. Jun with script consultant Graham Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700. Things I Know To Be True by 24 & 25. Canberra Theatre. (02) Simpson. Until May 15. State Andrew Bovell. Canberra 6275 2700. Theatre, Sydney. 1300 723 038. Play On by Rick Abbott. Theatre Centre, State Theatre Queanbeyan City Council. May Hay Fever by Noël Coward. New South Wales Company of South Australia 10 - 21. The Q, Queanbeyan. Sydney Theatre Company. Until and Frantic Assembly. Jun 8 We Will Rock You by Ben Elton, (02) 6285 6290. May 21. Drama Theatre, Sydney 11. The Playhouse, Canberra with the songs of Queen. John Opera House. (02) 9250 1777. Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700. Frost, Queen Theatrical Countermove. Sydney Dance Company. May 19 - 21. Productions, Phil McIntyre Disney’s Mulan Jr. Music and The Music Man by Meredith Canberra Theatre. (02) 6275 lyrics Matthew Wilder, David Entertainment and Tribeca Willson and Franklin Lacey. 2700. Theatrical Productions. Sydney Zippel, Stephen Schwartz, Queanbeyan Players. Jun 10 Lyric Theatre, The Star. 1300 Jeanine Tesori and Alexa Junger. 25. Q Theatre Queanbeyan. (02) Sparrow Folk: SuBIRDia. The Based on the 1998 Disney film 795 267. 6285 6290. Street Theatre. May 19 - 22. “Mulan” and the story “Fa Street 2. (02) 6247 1223. Nothing Personal by David Witness for the Prosecution by Mulan” by Robert D San Souci. Williamson. Until May 7. Young People's Theatre, Agatha Christie. Canberra Rep.
56 Stage Whispers
Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.
On Stage
New South Wales
Following its premiere season at the Hayes Theatre Company in 2015, Heathers The Musical plays a Melbourne season at the Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne from May 11 - 22, followed by a return Sydney season, at the Playhouse Theatre, Sydney Opera House from June 8 - 26. Read Peter Pinne’s review of the Brisbane season on our website http://bit.ly/24de2hN. Photo: Darren Thomas.
Newcastle Inc. Until May 28. (02) 4961 4895. Belleville by Amy Herzog. Mad March Hare / Red Line Productions. Until May 7. Old Fitz Theatre. www.oldfitztheatre.com
Black Jesus by Anders Lustgarten. bAKEHOUSE. Until May 21. Kings Cross Theatre, Level 2, Kings Cross Hotel.
Love Begins at 50 by Raymond Hopkins. The Henry Lawson Theatre. Until May 13. Henry Lawson Ave, Werrington. (02) Rumors by Neil Simon. Epicentre 4729 2996. Theatre Co. Until May 8. Ku-ring -gai Town Hall, Pymble. Funny Money by Ray Cooney. www.epicentretheatre.org.au Maitland Repertory Theatre. Until May 14. 44 High Street, The Original Grease by Jim Maitland. (02) 4931 2800. Jacobs and Warren Casey. Squabbalogic. Until May 7. Bonnie and Clyde. Music by Reginald Theatre, Seymour Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Centre. (02) 9351 7940. Black and a book by Ivan Menchell. Shire Music Theatre. Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. Until May 8. Sutherland Sydney Theatre Company. Until Memorial School of Arts. Jun 4. Wharf 1 Theatre. (02) www.shiremusictheatre.org.au 9250 1777. Also Wollongong, Parramatta and Canberra. Enchanted April by Matthew Barber, directed by Jennifer The Detective’s Handbook by Willison. Pymble Players. May 4 Ian Ferrington and Olga Solar. - 28. Players Theatre, Cnr Mona Until May 6. Hayes Theatre Co. Vale Rd & Bromley Ave, Pymble. (02) 8065 7337. (02) 9144 1523.
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Sport for Jove. May 5 - 7, Riverside Theatre, Parramatta, (02) 8839 3399 & May 19 - 28, York Theatre, Seymour Centre, (02) 9351 7940. Rock of Ages by Chris D’Arienzio. Carillon Theatrical Society. May 5 - 14. Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre. (02) 6333 6161. Swing. Fishamble. May 5 - 8. Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Bruce Gordon Theatre. The Peasant Prince. Adapted by Eva Di Cesare, Sandra Eldridge and Tim McGarry, from the children’s book by Li Cunxin. Monkey Baa Theatre Co. May 5. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.
Town Hall. www.theregals.com.au London Suite by Neil Simon. Glenbrook Players. May 6 - 14. School of Arts, Glenbrook. www.glenbrookplayers.com.au Mary Poppins. Music and Lyrics by The Sherman Brothers (additional lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe) with script by Julian Fellowes. Tamworth Musical Society. May 6 - 21. Capitol Theatre, Tamworth. www.tms.org.au The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert & Sullivan. Coffs Harbour Musical Comedy Company. May 6 - 29. Jetty Memorial Theatre. (02) 6652 8088.
The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Richmond The Boy From Oz. Music and Players. May 6 - Jun 4. lyrics by Peter Allen, book by Richmond School of Arts. (02) Nick Enright. The Regals Musical 8006 6997. Society. May 6 - 14. Rockdale
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Stage Whispers 57
On Stage When Dad Married Fury by David Williamson. Guild Theatre. May 6 - Jun 4. Guild Theatre, Walz Street, Rockdale. (02) 9521 6358.
New South Wales
Squabbalogic. May 7 & 8. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. (02) 9250 7777.
My Name is Asher Lev by Aaron Posner, from the novel by The 52-Storey Treehouse. A CDP Chaim Potok. Moira Blumenthal production. May 6 & 7. IMB Productions & Encounters @ Theatre, Wollongong. (02) 4224 Shalom. May 8 - 29. Eternity 5999. Playhouse, Darlinghurst. www.encounters.edu.au Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig. Arts Theatre Cronulla. As We Forgive by Tom May 6 - Jun 11. 6 Surf Road, Holloway. Tasmania Performs Cronulla. (02) 9523 2779. and Griffin Theatre Company. May 11 - 21. SBW Stables A Funny Thing Happened on Theatre. (02) 9361 3817. the Way to the Forum. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Metamorphoses by Mary book by Burt Shevelove and Zimmerman. Red Line Larry Gelbart. Club 71 Dinner Productions. May 11 - Jun 6. Theatre. May 6 - 28. St Peter’s Old Fitz Theatre. Hall, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) www.oldfitztheatre.com 4942 6015. The Events by David Greig. Wonderful Town. Music by Belvoir, Malthouse Theatre and Leonard Bernstein, book by STCSA. May 12 - Jun 12. Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir. (02) Chodorov, lyrics by Betty 9699 3444. Comden and Adolph Green. Trailer by Vanessa Bates. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Tantrum Youth Arts. May 12 -
58 Stage Whispers
14, Arts House, Wyong, (02) 4391 0070; Jun 1 - 4, ATYP, Sydney, (02) 9270 2400 & Jun 8 -11, Civic Playhouse, Newcastle, (02) 4929 1977.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Dural Musical Society Inc. May 13 - 28. Dural Xanadu The Musical by Douglas Soldiers Memorial Hall. Carter Beane. Matthew www.duralmusicalsociety.org Management in association with Hayes Theatre Co. May 12 The Producers by Mel Brooks - Jun 12. Hayes Theatre Co. (02) and Thomas Meehan. Players 8065 7337. Theatre, Port Macquarie. May 13 - 29. (02) 6584 6663. Hairspray by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman and Thomas Emma. Adapted by Pamela Meehan. Orange Theatre Whalan from Jane Austen’s Company. May 13 - 21. Orange novel. DAPA. May 13 - 29. Civic Theatre. (02) 6393 8111. DAPA Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). 0416 252 446. Godspell by Stephen Schwartz. EUCMS. May 13 - 28. Eastwood Footloose. Book and lyrics by Uniting Church Hall. (02) 8061 Dean Pitchford. Music by Tom Snow (and Sammy Hagar, 7195 (7 to 10pm daily). Kenny Loggins, Jim Steinman, Saturday Night Fever by Robert Eric Carmen). Parkes Musical Stigwood, assisted by Bill Oakes. and Dramatic Society. May 14 Roo Theatre Company. May 13 Jun 5. Parkes Little Theatre. 28. 12 Addison St, www.parkesmandd.com.au Shellharbour. Roald Dahl Festival 2016. Plays www.roo-theatre.com.au and performances drawn from
Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.
On Stage Roald Dahl stories, poems and characters. Hunter Drama. May 16 - 22. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. Motherland by Katherine LyallWatson. May 17 - 22. Glen Street Theatre. (02) 9975 1455. The 52-Storey Treehouse. Adapted by Richard Tulloch from the children’s book by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. CDP Productions. May 17 - 18. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.
New South Wales
May 19. Bruce Gordon Theatre, Wollongong. (02) 4224 5999.
Merimbula. Theatre, Strathfield. www.spectrumtheatregroup.com.au www.strathfieldmusicalsociety.com.au
A Chorus Line. Music: Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics: Edward Kleban. Book: James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante. Manly Musical Society. May 20 - 28. The Star of the Sea Theatre, Stella Maris College. www.manlymusicalsociety.com
Dinkum Assorted by Linda Aronson. Woy Woy Little Theatre. May 20 - June 5. Peninsula Theatre, Woy Woy. (02) 4344 4737.
Cash on Delivery by Michael Cooney. Newcastle G and S Players Comedy Club. May 20 Jun 4. St. Matthew’s Hall, Georgetown. 0432 886 149.
Far From the Madding Crowd. Adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy by Mark Healy. May 20 - Jun 25. Genesian Theatre, 420 Kent Street Sydney. 1300 237 217.
Urinetown by Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis. Berowra Musical Society. May 21 - 28. Berowra Community Centre. www.bmsi.org.au
Catch Me If You Can The Musical by Terence McNally, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Willoughby Theatre Hannah Gadsby - Dogmatic. Company. May 20 - 29. The Mary Poppins. Music and Lyrics Writer & Performer Hannah Concourse Theatre, Chatswood. Gadsby. Belvoir / Token Events. by The Sherman Brothers www.willoughbytheatreco.com.au (additional lyrics by George May 20 - 22. Upstairs Theatre, Stiles and Anthony Drewe) with Birthrights by David Williamson. Belvoir. (02) 9699 3444. Hunters Hill Theatre, Woolwich. script by Julian Fellowes. Avenue Q. Music & Lyrics: Engadine Musical Society. May May 20 - June 4. Bookings open Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx. Book: 18 - 22. Sutherland Feb 8. (02) 9879 7765. Jeff Whitty. Canterbury Theatre Entertainment Centre. 1300 616 The Addams Family. Book by Guild. May 20 - 29. Bexley RSL 063. Marshall Brickman and Rick & Community Club. RUFF 1 - New Works In Progress Elice. Music and Lyrics by www.canterburytheatreguild.com 2016. Supporting the Andrew Lippa. Spectrum Encore - The Best of the Oscars development and presentation Theatre Group, Merimbula. May and Tonys. Strathfield Musical of work by independent artists. 20 - Jun 4. Twyford Hall, Society. May 20 - 22. Latvian
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Opportunity Knocks by Judith Prior. Cameo Theatre Co. May 21, Kingsgrove Uniting Church Hall & May 28, Moss Vale Services Club. www.cameotheatre.org.au Swing. Comedy, with rock and roll music. Merrigong Theatre Company. May 21. Cessnock Performing Arts Centre. (02) 4990 7134. Sweet Charity. Book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Ashfield Musical Society. May
Stage Whispers 59
On Stage
New South Wales
21 - 29. Concord RSL. God of Carnage by Yasmina www.ashfieldmusicalsociety.com Reza. Valley Artists. May 27 Jun 4. Laguna Hall, Laguna. (02) Encore The Best of Broadway. 4998 3419. Classic songs presented by Newcastle Musical Theatre The Literati by Justin Fleming performers. The National after Molière’s Les Femmes Theatre Company. May 21 - 22. Savantes. Griffin Theatre Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) Company and Bell Shakespeare. 4929 1977. May 27 - Jul 16. SBW Stables Theatre. (02) 9361 3817. Daffodil. Bullet Heart Club production. Real life romance, Two Gentlemen of Verona. with a classic Kiwi soundtrack. Book by John Guare and Mel May 25 & 28. Bruce Gordon Shapiro, lyrics by John Guare, Theatre, Wollongong. (02) 4224 music by Galt MacDermot. 5999. NUCMS (Normanhurst Uniting Church Musical Society). May The Elephant Man by Bernard 28 - June 11. www.nucms.org Pomerance. The Regional Institute of Performing Arts. Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley. May 26 - 28. Civic Playhouse, Nowra Players. May 28 - Jun 12. Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. Players Theatre, Bomaderry. 1300 662 808. The Boy From Oz. Book by Nick Enright. Music and lyrics by The History Boys by Alan Peter Allen. Penrith Musical Bennett. Lindsay Street Players. Comedy Company. May 27 Jun 1 - 11. Young People’s Jun 4. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). Performing Arts Centre, Penrith. (02) 4961 4895. (02) 4723 7600.
Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora and Delia Ephron, based on the book by Ilene Beckerman. Castle Hill Players. Jun 3 - 25. Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill. (02) 9634 2929.
Fitz Theatre. www.oldfitztheatre.com Festival of One Act Plays. The Players Theatre, Port Macquarie. Jun 11- 13. (02) 6584 6663.
The Marriage of Figaro. Libretto Sweeney Todd: The Demon by Lorenzo da Ponte, music by Barber of Fleet St by CG Bond. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Wollongong Workshop Theatre. Opera Hunter. Jun 15 - 26. Lake Jun 3 - 18. (02) 4224 5999. Macquarie Performing Arts All My Sons by Arthur Miller. Centre, Warners Bay. (02) 4943 Sydney Theatre Company. Jun 4 1672. - Jul 9. Roslyn Packer Theatre. Hamlet: Prince of Skidmark. A (02) 9250 1777. Badaptation of the Bard by The Robert Gott’s Good Murder. Listies. Sydney Theatre Adapted by Stewart McGowan, Company. Jun 16 - Jul 17. from Robert Gott’s novel. Wharf 1 Theatre. (02) 9250 Newcastle Theatre Company. 1777. Jun 4 - 18. NTC Theatre, Annie. Music by Charles Lambton. (02) 4952 4958. Strouse, lyrics by Martin Heathers: The Musical by Kevin Charnin, book by Thomas Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe. Meehan. Mosman Musical June 8 - 26. Playhouse Theatre, Society. Jun 17 - 25. Zenith Sydney Opera House. (02) 9250 Theatre, Chatswood. 7777. www.zeniththeatre.com.au Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. Sydney Theatre Company. Jun 8 - 11. IMB Theatre. (02) 4224 5999. Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. June 9, Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, (02) 4990 7134 & June 10 - 11, Civic Theatre, Newcastle, (02) 4929 1977.
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris by Jaques Brel, Eric Blau and Mort Shuman. Miranda Musical Society. June 17 - 26. Sutherland School of Arts. (02) 8814 5827.
Return to the Forbidden Planet by Bob Carlton. Ballina Players. Jun 17 - Jul 3. Players Theatre, Ballina. Summer of the Seventeenth Doll www.ballinaplayers.com.au by Ray Lawler. Epicentre Theatre Counter Move. Sydney Dance Co. Jun 10 - Jul 3. Ku-ring-gai Town Hall, Pymble. Co. Jun 17 & 18. IMB Theatre, www.epicentretheatre.org.au Wollongong. (02) 4224 5999. Megan Hilty in Concert. Jun 10. Theatre Royal, Sydney. 1300 723 038.
West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim. Blue Mountains Musical Society. Jun The Best Little Whorehouse in 18 - Jul 3. Blue Mountains Texas. Book by Larry L. King and Theatre, Springwood. (02) 4723 Peter Masterson, music and 5050. lyrics by Carol Hall. Theatre on Back At The Dojo by Lally Katz. Brunker and Novocastrian A Belvoir / Stuck Pigs Squealing Players. June 10 - 25. St Stephen’s Church Hall, co-production. Jun 18 - Jul 17. Adamstown (Newcastle). (02) Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir. (02) 9699 3444. 4956 1263. Inner Voices by Louis Nowra. Don’t Look Away / Red Line Productions. Jun 15 - Jul 9. Old 60 Stage Whispers
S-27 by Sarah Grochala. Two Tall Theatre. Jun 22 - 26. Royal Exchange, Newcastle. (02) 4929 4969.
Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.
On Stage
New South Wales & Queensland Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward. Mousetrap Theatre, Redcliffe. Until May 14. (07) 3888 3493. Velvet. Organised Pandemonium and QPAC. Until May 15. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 136 246. Noises Off by Michael Frayn. Beenleigh Theatre Group. Until May 7. (07) 3807 3922. Are You Being Served by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. Brisbane Arts. Until Jun 4. (07) 3369 2344. Jungle Book - The Musical by Markus Weber. Brisbane Arts. Until May 14. (07) 3369 2344.
The love of money is the root of all evil in the Guild Theatre’s May production, David Williamson’s When Dad Married Fury. Playing May 6 to June 4, at the Guild Theatre in Walz St, Rockdale. Read more at http://bit.ly/1qJ1rnL ‘Allo ‘Allo by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. The Henry Lawson Theatre, Werrington. Jun 24 -Jul 15. (02) 4729 299. Newcastle and Hunter Region Drama and Singing Festival. DAPA Theatre, Hamilton. Drama, Jun 24 to 26; Singing, Jul 1 to 3. 0416 252 446. CounterMove. Dance double bill, Cacti and Lux Tenebris. Sydney Dance Company. Jun 25. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.
Freckleface Strawberry. By Gary Kupper and Rose Caiola, based on the book by Julianne Moore. Squabbalogic Independent Music Theatre. Jun 28 to Jul 9. Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre. (02) 9351 7940. The Moon's a Balloon. Children’s theatre work looking at youngsters using their imaginations to create a happy world. Patch Theatre. Jun 28. Cessnock Performing Arts Centre. (02) 4990 7134.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Ipswich Little Theatre. May 4-21. (07) 3812 2389. Cinderella. Bonnie Lythgoe Productions. Jul 1 - 17. State Theatre, Sydney. 136 100. Queensland
Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling. Tweed Theatre Company. May 6 - 22. Tweed Civic Centre, Tweed Heads. 1800 674 414.
Agatha Crispie by Cenarth Fox. Next To Normal by Tom Kitt and Centenary Players. May 7-28. Brian Yorkey. Phoneix Ensemble. Chelmer Community Centre. Until May 14. (07) 3103 1546. 0435 591 720. Much Ado About Nothing by Best of British. Queensland William Shakespeare. QTC. Pops. May 7. Concert Hall, Playhouse, QPAC. Until May 15. QPAC. 136 246 1800 355 538. Ten Tenors. Concert Hall, QPAC. May 8. 136 246.
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Stage Whispers 61
On Stage
Queensland
Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. Opera Q. May 12 - 19. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. 136 246.
Lippa. Coolum Players. May 2029. Coolum Civic Centre. (07) 5446 2500.
Strictly Gershwin. Queensland Ballet. May 27 - Jun 4. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. 136 246.
Bonnie and Clyde by Frank Wildhorn and Don Black. Spotlight Theatre Company, Gold Coast. May 13 - Jun 4. (07) 5539 4255.
When Time Stops. Natalie Weir / Expressions Dance Company. May 20-28. Playhouse, QPAC. 136 246.
Blackadder The Third by Ben Elton Queensland Cabaret Festival. and Richard Curtis. Growl Jun 3 - 12. Theatre, Windsor. May 26 - Jun 4. queenslandcabaretfestival.com.au boxoffice@growltheatre.org.au A Feast of One Act Plays. Communicating Doors by Alan Mousetrap Theatre, Redcliffe. Ayckbourn. Javeenbah Theatre Jun 3-4. (07) 3888 3493. Company, Nerang. May 27 - Jun Megan Hilty in Concert. Jun 9. 11. (07) 5596 0300. Concert Hall, Queensland 49A by Michael Harvey / Roses Performing Arts Centre. 136 are Red by Pat Woods / Post Its 246. by Winnie Hotzman & Phil Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Dooley. Sunnybank Theatre by Linda Woolverton, Alan Group. May 27- Jun 11. (07) Menken, Howard Ashman and 3345 3964. Tim Rice. Redcliffe Musical Seven Little Australians by Anne Theatre. Jun 10-12. Redcliffe Scott Pendlebury. Villanova Cultural Centre. (07) 3283 Players. May 27 - Jun 18. 0407. Yeronga State High School. (07) Con 2 The Cabaret. Griffith Uni 3395 5168. Musical Theatre. Jun 10-18. Love and Hate (8 x 10 Min Burke Street Studio. Plays). Lind Lane Theatre, conevents.com.au Nambour. May 28 - Jun 4. (07) Wuthering Heights by Emily 5441 1814. Brontë, adapted by shake & stir.
Switzerland by Joanna MurrayThe Shoehorn Sonata by John Smith. QTC. May 21 - Jun 26. Misto. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Bille Brown Studio, Brisbane. May 14 - Jun 4. (07) 5532 1800 355 528. 2096. The Tragedy of King Richard 3rd The Tempest by William by Marcel Dorney and Daniel Shakespeare. Nash Theatre New Evans, based on William Farm. May 14 - Jun 4. (07) 3379 Shakespeare. La Boite. May 21 4775. Jun 11. Roundhouse Theatre. (07) 3007 8600. Sweet Charity by Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Neil Simon. Cinderella by Peter Denyer. Griffith Uni Musical Theatre. Brisbane Arts. May 21 - Jul 9. Burke Street Studio. May 14-21. (07) 3369 2344. conevents.com.au Menopause The Musical A Soul Celebration. QPAC Choir. Women On Fire by Jeanie May 17. Concert Hall, QPAC. Linders. 12th Night Theatre, 136 246. Bowen Hills. May 24 - Jun 5. (07) 3252 5122. The Addams Family by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew
62 Stage Whispers
Shorts On Stage. Noosa Arts Theatre. May 28-29. (07) 5449 9343.
Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.
On Stage Jun 10 - 19. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 136 246.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Beenleigh Theatre Group. Jun 24 - Jul 9. (07) 3807 3922.
Ms. Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton. Queensland Cabaret Festival. Jun 10. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. It’s Us Now. Griffith Uni Musical Theatre. Burke Street Studios. Sense and Sensibility by Jon Jun 24-25. conevents.com.au Jory, from the novel by Jane Austen. Brisbane Arts. Jun 11The Narcissist by Stephen Jul 23. (07) 3369 2344 Carleton. Ipswich Little Theatre. Jun 29 - Jul 16. (07) 3812 2389. The Village: Refugee Camp. MDA / La Boite. Jun 14-18. A Lad ‘N’ His Lamp. Spotlight Roundhouse Theatre. (07) 3007 Theatre Company, Gold Coast. 8600. Jun 29 - Jul 9. (07) 5539 4255. Corporate Vibes by David Williamson. Cairns Little Theatre. Jun 17-25. Rondo Theatre, Cairns. 1300 855 835. Murrumba Drama Festival. Mousetrap Theatre, Redcliffe. Jun 17-19. (07) 3888 3493. Ladies Night by Anthony McCarten and Stephen Sinclair. Gardens Theatre, Brisbane. Jun 21-22. (07) 3138 4455.
One-Act Play Festival. Noosa Arts Theatre. Jun 30 - Jul 16. (07) 5449 9343.
Queensland & Victoria Theatre, The Sumner. (03) 8688 May 3 - 15. Theatre Works. (03) 0800 . 9534 3388. Role Play by Alan Ayckbourn. Mordialloc Theatre Company. Until May 7. Shirley Burke Theatre. (03) 9587 5141.
I Don’t Keep Secrets, But I Do Tell Lies by Thomas Ian Doyle. May 3 - 13. The Owl and Cat Theatre. 0477 888 820.
The Nance by Douglas CarterBeane. Williamstown Little Theatre. Until May 7. (03) 9885 9678.
Little Shop of Horrors. Book and lyrics By Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. May 4 - 19. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. Ticketmaster.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. Sherbrooke Theatre Co. Until May 7. Doncaster Playhouse. 1300 650 209.
[Lady] Macbeth, a radical new version of Shakespeare's tragedy. Twelve Angry. May 4 14. Scratch Warehouse, North Melbourne.
Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon. Aleksandar Vass and Vass Shit by Patricia Cornelius. Theatre Group. Until May 14. Fortyfivedownstairs. May 4 - 15. Victoria Alex Theatre, St Kilda. 1300 795 (03) 9662 9966. Matilda The Musical. Music and 012. Dogfight. Music and lyrics by Lyrics by Tim Minchin. Book by The River by Jez Butterworth. Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, book Dennis Kelly. Ongoing. Princess Red Stitch. Until May 28. (03) by Peter Duchan. Doorstep Arts, Theatre, Melbourne. 1300 723 9533 8083. May 5 - 15. Chapel Off Chapel. 038. (03) 8290 7000. Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Miss Julie by August Strindberg. Rose, adapted by Sherman L. August Osage County by Tracy Melbourne Theatre Company. Sergel. Heidelberg Theatre Letts. Southern Peninsula Until May 21. Southbank Company. Until May 14. (03) Players. May 5 - 14. (03) 5982 9457 4117. 0494. Measure for Measure by William Wicked. Music and lyrics by Shakespeare. Gemco Players. Stephen Schwartz. Book by Until May 14. (03) 5968 2844. Winnie Holzman. CLOC Musical Theatre. May 6 - 21. The Coriolanus by William National Theatre, St Kilda. 1300 Shakespeare. Heartstring 362 547. Theatre. Until May 8. Mechanics Institute, Brunswick. Catch Me If You Can by Terrence McNally, Marc A Room of One’s Own by Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Virginia Woolf, translated for Williamstown Musical Theatre the stage by Peta Hanrahan. Company. Victorian Premiere. Sentinent Theatre. Until May 8. May 6 - 21. Williamstown La Mama Courthouse. (03) Mechanics Institute Theatre. 9347 6142. 1300 881 545 La Bohème by Puccini. Opera Legally Blonde The Musical. Australia. May 3 - 28. Arts Music & Lyrics: Laurence Centre Melbourne, State O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin. Book: Theatre. 1300 182 183. Heather Hach. NOVA Music Lunes de Miel, Based on Private Theatre. May 6 - 21. The Whitehorse Centre, Lives by Noel Coward. Nunawading. 1300 304 433. Melbourne French Theatre Inc. May 3 - 7. Open Stage Theatre, Straight White Men by Young Uni of Melbourne. (03) 9349 Jean Lee. Melbourne Theatre 2250. Company. May 6 - June 18. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax The Orchid and the Crow by Studio. 1300 182 183. Daniel Tobias. Salvador Dinosaur and Theatre Works.
Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au
Stage Whispers 63
On Stage Dinkum Assorted by Linda Aronson. Eltham Little Theatre. May 6 - 21. 0411 713 095.
Victoria
Mary Poppins. Music & Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman. Additional Music & Lyrics: George Stiles & Anthony Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph The Sound of Music. Music by Drewe. Book: Julian Fellowes. Kesselring. Croydon Parish Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Babirra Music Theatre. May 28 Players. May 6 - 14. Croydon Hammerstein II. Book by Jun 12. The Whitehorse Centre, Uniting Church Hall, Tallent St. Howard Lindsay and Russel Nunawading. (03) 9262 6555. 0447 014 584, between 1pm Crouse. Andrew Lloyd Webber, and 3pm. John Frost, David Ian and the Double Indemnity by Tom Really Useful Group. From May Holloway, adapted from the Thoroughly Modern Millie. Book 13. Regent Theatre, Melbourne. book by James M Cain. by Richard Morris & Dick Melbourne Theatre Company. 1300 111 011. Scanlan. New Music by Jeanine May 30 - Jul 2. Arts Centre Tesori. New Lyrics by Dick The Violet Sisters by Gina Femia. Melbourne, Playhouse. 1300 Scanlan. Bairnsdale Production May 17 - 27. The Owl and Cat 182 183. Line Theatre Co. May 6 - 22. Theatre. 0477 888 820. Forge Theatre & Arts Hub. (03) Flesh Eating Tiger by Amy Tofte. The Glass Menagerie by 5152 1482. May 31 - Jun 4. The Owl and Tennessee Williams. Malthouse / Cat Theatre. 0477 888 820. Singin’ In The Rain. Book by Belvoir. May 18 - Jun 5. Merlyn Betty Comden and Adolph Theatre. (03) 9685 5111. Blood on the Dance Floor. Green, based on the screenplay Ilbijerri Theatre Company and The Man of Mode by George for the MGM film. Music by Jacob Boehme. June 1 - 6. Arts Etherege. May 18 - 28. Chapel Nacio Herb Brown. Lyrics by House, North Melbourne Town Off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000. Arthur Freed. Lunchbox Hall. (03) 9322 3720. Theatrical Productions, David Over My Dead Body by Derek Blonde Poison by Gail Louw. Atkins Enterprises, Michael Benfield. Brighton Theatre Starring Belinda Giblin. Jun 1 Cassel Group and Dainty Group Company (BTC). May 19 - Jun 4. 11. Southbank Theatre, The International. From May 7. Her Brighton Theatre Company, Lawler. (03) 8688 0800. Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. BACC Wilson Street. 1300 752 1300 795 012 126. The Magic Hour by Arjun Raina. Cicero’s Circle Theatre Elegies for Angels, Punks and All Things Considered by Ben Company. June 1 - 12. La Raging Queens by Bill Russell. Brown. Torquay Theatre Troupe. Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 Musical Theatre, Queensland May 19 - Jun 4. (03) 5261 6142. Conservatorium Griffith 4219. University. May 11 - 14. Chapel Melanie Jame Wolf / Savage Follies In Concert. By Stephen Off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000. Amusement - Mira Fuchs. Jun 2 Sondheim and James Goldman. - 12. Arts House, Nth Heathers The Musical by Storeyboard Entertainment. May Melbourne Town Hall. (03) Laurence O’Keefe & Kevin 24 & 25. Melbourne Recital 9322 3720. Murphy. May 11 - 22. Centre. (03) 9699 3333. Playhouse, Arts Centre Songs For a New World by Breaker Morant by Kenneth G. Melbourne. 1300 182 183. Jason Robert Brown. Blue Saint Ross. Lilydale Athenaeum Productions. Jun 2 - 12. Chapel In Search of Owen Rowe by Theatre Co.Inc. May 25 - Jun Off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000. Vanessa O’Neill. May 11 - 28. La 11. (03) 9735 1777. Mama Theatre. (03) 9347 6142. Il Signor Brushino by Gioachino Resident Alien by Tim Fountain. Rossini. Lyric Opera of Tales of a City by the Sea by Starring Paul Capsis as Quentin Melbourne. Jun 6 - 12. Chapel Samah Sabawi. May 11 - 28. La Crisp. Fortyfivedownstairs. May Off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000. Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 25 - Jun 12. (03) 9662 9966. 6142. Keep by Francesca Pazniokas. Come Blow Your Horn by Neil Jun 7 - 17. The Owl and Cat Sherlock Holmes and the Simon. Strathmore Theatre Arts Theatre. 0477 888 820. Adventure of the Suicide Club Group. May 26 - Jun 5. by Jeffrey Hatcher. The 1812 Megan Hilty in Concert. Jun 8. Strathmore Community Hall. Theatre. May 12 - Jun 4. (03) (03) 9382 6284. Hamer Hall, Arts Centre 9758 3964. Melbourne. 1300 182 183. Flowers for Algernon by David God of Carnage by Yazmina Rogers. Beaumaris Theatre The Laramie Project by Moises Reza. Shepparton Theatre Arts Group. May 27 - Jun 11. Kaufman & members of Group. May 12 - 21. (03) 5832 www.beaumaristheatre.com.au Tectonic Theater Project. PEP 9511. 64 Stage Whispers
Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer. The Basin Theatre Group. May 13 Jun 4. 1300 784 668.
Productions. Jun 9 - 18. Doncaster Playhouse. Disney’s The Little Mermaid by Doug Wright, Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater. Windmill Theatre Company. Jun 10 - 26. Drum Theatre, Dandenong. Ancient Lights by Shelagh Stephenson. Peridot Theatre Inc. Jun 10 - 25. Unicorn Theatre, Mt Waverley. (03) 9808 0770. Melbourne Cabaret Festival Jun 14 - 26. www.melbournecabaret.com The Honey Bees by Caleb Lewis. Red Stitch. Jun 14 - Jul 16. (03) 9533 8083. James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Fortyfivedownstairs. Jun 15 19. (03) 9662 9966. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Malvern Theatre Co Inc. Jun 17 - Jul 2. 1300 131 552. Skylight by David Hare. Melbourne Theatre Company. Jun 18 - Jul 23. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. (03) 8688 0800. Deadheads by Ali Viterbi. Jun 21 - Jul 1. The Owl and Cat Theatre. 0477 888 820. The Events by David Greig. Malthouse / Belvoir. Jun 21 - Jul 10. Merlyn Theatre. (03) 9685 5111. L’amante anglaise by Marguerite Dumas. fortyfivedownstairs. Jun 21 - Jul 3. (03) 9662 9966. Trilogy by Nic Green. Jun 21 26. Arts House, Nth Melbourne Town Hall. (03) 9322 3720. Visiting Mr Green by Jeff Baron. Mordialloc Theatre Company. Jun 24 - Jul 9. Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale. (03) 9587 5141. Egg by Angela Betzien. Melbourne Theatre Company. Jun 29 - Jul 19. Southbank
Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.
On Stage Theatre, The Lawler. (03) 8688 0800. If I Should Die Before I Wake by Rebecca Lister. Williamstown Little Theatre. Jun 30 - Jul 16. (03) 9885 9678 Tasmania
The Vicar of Dibley by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter, adapted from the TV series by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew -Archer. John X & Graeme Paine. Jun 17 - Jul 2. The Playhouse Theatre. (03) 6234 5998.
Victoria, Tasmania, S.A. & W.A. 28. Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. Indian Embrace by Carol Dance. India Australia Association. Jun 8-11. Star Theatres. www.trybooking.com/KIWI
Big Fish The Musical. Music/ lyrics by Andrew Lippa, book by The Peasant Prince. Based on Dad’s Army by Jim Perry and John August. Therry Dramatic David Croft. Launceston Players. the book by Li Cunxin. Monkey Society. Jun 8-18. The Arts Baa Theatre Company. Jun 23 & Until May 7. Earl Arts Centre. Theatre. (08) 8358 3018, (08) 24, Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) (03) 6323 3666. 8410 5515. 6233 2299 & Jun 28 & 29, Earl Wuthering Heights by Emily Arts Centre, (03) 6323 3666. Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2016. Brontë. Shake & Stir. May 4 - 7, Multiple Events. Jun 10 - 25. The Wharf Revue by Jonathan Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) Local and international artists. 6233 2299 & May 10, Princess Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phil Adelaide Festival Centre. Theatre, Launceston, (03) 6323 Scott. Sydney Theatre Company. adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au Jun 30 - Jul 2. Theatre Royal, 3666. Hobart. (03) 6233 2299. Megan Hilty in Concert. Wheelers Luck by Nigel Collins, Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Jun South Australia Toby Leach and Damon 12. Festival Theatre, Adelaide Andrews. Southside Players. Sugar. Book by Peter Stone, Festival Centre. 131 246. May 4 - 14. Backspace, Theatre music by Jule Styne, and lyrics Royal, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by by Bob Merrill. Based on the Tennesee Williams. Adelaide Habeas Corpus by Alan Bennett. Some Like It Hot screenplay by Repertory Theatre. Jun 23-Jul 2. Billy Wilder. The Met. May 5-14. Hobart Repertory Theatre The Arts Theatre. The Arts Theatre. BASS 131 Society. May 13 - 18. The www.trybooking.com/JRHL 246. Playhouse Theatre. (03) 6234 5998. Into The Woods Jr by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Uni Revue 69. The Old Nick Company. May 13 - 28, Theatre Kings Baptist Grammar. May 5Royal, Hobart, (03) 6233 2299 7. Shedley Theatre. www.kingsbaptist.sa.edu.au & Jun 6 - 10, Princess Theatre, Launceston, (03) 6323 3666. My Fair Lady by Alan J Lerner The Addams Family. Music and and Frederick Loewe. South Coast Choral and Arts Society. lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and May 6-14. Victor Harbor Town Hall. www.trybooking.com Rick Elice. Devonport Choral Society. May 13 - 28. Devonport Sex Cells by Anna Longaretti. Entertainment Centre. Galleon Theatre Group. May 18www.decc.net.au 28. Domain Theatre Marion. Misterman by Enda Walsh. Blue 0437 609 577 or Cow / Siren Theatre Co. May 31 www.galleon.org.au - Jun 4. Backspace, Theatre Nunsense by Dan Goggin. Royal, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299. Blackwood Players. May 20- Jun 5. Blackwood 21. 0481 373 949 Evolve:Revolve. TasDance. May or www.blackwoodplayers.com 26 - 28, Earl Arts Centre (03) 6323 3666 & Jun 2 - 3, Theatre Up Pompeii by Miles Tredinneck. Royal, Hobart, (03) 6233 2299. Tea Tree Players. May 25-Jun 4. Tea Tree Players Theatre. The Moon’s A Ballon. Patch www.teatreeplayers.com or (08) Theatre Company. Jun 4 & 5. 8289 5266. Theatre Royal, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299. The Little Prince. Adapted by Dark Mofo. Hobart. Jun 10 - 21. Simon Clarke from the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Spare www.darkmofo.net.au Parts Puppet Theatre. May 27 & Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au
James and the Giant Peach by David Wood. Hills Youth Theatre. Jun 24-Jul 3. Stirling Community Theatre. www.hillsyouththeatre.com Western Australia Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Until May 8. Musical based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Crown Theatre. Ticketmaster 1300 889 278. The Foreigner by Larry Shue. Darlington Theatre Players. Until May 7. Comedy. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount. (08) 9255 1783. Key For Two by John Chapman and Dave Freeman. Rockingham Theatre Company. Until May 7. Rockingham Theatre. www.rockinghamtheatre.com You Can’t Have One by Peter Flanigan. Stirling Players. Until May 14. Locally written World Premiere. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo. (08) 9440 1040.
Stage Whispers 65
On Stage A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller. WAAPA 3rd Year Acting. Until May 5. American classic. Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6895. On Things That Matter by Samantha Chester and students. WAAPA 2nd Year Acting. Until May 5. Enright Studio, WAAPA, Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6895. The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband by Debbie Isitt. Harbour Theatre. Australian comedy. May 6-14. Camelot Theatre. www.TAZTix.com.au The Herringbone Saga by Bob Charteris. KADS. May 6 -28. Locally written World Premiere. KADS Town Square Theatre, Kalamunda. (08) 9257 2668. Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, Melville Theatre Company. May 6-21. Thriller directed by Lars Jensen. Melville Theatre, Palmyra. (08) 9330 4565. Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. Murray Music and Drama Club. May 13-28. Dark musical. Pinjarra Civic Centre. 0458 046 414. Beauty and the Beast. Choreographed by David Nixon. West Australian Ballet. May 1328. With the WA Symphony Orchestra. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. Ticketek 132 849. I See Red. WAAPA 3 Year Performance Making Students. May 19-20. Adult puppetry. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Fremantle. (08) 9335 5044. rd
Recess The Musical by Keith Jackson, Gerald V Castle and Michael C Vigilat. Phoenix Theatre and Stage 2. May 2028. Youth musical. Phoenix Theatre, Memorial Hall, Hamilton Hill. (08) 9255 3336. Trolleys by Andie Holburn. Playlovers. May 20-29. Youth play. Hackett Hall, Floreat. 0415 777 173. 66 Stage Whispers
Western Australia & New Zealand
Ghost the Musical by Bruce Joel Rubin, Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard. Ambassador Theatre Group. From May 21. Musical based on Oscar winning film. Crown Theatre, Perth. Ticketek 132 849. Solo Stage: The Deadly Sins. WAAPA 2nd Year Performance Making Students. May 24-27. Diverse performances. Studio Theatre, Subiaco Arts Centre. Ticketek 132 849. The Cat and the Canary by John Willard. Roleystone Theatre. May 27 - June 4. Mystery directed by Paul Treasure. Roleystone Theatre. (08) 9367 5730. Sugarland by Australian Theatre For Young People, Barking Gecko Theatre Company. May 27-30. Glimpse into teenage Australia. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. Ticketek 132 849. Angels in America, Part 1 Millenium Approaches by Tony Kushner. Black Swan State Theatre Company. May 28 - Jun 19. Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA. Ticketek 132 849. You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown by Clark Gesner and John Gordon. Garrick Theatre. Jun 218. Garrick Theatre, Guildford. (08) 9378 1990. Disney on Ice Magical Ice Festival. Feld Entertainment. Jun 2-6. Fairytales on ice. Perth Arena. Ticketek 132 849. Victory by Howard Barker. WAAPA 2nd Year Acting. Jun 10-16. American classic. Enright Studio, WAAPA. (08) 9370 6895. Closer by Patrick Marber. Old Mill Theatre. Jun 10-25. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. (08) 9367 8719. Les Liasons Dangereuses. Adapted by Christopher Hampton from the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
WAAPA 3rd Year Acting. Jun 10 May 5 - 28. Maidment Theatre. -16. Seduction and revenge. (09) 309 3395. Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Mamma Mia! By Catherine Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6895. Johnson, Benny Andersson and Bring It On by Jeff Whitty, Tom Bjorn Ulvaesus. Blenheim Kitt, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Musical Theatre. May 5 - 21. Amanda Green. WAAPA 2nd and ASB Theatre Marlborough. (03) 3rd Year Music Theatre Students. 520 8560. Jun 11-18. Cheerleading Aida by Tim Rice, Elton John, musical. Regal Theatre, Subiaco. Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls Ticketek. 132 849. and David Henry Hwang. North The Darkness and The Kraken. Canterbury Musical Society. May Phoenix Theatre. Jun 16-18. 5 - 21. Rangiora Town Hall. Locally written one act plays. www.ncms.co.nz Phoenix Theatre, Memorial Hall, The Perfect Murder. Adapted by Hamilton Hill. (08) 9255 3336. Shaun McKenna from the novel Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. by Peter James. Howick Little Darlington Theatre Players. Jun Theatre. May 7 - 28. (09) 534 17-Jul 9. Comedy based on 1406. Discworld Series. Marloo Crave by Sarah Kane. Howick Theatre, Greenmount. (08) Little Theatre. May 7 - 28. (09) 9255 1783. 534 1406. A Perfect Specimen by Nathaniel Annie by Thomas Meehan, Moncrieff. Black Swan Lab. Jun Charles Strouse and Martin 30 - Jul 17. World Premiere Charnin. Showbiz Queenstown. story of Julia Pastrana, the ape May 12 - 21. Queenstown woman. Studio Underground, Memorial Centre. State Theatre Centre of WA. Same Time, Next Year by Ticketek 132 849. Bernard Slade. May 12 - 22. The New Zealand PumpHouse Theatre, Killarney Joyful and Triumphant by Park, Takapuna. (09) 489 8360. Robert Lord. Circa Theatre, Heroes by Gerald Sibleyras, Wellington. Until May 8. translated by Tom Stoppard. Drama League South Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Canterbury. May 13 - 21. The Rice. Harlequin Musical Theatre. Playhouse, Timaru. iTICKET. Until May 14. (09) 361 1000. King Lear by William Pride and Promiscuty. A New Shakespeare. May 14 - Jun 18. Musical by Jane Austen and Circa Theatre, Wellington. (04) Penny Ashton. May 3 - 21. Circa 801 7992. Theatre, Wellington. (04) 801 Steel Magnolias by Robert 7992. Harling. Stagecraft Theatre Crimes of the Heart by Beth (Wellington). May 18 - 28. 0508 Henley. Dolphin Theatre, 484 253. Onehunga, Auckland. Until May Hair by Gerome Ragni, James 14. (09) 636 7322. Rado and Galt MacDermot. Abbey Musical Theatre. May 19 Niu Sila by Oscar Kightley and Dave Armstrong. Fortune - Jun 4. The Auditorium, Theatre, Dunedin. Until May 21. Palmerston North. (03) 477 8323. Otago and www.abbeymusicaltheatre.co.nz Southland Tour - May 24 - Jun Funny Business by Derek 4. Benfield. Pahiatua Repertory To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Society. May 19 - 28. Regent Lee, adapted by Christopher Downstairs Theatre. Sergel. Auckland Theatre Co.
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On Stage Nova Productions. May 28 - Jun Hairspray by Marc Shaiman, 11. Centrepoint Theatre, North Scott Wittman, Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan. Showbiz Palmerston. (06) 354 5740. Christchurch. Jun 8 - 18. Isaac Dreamgirls by Henry Krieger and Theatre Royal. 0800 842 538. Evita by Tim Rice and Andrew Tom Eyen. Manukau Performing Lloyd Webber. Auckland Music Arts. Jun 4 - 18. That Bloody Woman by Luke Di Summa and Gregory Cooper. Theatre & Amici Productions Funny Girl by Isobel Lennart, Ltd. May 28 - Jun 18. Bruce Auckland Theatre Co. Jun 9 - Jul Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. Mason Centre. Ticketmaster. 2. Maidment Theatre. (09) 309 North Shore Music Theatre. Jun 3395. Educating Rita by Willy Russell. 7 - 19. The Court Theatre, Christchurch. Over the River & Through the Bouncers by John Godber. May 28 - June 25. (03) 963 Woods by Joe DiPietro. Fortune Elmwood Players. Jun 8 - 18. 0870. Theatre, Dunedin. Jun 11 - Jul 9. Elmwood Auditorium. (03) 355 (03) 477 8323. White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Ira 8874 Nassim Soleimanpour. Aurora Oliver! by Lionel Bart. Variety Theatre, Ashburton. May 20 28. Ashburton Trust Event Centre.
New Zealand The Politician’s Wife by Angie Farrow. Jun 15 - 19. Centrepoint Theatre, North Palmerston. (06) 354 5740. Seussical by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Faherty and Eric Idle. Pukekohe Performing Arts. Jun 16 - 26. iTICKET Principal Principle by Joe Zarrow. Dolphin Theatre, Onehunga, Auckland. Jun 17 Jul 1. (09) 636 7322. Duets. The Court Youth Theatre, Christchurch. Jun 23 - 25. (03) 963 0870.
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Stage Briefs Canterbury Theatre Guild presents the Tony® Awardwinning Best Musical Avenue Q at Bexley RSL from May 20 to 29. The cast includes Stefan Jamal (Princeton), Rodney Dean (Brian), Jessica James- Moody (Kate Monster), Brad Gavin (Nicky), Michael Hemming (Rod), Sharonne Lipman (Christmas Eve), Laura Nalty (Gary Coleman), Katherine De Figueiredo and Grace Lizzo (Bad Idea Girls), Peter Adam and Sam Creek (Bad Idea Boys), John Edge and Edward Mafi (Trekkie Monster), Bridget Keating-McIntosh (Lucy the Slut). Read more about the show at http://bit.ly/1qJ1jVp
From May 20, Willoughby Theatre Company presents the NSW Premiere of the Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can on the Concourse stage in Chatswood. Based on the Hollywood film, the show follows the true story of Frank Abagnale Jnr - who outsmarted the FBI as he crossed the country and joined the 'jet set' of Pan Am Airlines, as well as other various professions. Pictured are Bonnie Wilkinson, Shaun Young and Melissa Ayers. For tickets and info check out www.willoughbytheatreco.com.au 68 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
& Rosa McCarty (Elphaba) & Emily McKenzie (Galinda) in CLOC’s Australian non-professional premiere production of Wicked. Wicked plays at St Kilda’s National Theatre from May 6-21 for twelve performances. Read more on our website at http://bit.ly/1qJ2jsz. Photo: Ben Fon. Fran Etheridge as Rose and Lachlan McNab as Anthony Wilding in Pymble Players’ production of Enchanted April, which plays from May 4 - 28. For more details visit http://bit.ly/1qJ22WL.
www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 69
Stage Briefs
Hands-On Patron
Miranda Musical Society Patron Geraldine Turner, directs the company’s production of Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris at Sutherland Memorial School of Arts from June 7 to 26, 2016. The sardonic, wise and intensely emotive songs of influential Belgian composer and performer Jacques Brel still ring in the air, thanks to this show that introduced Brel to many American listeners in 1968, a decade before his untimely death at age 49. Asked what drew her to want to direct Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris, Geraldine said, “I have loved this show since I first arrived in Sydney in the 70’s and saw it. The music spoke to me and affected me deeply and I hoped I would be in a production one day. 6 years ago, that dream came true and I appeared in a production in Canberra, so when MMS asked me to direct something, this was first on the list.” What does Geraldine enjoy about being Patron of MMS? “I like that I am a Hands On Patron, not merely a name in a program. I give annual Master Classes and try to attend opening nights, work permitting. Mostly, I like being able to encourage and, hopefully, inspire a younger generation of performers.” Get all the details at http://bit.ly/1qJ1OyL.
Heidelberg Theatre Company presents the jury room drama Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose until May 14. Chris Baldock directs this in-the-round production. For more info visit www.htc.org.au Photo: David Belton.
70 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Reviews: Premieres King Charles III By Mike Bartlett. Almeida Theatre Production. Sydney Theatre Company. Roslyn Packer Theatre. Mar 31 - Apr 30. HE thought the day would never come. Charles III has ascended to the throne and we meet his ever so familiar family mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II - Charles, Camilla, William, Kate and Harry. Each elicited a laugh when we recognised them. The playwright cut to the chase of an epic constitutional crisis. In marches a Welsh accented Labour Prime Minister for his first meeting with the freshly minted monarch. Charles immediately provokes him by declining to sign into law a new piece of legislation restricting the freedom of the press, egged on by a conservative Opposition Leader. After waiting, waiting, waiting to be King, Charles becomes the most interventionist monarch in centuries. Despite the grief the press causes the Royal family, Charles is determined to block the law. Much of the dialogue is written in the most delicious iambic pentameter. Like any classic Shakespearean play there is a sub plot. Prince Harry has fallen in love with a commoner and asks his father to be relieved of his royal duties. If King approves it can through boredom work. We make no fuss ‘cept that I have moved, got job. And will no longer take the civil list The cast, direct from Broadway, was splendid. Robert Powell did not impersonate Charles but treated him like an
King Charles III. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith.
epic Shakespearean hero with a fatal flaw. The stand-outs were Tim Treloar as the withering Prime Minister and Richard Glaves as the tortured Harry. Looking around the opening night audience I couldn’t help but wonder how an Australian cast might have added another layer. Hugo Weaving as King Charles and Richard Roxburgh as Prince Harry? Maybe they will get a chance another time. This cracker of a play is an instant classic. David Spicer Variation on a Theme By Terence Rattigan. The Stirling Players (SA). Stirling Community Theatre. Feb 19 - Mar 5. IT says much for The Stirling Players’ confidence in local director Dave Simms that it has been prepared to stage the Australian Premiere of Terence Rattigan’s Variation on a Theme, a play originally panned by critics. Set in the south of France, fragile emotions struggle to survive in a tale of financial riches, drinking, gambling, shallow relationships, suppressed sexuality and failing health. The role of Rose is very demanding but Allison Scharber performs it well. I would like to see a little more underlying fragility, but this is still an excellent interpretation. Nick Duddy’s performance as Ron, Rose’s ‘ballet boy’ lover is also good. Alan Crawford is superb as Sam. The poignancy of his performance shines through as Ron’s choreographer and gay friend.
Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au
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Julie Quick produces a fine understated performance as Rose’s companion Hettie, embodying her quiet desperation at Rose’s reckless behavior. Jonathan Pheasant produces a strong performance as Rose’s rich, controlling prospective husband Kurt. Kate van der Horst is delightful as Rose’s emotionally estranged daughter Fiona. Rebecca Kemp is highly amusing as the spoiled and shallow American socialite Mona. Stirling has excelled once again with the show’s set, lighting, sound and superb costumes. Stirling Players’ production of Variation on a Theme is excellent, despite the play’s inherent flaws. Lesley Reed
Lisa McCune in Machu Picchu. Photo: Brett Boardman.
Blind Concept/Script - Nancy Black and Duda Paiva. Black Hole Theatre and DudaPaiva Company. Theatre Works. Mar 8 19. FROM go to whoa this wonderful ‘grownups’ puppet show is a rich rewarding delight. Funny, even ‘laugh out loud’ to start with, Blind is a marvelous and often tantalizingly surprising journey. Master puppeteer and artist Duda Paiva in communion with, through breathing life and voice into, his exquisite delicate puppets - delights his audience. Paiva is a charismatic, consummate, relaxed and spontaneous performer who engages with disarming sincerity. The work, created in collaboration with Director Nancy Black, is predicated on experiences of childhood illness and blindness from which Paiva recovered. As a trained dancer, Paiva moves with wonderful contorted and controlled extensions. Sound (Wilco Alkema) is usually subtle and underpins with a pervading sense of mystery, while lighting (Mark Verhoef) serves the piece beautifully. Like the murky underbelly of a very old fairytale, Blind seems to be a tricky, to the death, tussle between good and evil that rewards partly through catharsis and partly through wonder at its uniqueness. It is a work about healing on a deep shamanistic level that allows one to tap into the inner child’s sense of curiosity, and leaves one feeling elevated and joyful. Suzanne Sandow
unravelling and then “paralysis” after the accident is illexplained and without emotional impact. Paul tries to recruit his daughter Lucy, now a doctor, to help him suicide; Gabby marches off without Paul to pursue alone their dream of seeing Macchu Picchu. Their friends, an unattractively egocentric couple struggling with IVF, provide more comedy than intimacy or illumination of what drives these four people. Well-known comic actor Darren Gilshenan brings a good shabby vulnerability to Paul but seems miscast against Lisa McLune’s suitably taut and abrupt Gabby. Luke Joslin and Machu Picchu By Sue Smith. STC and STCSA. Wharf 1 Theatre, Mar 3 - Apr Elena Carapetis are entertaining as the friends; and Annabel 9, then Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, Apr 13 Matheson is convincing as Lucy. Renato Mussolini plays the psychologist who finally gets Paul in his wheelchair to live in - May 1. the present. CENTRAL to Sue Smith’s new play is an idealistic Machu Picchu is a long, often enjoyable journey which, engineer, Paul, whose esteem goes the way of his body without the emotional detail and as directed by Geordie when he’s paralysed in a car accident. From his hospital bed, with his academic wife Gabby, he daydreams back to Brookman, reaches what feels a bland conclusion. Jonathon moments which they always wanted to remember together Oxlade’s hospital set is backed by a wall of opaque windows behind which Paul’s demons and fantasies are as bliss. sometimes paraded. These distractions tug us further from These are some of the play’s best moments but this engaging with the reality of the key relationships. supposed model of a loving relationship is curiously unfleshed and without chemistry. And so its later Martin Portus 72 Stage Whispers
Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au
There Was A Boy.
performances, him falling madly in love with a girl (yes, A GIRL), performances at Eisteddfods and all the usual pains of adolescence. The music is largely original, with songs by Adam and by the uber-talented Shannon Whitelock, whose new song “The Pyre” makes great impact, but there are nods to Kurt Weil, Bowie and his signature “Starman”, and the amazing Charles Aznavour before the show ends with a touching version of “Nature Boy”. Stunning. Coral Drouyn
Sister Cities By Colette Freedman. Directed by Suzanne Heywood. Q44 Theatre. Level 1, 550 Swan Street, Richmond. Mar 14 - Apr 3. COLETTE Freedman’s play of four sisters with the same mother but different fathers looks to all the world like another Steel Magnolias in its opening minutes - but looks are deceptive. Despite the “kitsch” device of each girl being named after the city where she was born, this is a darker, more confronting work by far. The exploration of siblings dealing with the unexpected, and horrific, death of their mother pulls no punches. Suzanne Heywood not only directs with a gentle and generous hand, she plays the dead matriarch, crippled with ALS, in the flashback scene that opens Act 2. Her weakness and vulnerability are beautifully balanced against the strength of her will and sense of purpose, and the relationship between her and daughter Austin (Nicole Melloy) is tangible and palpable. Melloy herself is quite marvelous as the tomboy lesbian daughter who wrote one hit novel while at college and then burned out. Gabriella Rose Carter is so real as Carolina, the over-achieving high-flying lawyer and eldest daughter, that you simply forget you are watching a performance. There Was a Boy Sarah Nicolazzo is excellent as the uptight and prudish Written and performed by Adam Noviello. Directed by school teacher Dallas, the daughter with no talent. Leanne Marsland Analisa Lucca is Baltimore, the youngest daughter still Chapel off Chapel. Feb 26. finding herself, but not looking too hard. In her first “THERE was a boy, a very strange enchanted boy…” professional role, she’s full of promise. Eden Ahbez wrote the song, though Nat King Cole made it Within the confines of the tiny theatre and budget, the famous. set, designed and built by Nicolazzo and the cast (with There’s something “enchanted” about Adam Noviello, Jordan Fletcher) works a treat, and John Collopy’s lighting and if you haven’t heard of him yet, you undoubtedly will. design works beautifully, complemented by Jacinta Tall and a little bit gangly, he calls to mind a young David Anderson’s sound. Bowie - androgynous, beautiful and difficult to categorise. Q44’s under-budgeted productions of always-excellent The talent is obvious; the body moves with grace; the voice, plays are full of passion, commitment, fine acting and a especially in the head register, is angelic and pure, and his thirst for excellence. understanding and interpretation of lyrics is outstanding. Coral Drouyn He also writes, composes, and plays the piano and is completely at ease with his audience, rare in an artist so The Events young. By David Greig. Adelaide Festival of Arts. State Theatre The cabaret is largely autobiographical and covers Company of South Australia, Belvoir and Malthouse Adam’s childhood, going to school in Mill Park. It’s clear Theatre. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Afelaide. Feb 25 - Mar 2. that Adam simply didn’t fit in, and had the courage not to WRITTEN by Scottish playwright David Greig, The Events try. But this is no pity party. Adam has crafted a script is set in a small town that could be anywhere. The play which neatly balances humour with poignancy, so we feel allows the audience to experience the obsessive search for connected to his journey throughout. The humour is gentle personal peace experienced by one victim of random mass and covers his mother’s overdramatic reactions to his violence. Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au
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As Anglican priest and shooting victim Claire tries to make some sense of the events that have left her a struggling survivor and others in her town dead, she travels a road that takes her to the edge of reason, sanity, faith and perhaps forgiveness; and she takes her community and even the young male perpetrator with her. There are many people on stage, yet only two actors. For each session a different real-life local community choir is integrated into the action. While they’ve rehearsed their songs, they react naturally as they’ve seen the script only moments before going on stage. Catherine McClements is superb and understated as Claire, embodying the conflicted survivor. Johnny Carr portrays all other characters in Claire’s quest well, but his prime role is as the antagonist, The Boy, who is the perpetrator. Through the character of The Boy the play brilliantly examines the motives of ‘the troubled young man with a gun’. It delves deeper too, examining events in life that can change or socially influence future directions, including for a boy or even a country. The Events is a superb and unique examination of one victim’s desire to understand the essence of violence. It’s perhaps an impossible quest; a puzzle, with some of the pieces missing, especially the one that contains the answer to WHY. Lesley Reed
In addition to the acting, animation, film and projection, every other element of this production shines, including lighting, sound and music, played live on stage. My own marketing message (coming to you via flashy Monty Python-style graphics, of course) is this: You may not yet realise you WANT your own Golem experience, but you NEED it. Lesley Reed
Deluge By Phillip Kavanagh. Director: Nescha Jelk. Tiny Bricks, Brink Productions & Adelaide Festival. Plant 1, Bowden. Mar 813. DELUGE is an experiment that should prove interesting and rewarding for all those willing and eager to be taken somewhere new and different. Nescha Jelk's direction of this multi-stranded melting pot is generally successful at finessing the balance required to evoke chaos without simply becoming chaotic. Upon being presented with a performance area that turns out to contain ten people in a sea of foam cubes, one's imagination is already being stimulated by artists who strive to forge their own path. After seemingly being brought to life by electrical activity, the lives, interests, and personalities of the ensemble begin to define and assert themselves, virtually all at once. With most lines being delivered in fragments and at rapid-fire speed (sometimes even overlapping), viewers Golem must remain alert in order to determine the strongest focal Adelaide Festival. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival point at any given moment. How interesting and/or Centre. Mar 8-13. important the words of a particular character appear to you A QUIRKILY retro Dystopian tale made up of gorgeously will unavoidably affect the choices you are forced to make droll characters, Monty Pythonesque marketing messages while experiencing Deluge. The approach taken here will and an underlying darkly hilarious reality check for our challenge you to question - and reflect on - the reasons technology-obsessed society, Golem is gob-smacking. It’s why we absorb some sources of information while ignoring wonderful. others. In London-based 1927’s production, binary coder by The three years of creative development spent bringing day and performance-shy punk rocker by night Robert Deluge to life have resulted in a vibrant, pertinent piece of acquires his Golem from a local entrepreneur. The bulky theatre that deserves to find appreciative, attentive creature helps Robert in unexpected ways. People notice. As audiences. happens in real life, clever marketing occurs, ‘want’ Anthony Vawser overcomes ‘need’ and soon everyone has a Golem. Eventually, the creature’s evolution means the formerly Banquet of Secrets benign and amiable Golem is a threat to society. By Steve Vizard and Paul Grabowski. Victorian Opera. Shamira Turner embodies nerdy Robert, a young man Director: Roger Hodgman. Musical Director: Paul who ‘smells of unwashed hair and mathematics’. Esme Grabowsky. Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse. Mar 1 - 5. Appleton, Lillian Henley, Rose Robinson and Will Close are NEW musicals are always a bit of a gamble. With also splendid, rounding out a superb ensemble cast. Banquet of Secrets Victorian Opera is on a winner! The animated clay figure of the Golem seems to morph The premise of the show is quite simple. Four friends from screen to stage, but in reality is only ever present in have been meeting annually for a meal for the past twenty projected form, even when the creature is human-sized years since leaving school, and one wants each to tell a amongst the wonderfully-costumed actors. Conversely, the secret the others don’t know. humans sometimes appear to be part of the twoEach of these secrets is quite dramatic in its way, so the dimensional intricately detailed and brilliantly coloured action constantly moves between lively banter and high urban landscape, such is the overall visual effect. drama. Delightfully quirky effects include moths flying out of Each character was thoroughly believable, and there the projected background and a moustache crawling from appeared to be a genuine friendship between them. This a portrait on the wall. was partly due to the writing by Steve Vizard and partly to the superb performances from the four protagonists. 74 Stage Whispers
Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au
Banquet of Secrets. Photo: Jeff Busby.
Antoinette Halloran, a standout in Sweeney Todd, was an imperious Mia, the thrice-married successful businesswoman. Dimity Shepherd was the weary single mother, her fruity mezzo a delight. David Rogers-Smith was heartrending describing the death of his wife, only to be topped by Kanen Breen, the genial host, with the darkest secret of them all. At regular intervals the waiter brought out the next course, all included in the program, displayed on the mirror above the stage, then there was a blackout and the table was empty again. The music, by Paul Grabowsky, was accessible and suited the show, and the band good, though occasionally a little loud. The audience was totally caught up in the characters and drama on stage. An absolute triumph. Graham Ford Taxithi, An Australian Odyssey By Helen Yotis Patterson, directed by Petra Kalive, music director, Andrew Patterson. fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. Mar 2 - 20. THIS is a gripping performance that will have your toes tapping and pull at your heartstrings, all at the same time. Helen Yotis Patterson has written an exceptional piece of theatre and found true kindred spirits in her co-performers, Maria Mercedes and Artemis Ioannides. These three stunning women of Greek heritage belt out traditional Greek folk songs with incredible energy and emotional power. Their vocal talent is breathtaking and
they tell stories of migration with an open heart, reminding us of the tragedies that tear people from their homelands, and why it is so important to retain our humanity in the face of the current global refugee crisis. The musical aspect of this production alone is outstanding but it is also framed by a beautifully designed set with extremely evocative projections and lighting that create simple yet highly dramatic effects. The stories are woven from Patterson’s imagination, personal experiences, family history and the voices of many migrants who are only too eager to tell their intriguing tales. The musical accompaniment features the bouzouki, played by Jacob Papadopoulos, and piano by Andrew Patterson. The overall effect is truly astonishing and easily transports the audience to places both near and far. The play is not afraid to venture into dark spaces but it is mainly a magnificent and joyous celebration of an important chapter in Australian migrant history. Patricia Di Risio Almost Home By Daniel Downing. Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Foundey 616, Ultimo. Mar 2 -4. EVEN before the show starts, you know you’re in safe hands when two things happen; a well-priced beer appears on the table before you, and Bev Kennedy walks across the stage and sits at the piano. Almost Home is a cabaret celebrating the life of Judy Garland, told from the perspective of her last husband Micky Deans, performed and written by Daniel Downing.
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Stage Whispers 75
Judy fans and those new-to-Judy alike can get a lot out of the journey Daniel has crafted. Downing has tackled Garland’s rich story - her career and love-life - with a great sense of pace and insight. Writing prowess aside, Daniel Downing is, first and foremost, a singer. There is no doubt his voice can delight his audience. Having researched Downing, I am acutely aware of this talent. It was, therefore, a vague disappointment that the cabaret failed to showcase Downing’s strength and range, because this is in fact a voice worth listening for. Perhaps accommodating for the dinner with a show environment, it felt as though there was a general ‘wash’ of Garland’s songs; a very pleasant experience but lacking in variation. Of course some moments stand out. Downing’s tender rendition of ‘Smile’ is touching and worthy of goose-bumps. Downing’s portrayal of Mickey Deans, albeit a little camp, was captivating and well designed. Having Garland’s story told through these eyes allowed fans a more intimate account. Downing’s effort in researching Garland’s life is apparent. Daniel Downing is a talent to look out for in the future. While Almost Home didn’t quite hit the mark, it was a good taste of what Downing is capable of. Sally Alrich-Smythe Hello, Stranger Created and produced by Paper Cut. Bus caught from Newcastle CBD to a secret venue. Feb 17 - Mar 5. THE bus trip to the show’s venue gave people who might not have met the chance to talk. The Paper Cut trio - Sarah Coffee, Tamara Gazzard and Lucy Shepherd - developed Hello, Stranger from interviews they did in Newcastle with people who recounted their experiences with strangers, plus media stories and official statistics on stranger danger. This interesting show needs further development. There is a lot of repetition in the short verbatim words of those interviewed, and the staging, which often had audience members sitting or standing in long lines, frequently made it hard to see the performers’ colourful movements. Still, there was much to enjoy in the show’s 80-minute running time. Audience members formed a circle around the performers with a drink glass in their hands as accounts of people’s encounters at hotels and other night spots were delivered. There was an interesting segment in which the three main performers, who had uni-dress white clothes and hair pulled back so they could switch quickly between male and female characters, took on the roles of car drivers, with some passing others and shouting out messages, such as “look on your roof”. The woman who got that message found she had left her mobile phone there. And the bright final sequence, with people reminiscing about their happy encounters with people while on overseas travel, ended the venture on an optimistic note. The Paper Cut trio used the words of the people interviewed verbatim, but there were times when the 76 Stage Whispers
incidents they mentioned could have been developed further. Ken Longworth Song Contest - The Almost Eurovision Experience By Glynn Nicholas. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Alex Theatre, St Kilda. Apr 1 - May 1, 2016 SONG Contest was very loud and lots of fun. It’s hard to take off something as over the top as Eurovision, but they succeeded and the audience loved it. As people arrived they were given a badge of the country they were to represent, a flag for that country and a clapper. They were encouraged to download the Song Contest app to their phone and at the end of the first act, after all the countries had performed, to vote. The audience joined in heartily, with lots of flag waving and clappers. Bev Killick, the host, was suitably smarmy as a Belarusian, and kept the show moving. Each country was represented by four well rehearsed and choreographed singers. The songs were original, but of the style one would expect from Eurovision. The singers were all excellent and better than many Eurovision competitors I have seen. They were also very good dancers. Of course they all represented multiple countries in different combinations. It was funny having one lad with a beard dressing in drag and joining three of the girls. The second half incorporated the voting from the hosts of the various countries. I loved it when the host from Russia had his scorecard replaced by a KGB agent standing behind. As audience determine the scores, there is a different result each night. It was a thoroughly entertaining evening. Unfortunately the band was so loud that many words were lost. I suspect some could have been very funny, so it might be an idea to include subtitles to assist with this. If you don’t have sensitive hearing this is a great night out. Graham Ford Song Contest - The Almost Eurovision Experience.
Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au
Little Shop Of Horrors. Photo: Jeff Busby.
Reviews: Musicals
Little Shop of Horrors By Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Luckiest Productions / Tinderbox Productions / Hayes Theatre Co. Feb 18 - Mar 19, then touring. AUDIENCE members were describing the evening as “magical” as they left the Hayes Theatre. The Sci-Fi musical, based on the 1960 cult film, had just exploded onto the stage, with power-house vocals boosted by surround sound. Audrey II, made by Erth Visual and Physical Inc, is a blood hungry alien Venus Flytrap that swallowed up the entire stage. He was almost likeable, voiced by the leading man Seymour (Brent Hill). Accompanied by an off stage chorus, he had a booming sound. Hill sang both his part and that of Audrey II, transitioning seamlessly from one voice to the other, yet never failing to portray a naïve and lovable Seymour. Esther Hannaford gave a flawless performance as Audrey. This role demands a killer belt, spotless comic timing and a complete vulnerability, and Esther delivered the goods. However, the show is carried by the powerhouse trio Angelique Cassimatis, Josie Lane and Chloe Zuel, playing the 60s styled doo wop girls. These super sexy/sassy street urchins, usually played by Afro-Americans, get a Latino and Italian/American flavour thanks to Angelique and Josie. The set had quirky angles and striking colours. The slanted stage started in black and white. Even Audrey's hair was grey, reflecting the attitude to life of the characters.
This juxtaposes with the vibrancy of the second act when the flowers come to life. Little Shop of Horrors was a complete piece of music theatre entertainment. Rebecca Spicer Hairspray By Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Harvest Rain. Director/Choreographer: Callum Mansfield. Musical Director: Dennett Hudson. Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Apr 8 - 10 HARVEST Rain’s big fat arena Hairspray is billed as the world’s biggest production of the musical and with over 900 people on stage they’re already in the history books. As Tracey Turnblad, the fat girl who finds a cause, Lauren McKenna had the vocal and acting chops to do justice to the part, likewise Tim Campbell, who brought a refreshing likeability to pretty-boy Corny Collins. Edna Turnblad was a pushover for Simon Burke, who was deliciously butch. As his other half Wilbur, Wayne Scott Kermond was in vaudeville heaven. Their second-act duet “You’re Timeless to Me” brought the house down. Christine Anu’s stratospheric vocal mannerisms were perfect for Motormouth Maybelle on “I Know Where I’ve Been”. Amanda Muggleton’s Velma never missed a bitchy retort, whilst Barry Conrad as Seaweed and Emily Monsma as Penny both impressed. Students from the Brisbane Academy of Musical Theatre, Brisbane Girls Grammar School and Redlands College contributed to the ensemble of over 800 young
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Titanic: The Musical. Photo: Northern Exposure Photography.
performers from across S.E. Queensland, who at various times played cops, TV groupies, teenagers and protesters. Their commitment was infectious. Choreographing, co-ordinating and directing 900 people is not an easy job. Callum Mansfield deserves medals for pulling it off so well. Peter Pinne Titanic The Musical Book by Peter Stone. Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston. North Queensland Opera and Music Theatre. Townsville Civic Theatre. Apr 13 - 23. Bill Munro is a legend of Townsville theatre. As a director he has been responsible for some of the biggest hits the city has seen over the past 40 years. He chose Titanic The Musical to be his swansong before he retires overseas and it is a fitting tribute that such a dazzling production fulfils that role. The show has a large cast, a sizeable orchestra, an imposing set and costuming that almost defies description. Thousands of birds must have sacrificed themselves to make the hats. The opulent furs and magnificent coats were astonishingly beautiful and there was not one costume that looked as if it did not belong to the period. This is an ensemble production and it is difficult to single out any particular actors for their individual performances, however Kelly Stone as the Stoker, Brett 78 Stage Whispers
Greenland as the Captain, Alex Papageorgiou as the Steward, Alyssa Oliveri as a social-climbing second-class passenger and Jill Cason as a poor Irish emigrant deserve plaudits. The orchestra, under the baton of Ryan Cristoffersen is first class. The set, designed by Antony Roth, was spectacular. Many of the audience made full use of the tissues that were supplied with their program during the moving finale. All-in-all, a most suitable production to farewell a favourite adopted son of Townsville. Ray Dickson Violet By Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley. Blue Saint Productions. Chapel off Chapel. Mar 3 - 20. THAT rarest of creatures - an intelligent, perfectly formed musical with something profound and uplifting to say - is as rare as the wildflower its heroine is named after. And yet here it is, with the award winning production, and we are all the better for it. Though the production and budget are small, excellence doesn’t have a price tag, and the show’s collective heart fills the theatre and beyond. Mitchell Butel, himself a consummate performer, makes his own pilgrimage as a director in search of excellence, and his vision for the show is perfect.
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A special show needs a special cast. Sam Dodemaide is sublime as Violet, the badly scarred girl who seeks a faith healer to cure her and finds her true self instead. She sings beautifully and reduces us to tears with her vulnerability. Violet is a role which requires fearless acting, and she masters that too. As her younger self, Luisa Scrofani is a revelation. This is her professional debut, but we will see and hear a lot more of her in the future. Damien Bermingham is a mountain of a man, yet as Violet’s father he is both powerful and heartbreaking, wracked with guilt and pride, and that magnificent voice holds us in thrall. Deirdre Rubinstein - she of more talent, timing, presence and charisma than is decent in one performer - almost steals the show in her two roles. The rest of the cast are impressive throughout. Lucetta Stapleton’s costumes are so authentic and well conceived, that they almost go unnoticed. That’s true class in a classy production. Coral Drouyn The Light In The Piazza By Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas. Based upon the novella by Elizabeth Spencer. Directed by Hayley Horton. Davine Interventionz. The Star Theatre, Hilton (SA). Feb 24 - Mar 5. SET in 1950s Italy, this heart-warming musical focuses on Margaret (Katie Packer), a wealthy middle aged American who is touring the country with her naïve, psychologically fragile daughter Clara (Kristin Stefanoff). A socially awkward, but tender-hearted Florentine shopassistant, Fabrizzio (Lindsay Prodea) is drawn into their orbit and is instantly smitten with Clara. A whirlwind holiday romance ensues, despite the barriers of language, class, age, religion and culture. As the relationship develops from puppy love to something more serious, Margaret struggles to come to terms with both her daughter’s growing independence and bonding with Fabrizzio’s family (David Visentin, Irene Castrechini-Sutton, Lisa Simonetti and Andy Timmings). Adam Guettel’s score draws its inspiration from Neoromantic classical music, and with its sometimes sudden harmonic shifts and soaring melody lines, The Light In The Piazza more closely resembles light opera than your average musical. Though many of the songs lack a strong hook, the lush, languid romanticism of the music casts a seductive spell upon the listener. Stefanoff eschews all the stereotypical mannerisms associated with the mentally impaired, convincing as a young woman who is vulnerable, but possessed of a quiet inner strength and strikingly perceptive of human nature despite her handicap. Prodea, Visentin, Castrechini-Sutton, Simonetti and Trimmings bring an impassioned physicality to their roles, ensuring that extended scenes of untranslated Italian have an emotional clarity, even to those who don’t speak the language. Packer has the most challenging role of all, wavering between embittered cynicism, wistful nostalgia, fearful reserve and finally a pragmatic acceptance of the situation. She remains consistently authentic throughout each stage of Margaret’s complex emotional journey.
Costumes have an authentic period feel, but also come across as suitably “lived in”. Sets are minimalist, but sufficiently evocative and the lighting is, at times, downright stunning. Benjamin Orchard Disney’s The Little Mermaid By Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater and Doug Wright. Free Rain (ACT). Director: David Atfield. Designer: Cate Clelland. Canberra Theatre. Apr 8 - 17. WITH great musical talent, a vibrant design and cute and funny characters, Free Rain’s The Little Mermaid will delight children of all ages. Based on the 1989 Disney movie, this musical was rewritten for stage in 2007 and includes a number of original songs. Free Rain's interpretation sounds and looks fabulous. Mikayla Williams and Tim Dal Cortivo are enchanting as Ariel and Prince Eric. Ms Williams’ voice is flawless and she plays the plucky but vulnerable young heroine to perfection. Fraser Findlay was very funny as Sebastian the crab. He and the ensemble rocked “Under the Sea”, with terrific vibrant voices and exciting Calypso choreography. David Cannell’s hilariously jolly but murderous Chef Louis made “Les Poissons” a highlight. Fantastic depth in the vocal talent made the Mersisters, maids and ensemble’s harmony pieces a joy to hear. Steve Galinec’s Triton balanced being absolute monarch of the undersea realms with being a bewildered single dad of seven teenage girls. Shining over all of these was Louiza Blomfield as a magnificent Ursula. Backed by wonderfully smarmy henchmen Flotsam and Jetsam (David Santolin and Jamie Winbank), her huge alto voice and stage presence made her scenes thrilling. Unlike her movie counterpart, this is a beautiful Ursula with a glittering regal dress and sparkling gems, while Flotsam and Jetsam have eye-catching LED detailing. There’s also gorgeous, sinuous choreography with plenty of swift, fish-like dodging and swaying on currents, and a colourful set faithful to the movie. The design has plenty of shimmery teals and Disney-esque hues. Cathy Bannister The Hatpin By James Millar and Peter Rutherford. Bijou Creative. Peacock Theatre, Hobart. Mar 17 - 26. BIJOU Creative is committed to providing strong roles for women. Directors Charlea Edwards and Karen Kluss brought a bleak and harrowing true life story to Hobart with The Hatpin, an Australian musical based on the 1893 Sydney murder case of baby Horace Murray, his teenage mother, Amber, and the women who helped her. Karen Kluss, a founding member of Bijou Creative, was blessed with a play with four fine, expressive female leads: Grace Ovens (Amber Murray), Nicole Farrow (Harriet Piper), Anna Kidd (Agatha Makin) and Cassie Ogle (Clara Makin). Anna Kidd does a wonderful job of bringing understanding to the complex role of the villainous wife, and Jeff Keogh (Charles Makin) gave another strong performance.
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Designer William Dowd used minimal sets - a hanging strip curtain, aided by a clever lighting design - to convey the sombreness of the subject matter. Costumes reflected the period well. Ensemble work was especially tight and controlled, with a fine cast of experienced actor/singers. Musicians Craig M. Wood on piano and Alicia Watkins on violin provided atmospheric tension throughout. The Hatpin is a powerful show. The theme of trying to protect mothers and children still has resonance today. Merlene Abbott
of Christine Leah, accompanied the performance seamlessly. The highlight of this performance was the relationship between Angel (Alex Watson) and Tom Collins (Matthew Dunne). Their compassion, empathy, maturity and most of all, genuine chemistry, created a tight bond between them and the audience. Another special mention goes to Roger (Travis Holmes) and Mimi (Emily Corkeron). What a phenomenal couple of young people, both portraying such complex and difficult roles with an impressively high level of understanding and HMS Pinafore maturity. Rent was certainly worthy of its standing ovation. By Gilbert and Sullivan. Holroyd Musical & Dramatic Society. Director: John Brown, Musical Director: Susan Brown, Melissa Bobbermien Choreographer: “M” Seedsman. Redgum Centre. Apr 8 -16. Legally Blonde John and Susan Brown have created a Pinafore that sticks to the era and the script. Even after well over a By Laurence O’Keefe, Nell Benjamin and Heather Hach. century, the script remains funny and entertaining, though Savoyards (Qld). Iona Performing Arts Centre, Wynnum. Mar 5-19. there are some well placed and effective up-dates. Ian Fletcher’s simple set does what all good sets do and doesn’t GIRL-POWER musicals weren’t born with Legally Blonde, upstage the cast, while M Seedsman’s choreography is - as but the show has done more than its fair share to keep the usual - clever and imaginative. franchise going. Johanna Toia’s production for Savoyards The classy feel of this production captures the sense of was first-class. proper British manners. Think cucumber sandwiches at Stacie Hobbs, as the street-smart fashionista Elle Woods, Downton Abbey while reading Pride and Prejudice, carried the show. Blonde, perky and talented are the although opening night was marred by some trepidation requirements and Hobbs had it in spades, belting out from the chorus. “Positive”, “So Much Better” and the title tune like a popI’ve nothing but high praise for the principals, from princess. Rebecca Carter’s Josephine and Richard Mills’s Ralph to Jesse Ainsworth was a scruffy but likeable Emmett, the Gordon Costello’s Corcoran, Stephen Wheatley’s Sir Joseph, guy who eventually wins her heart, whilst Marcus du Toit Carli Partridge’s Buttercup, James Carter’s Bill Bobstay and did well as the shallow, but handsome, ‘dumper’ Warner. Candy McInerney’s Hebe. They’re all spot on. Dick Deadeye, Natalie Ridoutt was a knockout as Paulette, Elle’s as played by Richard Heagren-Gibbs, is a revelation, hairdresser and confidante. She landed every laugh, worked showing that with the right approach and technique this the UPS delivery-man sequence to the max, and was no traditional bass role can be effectively played by a tenor. slouch in the Riverdance department. This is a textbook example of how things should be Emma Hambleton, as the blue-blood Vivienne, was a sung: every one in tune, every word understood, every tower of snoot; Shane Webb’s Professor Callahan nailed nuance and phrase carried across, and the harmonies “Blood in the Water”; Louise Drysdale as Brooke did a coming off so naturally - all of it matched by the dignified punchy aerobic-skip in “Whipped into Shape”; while playing of the orchestra. Reindert Toia had the requisite porn-star body for the delivery-man part. Peter Novakovich The mainly young (and female) chorus who played Rent sorority-sisters, Harvard law grads, and hair-salon By Jonathan Larson. Beenleigh Theatre Group. Feb 27 - 12 customers, were totally at home with Jo Badenhorst’s Mar 12 callisthenic-type dance moves, pumping the energy level off SOMETIMES in amateur theatre a production will rival the scale, helped by musical director Mark Beilby’s snappy 14-piece orchestra. professional performances. For me, Rent at Beenleigh Theatre Group is such a production. Peter Pinne At a loss for words during the finale, it took a moment The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee to reflect on why this performance rattled so many emotions. It was as though the audience was a part of the By William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin. Vic Theatre Company. journey for the young people - you felt Mark’s ambition, Southbank Lawler Theatre Mar 30 - Apr 10. you felt Mimi's desperation, you felt Tom's loss as if it was DIRECTED by Ben Giraud, this perfectly staged and fast all your own. Director Mardi Schon's vision was clear and paced show which explores youth through a Spelling Bee consistent. Everything, from the industrial design of the set would lift the spirits of anyone from 8 to 88. Trevor Jones to removing all the side stage curtains, left no safe space leads the small but perfectly formed orchestra, and what a for the actors to re-ground, making the entire performance cast they have to work with. Henry Brett’s talent is only restricted by his youth - there flow with genuine emotion. The band, under the direction are some roles he is simply too young to play. Thankfully 80 Stage Whispers
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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Photo: James Terry.
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Check out a promo for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. https://youtu.be/nseJQMw6ndw Leaf Coneybear isn’t one of them. Brett is endearing and adorable and sings up a storm whilst still maintaining his vulnerability. And boy does he know how to work an audience. Andrew Hondromatidis (Hondo) plays the slob William Barfee with a great voice and a litheness that belies his weight. He has seen a niche in the market for his type of character and he more than fills it. Caitlin Mathieson is powerful as Olive, and beautifully understands the vulnerability of the outsider; Sage Douglas, as the girl with a lithp and two over-achieving Dads, finds the perfect balance of drive and uncertainty as Logainne; Teresa Duddy gives Marcy Park an operatic flavour - and it works. The adults are clearly defined characters and all happen to be fabulous singers. Matt Heyward (Mitch) proves there is life after 30 with his darkly comic but dynamic number. David Spencer is suitably dorkish as the vice principal, but what a voice! Rebecca Moore finds real credibility in what is generally a caricatured role as Miss Peretti. Riley Nottingham (the janitor) finds every laugh in his wordless role and James Coley very successfully channels The Fonz and gets shrieks in his big number “My Erection”. Jason Bovaird’s brilliant lighting plot and Marcello Lo Ricco’s sound are beautifully balanced. Bernie Bernard is the perfect choreographer for the piece, stylish and witty, and Zoe Felice’s costumes and William Bobbie Stewart’s set design are just right. Coral Drouyn
Mary Poppins Music & Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman. Additional Music & Lyrics: George Stiles & Anthony Drewe. Book: Julian Fellowes. Redcliffe Musical Theatre (Qld). Director: Madeleine Johns. Musical Director: Lucas D. Lynch. Choreography: Mike Lapot & Meredith Johns. Redcliffe Cultural Centre. Mar 4-20. LAUREN Roche brought a wealth of Mary Poppins experience to the title character, having previously played the role for Ipswich Musical Theatre. She sang “Practically Perfect” perfectly, danced with brio throughout, and off-set the inherent sweetness of the part with a nice touch of tartness. Jackson Head as Bert, the lovable chimney-sweep, simply radiated warmth and cheekiness, and was spectacular tapdancing in “Step in Time” and over the London rooftops. But it was Alice Simpson as Jane, and Thomas Bapty as Michael who simply stole the show. They both eschewed precociousness for spunk and zeal. In this regard Julian Fellowes’ script served them well. It was quite the best reading of these roles I’ve seen. Reagan Warner as George Banks captured the stern disciplinarian and man all-at-sea with his emotions with skill, whilst Kristie Pitt as his wife Winifred dithered with dignity but stepped up to the plate when needed. The whole production needed a couple of performances under its belt to tighten the scene changes and to clean up the lighting and sound cues, otherwise Madeleine Johns’ direction ticked all the right boxes. Peter Pinne
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The Addams Family - The Broadway Musical.
The Addams Family - The Broadway Musical By Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa. Gosford Musical Society. Director: Daryl Kirkness. Musical Director: Bronwynne Anderson. Choreographer: Karen Snook. Laycock Street Theatre. Mar 4-19. FANS of the TV show/movie wouldn't have to be musical theatre fans to enjoy this delicious black comedy. It pushes the G rating but modern audiences used to The Rocky Horror Show expect less subtlety with their innuendo. The “bad girl with dysfunctional family meets good boy with repressed parents” story isn’t original, but there are enough zingers and catchy tunes to revive the concept. Director Daryl Kirkness has assembled a tight, delightfully engaging ensemble. Extra big props to the technical team, who had the lighting and sound levels metered perfectly, giving this comparatively small cast and orchestra an epic sound. Costumes, make-up, set design and clever choreography provide a feast for all senses. The leads are all perfectly quirky. Dana McPhail and Graham Rodger ooze the charm and chemistry needed to live up to the romantic icons, Morticia and Gomez. Unfortunately the actor cast as Uncle Fester, Ben Ross, had a mishap during production week, meaning Ben Poole stepped into the role with three days to prepare. His great performance honours the performer he had to replace. The Addams Family musical is undoubtedly a killer. Rose Cooper
Under the baton of Mo Award winner Kirri Adams, the show contains a cavalcade of singable and tap-able movie magic, brought to life by choreographer Erin Lardner’s effective routines. The “top line” cast of 5 ladies and 5 men with 4 show girls, dressed in Denis Watkins’ glitzy costumes, give the show plenty of life. The staging of the “Drag Queens” from Priscilla and the Abba segment from Mamma Mia! were well received. Making her “adult” debut, Frankie Spear is a standout in a talented cast and I can see a big future for this young lady. A great night of toe tapping fun. Roger McKenzie
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. By Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Northern Light Theatre Company. Shedley Theatre. Director: Lauren Scarfe. Musical Director: Helen Loveday. Choreographer: Thomas Phillips. Apr 1 - 16. CAN Cinders still manage to entertain us after all this time? You bet she can. As the title character, Kate Hodges (nee Dempsey) delivers another in her string of radiant and riveting musical roles. Theresa Dolman is electrically entertaining as the wicked step-mother, superbly filling all the requirements of her role without ever hamming it up. Laura Langman and Jessica Beatie make a terrific pair of step-sisters, one Hooray For Hollywood vibrantly comic, the other superbly droll. Tom Drentham is, once again, an engagingly quirky presence on stage, Written and directed by Kate Peters. Top Hat Productions. Spotlight Basement Theatre, Benowa, Gold Coast. Mar 31 - bringing a nice sense of dimension to the role of Lionel. Apr 17. True love Prince Christopher is given an appealingly KATE Peters has delivered a marvelous trip down modest charm by Dominic Hodges. The prince's parents, Memory Lane with this entertaining tribute to celluloid Queen Constantina and King Maximillian, are well sung and history. From the early days right up to the current hits, this nicely played by Sandy Wandel and Graham Loveday, but show is full of nostalgia, delivered at a cracking pace. are also written as rather colourless characters. Stephanie 82 Stage Whispers
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Foy’s Fairy Godmother is an unusually comic and self-aware creation, pragmatic rather than idealistic. Debuting director Lauren Scarfe has designed a delightful show, cleverly utilising multi-media tools as a way both to move the story forward and to add humorous texture. Northern Light have managed to prove that an oldfashioned tale can still come alive on a stage and give considerable pleasure to an audience, especially with the right cast, impressive production values, and a quality score. Anthony Vawser Essgee’s The Pirates of Penzance By Gilbert and Sullivan. Waterdale (Vic). Director: Andrew McDougall. Musical Directors: Bec Muratore/Shelley Dunlop. Choreographer: Louisa D’Ortenzio. Rivergum Theatre, Parade College. Mar 11 - 19. WITH Gilbert and Sullivan well out of copyright, there have been many adaptations of these popular musicals. In Australia, Simon Gallaher decided to do his own version with Jon English, introducing Marina Prior as Mabel and a gospel trio to replace the women’s chorus. It enjoyed great success. So did Waterdale’s production of the Essgee version. The young energetic cast threw themselves into the production with enthusiasm. The choreography was exciting and tight and the characterisations strong. Sam Marzden was a cheeky Pirate King with wonderful comic timing, and Jesse O’Donnell was very funny as the Sergeant of Police. Nathan Wright and Sabrina Surace sang up a storm as the young lovers, but the sound system wasn’t kind to Sabrina’s big soprano voice, which tended to distort. Her soft singing was beautiful and she showed more spirit than one usually sees in this role. Demi Mangione, Narada Edgar and Jessica Cannuli were wonderful as the three main daughters, and their harmony singing was a delight. Antony Steadman was a more reserved Major-General than I am used to. The lighting was effective, but the sound was sometimes a bit loud. There were coordination problems with the band, which was offstage, and sometimes singers had to rush to catch up. A very enjoyable show. Graham Ford The Phantom of the Opera By Andrew Lloyd Weber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. Cairns Choral Society. Jan 15-30. IN this, the last production at the Cairns Civic Theatre, the Cairns Choral Society's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera is as professional as one can get. It is a spectacular show, full of colour and magical sets, complemented by the brilliant CCS orchestra. Andrew George gives a strong performance as The Phantom, capturing the sinister power and energy of the character with his singing voice. As Christine, Cassandra Wright dominated the stage with her performance. Daniel Darveniza gives an energetic portrayal of Raoul, while Joanne Wright was superb with her characterization and amusing facial expressions as Carlotta, the opera diva.
Among the supporting roles, Shaun Cram as Andre and Dale Schultz as Firmin were standout performers as the opera house managers. The ensemble's choreography was snappy and entertaining, with the masquerade ball being their best scene. This is a powerful production of one of the world's great musicals and one that directors Joanne Wright, Venera Walsh, musical director Margaret Willis, choreographer Nicole Cleland and everyone involved can be justifiably proud of. Ken Cotterill The Boy From Oz Music & Lyrics: Peter Allen. Book: Nick Enright. Brisbane Arts Theatre. Directors: John Boyce & Ruby Foster. Musical Director: Lara Boyle. Choreography: Sarah Jane Jones & Jess Paige. Arts Theatre, Brisbane. Mar 5 - Apr 23. THE Boy From Oz rises or falls by its leading man and fortunately Arts had a genuine triple threat talent in the role. William Toft can not only sing, dance and act, he can also play the piano with astonishing skill - the consummate leading-man and a perfect Peter Allen. Accompanying himself on the grand piano, he opened the show with a heartfelt “The Lives of Me”. Lara Boyle’s Judy Garland channelled the actress’s famed neurosis, Hannah Kassulke was a young but determined Liza Minnelli, with Sally Daly as Allen’s mother Marion nicely capturing Aussie small-town warmth. As Young Peter, Joshua Messmore tap-danced like a pro, whilst Nathan Hollingworth’s Greg was flouncy. Directors John Boyce and Ruby Foster decided to use vintage video on small screens placed either side of the proscenium arch to help set time and place. In the early stages of the show it worked perfectly, showing Allen’s home-town Armidale as it was in the 1950s and also showing TV ads of the period, but later Toft and Boyle, playing Allen and Garland, had to compete with images of the real stars playing simultaneously. It killed the theatrical illusion the actors were trying to create on stage. A big plus were the chorus girls who were attractive and shapely, and could high-kick as well as the actual Radio City Rockettes. Peter Pinne High Fidelity Book by David Lindsay-Abaire, lyrics by Amanda Green, and music by Tom Kitt. Directed by Kristen Twynam-Perkins. Roleystone Theatre, WA. Mar 4-19. QUIRKY but moving, the musical High Fidelity centres around record store owner Rob, as his relationship with girlfriend Laura breaks down. David Wallace is superb in the central role, a flawed but loveable character. He sang and acted beautifully, although I did need to sit on the edge of my seat to hear him over the air conditioning and band during some underscored highly emotive moments. Caroline Perks is lovely as Rob's girlfriend Laura, while Luke Daly plays the new object of her affection with a great comic touch. Laura's best friend Liz is wonderfully played by Kimberley Harris.
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A collection of crazy characters work and shop in Rob's store. Kyle Kash and Richard Maganga deliver very warm performances as Rob's friends and colleagues. Jake Tolich shines as a guy known as 'The Most Pathetic Man In The World', with great surprise moments from Paul Treasure, Caelan Steedman and Tyler Eldridge. A chorus of ex-girlfriends torment Rob's thoughts but delight the audience. Kimberley Harris, Alyssa Burton, Natalie Cox, Molly Earnshaw and Emily Botje work expertly together and provide some great insight into Rob's past. The cast is nicely completed by Allison Harrison as the intriguing Marie. A live band under the leadership of Musical Director Ethan Walters plays well from behind James Earnshaw's nicely designed and versatile set. A tight and focused cast and crew deliver a power punched production that is a pleasure to experience. Kimberley Shaw
Avenue Q Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Book by Jeff Whitty. Pantseat Academy. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. Feb 11 - 13. AVENUE Q is a virtual adult version of Sesame Street, puppet characters enabling songs to look at issues, including sexual misbehaviour and racism, that would be frowned on in conventional musicals. It was the major production for the soon-to-graduate inaugural group of Diploma of Musical Theatre students in the course offered by Newcastle’s Pantseat Academy and WEA Hunter, and the performers in their early 20s did a first-class job, making the puppet characters they were manipulating come very much alive as they voiced the figures’ songs and dialogue. Liam Bird brought out the differences between the two characters he delivered, Princeton, and Rod. Princeton and other Avenue Q residents, including Rod, attractive girl neighbour Kate Monster (Chloe McLean), Man of La Mancha Rod’s flatmate Nicky (Zac Smith), and the show’s three By Dale Wasserman, Joe Darion and Mitch Leigh. Miranda characters who are portrayed as human but are often more Musical Society. Sutherland Entertainment Centre. Mar 16 - puppet-like in behaviour than the others - out-of-work 20. comedian Brian (Alastair Anderberg), his girlfriend ROAMING Bob Peet’s evocative dungeon setting in rags Christmas Eve (Freya Meredith), and building supervisor and tatters, breaking into the occasional brawl, the Gary Coleman (Konstanze Koedam) - delivered in It Sucks to ensemble establishes the downcast tone as the audience be Me a lively argument about whose life was the most enters. Completing the picture, I must agree with an unfulfilled. overheard foyer comment - Costume Designer James The other engaging characters included swanky Worner really is extremely good with rags. nightclub singer Lucy the Slut (Georgia Hicks-Jones, Director Col Peet is thoroughly in tune with the piece, alternating with Chloe McLean), Trekkie Monster (Michael making strong, appropriate choices throughout. Andrews), and the mischievous Bad Ideas Bears (Kiani Awaiting his trial before The Inquisition, poet, itinerant Sansom and Maddison Clarke), among others. actor and tax collector Miguel de Cervantes enlists the A solid support team, including directors Lia Bundy and assistance of his fellow inmates to enact the story of his John Radvan and musical directors PJ Willis and Matt idealistic knight errant, Don Quixote. Bundy, provided excellent back-up, with Matt Bundy’s set The demanding central triple role of Cervantes / Alonso capturing the nature of the city fringe back street. Quijana / Don Quixote, Christopher Hamilton seamlessly Ken Longworth differentiates the roles, imbuing each with a wonderful air of dignity. Calamity Jane The dual role of Aldonza / Dulcinea calls for a huge Stage book by James O’Hanlon. Music by Sammy Fain. vocal range, from a powerful belt, expressing earthiness, to Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. Rockdale Musical Society. a ringing soprano, establishing vulnerability, making Mar 4 - 13. Charmaine Gibbs perfect casting. THE program note from the society President told me Andrew Jackaman delights, bringing the perfect degree that Calamity Jane was “an oldie but a goodie”, and it was. of warm, cheeky comedy as Sancho Panza. John Morrison is This rarely performed musical was originally a film starring in marvelous voice as the doddering Padre; Paul Miller is Doris Day along with heart-throb Howard Keel. The film authoritative, yet sympathetic as The Governor / Innkeeper; was never great, but it did give birth to an Academy Award Andrew Symes is quite chilling as logical, dogmatic Duke / winning Best Original Song, “Secret Love”. Dr Carrasco, while Misha Williamson sings the role of The stage musical isn’t great either, but it is an ideal Antonia delightfully. vehicle for community theatre groups - lots of good roles, Placing Musical Director Dean Turner’s excellent lots of ensemble work, a light script and a great musical orchestra behind the scenes enables sound designer David score. The creative team at RMS - Glen Stelzer, Director; Betteridge to achieve an excellent balance. Kate Berger, Assistant Director; James Court, Musical If there’s a major problem with this show 50 years on, it Director and Keely Soulsby, Choreographer have pulled comes with the obvious discomfort and awkwardness together a tight team of principal players, major and minor, which rape and abduction of Aldonza by the muleteers and an energetic ensemble. carries with it today. Three performers, Carolyn Burke (Calamity Jane), James A quality production of this classic musical. Jonothan (Wild Bill Hickok) and Nicole Butler (Katie Brown) Neil Litchfield 84 Stage Whispers
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gave particularly polished performances, ably supported by the other principals. Bright period costumes by James Worner dressed the cast in style, adequate sets moved us around several locations smoothly, however another door or entrance in the saloon would have given the show within the show a better look, Overall this production was a delightful few hours of good fun entertainment, finishing with a wedding. Three weddings in fact. I watched the audience as they left the venue, lots of smiles and no one appeared to be disappointed. One jarring note however. Insensitive sound operation meant that the big love song in Act 2 was so loud that the voices were distorted. Disappointing, and not fair to an otherwise splendid show. Peter Roberts Annie By Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin. Bankstown Theatre Company. Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown. Mar 11 - 20. THERE’S a real buzz in the air as the band, led by Greg Crease, swings into the overture of this bright, tight, energetic production directed by Diane Wilson. Annie and the bright-faced orphans set the pace with an appealing rendition of “It’s a Hard Knock Life”, cutely choreographed by Edward Rooke. Thus established, the production sustains pace and interest as it moves through
the many well-organised and discretely managed scene changes. Courtney Emmas (and Annie Henderson) play Annie, relating as convincingly with the new adults they meet as they do with their orphan friends. This is a demanding role for any 12-ish year old and they both manage it with mature aplomb. A strong and experienced cast and chorus support the young performers. As the scary, slightly tiddly Miss Hannigan, Leonie Johnson her uses comedic and physical skill most effectively. Her lively delivery of “Easy Street”, with co-conspirators Rooster (James Russell) and Lily (Coco Bevan), is a crowd pleaser. Warbuck’s secretary, Grace, is played with warmth and charm by Margie Dowling, who establishes an immediate rapport with Annie - and the audience. Her poise and perceptive stage awareness are assets to the production. Simon Fry plays Daddy Warbucks with lots of dramatic pomp and a particularly moving rendition of “Something Was Missing”. His duet with Annie is a lovely finale to Annie’s search for a family. Stage Whispers’ editor Neil Litchfield finds the limelight in the second act as the innovative depression president Roosevelt. His commanding voice finds the authority, power and compassion of the role. The proficient performers of the chorus are intricate part the production. Together the 27 cast and 14 stage crew do their director and the company proud. Carol Wimmer
Annie. Photo: Ray Parkinson.
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Reviews: Plays
The Game’s Afoot. Photo: Chris Lundie.
The Game’s Afoot … or Holmes for the Holidays By Ken Ludwig. Castle Hill Players. The Pavilion Theatre. Apr 8 - 30. PAUL Sztelma continues his ‘fling’ with Ken Ludwig in this quirky bit of farcical fun. Light on plot, but heavy on melodrama and mayhem, the play gives director and actors the chance to push pace, pitch and plausibility. The play is set in the 1930s Connecticut mansion of playwright/actor William Gilette (Jason Spindlow), whose Sherlock Holmes-style thriller has just closed after a long run, and an attempted murder. Gilette has invited his cast to celebrate Christmas with him, along with his mother Martha (Elizabeth Gilbert), and despised theatre critic Daria Chase (Brooke Davidson). He has also decided to try and solve the attempted murder himself. Add a stormy night with thunder, lightning and power failures (lighting by James Winters) and the possibility of bedlam is limitless. On Sztelma’s meticulous Art Deco set, complete with a revolving bar and multiple doors, the action takes a little while to build, but by the second act the pace ramps up - as do the complications. Brooke Davidson bears the brunt of Sztelma’s real stage mischief, but obviously relishes every aspect of the melodramatic villainy of this role, and the precarious choreography that accompanies her unfortunate - and protracted - demise. Though this is not Ludwig at his best, it is certainly an apt vehicle for stage frivolity that makes audiences laugh. Carol Wimmer 86 Stage Whispers
The Elephant Man By Bernard Pomerance. The Adelaide Rep. Directed by Megan Dansie. The Arts Theatre, Adelaide. Apr 14 - 23. THOUGH photographs of the real Joseph Merrick are incorporated into various projections throughout the show, like most productions, this revival eschews the use of prosthetics, with Robert Bell required to suggest Merrick’s deformity through body language. This he does meticulously and consistently, without ever allowing these tics to steal attention from the emotional intensity of his performance. He is well matched by Steve Marvanek, who offers a warm, compassionate take on the ambiguous role of Treves. Jon Scholten, Georgia Stockham, Nicole Rutty, Tony Busch, Jamie Wright and Philip Lineton are required to play both various minor characters that Merrick encounters on his travels and more complex individuals who had a greater impact upon the man’s life. They all switch between multiple roles with chameleonic finesse, and very little assist from make-up. Stockham is especially impressive in this regard. Sets are minimalist, but the atmospheric lighting design, combined with some very well chosen projected imagery, conveys a clear sense of time and place. Costumes have an authentic period flavour, but also have a “lived in” quality to them. Some scene transitions drag, despite the elegant classical music accompaniment, but this is a minor nit-pick in what is overall an embarrassment of theatrical riches. Benjamin Orchard
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When The Rain Stops Falling By Andrew Bovell. St. Jude’s Players (SA). Directed by Geoff Britain. St. Jude’s Hall, Brighton. Apr 14 - 23. ANDREW Bovell’s play chronicles three generations of a troubled family, exploring the ways in which the sins of parents affect the lives of their children, and the tangled web of interconnected psychological neuroses that result. Events unfold in a non-linear, episodic fashion, jumping backwards and forwards in time seemingly at random, the pieces of the puzzle only coming together at the very end. This deliberately jumbled method of storytelling does help the audience relate to the confusion of identity suffered by the main characters, but it is likely to test the patience of those who prefer a plot with a straightforward beginning, middle and end. The unnervingly intense, but grounded, performances of the entire cast (Lyndon Cullen Reid, Tim Williams, Casmira Hambldon, Cheryl Douglas, Rhonda Grill, Nick Fagan, Peter Davies, Mark Healy, Tracey Walker) ensure that it is very easy to empathise with these characters, even when they are behaving in a manner that is foolish or cruel. The family connections between these characters are not immediately obvious, because the cast do not have a strong physical resemblance to each other and little effort has been made with hairstyling or makeup to establish visual similarities. The same cannot be said of the sets, which are impressionistic but strikingly evocative, or the costumes, which have an authentic period flavour. The lighting design and incorporation of video projections ensure smooth scene transitions, and their fluidity is especially impressive given the choppy nature of Bovell’s narrative. Benjamin Orchard Playhouse Creatures By April De Angelis. Directed by Jordan Best. Pigeonhole Theatre. Q Theatre, Queanbeyan. Mar 31 - Apr 9. PLAYHOUSE Creatures makes wonderful debut by Canberra’s new theatre company, Pigeonhole Theatre. With the Restoration of the English monarchy following the Civil War, there were new moves regarding theatre, such as having women on stage, playing the parts written for female characters. Playhouse Creatures looks at the lives of four actresses of this time, each with her own character and attitude marvellously depicted by the talented members of this company. This was surely a time of opportunity for some women, although inequalities in many areas still remained, and the play includes these devastating choices. Mary Betterton was played by Karen Vickery, blending authority and pathos. Elizabeth Farley was played by Jenna Roberts and Nell Gwynn by Amy Dunham. Their verbal sparring was particularly good. Liz Bradley played Doll Common, a mixture of Cockney common sense and humour. The spirit of Restoration England is captured beautifully in Anne Kay’s costume designs, and Christiane Nowak’s imaginative set. The music was composed by Matthew Webster and with Jordan Best’s sensitive interpretation through her cello playing there was an almost-cinematic audio atmosphere.
Canberra audiences should look forward to the next production from this talented company. Rachel McGrath-Kerr The Peach Season By Debra Oswald. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Directed by John Graham. Mar 10-19. REELING from the tragic death of her husband in a botched robbery, Celia (Emma Kerr) retreats to rural NSW with her daughter Zoe (Zoe Muller), where she builds a new life for herself running a Peach orchard with crusty Hungarian immigrant, Dorothy (Susan Nelle). Zoe grows into a rebellious adolescent, as her overprotective mother seeks to limit her interaction with the potentially cruel outside world. A serpent enters this Garden of Eden-ic splendour, when kindly lawyer Joe (James Black) urges Celia to employ a brother and sister pair of itinerant fruit pickers, Kieran and Sheena (James Watson & Ellie McPhee). The naïve and perpetually curious Zoe is drawn to the mysterious, psychologically troubled Kieran. Though certain beats in the narrative are predictable, the story has some intriguing twists and the dialogue has a raw, earthy authenticity that is consistently engaging. Both Kerr and McPhee play ineffectual carers with a strong, gritty determination that makes you root for them despite their many failings. Muller and Watson have a disarmingly playful chemistry as the tentative young lovers, whilst Nelle and Black play their roles with a relaxed affability. The orchard environment is as much a character in this play as any of the humans that live there, and it’s a credit to the production team. Benjamin Orchard The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie By Jay Presson Allen, adapted from the novel by Muriel Spark. The Mount Players. Feb 26 - Mar 13. SET in an English private girls’ school, and spanning the period from early 1931 to the Spanish Civil War, Muriel Spark’s book, published in 1968, was adapted into this highly successful play. The mores are of a bygone era, but not the issues of feminism, protecting the young, appropriate teacher/pupil boundaries and the emotional and psychological damage of betrayal. Miss Jean Brodie is a complex, multi-faceted, flawed character. Regardless, she must be portrayed as charismatic and lovable for the play to make ultimate sense. Ideally her wild and daring nature should appeal to the adolescent in us all. The refined and competent acting skills of the cast and relaxed, clever direction by Andrew Meldrum go a long way to making this production the great success it is. Relationships and character journeys are beautifully drawn and presented. Most impressive are Karen Hunt as Miss Jean Brodie, David Runnalls as Teddy Lloyd and Julia Santamaria as Sandy. Santamaria has a lovely transparent, perhaps naïve, style that goes a long way in allowing the audience to understand Sandy’s emotional experience.
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Stage Whispers 87
All other actors convincingly embody their characters. All involved are, without exception, to be congratulated. Suzanne Sandow Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. The Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. Feb 24 - Mar 27. THIS Bell Shakespeare production returns to the sexy, sumptuous garb of Shakespeare’s High Renaissance but, inexplicably, is set in an old theatre cluttered with scaffolding. While we admire Anna Cordingley’s costumes, the metaphor of her no-where, theatre set - despite its different levels being inventively employed - is never explained in this remote, uneven production directed by Peter Evans. Even with actors often entering through the auditorium, early scenes are under-lit and under-projected to the back rows. Sparks do fly between the lads at play, and in the horror of their street fights and casual murders, but the language too is often left on the floor. Alex Williams and Kelly Paterniti are well-matched, both diminutive and charming childish as the lovers, and Williams at least has an agility and vocal strength to help drive the play. Their balcony and bedside intimacies are endearing but we are unaffected when fate so cruelly destroys this perfection of youthful romance. Just as we should be howling, group scenes, like the discovery of Juliet, when she’s presumed dead and when finally entombed, are rushed and cluttered. Michelle Doake bustles nicely though the wit of the nurse; Hazem Shammas makes a muscular Friar and Justin Stewart Cotta and Angie Milliken are imposing if unsubtle as the redadorned Capulets. There are many flashes of good drama and pacy segues, but the well-known story seems to grind to an empty end. Martin Portus
The actors cast as Tracy’s family all have moments where they steal scenes from the leads with great panache. Walters is especially delightful as Tracy’s kid sister, displaying a great flair for physical comedy. Zoe Dibb, as the photographer covering the wedding, gets some of the most deliciously sarcastic lines in the script and delivers them with impeccable timing. The costumes are designed with a meticulous attention to period detail, as are the impressively elaborate sets. Overall, this is a classy, if somewhat unadventurous production. Benjamin Orchard
Murder in Company By Philip King. KADS (WA). Feb 26 - Mar 19. KADS' Murder in Company was a step back in time for this reviewer. My first experiences of community theatre took place during the 1970s with actors dressed similarly to those in Murder in Company, doing plays similar to the play within a play. Well done to the creative team and cast for recreating this world so precisely. A lovely ensemble feel emanated. Paul Williams was convincing as an unlikeable amateur theatre producer, working nicely against Jay Shaw as his straying wife. Ian Fraser played the villainous and smarmy caretaker, Ted Smith, with suitable sliminess. Other members of the company include the stage manager Ronnie, played by Gino Cataldo in an admirable performance, 'juvenile' players Alan and Pat (relative newcomers Callon Leam and Sarah Langridge doing well), and the feisty Doris, well played by Dee Rowlands. I particularly enjoyed the performance of former professional actress Julie Holmshaw as former professional actress Phoebe. Director Christine Ellis' well constructed set design featured a notable interval transformation, and hair, makeup and costumes were very much of the era. The Philadelphia Story There are some issues with this play in terms of dated By Philip Barry. The Therry Dramatic Society (SA). Directed attitudes towards women (and smoking) and it was a good by Kerrin White. Mar 31 - Apr 9. decision to play it in the era in which it was written. PHILIP Barry’s bitingly witty 1939 comedy of manners A very watchable show with plenty of appeal for fans of focuses on the travails of a glamorous heiress, Tracy (Lauren the backstage genre and whodunits. Renee), as she makes arrangements to marry self-made Kimberley Shaw businessman George (Brad Martin) in the lavish gardens of her family’s country estate. But the arrival on the scene of Good People Tracy’s rakish ex-husband, Dexter (Aaron McDonald) and a By David Lindsay-Abaire. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. cynical reporter, Mike (James Whitrow), along with her Directed by Mark Kilmurry. 7 Apr 7 - May 21 various embarrassing relatives (John Gray, Roman EVERY now and again the Ensemble picks up a Turkiewicz, Celine O’Leary and Henny Walters) disrupts all Broadway play overlooked by the bigger Aussie theatre of the poor woman’s best laid plans and much hilarity companies. Such is Good People, which won the 2011 New ensues. York Drama Critics Award for Best Play, and which here Connoisseurs of snarky humour are well catered for. proves to be an absolute killer. Barry’s barbed dialogue has lost none of its sting, though The first night audience sat up, the five-person cast the play’s gender politics haven’t exactly aged well. stood tall and the evening ended with the most heartfelt, Renee does a credible job of embodying a character that urgent applause. Somewhere playwright David Lindsayis both scatterbrained and alluring. McDonald delivers a Abaire must have been feeling good. performance of brazen arrogance, which serves as a neat Mark Kilmurry, Artistic Director of the Ensemble, claimed foil to Martin’s wholesome “aw shucks” charm. Whitrow, this plum for himself, and responded with a brilliant set meanwhile, plays his role with a calmly detached cool. from Tobhiyah Stone Feller and pitch perfect casting led by 88 Stage Whispers
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Drew Livingston, Tara Morice, Jane Phegan and Gael Ballantyne in Good People. Photo: Clare Hawley.
Emma Wright, as her rebellious daughter Tegwyn, uses her physicality to accentuate Tegwyn’s wayward restlessness and the fears and frailties of youth this character symbolises. This production brings all the complexities of Winton’s characters and the starkness of their landscape into a definitive, but depressing, theatrical experience lifted by clever, perceptive direction and some innovative ideas. Carol Wimmer
When Dad Married Fury By David Williamson. Centenary Theatre Group. Feb 27 Mar 19. IN When Dad Married Fury David Williamson has created Tara Morice in the role created in America by Frances a great character in multi-millionaire Alan Urquhart, a McDormand. contemptible liar, a bully, and a man who won’t let his As much as I admire Miss McDormand’s indomitable morals stand in the way of making a dollar. It was a perfect working class portraits, Tara Morice would give her a run part for Brian Cannon, who brought a lifetime of experience for her money in the role of Margaret, sacked from her to the role. He made obnoxious into an art. It was a terrific lowly job, down to her last dollar, doing the best for her performance. mentally challenged daughter. Miss Morice is quite brilliant The other standout was Katie Dowling as the biblein the role - still, thinking, ready with a verbal thrust or bashing, Tea-Party voting, U.S. wife. She added a surprising nasty dig accompanied by the perennial “just kiddin”. depth to the scenario with a pay-off that imbued her Back in town (Southie in Boston) after 20 years comes character with warmth. Mike (Christopher Stollery), now a successful doctor, once John Evans and Deborah Bishop were at home and just Margaret’s short-lived boyfriend. He’s made the most of his this side of bogan as the money-grubbing eldest son life away from Southie, including an intelligent, young wife engineer Ian and his lawyer-wife Sue, with Beverly Wood Kate (Zindzi Okenyo). The second act is mainly these three breathing inward fire as Judy, the wife whose husband has in full-speed collision. just committed suicide and has been left with nothing Margaret’s friends, none of whom can be trusted as far thanks to Alan’s shady investment scheme. As her daughter as you’d look at them, are Gael Ballantyne (Dottie), Jane Laura, and wife of Alan’s youngest son Ben, Michelle Wells Phegan (Jean) and Drew Livingston (Stevie). The entire cast frequently exploded with rage and wore her ex-hippie and have been schooled in excellent Boston accents. leftist leanings as a proud badge of honour. A grand job all round. Gary O’Neil’s direction kept it fast and bubbling. Frank Hatherley Peter Pinne That Eye, The Sky Adapted by Richard Roxburgh and Justin Monjo from the novel by Tim Winton. New Theatre (NSW). Mar 15 - Apr 16. DAVID Burrowes and his creative team have honoured both the mood of Tim Winton’s original story and a script that is almost filmic in its complexity. On a dark bleak set (Tom Bannerman) there is no way the stricken Flack family is able escape the vicissitudes that life has dealt them. Burrowes has heightened the filmic quality of the script with carefully controlled movement and blocking that intensifies the challenges faced by the characters. Joel Horwood plays the almost adolescent Ort Flack, finding his uncomplicated simplicity in quizzical expressions and loose movement. Ort provides the necessary humour that relieves the tenor of the play. Shaun Martindale plays both Sam Flack and Henry Warburton. As Sam he appears only briefly, but he establishes strongly his importance to the family. As Warburton he is grubbily believable as an itinerant, selfstyled evangelist. Romney Stanton plays Alice Flack, reconciled to a life of drudgery and hardship, which Stanton finds in weary gestures that belie her smiles and brave optimism.
Minefields & Miniskirts By Terrence O’Connell. Javeenbah Theatre, Gold Coast. Apr 1 - 16. ADAPTED from Siobhan McHugh’s book, Minefields & Miniskirts represents the Vietnam War experiences of five women from various walks of life. Originally produced and directed by Terrence O’Connell in 2004, it gives us a look inside these women, retelling real stories about real people who crossed their paths in Vietnam. Gaye Gay has assembled a strong cast of various ages to bring this important piece of Australian history to life: Gillian Crow as Margaret (a wife and mother), Katherine Armon as Sandy (an entertainer), Kaela Gray as Kathy (a nurse), Eve (a children’s charity worker) and Naomi Thompson as Ruth (a journalist / war correspondent). A simple one scene set, the smell of incense in the air and creative lighting was instrumental in documenting the side of the war of which we, at home, may not be aware. Musical support by multi-instrumentalist Hayden Beck also enforces the drama of the piece. This production packs a punch. Roger McKenzie
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Stage Whispers 89
Reviews: Opera
Turandot. Photo: Prudence Upton.
Turandot By Giacomo Puccini. 2016 Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour. Opera Australia. Mar 24 to Apr 24. GIACOMO Puccini’s very last opera is the fourth to be staged on the floating stage in front of the twinkling backdrop of the Bridge and the Opera House. Set in China, the opera tells the story of the icy princess Turandot, who avenges the barbaric humiliation of her ancestor by executing suitors who cannot solve three esoteric riddles - until Calaf, an exiled Mongolian prince, determines to win her. Director/choreographer Chen Shi-Zheng takes the Italian opera into a more contemporary China on Dan Potra’s vast set, which includes a 60metre long, fire-breathing dragon, an 18 metre high pagoda and cranes that fly characters high above the stage. Scott Zielinski’s lighting and Leigh Sachwitz’s visuals (that snake along the mighty dragon) evoke many changing images of China. So too do the shimmering costumes of the seventy eight performers. In flashing metallic uniforms, palace guards mix ancient sword dancing and contemporary choreography. Conversely, the sweeping extended sleeves and tiny, intricate steps of Turandot’s maids conjure a more delicate past. As Turandot, Serbian Dragana Radakovic thrills with her range and control. Spinto tenor Riccardo Massi uses his powerful, persuasive voice to try to melt the princess. Their voices blend beautifully in the final duet as they rise to the dizzying height of the palace tower. As the loyal servant 90 Stage Whispers
Lui, Korean-born lyric soprano Hyeseoung Kwon wins the hearts of the audience. John Longmuir, Benjamin Rasheed and Luke Gabbedy are the ‘”Ministers of Execution”, Pong, Pang and Ping. Their theatrical choreography and timing bring quirky oriental humour to the production. The organisation, mechanics and expense of these outdoor spectacles are immense, but the breath-taking result brings a new and empowering dimension to each opera chosen. Carol Wimmer Ariadne Auf Naxos By Richard Strauss. CitiOpera. Director: Stella Axarlis AM. Musical Director: Dr David Kram. Hawthorn Arts Centre. Apr 2 - 10. ARIADNE Auf Naxos is not the sort of opera one would expect from a semi-professional company like CitiOpera, however, they did a surprisingly creditable job. A lot of this was due to the conducting of David Kram, who coaxed a full Straussian sound from the small orchestra. There was a lovely sweep to the music, but the singers could still be heard. Partly this was to do with the quality of the performers. The title role was sung by Wendy Grose, whose big, beautiful voice was well suited to this demanding role. Equally impressive was mezzo Kristen Leich as the Composer, another difficult role. The most challenging role is that of the coloratura Zerbinetta, with a fiendish tessitura. Young Tamzyn
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Alexander coped with ease and was very impressive. Henry Choo was a strong Bacchus. With a large cast required, this standard was not maintained in smaller roles, but Rafael Wong, Michael Lampard and Karen Van Spall impressed. On the small stage, projections were used effectively, but there was a lot of static singing. But it was the music and singing people came to hear, and they were not disappointed. Graham Ford Pygmalion By Jean-Philippe Rameau. Lyric Opera of Melbourne. Director: James Cutler. Conductor: Pat Miller. Chapel off Chapel. Apr 5 - 9. RAMEAU’s Pygmalion is a one act opera in the form of an “acte de ballet”, which has large tracts of ballet, and a very light plot. The dancers were all strong, with dramatic makeup and tight choreography. And they could all sing. Adding to the experience was the use of emoticons in the surtitles. Words were often repeated, so they were replaced by appropriate emoticons to convey the emotion. Most of the heavy lifting was done by tenor Patrick MacDevit in the title role of the sculptor who falls in love with his statue. He rarely left the stage, and his strong voice and presence were major assets. Kimberley Coleman made the most of her short inning as his wife Cephise. It was a master-stroke to cast counter tenor Josh Tomlinson as the statue who comes to life. Though originally written for a soprano, this change made for a more other-worldly feel about the relationship. His voice was beautiful. Diminutive Sabrina Surace was L’Amour, who brings the statue to life, and it was very funny having her carried in on the shoulders of two dancers, covered by a voluminous dress, before descending and removing the garment. She also sang well. The baroque orchestra played well under Pat Miller, and gave the production authenticity. Lyric Opera triumphed magnificently with this little masterpiece. Graham Ford
PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2016. VOLUME 25, NUMBER 3 ABN 71 129 358 710 ISSN 1321 5965
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CAST & CREW Editor: Neil Litchfield 0438 938 064 Sub-editor: David Spicer Advertising: Angela Thompson 03 9758 4522 Digital production: Phillip Tyson 0414 781 008 Contributors: Merlene Abbott, Brian Adamson, Cathy Bannister, Michael Brindley, Stephen Carnell, Rose Cooper, Kerry Cooper, Ken Cotterill, Coral Drouyn, Graham Ford, Peter Gotting, Frank Hatherley, John P. Harvey, Eric James, Neil Litchfield, Ken Longworth, Rachel McGrath-Kerr, Roger McKenzie, Benjamin Orchard, Alex Paige, Peter Pinne, Martin Portus, Lesley Reed, Natalie Salvo, Suzanne Sandow, Kimberley Shaw, David Spicer, Anthony Vawser, Carol Wimmer and Maryann Wright.
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Stage Whispers 91
Musical Spice
My fondest memory of Jon English was sitting in his front garden in Sydney as he strummed a song on the guitar from the musical Paris, which he wrote with David Mackay. No matter how worse for wear, he could always switch back on his extraordinary talent as a performer to recall lyrics he had penned decades ago. Jon called me the world’s biggest nag. I nagged him (politely) to release the rights to Paris. Jon and two of his partners had spent a fortune releasing a concept album in 1990 and I lobbied them to release the amateur rights. And so in 2003 we had a simultaneous World Premiere, one production by The Regals Musical Society in Rockdale Town Hall, the other in the Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford. Jon was as pleased as punch to finally see his baby on stage. The idea for the musical was planted by his father, who brought young Jon up on the tales of Homer’s Illiad. Jon crafted the musical from the perspective of Paris, the Prince who risked everything for the love of a woman (Helen) and plunged his nation into a ten-year war. The concept album had superstars on it and sold tens of thousands of copies. Sadly no major professional producer picked it up. I came in and had the music published. In 2008 I took the plunge and produced a return season of Paris myself at the Laycock Street Theatre in Gosford. With the help of Director Stuart Smith we convinced Jon to play 92 Stage Whispers May - June 2016
Menelaus, the wounded King who lost his wife. It was hard work being a producer. The first draft of the set was dangerous. It was based on a large wooden semi-circle with steps. It was quite steep and Jon almost fell off during a rehearsal. Then the plan for the Trojan Horse failed. The idea was for a triangular piece of wood to be lifted from the semi-circle to become the body of the Trojan Horse. We realised that the ropes in the theatre were not strong enough to hold it up. There was a real risk of someone being beheaded. Stuart came up with a brilliant idea. Let’s make the Trojan Horse like a venetian blind, which could be carried on. Off to the hardware shop I went to buy the wood. Jon English performed brilliantly as Menelaus and the season almost sold out. Fans came from all over Australia to see him. Since Paris was made available for performance in 2003 there have been more than 25 productions in Australia, New Zealand, England, Austria and Germany (translated into German). I saw a production in Austria where they copied our set and choreography from Gosford as through we were the Broadway edition. Yes, even the last minute slapped together venetian blind was copied.
Jon meets Warragul Go ddess Danielle Green.
The next season of Paris is in Warragul in Victoria from May 6 to 14. Jon met the cast just three weeks before he died. “He was so excited, and made so much time for us,” said the Warragul Theatre Company’s production manager Catherine Dougan. “I tear up just writing this. I wonder if he ever knew how special he was.” Almost two thousand friends and fans packed the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in April for a memorial concert. Stage Whispers TV recorded the last song, which was a rendition of ‘Love Has Power’ from Paris. Work on the musical continues. The Brigham Young University in Utah did a staged reading of a new draft in March and we are hoping to have the first production in the United States next year. A musical theatre graduate of the University fell in the love with the musical 25 years ago and is determined to bring it to the stage. The Paris journey is not over.
Online extras!
David Spicer
John Waters and others perform Love Has Power from Paris in tribute to Jon English at his public memorial. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/jqI5VnLiqf0
Read scripts, listen to music and order free catalogue at:
www.davidspicer.com.au david@davidspicer.com (02) 9371 8458
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