Stage Whispers September/October 2012

6 In this issue

Addicted to Writing......................................................................... 6 David Williamson and his new play about a cross-dressing AFL player Lucy Durack’s Blonde Moments ..................................................... 10 Our Legally Blonde star on auditioning and rehearsals

12

Melbourne’s Hamer Hall ................................................................ 12 Hamer Hall reopens after its $136 million refurbishment Tunes or Story ............................................................................... 16 Jerry Mitchell and Oscar Hammerstein III on what makes musicals tick

16

Broadway Buzz.............................................................................. 24 Peter Pinne shares his recent Broadway trip Why Some People Hate Theatre ..................................................... 26 Martin Portus on big theatrical turn-offs

26 32

The Art of Comedy ........................................................................ 20 Jonathan Biggins and April Phillips share the secrets of good comedy

29

Showcase 2012 ............................................................................. 29 What’s happening in Performing Arts Training across Australia Singing For Your Supper ................................................................ 42 An extract from a new book about auditioning for musical theatre Stage Heritage .............................................................................. 44 Theatre’s child labour scandal O.H.&S. in Theatre ........................................................................ 46 Searching for a uniform safety code

60

37 62

87

Rockdale’s Guild Theatre Turns 60 ................................................. 48 From the back of a ute to their own theatre

Regular Features CDs and DVDs

28

Showbiz Puzzles

52

On Stage - What’s On

53

Reviews

62

Schools on Stage

87

Choosing a Show

90

Musical Spice

92

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THE NEXT ISSUE OF STAGE WHISPERS IS FOCUSSING ON THE UPCOMING 2013 PROFESSIONAL THEATRE SEASONS 2 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Editorial Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, Production week is always a challenge. It’s been doubly so for me, editing Stage Whispers with final rehearsals for Into the Woods at a local community theatre company at the same time.

By the time you read this I’ll be out of the woods, for a while at least.

This issue, our Educational Showcase edition, is our most widely read Welcome to Performing Arts teachers and students in 2000 schools. We hope you enjoy the magazine and join us on a regular basis by subscribing.

This issue showcases performing arts courses and students, including a look at how students are shaping the design of our stages.

However we’ve ticked lots of boxes for all our readers with David Williamson’s new play about a cross-dressing footballer, a chat with Legally Blonde’s Lucy Durack, comedy hints from Jonathan Biggins, Peter Pinne’s account of his recent trip to Broadway, a look at Melbourne’s newly renovated Hamer Hall, OH&S, a scandalous History story, and more.

In November Stage Whispers ‘comes of age’. Yes, we’re turning 21.

Yours in Theatre,

Neil Litchfield Editor

Cover image: Lucy Durack in Legally Blonde. Photographer: Brian Geach. See our interview on page 10.

PLACE YOUR AD BY OCTOBER 3 CONTACT (03) 9758 4522 OR stagews@stagewhispers.com.au

PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012. VOLUME 21, NUMBER 5 ABN 71 129 358 710 ISSN 1321 5965

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Telephone/Fax: (03) 9758 4522 Advertising: stagews@stagewhispers.com.au Editorial: neil@stagewhispers.com.au PRINTED BY: Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville, 2204 PUBLISHED BY: Stage Whispers PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION & DESIGN BY: PJTonline Solutions, email: pjtonline@pjtonline.com DISTRIBUTED BY: Gordon & Gotch, 25-37 Huntingdale Road, Burwood, 3125 DEADLINES For inclusion in the next edition, please submit articles, company notes and advertisements to Stage Whispers by Oct 3rd, 2012.

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DISCLAIMER All expressions of opinion in Stage Whispers are published on the basis that they reflect the personal opinion of the authors and as such are not to be taken as expressing the official opinion of The Publishers unless expressly so stated. Stage Whispers accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any opinion or information contained in this magazine.

LIMITED BACK COPIES AVAILABLE ADVERTISERS We accept no responsibility for material submitted that does not comply with the Trade Practices Act. 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, Sara Bannister, Cathy Bannister, Emma Bell, Jonathan Biggins. Emma Bishop, Stephen Carnell, Karen Coombs, Ken Cotterill, Ray Dickson, Coral Drouyn, Whitney Fitzsimmons, Graham Ford, Lucy Graham, Frank Hatherley, John P. Harvey, Peter Kemp, Melinda Latsos, Neil Litchfield, Ken Longworth, Rachel McGrath-Kerr, Jay McKee, Roger McKenzie, Lilli Paul, April Phillips, Melissa Phillips, Peter Pinne, Martin Portus, Leann Richards, Suzanne Sandow, Kimberley Shaw, Tammy Shmerling, David Spicer, Aaron Ware and Carol Wimmer. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 3

Online extras!

See more photos from the media launch by scanning the QR code or visiting http://bit.ly/OhS4Bi

Cast members of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - premiering at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne from October 27, for a 12 week Melbourne-only season.

Australia’s Addams Family (L-R): Meredith O’Reilly, Teagan Wouters, Ben Hudson, John Waters, Chloë Dallimore, Russell Dykstra and Liam Faulkner-Dimond. The Broadway musical version of The Addams Family opens at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in March 2013.

A NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS All subscribers are entitled to our new electronic edition in addition to the print version. Ensure sure your email address is correct at www.stagewhispers.com.au/contact 4 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Stage Briefs

Australian cast members of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. L-R: George Kapiniaris (Goran), David Hobson (Caractacus Potts), Rachael Beck (Truly Scrumptious), Alan Brough (Baron Bomburst/Lord Scrumptious), Jennifer Vuletic (Baroness Bomburst) and Peter Carroll (Grandpa Potts). Chitty Chitty Bang Bang plays at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre from November 16 and Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne from January 13, 2013.

Photo: Kurt Sneddon.

Check out a trailer for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by scanning the QR code or visiting http://youtu.be/7grbvGGUNGo

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 5

6 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

David Williamson announced his retirement from playwriting in 2005.

He was drained, he had a major heart problem, he’d been hospitalised half a dozen times and, anyway, he was “out of fashion”.

Then, thanks to a new drug, he got better. And to his surprise his appetite for playwriting returned with a vengeance. “I actually love writing plays,” he declares, “always have. I love the challenge of constructing a play and I love the exciting moment when it gets before an audience. It’s been happening to me for over 40 years now and I’m addicted.”

Impressively tall and looking fit for an addict recently turned 70, Williamson and I are chatting at Pearl Beach, an idyllic spot 90 minutes drive north from Sydney, on the NSW Central Coast. He has a family holiday house here.

We’ve met to talk about his newest play, Managing Carmen, which is getting two major professional productions before Christmas. One is a joint venture by the Queensland Theatre Company and Perth’s Black Swan Theatre Company, directed by the QTC Artistic Director Wesley Enoch.

The other is at Williamson’s ‘home base’, the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney, directed by its Co-Artistic Director Mark Kilmurry.

I have already reviewed two new plays by the prolific Williamson for Stage Whispers at the Ensemble this year - Nothing Personal and When Dad Married Fury. In 2011 there was Don Parties On from the Melbourne Theatre Company; and Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica and At Any Cost? at the Ensemble. What’s going on?

“I didn’t mean to write so many plays in such a short time,” he says apologetically, “that was a sheer accident. But, look, I’m still connecting as strongly as ever with my audiences.

“I do think Kenneth Tynan was right when he said that unless theatre is attached with an umbilical cord to the society around it, it’s not doing its function. I wish Australian theatre would get back to trying to say something about our own society and not just be the museum-piece theatre it’s rapidly becoming.”

He doesn’t look angry when he says between two highly intelligent women this. He’s far too busy to get angry.

- an older, established editor and her younger, upcoming rival. But Nevin Not only does Williamson write a turned it down. “She wouldn’t do it,” lot, he rewrites a lot as well. he says. “She felt it was too close to “I usually cut about ten percent her own situation. after the first reading,” he says, “Apparently Cate got annoyed at “because there’s nothing like hearing me, too.” Cate Blanchett is Nevin’s the actors actually reading the script to immediate successor as STC Director. realise where the dead patches are. I “It never crossed my mind that the play say, ‘Oh, my God, I said that five pages could be seen to be about Robyn and back - get rid of that!’ I did a major, Cate. Robyn had practically begged major rewrite on Fury last year.”

Cate to take over the STC. There was When Dad Married Fury had started no back-stabbing, there was no its life opening Perth’s new Metcalfe knifing, whereas my play was all about Theatre. “I saw the weaknesses in my machinations.” structure fairly glaringly. I thought, Although the STC/MTC declined to ‘Oh, my God, no!’ It was like program Nothing Personal, they agreed Playwriting 1.01. I had actually put the on Williamson’s request to hold a wrong characters onstage.” reading, with Kate Fitzpatrick reading So, among other big changes, he the older part and, at Williamson’s moved a character only spoken about urging, Blanchett herself read the in Perth right into the main action in younger woman. “Look, it was an Sydney where she became, in electric reading. Cate is a spellbinding Williamson’s words, “the moral centre actor. It would be my dearest dream to of the play” (played by Lorraine Bayley). get her doing one of my parts.” He “It was almost a different play shrugs. “But at least I’ve heard her do when it opened in Sydney.” one in a reading.”

Williamson is always alert for new play ideas. He’d worked often with Robyn Nevin at the Sydney Theatre Company. Now based at the Melbourne Theatre Company, Nevin wondered if he would write a play for her “about people losing power and status as they get older”.

He agreed and wrote Nothing Personal. Set in the world of publishing, it features a power tussle

Managing Carmen returns to the Aussie Rules football locker-room Williamson so successfully investigated in The Club, his landmark 1978 play that became a popular movie. As a Melbournian, the AFL milieu is one he knows well and cares deeply about.

But his 2012 footy players will be going where his 1978 players feared to tread.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 7

For Brent, team captain and star player, has an inconvenient problem - he’s a cross-dresser, as addicted to wearing stockings and high heels as his creator is to writing plays.

Now this is a cracker of a situation and I’m not at all surprised to learn that a movie version is already in the pipeline.

“Brent isn’t gay,” says Williamson cheerfully, “he’s very heterosexual, as about 90% of crossdressers are, but it’s still sufficiently unusual for him and his manager and the rest of the team to be terrified if the word gets out.

“I happen to know there’s been some very prominent, very prominent AFL players who’ve been crossdressers but no one ever knew about them going out and about in public. So I know what I’m writing is not based on fantasy.

“Something like cross-dressing becomes addictive, in the same way that heroin becomes addictive, and the ultimate buzz for cross-dressers is when they appear in public and no one realises that they’re male.”

Williamson is suddenly insistent.

“I’m not one, I can tell you! I’ve just researched this.” I assure him that the thought had never crossed my mind.

He smiles. “I’d be very conspicuous, wouldn’t I?” The ultra-lofty Williamson in drag would indeed be hard to miss.

How come there will be two, virtually simultaneous, productions of Managing Carmen? QTC director Wesley Enoch tells me that in 2011 he asked Williamson for a new play and, 8 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Online extras!

Mark Kilmurry introduces the Ensemble production of Managing Carmen. http://youtu.be/CfL518iuv1g

of course, the writer offered him a choice of three.

“I felt that Carmen would really resonate with our audiences and what we wanted to do,” says Enoch. “I know the tag line is ‘it’s about a crossdressing football player’, but for me it’s actually about issues of tolerance specifically, the intolerance of the media for anything different, and how it hounds our sports stars and political leaders. It’s saying that the whole country has to learn about tolerance.

And it’s done in David’s signature way of using satire and humour to get the story across.”

So were the two theatre companies happy about sharing the premiere?

“I thought let’s negotiate and we can both have productions. It’s very rare for writers in this country to have two directors giving two different sets of ideas and production solutions for a new play.

“Ours will be a very different style of production. We’re using an 11 metre revolve with massive projections and all that stuff, which you couldn’t do at the Ensemble.” That’s for sure.

The daunting task of playing crossdressing Brent on the Ensemble’s pocket-sized thrust stage has gone to Leigh Scully, a nominated ‘Best Newcomer’ in 2007 for an earlier performance at the same venue. “The

shoes of everyone in the front row are right in the light,” he tells me.

A long-limbed 186 cm tall (that’s six-foot-one in old money), the 26 year old says the role is “slap bang in the middle of my casting type”. He seems to have not the slightest qualm about the peculiar demands of the role.

“I did mention in the audition that my mother had always said my breakout role would be as a cross-dresser because, growing up, she and my sister were always very jealous of my legs. I’d always muck around, do impersonations of people, often women. Well, your mother always thinks everything you do is brilliant, doesn’t she.”

How’s his research going?

“For a start I bought myself a couple of size 12 high heels. I walk around the house most days in those.

It instantly changes your whole physicality. I actually find walking in heels easier than standing in them.

When you just stand on your toes you have to be in total control of your balance and your poise; you can’t shift your weight in the ways that I usually like to do. Heels make your posture so great.”

David Williamson is fiercely proud of his enduring box office marketability, of the very large

Wesley Enoch

Wesley Enoch sees it differently.

“David had to retire from the treadmill,” he says. “He was required to write one peak play a year that the state theatre companies would do and make a lot of money from, that then supported them to do other work. He needed to retire from the obligation to support the whole Australian theatre world. I admire him for saying, ‘No, actually, I want to be an artist; I want to be treated like an artist, not just a machine’. His creativity has just rolled on. He’s fantastic.”

Williamson has recently delivered a new draft of Managing Carmen to audiences that are regularly attracted Enoch in Brisbane, and presumably also to his new plays, whatever the critical to Mark Kilmurry at the Ensemble. Will response. the writer be able to resist further “Critics don’t like to reflect present tinkering? audience taste,” he says, “that’s too “I think it’s in pretty good shape at mundane for them. They want to tell the moment,” he says, “and I’ll be the audience that they’re wrong; that starting the screenplay fairly soon as there’s much more exciting theatre well.” happening in another direction.

When I spoke to him he also said he “Wayne Harrison [former STC was also flat out working on a secret Director] said to me ‘David, The Arts is project. more about fashion than the fashion It’s since emerged that the project is industry. It doesn’t matter whether a new play called Rupert for the people are coming to your plays or not, Melbourne Theatre Company in 2013. or still liking them or not, that’s So don’t expect this addicted irrelevant to The Arts. It’s about where playwright to slow down anytime the cutting edge is, and you’re not at soon. the cutting edge’.”

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 9

Lucy Durack’s Blonde Moments When the stage musical version of Legally Blonde opens at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in October, Lucy Durack will be playing the lead role of Elle. It’s even more demanding than Glinda in Wicked. But she told Neil Litchfield that having a lot in common with the character is a big help.

I spoke to Lucy during a lunch break near the end of her first week of rehearsals and began by asking her what she loves about the role of Elle?

“Elle is a terrific character. It’s literally the most fun job I’ve had in my whole life. She also has a very good, kind, unprejudiced core; she’s someone who has a strong sense of social justice, but she also has a lot of fun.

“It isn’t a massive character stretch for me. I do love pink, I have started a law degree, and I do love dogs, so that makes it quite easy to start with.

“There’s something really special about this show; it’s a bit magical, and the most feel-good musical I’ve seen in my life. I came to this musical as a massive fan before it was ever announced for Australia. I saw it on Broadway with Amanda Harrison when we were flown there for Wicked, and for my final audition for the Australian production of Legally Blonde, they flew me to London, so I got to see it in the West End as well. It was so funny, smart, savvy and sexy.

It’s really well written and the music is great. That makes it such a joy.”

What’s been the most fun so far?

“We’ve been blocking a big number quite early in the musical called ‘What You Want’, where Elle applies for Harvard University. In the film it’s done by video, but in the musical she has this massive number that involves the entire cheer team from UCLA. That is crazy fun.

“And I’ve been watching the girls doing ‘Omigod You Guys,’ which has lots of window choreography and looks amazing. I enjoy watching the little bits that I’m not in, as I’m on stage for about 90% of the show.”

10 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Being onstage for so long sounds like quite an endurance test.

“Yes it is. There’s a big jump-rope number in the prison that opens Act 2, ‘Whipped into Shape’, with Brooke Wyndham, played by Erica Heynatz, where everyone is wearing their bright orange prison outfits. So to prepare everyone for their own stamina, and even though I am doing something else on stage, we’re all learning the choreography and doing these jumprope warm-ups. That’s pretty exhausting.”

What else will your regime involve?

“All year I’ve been doing quite a lot of Pilates to build strength and make sure I’m in good condition. I’m going to try and do a couple of sessions a week. I have a very solid vocal warm up and cool down too, because vocally it’s a big sing. I’ve got some really good singing teachers who have been helping me and I’ll continue to have a singing lesson a week to keep on top of everything - making sure I sing things safely, and not getting too carried away in the moment. I pretty much learned all my words and songs before rehearsals, because I knew there was going to be so much extra stuff we had to learn on top of the basic lyrics.

“For instance, I spent some time with the dogs this morning. Renee Burleigh, who plays Margot, and I, are the girls who deal most with the little dogs, so we have to spend time with them so that they get used to us, and don’t want to run off the stage.

“As well as having the Chihuahuas in the show, we also have British Bulldogs. They brought them in for the first time yesterday, and they are so cute as well. You have to learn different techniques, like the Chihuahuas and the bulldogs requiring different kinds of treats.

The Bulldogs really do well with affection and lots of cuddles, whereas

with the Chihuahuas - as the trainer Peta, who is amazing, said, ‘less affection, throw me the cheese’.

They’re really responding well and they’re really cute. The Chihuahuas are only eight months old.”

And speaking of eight months, Lucy told me that’s how long the audition process for the role took.

“I started during the Adelaide season of Wicked, where I was playing Glinda. I was flying back and forth to Sydney and Melbourne. Every night I’d fly back to do Wicked in Adelaide. I was also filming a small part in a film in Sydney on my days off, so it was a really exhausting time. About a month after the Perth season of Wicked they flew me to London, where I did a couple of days work with two of the creatives from London, and then, on the final day I was there, Jerry (Mitchell the original Director) came in. It was very nerve-wracking; I don’t think I’ve ever felt under more pressure in my life.

But Jerry was so nice to me.

At the end of it he

said, ‘Well I’m happy,’ and everyone was saying ‘OK, Great!’ And he said, ‘Well I hear it was your birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday.’ Then I wasn’t allowed to say anything until they announced it at the start of this year.”

Now that you have settled in, is there anything about Elle which you particularly identify with?

“I try very hard not to judge people, and I think she does that so well. Elle doesn’t judge people at all, but people judge her. That’s kind of the moral to the story I guess - stay true to yourself and don’t judge people.”

I finished by asking Lucy how she started performing.

“I come from Perth, and from a family where no-one is an entertainer or a performer.

“I always loved to perform, and sing and act, and I always did any drama and music class I could find, and sang in any choir and every school musical (at John XXIII College, Mt Claremont).

“Being in school shows was really

important to me. I auditioned in Year 8 and didn’t get in, then the following year when we did Sweet Charity I got in. I was First Young Woman, I had 11 lines, I was in the chorus, and that was the most exiting experience of my whole life up until that point. We were so lucky - the heads of Drama and Music were just so passionate and did these amazing annual musicals. The next year they did Funny Girl and I got to play Fanny Brice, the leading role.

That was when I decided that this was just the most amazing thing. Every year when the musical was over I’d just cry and cry; I was so devastated for about a week, until the next one was announced.”

Did those musicals set Lucy up well for her career?

“Definitely. There’s a kind of discipline which it requires. Strict

isn’t the word for it, but they asked a lot of us, which has given me a good work ethic as a base. My high school Drama teacher told me about WAAPA while I was in my last year of school, so I auditioned and was lucky enough to get into WAAPA, where I did my training. I was fortunate enough to get cast in Mamma Mia! while I was in the third and final year of my Bachelor of Arts Musical Theatre, which I went straight into. After I finished Mamma Mia! I actually went and started a Law degree, because I thought it was time to get a real job, but I missed performing too much. I think I’m still currently deferred from a Law degree.”

It doesn’t look like Lucy Durack will need to be picking up those law books anytime soon.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 11

Melbourne’s Hamer Hall Reopens Is $136 Million Money Well Spent?

The $136 million refurbishment of Hamer Hall (formerly the Hospitality Melbourne Concert Hall) has been delivered on time and Once inside, patrons will enjoy a reconfigured and enlarged St Kilda Road foyer with upgraded bars and within budget, and is now open to the public after two expanded cloaking and box offices facilities. The escalators years labour. But what will patrons, performers and backstage teams get for the money? Lucy Graham reports. have been replaced with wider versions on every level.

Speaking at the opening, Victorian Minister for Major Arrival Projects, Dr. Dennis Napthine claimed access had been When Hamer Hall opened 30 years ago, some regarded improved to the extent that “the building can now be the structure as dull and austere. Now the arrival experience cleared in 10 minutes”.

And ladies rejoice greatly! There are now 80% more is more user-friendly.

Conceptually the building has been ‘turned around’ 90 women’s lavatories. degrees. Patrons are drawn to the vast glass walls and While walking the foyers I had a flashback to an walkways on the north side, offering a pleasing view of the opening concert 30 years ago when I sang in my school choir on stage. An enduring memory is of school friends Melbourne skyline, riverside access and boulevard walk receiving electric shocks courtesy of the carpet’s static build along the river to Southgate.

While the St Kilda Road entrance remains, an additional up. You’ll be pleased to know I performed the zap test on entrance from the river enables access to and from my plus one (who’d also been in that choir) when she Southbank restaurants. If you have a boat, presumably you wasn’t looking with no adverse result. So relax people, it’s all clear! can now paddle to concerts via the Yarra, alighting at the new riverside entrance. It’s all so Venetian, darling!

(Continued on page 13)

12 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Where the Money went The Hamer Hall renovation has seemingly touched every aspect of the venue. Arts Centre Melbourne says an expected annual increase of 600,000 new visitors to the precinct justifies the cost.

Schuler Shook was the theatre-planning consultant. Their work cost $128.5 million. Company partner Robert Shook said the company’s contribution included planning the auditorium and stage, front-of-house and backof-house areas, and designing the special theatre equipment systems such as audience seating, stage rigging, stage lifts and stage lighting.

“Our planning work includes studying audience sight lines and ensuring that all audience members have the best possible view of the stage,” he told Stage Whispers.

The Hall Moving into Hamer Hall, the 2,464 seats are now wider, and have been provided by the original Spanish seating supplier, Figueras. Leg room between rows has been preserved. My road test of the apricot coloured specimens deems them very comfy indeed.

“Everyone directly benefits from this large, complex renovation,” said Robert Shook. “The patron experience has been much enhanced with the re-configuration of the foyers to provide clearer access to all levels, more views at all levels, and larger open spaces, as well as the new audience seating, which is much more comfortable and

Online extras!

Missed out on the grand opening? Be a part of it: scan the QR code or visit http://youtu.be/yjrA8qgi0v8

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 13

durable than the old seating.”

I was reminded that Hamer Hall is underground, and the wall design continues to represent the texture and colour of the river clay bed. The ceiling is quite beautiful, with suspended star lights an ethereal feature.

“An environment has been created that will deliver the best possible performances for audiences in unparalleled comfort and amenity,” said Dr. Napthine. “All this has been done while remaining true to Sir Roy Grounds’ and John Truscott’s original design vision.”

Schuler Shook commissioned Jands as the theatrical machinery contractor for the project, with responsibility for engineering, fabricating, and installing the motorised fly system, the folding acoustical reflector panels, and the orchestra pit seating wagon system.

“These systems for the Hamer Hall project were extremely complex and challenging,” said Shook, “and

14 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

required the highest level of expertise to complete successfully.”

Four configurations of the new acoustical reflector will enable The Hall to more readily host musical performances using either orchestral, chamber or amplified mode.

For orchestras the acoustic ceiling is positioned 13.5 metres above the stage, but it can be lowered to 10.5 metres for chamber music, and to stage level for servicing.

But there is a fourth option. The reflector can be folded away and flown out where no reflection is needed, allowing for manipulation of theatre rigging.

The tender for Hamer Hall’s lighting system was vigorously sought, and consequently won by PRG. The set-up reputedly includes the only PRG V676 4000 console currently being used worldwide in a venue.

Performers It’s not only the patrons who will enjoy the enhanced acoustics. On stage, performers will be able to hear each other with heightened clarity. Off stage, green room spaces have all been expanded.

Backstage The backstage boys and girls have not been forgotten.

Technical staff will benefit from the new 10 tonne scenery lift, measuring 8m x 3m, a re-configured loading dock and freight lift, allowing for greater efficiency in delivering production elements down to stage level.

The Verdict I have no doubt the renovated Hamer Hall is a gift to be cherished. I love the manner in which it now acknowledges the city across the water, that the renovation has considered so many elements, improved access, and given the city’s arts centerpiece a new lease of life. One hopes that with its capacity for greater musical diversity, growing numbers of Melbournians will be encouraged to attend a concert therein.

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Lisa McCune as Nellie Forbush with the boys of Opera Australia’s South Pacific.

Photo: Jeff Busby.

Tunes or Story

What Makes A Hit Musical?

You might think great tunes make great musicals. Not according to some.

David Spicer speaks to two men who believe great stories are the bedrock of the art form. In Australia at the same time last month were the Tony Award winning Director/Choreographer Jerry Mitchell for Legally Blonde The Musical and Oscar Hammerstein III for South Pacific.

“It’s about two guys who come together. It’s about fathers and sons and thinking you’re a failure in your father’s eyes, then becoming a success in your own terms. All set in a shoe factory going under, they make boots to save the factory,” he said with boyish enthusiasm.

“I have learned the strength of any musical relies on the story and the

When you are hot you’re hot. Jerry Mitchell was the original director and choreographer for Legally Blonde the Musical and kicked off the rehearsals for the Australian Premiere in Sydney.

But he could only stay for the first week.

He had to rush back to Chicago to prepare for the World Premiere of a new musical called Kinky Boots. The Broadway-bound musical has an original score by Cindy Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the 2005 movie of the same name.

He loves the music (of course) by the pop diva but it is the story which he says will strike a chord.

Jerry Mitchell

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book of the musical. Whether the book ends being sung danced or spoken, it’s still a book. The story is what makes it great; characters that you care about.

Root for. Get emotionally involved in.

That is what makes a great musical for me and a great score.”

Oscar Hammerstein III was aged four when his famous grandfather with the same name died. He was in Australia in August for the opening of South Pacific and to deliver a keynote address at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Symposium at the Victorian College of the Arts.

“Oscar was always interested in the plot and was slow at writing the songs.

Musicals are not successful because of the tunes. There are a lot of good songs in bad shows you will never hear again. They are successful because of the story,” he said.

Jerry Mitchell applied these principles when, as the original director/choreographer for Legally Blonde the Musical, he helped craft the movie into a musical.

“Elle is the underdog from the second scene when she is dumped by

her boyfriend, Warner Huntingdon III. The whole journey of this play is about her succeeding by being true to herself and asking you, the audience, to stop judging people by the way they look and judge them on their merit. That is a very powerful story for young people and old people.”

“I watched the movie then read the book, then put all of that away. We had a leading character whose emotions ran so hard it was easy to make her sing and dance. The question was where would she sing and dance?

We had a series of friends in the opening scene of the movie but when she goes to Harvard they are gone and she only speaks to them on the phone.”

“We created a Greek chorus, so when she is in crisis she summons them. They give her bad advice, mostly, but she bounces her ideas off them.”

But he says you can’t just insert songs into a movie script.

“No that would be death. Theatre works in a different way. Films go close up. That’s usually the emotional ballad in the musical. A director tells you

something that only you can do in film.

A song is the equivalent of the close up. “ Oscar Hammerstein III believes that adapting movies into musicals has its limitations. He says it is like trying to breed a zebra with a horse.

“The sense of time that can be compressed in movies can’t be done on the stage. You can’t have a

montage push time forward six months. Movies have fluidity and it is harder to believe people singing in a movie.”

Certainly they don’t always get the thumbs up from audiences and critics.

Jerry Mitchell was also the choreographer for Catch Me if You Can, the musical which lasted 170 Eddie Perfect as Luther Billis & Ensemble Cast of Opera Australia’s South Pacific.

Photo: Jeff Busby

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 17

performances on Broadway and is about to tour the United States.

“I thought the score was amazing, but it didn’t do well and got terrible reviews. The choreography was some of the most fun stuff I had ever done.”

“I think somewhere we lost the book in it. We lost the audience caring about the characters. You’ve got to hook the audiences into caring about the characters…they didn’t do it enough.”

Oscar Hammerstein III says his grandfather’s career really took off when he wrote musicals with Richard Rodgers that had epic stories.

During his lifetime he wrote 61 shows with a host of different composers. Some were hits, such as Showboat, but others were stinkers.

He points out that the big five South Pacific, Oklahoma, The King and I, Carousel and The Sound of Music, written with Richard Rodgers, had themes of love and death which always resonate.

Now an adjunct professor at Columbia University, specialising in theatre, and author of the book The Hammersteins, he is naturally a keen ‘student’ of the art of writing lyrics. He believes that simplicity is an important part of a successful musical.

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Oscar Hammerstein III

“Oscar did not write successfully for characters that were into a lot of selfanalysis. When a person sang in his show it was like they were singing into a mirror. They were straight-forward characters speaking their minds. It wasn’t Sondheim-like. It wasn’t she’s pretty but what will she look like in 20 years. Or she is pretty but am I gay.

There was I only wish I had the nerve to ask her to dance.”

He notes Richard Rodgers’ previous lyricist Lorenz Hart was the complete opposite.

“He did interior rhymes, played games, was urbane and his lyrics, while easy to take out of the show, did not advance the character nearly as much as Oscar’s.”

Songs also need to move the story forward; to speed up the show rather than slow it down.

“A good example is the soliloquy ‘My Boy Bill’ in Carousel that goes for 8 minutes. It saves the audience 25 minutes in exposition. The man finds out he is going to have a child. He projects upon what it would be like to be father, listing all the things this child can do. It has nothing to do with the child but he is describing himself. It reveals character, grudges and also his hopes and dreams for this kid. Then he has a whiplash moment and realises it could be a girl. He adores his possible daughter but is afraid for her. We know he’s going to do something that is going to get him into trouble.”

I asked him to give me some examples from South Pacific. It occurred to me that some songs which do slow down the action are a little on the silly side. I’m going to wash that man right out of my hair came to mind.

“What’s silly about that? It’s really a statement of where she’s got to,” he said.

And what about the classically beautiful Some Enchanted Evening - is that not a slow moving ballad?

“Yes but it was written for a purpose in the story.”

As part of his visit to Australia, Hammerstein is visiting some of his local relatives. It’s little known that his grandfather’s second wife was from Tasmania. Dorothy Blanchard also had a mysterious New Zealand connection.

She had a Maori middle name - Kia ora.

None of the extended family derives income from the copyright any more.

Many of the musicals are of course still blockbusters, performed between 500 and 1500 times a year, in venues ranging from high schools to the Sydney Opera House. A Dutch pension fund purchased the entire catalogue of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals a few years back, before they enter the public domain seventy years after the death of both men.

“We sold out because we did not want to have the end of the ride.

We’ve turned something that would disappear into something solid. It’s the same as any family business. Some are into Laundromats; we are into musicals.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the ‘something solid’ was in the vicinity of $200 Million.

Not bad for musicals that were written in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

But a constant is that these productions have to first strike a chord with the audiences of their time. Critics don’t matter much. The Sound of Music at its world premiere was given the thumbs down as being too sweet.

This was just what audiences of the time, and since, were happy to lap up.

The commercial success of Legally Blonde on Broadway and the West End has been attributed in part to striking a chord with some contemporary issues.

“We found there was this great phenomenon in the US - that at about 11 or 12 girls decide to either stay with the books, or give it up so they concentrate on their looks so they can land the footballer or the head of the track team,” said Jerry Mitchell.

The message from this musical, he says, is that boys can catch the ‘beautiful’ girl if they respect her.

Of course life isn’t always that simple.

“Maureen Dowd from the New York Times wrote a beautiful book Are Men Necessary? It’s about these girls at Yale and Harvard beating men in class Monday to Friday.

Then on Saturday night they drop their books, put on their high heels, short dress and lipstick and do whatever the boys ask them.”

Asked to explain why intelligent women put up with this crazy phenomenon, he put it down to the ‘The magic of life.’

That sounds like good fodder for a musical.

Lisa McCune as Nellie Forbush & Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Emile De Becque in Opera Australia’s South Pacific.

Photo: Jeff Busby

Online extras!

Watch Teddy Tahu Rhodes sing in South Pacific. Simply scan the QR code or visit http://youtu.be/yjrA8qgi0v8

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 19

Stagecraft: The Art of Comedy Actor and writer Jonathan Biggins shares his secrets of writing and performing comedy, drawing upon his latest play Australia Day and twelve seasons of the Wharf Revue. This article was compiled from a question and answer seminar at the 2012 Association of Community Theatre conference at NIDA.

If you write comedy, it is good to collaborate. Otherwise your only benchmark is, ‘Do I think it’s funny.’

The biggest secret of writing anything is cutting it back. Less is more.

The most successful comedy has the audience catching up. Once the audience gets ahead of you, forget it.

We tend to do things that rip along, even having the audience say, “I’ll have Comedy is a very useful way of telling the truth. We are the King’s to see that a second time to catch it jester, given the licence to say things all.” So the dialogue is more other people can’t. We can criticise the compressed, shorter, and, as you write, King, as long as we make him laugh. The great benefit of comedy is that it does allow you to say unpalatable things, because the pill is coated in sugar.

However, you still have to obey the rules of drama; that is maintaining character and the reality of the situation. What kills comedy is selfdo what Tom Stoppard does - he reindulgence or not keeping your eye on drafts every page as he goes. the main prize, which is telling a story.

The funny thing about comedy is Some of the most successful plays that it’s almost always at the expense ever written are comedies, because of someone or based on some degree they engage us, for example the works of cruelty. You are laughing because it of Tom Stoppard, Neil Simon, Alan hasn’t happened to you. The classic Ayckbourn and David Williamson.

Australian style of humour is the cartoon showing the man hanging off the end of a building with another Jonathan Biggins speaks at NIDA

20 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

man hanging on to his trousers, laughing hysterically. The tag is the first man saying, “For gorsake stop laughing; this is serious!”

Nationalities laugh at different things. British humour is more text based. German humour is more physical and slapstick. People used to say Americans had no sense of irony but their comedy has evolved quite a lot and is full of irony these days.

Once I watched a theatre packed with the Samoan community watching a Samoan stand-up comedian. The

audience was killing themselves but I couldn’t see anything funny in it. It was all about cultural identification.

Our cultural groups are defined by not only what you include but also what you exclude. I agree with the song in the musical Avenue Q that everybody is a little bit racist. We all have those feelings. As the song says, “Ethnic jokes might be uncouth but you laugh because they’re based on the truth.”

I always say if you can stereotype a people in a positive way, why not a negative way? If you can say Germans are industrious and hard working, then equally you could say they can be humourless. I don’t think there is any real danger in that.

We don’t set out to deliberately offend people, but you always will offend someone. You have to educate the audience to have a thicker skin.

Certain people are given licence to make jokes. It’s widely accepted that you can do black jokes if you are black.

In Avenue Q, Gary Coleman objects to black jokes, then he tells them a Polish joke. It’s like Indians accusing us of

being racist when they invented the caste system.

You say comedy is at the expense of someone else. Have you ever gone too far?

We are considering writing a sketch about refugees. We did South Pacific Solution The Musical some time ago.

Nothing much has changed.

But you can go too far. We did a sketch on a story of an Arab living in Jerusalem. He lived for 55 years in the same house, went out for a coffee one day, then while he was out somebody changed his locks and moved in. I found the absurdity of that amusing.

He didn’t.

The whole thing was about the changing demographic in Israel. The sketch was not meant to be antiIsrael but we had complaints.

Someone pointed out it was a mistake to set the sketch to a tune from Fiddler on the Roof. He said the sense of what we did over-rode the literal meaning of what we sang. I thought that was fair enough. The biggest sin was that it wasn’t funny enough.

Are there some subjects you wont touch?

No one ever seems to like sketches about paedophiles.

We can’t easily make jokes about land rights. You can’t black up.

Militant Islamists don’t lighten up.

You do have to be careful. There are extremists in every group, and I am annoyed at that because that is censoring through fear. That is suppressing what may be a legitimate criticism.

So you won’t do a Muslim sketch?

We’d be wary to make it more generalised. This is the irony. You can knock (Catholic Archbishop) Cardinal George Pell, but he is not going to come around and kill you. That is why it is great to see Muslim stand-up comics emerging. They are given the licence, but even they would be wary that cultural sensitivities can be physically dangerous.

Aside from politics there were plenty of questions and comments from the floor.

What happens if you are putting on a show full of comedic parts and jokes, but not getting too many laughs?

MTC’s production of Australia Day. Photos: Jeff Busby

because the director didn’t think I could be funny. What should I do about that?

If you are doing Lost in Yonkers and do it accurately you will be funny.

A sense of timing and audience awareness is helpful. If people are casting funny people that is a disaster.

Stand-up comedians are funny because Should you shift emphasis to be more of their material. A comedic sense of physical? timing is an advantage, but if you are The writing might not be any good. playing the reality and truth of People say there is no such thing as a situation Neil Simon has done all the bad audience. We know that is bull. work for you. If you are playing it Some audiences are more responsive. truthfully and accurately it should You can’t hear a smile. You might work. Obviously there are other types think, ‘Oh God this audience is dead.’ of comedy where a sense of awareness Then they go ballistic at the end. So and exaggerated comedy is useful. you think where have you been all I bring my relatives in to shows and night ...thanks for your support! encourage them to laugh and clap. To The thing about comedy is, the give permission for the audience to harder you work the less funny it gets. laugh. What do you think about that?

It’s not unlike being with dogs, Yes, it is an ancient theatrical inasmuch as you should never let an tradition; they call it the clacque. To audience see fear. The most important pay people to laugh. It tells the thing is to put an audience at ease. As audience this is funny. It’s best, of soon as the audience smells fear they course, if they have see the hilarity do not feel comfortable. without prompting.

I remember seeing an opera when the tenor cracked on a note. The Australia Day - opens at the Sydney creative tension was gone. We spent Opera House on September 7. The the rest of the night worrying it was Wharf Revue 2012 kicks off in going to happen again. And I think November. that can happen with comedy.

Online extras!

I auditioned for Jonathan Biggins gives his hilarious do’s the play Lost in and don’ts for award winners online.

Yonkers but I did http://youtu.be/mfAuAxPC990 not get the part www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 21

Comedy 101: How To Tickle The Funny Bone  Stumbling. When it happens it kills the gag line, but it happens to all of us and there’s nothing we can do about it. But stay in character. Retrieve the line April Phillips Like singing, most people can carry a tune, but confidence, as the character. practice and technique can turn them into “singers”.

The better you get at comedy the more creative risk you Pace can take.

One of the biggest killers of comedy on stage is poor timing.

Delivery of lines is one aspect, but the overall pace of the story Warming Up The Audience and flow of dialogue is also crucial.

Directors: Set The Scene Directors: Remember light and shade (pace, movement,  Have a theme in the foyer and dress your front of house volume) as for any theatre. But with comedy an energetic uptempo pace should be the norm, with exceptions such as people in character. romantic scenes or suspenseful scenes.  Open with a bang. Literally if it’s appropriate.  Make the set funny. Include sight gags such as wall Truth pictures, décor, colours, or sound effects.

You can be over-the-top, outlandish, unnatural, absurd,  Use quirky or happy music playing as the audience enters. unbelievable in comedy BUT there has to be truth or the  A big character entrance with a funny prop or costume or audience won’t buy into it. physical characteristic may also stimulate the funny bones Your character must believe what is going on. in the audience.

Stay in character. If the actor reveals himself or starts to laugh,  Don’t wait too long to get the first laugh. the suspension of disbelief is broken.

Writer April Phillips has had her comedies Stiff and Death and Taxes performed in 42 theatres across New Zealand, Australia and the UK. She says the secret to good comedy is preparation and practice. This was part of April’s presentation at the Music Theatre New Zealand conference in 2012.

Precision In Your Timing  Get The Line Right. Moment by moment. Movement by Movement. Reaction by Reaction.  Where there is physical “business”, choreograph it so that it doesn’t detract from the dialogue.

Clarity  Clear speech. Don’t yell. Clarity doesn’t mean yelling. If your character has to yell, make it amusing (e.g. Basil Fawlty).

Comic Timing  “Beat” before you want them to laugh.  The line should be continuous until the beat before the joke.  The beat leaves room for the audience to laugh.  The beat is no more than time to inhale.  “Ride” the laugh. The laugh will reach a peak and then start to fade. Start talking again just before the laugh

Whangarei Theatre Company production of STiFF

John Cleese as the inimitable Basil Fawlty

22 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

  

  

     

stops, once you know you will be audible again above the laugh.

Don’t hurry on with next line.

Know where the jokes are. You will laugh during your early rehearsals. Make note of where people laugh in your read through.

Don’t do all the punch line with emphasis on each word.

There will be one or two key words which will need emphasis - not the whole line. Comedy writers tend to leave the funny “impact” word to the end of the line.

Let others finish their lines.

Do not move, distract, upstage, on other actors’ key gag lines.

Every line is clearly stated, no matter how frantic. Slower, clearer.

Hone Your Skills For rhythm/timing Take a music class (jazz?).

DJ or Rap battle with your mates.

Dance.

Improvisation classes.

Watch funny stuff and funny people!

Tell jokes.

More About Laughs The Audience rarely laughs accidentally.

Know in your planning the big ones, normal ones, chuckles, etc.

Comedy has to start with convincing. Unless the character believes it, there is no basis for the audience to buy into it.

The greatest laughs come when there is no effort.

Some clever comedy is where tongue twisters are so long and clever, they’re not just funny. You get a “bonus laugh” - the audience laughs at the gag and at the clever delivery.

Deliver with ease. If you stumble it can ruin the moment.

It’s funny when the joke sneaks up on the audience.

Good delivery doesn’t give away that a gag is at the end of the speech.

Above all with comedy, have fun! But take it seriously!

London Calling London’s Gate Theatre will stage the UK premiere of Pulitzer-Prize-winner Bruce Norris’ early play Purple Heart from February 28 to April 6, 2013, with direction by Christopher Haydon. The work, which originally premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, in 2002, is about a woman trying to raise her son and rebuild her life following the death of her husband in the Vietnam War. Television stars head the cast of a touring production of Noel Coward’s Volcano which opens a London season at the Vaudeville Theatre 16 August, after previewing from 14 August. Never performed in the author’s lifetime, this is the first major production of the work. The plot concerns the recently widowed Adela Shelly who finds herself being seduced by the suave Guy Littleton, a visitor to her elegant Pacific house on the side of an island volcano. The arrival of Guy’s wife sets off a chain of events which culminate in the eruption of sexual tensions and of the volcano. Directed by Roy Marsden, it stars Jenny Seagrove, barrister “Jo Mills” in BBC TVs Judge John Deed, Dawn Steele, who was Alexander “Lexie” MacDonald in Monarch of the Glen, and Jason Durr, who played PC/DC Michael “Mike” Bradley in Heartbeat.

Producers Barry and Fran Weissler have announced the closure of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago after a run of 15 years. The current cast includes Sarah Soetaert as Roxie Hart, Rachel McDowall as Velma Kelly and Robin Cousins as Billy Flynn.

A new version of Daddy Long Legs with music and lyrics

by Paul Gordon, and a book by John Caird, which is based on the novel by Jean Webster, starts previews at the St. James Theatre, 31 October 2012. The story is set in New England in the early 1900s and is a vivid account of a young orphan who blossoms into a beautiful, intelligent and vivacious woman. An earlier musical version of the novel, called Love From Judy, with music by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Martin and Timothy Gray, and book by Eric Maschwitz, had a 594 performance run at the Saville Theatre in 1952.

The world premiere of Baggage, a comedy by John Muirhead and Mike Charlesworth, will play the Arts Theatre from 6 September - 6 October. It’s a story of close friends, reunited through tragedy, hoping to repair their damaged relationship, and is directed by Audrey Cooke, designed by Adam Wiltshire, with lighting by Mathew Newbury.

Actor Stephen Beresford’s playwriting debut at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre, The Last of the Haussmans, with its stellar cast headed by Julie Walters, has been given a mixed critical reception. Domini Cavendish (Daily Telegraph) said, “Funny, if slightly under-achieved”; Paul Taylor (Independent) said, “Howard Davies’s wellorchestrated production can’t, however, disguise the faintly prefabricated feel to many of the play’s elements”; whilst praise came from Ian Shuttleworth (Financial Times), “a lovely bit of work. Its comedy is deliciously sardonic”. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 23

B

hands of John Dossett, who scores with one of the new songs “The Bottom Line”, whilst Kara Lindsay, as his newspaper scribe daughter Kathleen, is likeably feisty. She and Jordan share an appealing chemistry which pays off in “Something to Believe In”.

Despite not winning the Tony Award for Best Musical, because according to rumor the Tony Awards committee did not want to give it to Disney again, the show is destined for a long life. It’s a franchise Disney will be able to successfully produce around the world.

Commercial musical theatre doesn’t come much better than this.

Peter Pinne spent a hot New York summer Ghost comes to Broadway via London with its two fortnight in the theatre. He rates a chorus of musicals from leads, Caissie Levy (Molly) and Richard Fleeshman (Sam), its Newsies to Ghost to Spiderman. director Mathew Warchus, and its groundbreaking design.

The parks and gardens are out in bloom, and the city is And what a design! I was blown away. I’ve never seen swarming with tourists, bringing full-houses to Broadway. anything like it on a stage before. It takes digital scenery to a new level. Every scene from the hit 1990 movie is on With ten productions taking over $1 million each week, stage and that’s the problem. There’s nothing new. Molly and some breaking the $2 million mark, it’s a box-office makes pottery and Sam walks through doors, while the bonanza. chorus keep the action moving as the leads sing some The biggest, newest, and most commercial hit at the highly-forgettable songs by the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, moment is Disney’s Newsies. Based on their 1992 movie, Glen Ballard and Bruce Joel Rubin. Da’vine Joy Randolph as the musical is set in turn-of-the-century New York and based on a real life newsboys strike when the kids took on psychic Oda Mae walks away with the show every time publisher Joseph Pulitzer and won. The show features good she’s on stage. It’s a very ordinary musical but that design songs by Alan Menken (the film score augmented by some was almost worth the price of admission alone.

The high-profile revival of Evita also comes to Broadway new numbers), a sharp book by Harvey Fierstein and spectacular choreography by Christopher Gattelli. Heading via London, with diminutive Elena Roger in the title role. In London she won an Olivier Award but on Broadway she’s a the cast in a standout performance is the charismatic Jeremy Jordan, who brings a touch of heart underneath an disappointment, failing to connect with the audience. Popstar Ricky Martin does better playing Che as an “everyman”. outwardly brash and cocky exterior to the Jack Kelly hero role. He makes “Santa Fe” the undoubted hit of the show. He’s not perfect but he makes it work. For those expecting Latin fire, it was missing, but Roger and Martin can’t be Andrew Keenan-Bolger is lovable and sweet as his pal held responsible for that. It’s a cold show about ruthlessly Crutchy, with Ben Fankhauser as Davey, and Lewis Grosso cold manipulative people which has always lacked warmth. as his younger brother Les, making their mark as Michael Cerveris sings well as Peron, as does Max von Essen newcomers to the group. But this show is an ensemble as Magaldi, with Rachel Potter as the Mistress delivering a piece and when the “newsies” are on stage the musical soars with its athletic, virile, and muscular dancing, making plaintive “Another Suitcase in Another Hall”. Michael Grandage’s production is certainly grand, as is Christopher “Carrying the Banner”, “Seize the Day”, “The World Will Oram’s set, which beautifully captures the essence of Know” and the tap routine “King of New York” into Buenos Aires architecture (especially the Casa Rosado). And showstoppers. Joseph Pulitzer is oily and repugnant in the in another added plus Lloyd Webber has tweaked his orchestrations, which now sound authentically like they belong in a “tango club”.

Nice Work If You Can Get It is a much reworked version of George and Ira Gershwin’s 1920s musical Oh, Kay! Top starring Mathew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara, it is a piece of fluff, but totally captivating. The convoluted plot concerns playboys, bootleggers, and pretty girls cavorting in a Long Island mansion to a swag of toe-tapping Gershwin tunes “Lady be Good”, “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” and “Someone To Watch Over Me”. The cast also boasts two recent Tony winners, with Judy Kaye hysterical as a Duchess who succumbs to the demon drink and Michael McGrath pulling every vaudeville trick in the book as the gangsterturned-butler Cookie McGee. Their second act wedding breakfast was a highlight which had the audience, myself

roadway uzz

My Musical Favourites

24 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

included, laughing uproariously.

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, as the folk-opera is now billed for this outing, was a mostly well-sung version of this American classic. Director Diane Paulus, with the help of Suzan-Lori Parks, has abridged and adapted the work which now, more than ever, resembles a Broadway musical, complete with dance routines and audience applause buttons at the end of the big arias. Norm Lewis, with a leg brace, made the cripple Porgy a man of dignity, though vocally at times delivered his songs with a pop sensibility, particularly “I Got Plenty of Nothing”. Alicia Hall Moran, replacing Audra McDonald who was off with a bad throat, played Bess with vulnerability. Her duet with Lewis “I Loves You, Porgy”, was especially touching.

The murderous Crown was in good operatic hands with Phillip Boykin, while David Alan Grier brought a touch of Cab Calloway’s original sass to Sporting Life in his audience pleasers, “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon for New York”. The less said about Riccardo Hernandez’s set, which failed in every way to capture the life of Catfish Row and Kittiwah Island, the better.

Seeing Spider-Man Turn off the Dark at a matinee with a theatre full of screaming kids was probably the best way to endure this show, which is part circus, part rock, and part musical. The kids were in awe when Spider-Man flew around the auditorium and they nearly screamed the house down when he fought the Green Goblin above their heads.

It was almost panto time. The sets were amazing, especially looking down from atop the Chrysler Building, and the flying was spectacular. It’s a terrible musical with a dull score, but there’s no denying the effects are brilliant. It has just celebrated its first birthday (that’s if we’re not counting the 183 previews), and judging by the audience approval

it’s going to be around for some time. But it’s expensive, with no half-price tickets for kids. A family next to me mum, dad and two kids aged nine and ten - paid $150 each for their seats.

The National Theatre of Great Britain’s production of War Horse at Lincoln Center was every bit as good as the praise that has been heaped upon it. The story of Albert, a country boy from Devon, and Joey, his horse, who gets shipped off to the trenches of World War 1, is beautifully realised with a cast of 35 and some amazing puppet horses manipulated by several puppeteers apiece. Within minutes of the play beginning you believe the puppets are real horses; an incredible accomplishment. Andrew Durand, as Albert, had total audience empathy in a passionate performance that had emotional range. As the mother Rose, Alyssa Bresnahan brought out the frustration and humanity of a woman trying to hold her family together against impossible odds, and Andy Murray, as the hot-headed father Ted, whose actions set the whole story in motion, was simply brilliant. But that word could easily apply to the whole production. It was a stunning piece of epic theatre.

Finally, with only three performances to go, I saw the U.S. production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical. What a thrill it was to see our own Tony Sheldon strutting his stuff on a Broadway stage as Bernadette and after six years still finding a little bit of heart in the character. Will Swenson, looking a million dollars, played Tick with a lot more masculinity, and Nick Adams, as Adam, was appropriately buffed and outrageous. The show had been cleaned up somewhat for Broadway. Frankly I preferred the London version, which was dirtier and raunchier, but there’s no denying the Broadway audience loved it. They just couldn’t get enough of those disco beats!

Newsies

Online extras!

Check out the Trailer for Newsies by scanning the QR code or visiting http://youtu.be/cgcr24bjoXY www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 25

Why Some People Hate Theatre invariably laughs at the silly things but stays mute during any real wit.

Then there are the A-Listers. Out in the foyer, like bad actors, they listen only for opportunities to boom with pointTheatre always starts with such promise. The dimming of scoring self-importance. With such critical rightness, they houselights, being together in an audience of expectations, have no space for the essential truth that appraising theatre the actors stepping forth … I’ve loved all that since is so often a deeply subjective affair. Except, of course, when childhood. My other favourite part is the last line, just before it is truly Bad Theatre - we can all agree on that! the applause, as you savour that final profundity when Thankfully such foyers can be left quickly behind when fiction ebbs back to reality. there is no interval. This current trend, and that of staging The problem is the bits in between, when that promise so shorter shows more appropriate to our now facile often fails to deliver. Bad Theatre is numbing. It goes on concentration spans, is a great asset for Bad Theatre. You get without you; it thrusts onwards with not a care for your to escape early, but for those unfortunates who paid engagement. It barrels on with an unwavering arrogance, in handsomely for their short bad theatre experience, they, blind belief that it has something to say that matters. sadly, may never return.

Bad Theatre is an inexorable, bum-sore experience. It is clichés writ large which, when delivered with selfWhat young people want importance, become even more exasperating.

A major study into what young people think of their It is actors walking in slow motion to the every edge of flagship theatre companies has just concluded in Melbourne, the stage; actors mugging and telegraphing their comic Sydney and Brisbane. The study, called TheatreSpace, brilliance; actors who can’t project; actors who can only interviewed almost 3000 people.

SHOUT to show passion. They strut characters and share Typically young people had attended a performance as nothing; and so many don’t listen to each other, let alone us. part of a school excursion. The attendees were often They are there for themselves, not us. studying Drama or English and watching performances of Bad Theatre is writers who need editors or - worse - some prescribed texts. informed interest in the world around them; directors who Central to the findings was the importance of teachers in missed out on Storytelling 101; artistic directors still working fostering a love of theatre and an informed interest in it away with old visions and tricks, long after first brilliance. amongst their students.

Bad music or bad dance at least leaves you some abstract private space to retreat to and daydream a better experience What young people liked - or those chores to be done tomorrow.

Anatomy Titus, Fall of Rome (Bell Shakespeare) Bad Theatre, however, nails you with the words and just The young audiences responded particularly to the won’t let you go. It’s unrelieved by loo breaks, commercial humour, physical action and dynamic interactions of the breaks, any chance to escape. And it’s even worse for our play. long-suffering companions sitting silently - accusingly - in the The Removalists by David Williamson (Sydney Theatre next seat with their far lower threshold for this sort of thing. Company) At least we believers have the miserly compensation of “To actually see it up in the flesh and right next to me pondering why this is such Bad Theatre. was good. You see emotion... and I saw one guy get spat in It’s worse on opening night. Bad audiences are all those the face and he just had to keep wiping it off. It was really friends and plants who shriek uproariously at the unfunny, good.” and always slightly mistime in their fake enthusiasm. This lot The tertiary students engaged with the accessibility of the If you’re reading this magazine, then, in all probability, you are passionate about live theatre. But what turns other people off? Martin Portus says that Bad Theatre may to be blame.

FACTORS DISCOURAGING THEATRE ATTENDANCE  Lack of information in the media which young people use and the social networks they trust. Lack of social connections to other young theatre-goers, resistance to forward planning and the high cost of theatre.  In contrast to their attendance at musical theatre, comedy festivals and live music events, young people regard theatre attendance as risky, both in terms of time and discretionary spending. Whereas these other cultural events are seen as consistently enjoyable, live theatre performances may be considered boring, irrelevant or inaccessible.  The loss of a facilitator in the transition from school to post-schooling, whether friend, teacher or parent, is a central factor in a young adult’s non-attendance at theatre.  Negative experiences of a cultural centre and performance venue including uncomfortable interactions with staff or feeling unwelcome or threatened as audience members.  Transport problems, poor access to venues, and other logistical and financial issues are barriers for young people living in the outer suburbs and in regional and rural areas.

26 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

sby. era. Photo: Jeff Bu The Threepenny Op

The Beauty Queen

of Leenane

Fat Pig

Online extras!

Check out the summary video about the project. Scan the QR code or visit http://vimeo.com/31637665 narrative, the graphic use of violence, the believability of the performers as characters and the confronting nature of the performance space.

Fat Pig (Queensland Theatre Company) Humour and politically incorrect dialogue contributed significantly to the respondents’ engagement. Shock value, a sense of unease, and cathartic laughter characterised the young people’s responses to the performance.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh (Sydney Theatre Company) The set design played a major role in engaging the young people. They commented on its realness or ‘liveness’ - being able to smell the rain and the porridge and feel the claustrophobia of the tiny cottage - ‘you’re in the action’.

Up Jumped the Devil inspired by the songs of Nick Cave (QPAC) Young people valued Nick Cave’s music. They enjoyed being confronted by content that they saw as different, interesting and new; content that was culturally and socially relevant to them. They appreciated being intellectually and aesthetically challenged.

The Threepenny Opera (Malthouse) Young people responded to the play’s contemporary relevance and the social/political content and themes.

Wicked: The untold story of the witches of Oz (Brisbane season) Mega-musicals are considered low risk experiences and therefore can be safely recommended to others who may not normally attend theatre.

Familiarity with the venue, gained through having themselves performed in one of the theatres at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in dance or theatre festivals, led to comfort and a feeling of being ‘at home’ in the venue.

 exaggerated physicality of the performers  visual extremes in the production  the spectacle.

Conclusion  Young theatre-goers are attracted to the ‘liveness’ and immediacy of theatre. They seek to experience live theatre that transports them to another world, is relevant to contemporary issues, is connected to their own lives and concerns, and challenges them intellectually.  Young people are engaged by live theatre with dynamic performers, believable characters, physical proximity to the performance space, intimate relationships between actors and audience, physical theatre, multi-media elements, sensory experiences, comedy, and innovative stagecraft.

There were also some quirky results Those who play a musical instrument are 40% more likely to attend a play as an audience member than those that don’t.

Those who play sport are more than twice as likely to attend an opera as an audience member than those that don’t.

So the answer for producers is simple. Encourage students to play sport and learn an instrument to develop audiences of the future.

Musical Theatre The specific features of musical theatre that are valued by young people include:  a young cast  familiarity with the music and songs  the skills of musicians  the atmosphere of being with so many people  fantastical elements www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 27

Stage on Disc

By Peter Pinne

Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice) (Sony/ Masterworks Broadway 88725 42435 1). With two Latin stars, and Lloyd Webber tweaking his orchestrations to sound more Argentinean, this is probably the most authentic Latin sounding version of Evita we’re ever likely to hear. Elena Roger as Eva sings of ‘star quality’ but it’s Ricky Martin who brings it to this recording. With impressive vocals and loads of charisma his ‘everyman’ Che is the star of this show. He’s especially winning on “High Flying Adored” and “And the Money Keeps Rolling In (and out)”. Roger is better on disc than she was in the theatre but the voice is thin and shrill on the top notes. “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You” is one of her better tracks, as is her duet with Martin on “Waltz for Eva and Che”. Michael Cervaris is vocally strong in the underwritten role of Juan Peron, and Max Von Essen makes the most of his cameo “On This Night of a Thousand Stars”, as does Rachel Potter with “Another Suitcase in Another Hall”. The movie’s Oscar-Winning “You Must Love Me” has been added to the score, and there’s a particularly fine Spanish version by Roger of “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” as a bonus track.  Follies (Stephen Sondheim) (PS Classics PS1105). Like Evita, the latest Broadway cast album of Follies is also a 2CD set. We have heard this score so often, in so many different versions, that it’s hard to bring something fresh to it, but producer Tommy Krasker provides it by adding some dialogue scenes leading into the numbers which help put the characters and story in context. Danny Burstein is a terrific Buddy, likewise Ron Raines as Ben and Jan Maxwell as Phyllis. Bernadette Peters finds the childlike vulnerability in Sally, but vocally doesn’t come close to Dorothy Collins in the original or Barbara Cook on the 1985 concert recording. Elaine Paige is a disappointment on “I’m Still Here,” but Jayne Houdyshell belts “Broadway Baby” the way it should be sung. It’s a complete recording of the score, with lots of incidental music under the dialogue. Best track is undoubtedly Danny Burstein’s “The God-Why-Don’t-YouLove-Me Blues.” I’ve never heard it sung better. 

Woman Now” and “I Loves You, Porgy”, are highlights.

Bryonha Marie Parham as Serena sings the heart out of “My Man’s Gone Now”, and David Alan Grier excels as Sporting Life, making “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon for New York” into showstoppers.  Spider-Man - Turn Off The Dark (Bono/The Edge) (Mercury B0015782-02). U2’s Bono and The Edge’s score for Broadway’s most expensive production, the $75 million Spider-Man, is pretentious and untheatrical, with songs that have no emotional connection to the characters. Melodic hooks are repeated and repeated to the point where they become boring. The most interesting pieces in this dull score are those given to the villain, Patrick Page, who puts a camp spin on “Pull the Trigger” and “DIY World”.  End Of The Rainbow (Various) (Sony/ Masterworks 88691910942). Songs from the Broadway production of the play about the final days in the life of Judy Garland, End of the Rainbow, are sung by the star Tracie Bennett who won an Olivier Award in London for her work and was nominated for a Tony. At times Bennett captures the Garland sound and vocal mannerisms, but there’s not an ounce of emotion in any of it, something Garland had in spades. Songs include most of the Garland classics. 

Lost Broadway And More - Volume 3 & 4 (Various)(Original Cast). Producer Bruce Yeko continues his Lost Broadway series with more songs from flop Broadway shows. Volume 3, a piano and vocal album, features songs from The Yearling, Here’s Where I Belong, Barefoot Boy With Cheek and Something More amongst others. Best tracks are “Dame Crazy” (Strip for Action) and “Baby, Baby” (Nowhere to Go But Up) sung by Andrew Samonsky and Leah Horowitz, with Bob Merrill’s ode to bourbon, “If Jesus Don’t Love You (Jack Daniels Will)” from Take Me Along, providing a few laughs. Accompaniment throughout is by Michael Lavine, who also gets to sing on a couple of tracks. Volume 4 is a collection of songs by women theatre composers. Shows include eight tracks from Only a Kingdom, a musical about the romance of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, songs from a musical version of the TV The Gershwins’ Porgy And Bess (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin/DuBose Heyward) series Little House on the Prairie, plus material from the (PS Classics PS-1206). For those who don’t unproduced National Velvet and Hellzapoppin ‘67 by the know the Gershwins’ immortal folk-opera, writers of Baker Street. Best track is the Sullivan sisters, K.T. and Heather, singing Kay Swift’s droll “Nobody Breaks My this recording could not be a better Heart” from Fine and Dandy.  introduction. Despite being re-envisaged for the musical theatre it is still a well-sung Rating version of the Gershwin classic, with the added advantage  Only for the enthusiast  Borderline of Audra McDonald as the definitive Bess. Norm Lewis  Worth buying  Must have  Kill for it partners her as Porgy, and their duets, “Bess, You Is My 28 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 29

30 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Ballarat Open For Showbusiness

Showcase

The Ballarat Arts Academy is celebrating the appointment of a host of exciting new lecturers. Acclaimed conductor and music director George Torbay is the new lecturer in singing. Tom Hodgson, the former resident choreographer for Billy Elliott, is the new lecturer in movement.

Senior lecturer in performing arts Kim Durban also welcomes back lecturer in dance David Wynen, the inventor of the new software package Tap Rhythm, from a recent working trip to New York and Boston straight into his new role as program co-ordinator for music theatre. Associate Professor Durban is concentrating her energies on the Acting Degree and the development of new post-graduate qualifications in screen acting and interpretive theatre.

We asked George to answer a few questions about his new role.

Pillar Of Salt Q: You’re well known as a conductor, music director and educator. Why have you come to the Arts Academy?

A: I have been aware of AA for many years.

Anyone who is passionate about musical theatre is aware of the great work happening here. I have been fortunate to have had a wonderfully varied Bart Walsh career such as conducting and arranging music on large-scale events like the Olympic ceremonies, learning, from a diverse working in television as a music director, working staff whose total focus is in theatre and serving as a vocal coach and singing on student development. specialist. AA gives me the chance to use all these skills.

As a result I have just finished shooting a lead guest role in Q: What is special about singing at Ballarat?

The Doctor Blake Mysteries and am about to commence A: Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate rehearsals for the new stage show Barassi. Six months ago I about singing. Good singing begins with the freedom to was finishing my studies, and now I am doing things I never sing with joy. From that comes the desire for hard work, to thought I would ever do. And the best thing is that the Arts better develop skills and learn more about the voice. As you Academy has given me the tools to keep learning, to keep walk through the corridors here, you hear it everywhere. growing, and to keep succeeding.

The students we have are determined to be the best and I am determined to help them achieve that Scott McConnell (Graduate 2008, Hairspray, Mary Poppins) Q: Why does it matter where you train?

The Arts Academy gave me the chance to develop and A: I had the opportunity to study with exceptional refine - it gave me tools I use every day while working. I got teachers in the United Sates. My voice and conducting the chance to learn, play and practice my craft while teachers were great technicians. They demanded hard work refining the skills needed in such a competitive industry. I from me and I respected them for it. The other students I came to the Arts Academy a dancer. I left a Triple Threat. studied with were as committed and as focused as I was. I was surrounded by excellence. Where you train does Chris Durling: (Graduate 2004, Fame, Jersey Boys) matter. I sought out the best teachers for my education Being so close to Melbourne meant I could still see not the most famous - the best technicians. At Ballarat we plenty of theatre during my studies to keep me inspired, but have an exceptional staff. We are committed to our living in Ballarat allowed me to be fully focused on my craft students. We are committed to excellence. away from the distractions of the big cities. I loved that. I’ve And if you want to hear about that from our graduates, been lucky enough to perform in seven different countries. look no further than these shining lights: Currently I have the honour of covering and performing six Bart Walsh: (Graduate 2011, Dr. Blake Mysteries, Barassi) The Arts Academy was the ideal working environment for me. For three years I was exposed to a dynamic way of

extremely different roles in my favourite show, Jersey Boys.

My years at the Arts Academy helped give me the belief in my skills and work ethic to know I’m capable of such responsibility. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 31

Designs On A Theatre Career

Set designed by Fiona in the Roundhouse Theatre at WAAPA. 3rd year Production - Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2008).

WAAPA Production & Design Graduate FIONA BRUCE on the delights of moving from the page to the stage.

“One of the things I miss the most about “On the same day you might find yourself studying eighteenth WAAPA is working century underwear, throwing paint around in scenic art, creating in a shared studio 3D renderings in the computer lab, reading a new play then with other concocting fake blood recipes in art finishing!” designers where That is how Fiona Bruce sums up her time at WAAPA. you can bounce “As a student I loved the variety of subjects that were selected ideas around. to develop our creative process, artistic style, knowledge base and Production design, technical skills in equal measure,” she said. while extremely “I chose the design course at WAAPA because of its rewarding, can also outstanding reputation throughout the performing arts industry be challenging but and because it uniquely provides the opportunity to design for a having others around who can variety of performance mediums such as acting, musical theatre, classical and contemporary dance, film and opera. offer advice, “Most of my work still comes from presenting the portfolio of motivation, new productions I was involved in as a student and through contacts perspectives, humour and some friendly competition certainly made at WAAPA including mentors, guest directors, industry helped me achieve more with my designs. You are part of an guest lecturers and fellow students. intimate year group for three years of study, so your fellow students really become your second family, not to mention a key “My favourite aspect of the course was working on productions and seeing my work evolving from drawings on a part of your professional network once you graduate. page to real set and costume pieces on stage. The course very “Recently, I designed for a director who was a guest whilst I closely mirrors how designers work out in the field so I found the was at WAAPA, with a WAAPA graduate production managing transition from student to professional easy to navigate. the show and another as a design assistant. For my next project I “My advice to anyone thinking about a career as a theatrical will be designing for the company I did my secondment with, under the direction of yet another WAAPA guest director along designer would be to gain confidence in not only the aesthetic requirements of the job, but also how to communicate those side sound and lighting designers who are also WAAPA alumni. ideas to a wide variety of people. Conversations with a director or Coincidence? I think not!” performer require a different focus to the information required by a costume supervisor or head carpenter. Learning to communicate Fiona Bruce graduated in 2009 with the David Hough Award for effectively is a big focus at WAAPA as you interact with all of the Design. She’s worked for many companies since then. For Black Swan’s 2012 season she will design Boy Gets Girl. other departments on a daily basis.

32 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Showcase

Gold Coast Gets Top New Technical Theatre Course Just a short stroll from Dreamworld is a dream new facility for those wanting to work in the technical side of live theatre.

Last year the Queensland Government opened a 27 million dollar extension to the Gold Coast TAFE. Michael Sutton, the lead vocational teacher for the Live Production Theatre and Events course took Stage Whispers on a tour. It made all notions of crusty old TAFE buildings fly out the window.

Pride of place was a shiny new 150 seat theatre with all the newest sound and lighting gear. “I don’t know anyone else in the country equipped to this extent,” he said.

As I walked around, the latest conventional and LED lights were being unpacked. Behind the theatre is a black box space that can be used for photography, cabaret events, or green screen videography.

All parts of the TAFE had the latest facilities for sound recording, music performance, digital design, graphics and web design.

“Many people are overwhelmed by technology. First thing I teach students is to make sure they don’t burn the place down or get electrocuted.

“Once you get around the technical aspects all the rest is creative. It’s like painting with sound and light,” he said.

TAFE offers students a 12 month course - with lots of opportunities for part work time work in the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

The Live Production Theatre course is very practical. Students work on a fully fledged musical staged by a local community theatre - The Spotlight Theatre Company.

“We use their productions to train students. This is how a lighting design is put together, this is how to rig and focus.

They get to work on a big show with 20 or 30 people,” he said.

Michael Sutton says it is a partnership which should be followed around the country.

“Students get the experience and the community theatre gets a band of workers. It’s a match made in backstage heaven.”

The first thing the technical students are taught is what the show is about.

They need to understand the show first so they can work on it.

His back stage team gets great reviews.

For Little Shop of Horrors the Gold Coast Bulletin reported “Michael Sutton and a team of 15 TAFE students built the set, looked after the puppets and did the sound and lighting as part of their certificate four course in live production.”

Michael Sutton

“A series of puppets grew throughout the play. This was a technically demanding show.”

Michael Sutton is also a great collector of vintage lighting. Pictured are some of his favourite ‘bulbs’ that he’s collected over the years.

Students love the place. The most recent student satisfaction survey saw GCIT receive a 92% satisfaction rating from its students, the highest of any TAFE in Queensland. Some commute from Brisbane - others are relocating from interstate.

GCIT will expand the Live Production department (Cert. 3 and 4 in Technical Operations) by adding a new Diploma in Entertainment and Technical Production qualification in 2013.

The GCIT open day is on Thursday September 6th, but visits are welcome at other times.

David Spicer

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 33

work on aural work as well to make sure that singers are honing their ears as much as honing their voices.”

And Melissa’s advice for young musicians wanting to apply The University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba is for the course? leading the way for tertiary music education with its new “If someone is applying to me as a vocal student I’m workshop model. looking for some evidence of vocal technique, but I’m not after the well-developed technique - that’s what you come here to An exciting new musician training model at USQ was study for. In all applicants I’m looking for a sense of musicality, launched at the start of this year. and even more important than that, a real love of music.

The co-ordinator is jazz singer Melissa Forbes, who also “I would encourage anyone who feels that they want to teaches singing for contemporary commercial music styles, pursue music further after school to be always actively listening popular music history and a popular songwriting course. to lots of different types of music, thinking about what appeals “We’ve come up with an exciting model of teaching the to them and why, and starting to really think deeply about practical elements of music. It’s more of an ensemble-based music rather than thinking of it as something that’s just playing approach, where students break into groups and work on in the background. If you want to spend your life as a musician, repertoire to come up with their own arrangements of songs in you have to absolutely immerse yourself in music. accordance with whatever instrumentation they may have at “If the applicants are singers, they should also be trying to the time, and teaching them certain musical fundamentals in use their voice as much as possible, because it consists of that type of environment. And so far, so good - it’s been a real cartilages and muscle, and just like anything physical, if we injection of enthusiasm and vitality for both the students and don’t use it much it’s not going to be in very good shape. So staff. they need to be singing a reasonable amount, and being “We’re hoping to further expand that model in future guided by someone locally who can help them with some basic years.” technique. It’s also important to have good vocal role models Melissa explained her philosophy on teaching contemporary and analyzing what it is about their voices that is healthy and voice. functional - and looking at what makes those singers great “I’m really keen for people to understand how their voice artists.” works, from a physiological and scientific perspective; because Student Jess Berwick says of the course at USQ, “The our voice is our body and our instrument, and we need to lecturers are extremely supportive and cater to each individual’s understand that. Obviously we work on basic singing needs greatly. The course content is equally relevant and vastly technique, and I also have a particular passion for making sure interesting, and I hope to continue performing and one day that singers are also musicians. So in a lot of our classes we embark on my journey of teaching others the joy of music!”

The Joy of Singing

34 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

The Music Theatre Department at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) in Sydney is a vibrant, noisy, energetic and exciting collective of talented students, committed to understanding theatre.

Students are skilled in the four disciplines of singing, dancing, acting and creating, making students what AIM calls - the Quadruple Threat.

Music Theatre students are constantly performing - in class, concerts, recordings or musical productions. Recently, around 20 students stepped into a local studio to record as a choir ensemble for the Animals Australia campaign. The students sang the song ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story for an animated video in protest against the inhumane slaughter of farmyard animals.

The Musical Director of the campaign, Russell Finch, worked closely with these students. “I was really impressed with the way the students and Jennifer Murphy, as head of Music Theatre at AIM, approached the whole project.

“At the rehearsal they were given reasonably complex SATB parts and with their sight singing skills, this was quickly mastered.”

Jessica Robertson was one of the students involved. “It was wonderful working outside AIM as it allowed us to use the tools we have been given by our teachers. It allowed us to see and experience what it was like in the industry” Jessica says.

As it was only a small ensemble, the students were required to record their voices in different positions to give a sense of greater numbers. The studio session was a lengthy process as the students had to find the right sound for the animation, constantly changing timbre and tone.

Jessica says, “It was so exciting hearing our final draft of the recording with the image on screen. It gave us joy to be helping in such an amazing project.”

Her strong passion for Music Theatre is celebrated at AIM. “It

Showcase

Music Theatre Students Go Animal allows me to do all the things I love: sing, dance and act!

Choosing AIM was really easy as we are given the opportunity to be taught by industry teachers and learn how to perfect our craft!

AIM gives me the experience I need for the industry.”

Gavin Brightwell was also a voice in the choir. He notes the similarities between working in AIM classrooms and Studios 301.

“We all work together to get the best sound possible and blend perfectly. Knowing each other’s vocal strengths and weaknesses, we were able to achieve the task at hand and nail the recording.”

Like Jessica, Gavin embraces an affinity to Music Theatre: “As time passes you feel attached to it and there is nothing you can do to lose this attachment.”

With purpose built facilities, a diverse student body and professional staff and industry connections, AIM students receive the best possible education in Music Theatre. Jennifer Murphy, Head of the department says, “Our students represent a vibrant and exciting collective of the industry’s next wave of talent.”

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 35

At the Edge Of Acting

natural will - for me, that will is to be heard, understood, to be shared and be received.

Human beings long for someone to say, ‘I get you. I Dean Carey, Creative and Founding Director of Actors Centre understand.’ The person doesn’t have to agree with you, but the Australia (ACA), ponders the ideal conditions for an actor. person communicating wants desperately to be received.

Characters operate from this same emotional need and position.

Two pianists play the same collection of musical markings yet Life is an art; the difference being that art onstage or film has one translates mere notes whilst the other releases pure music. the boring bits edited out so the span of an entire lifetime can be Two Hamlets are never the same. A remake of an original film captured in a 120-page script. With life’s heartbeat as the often falters. Sequels almost inevitably suffer the same fate, as a foundation stone and springboard for art to exist, it is up to our contamination can take place fed by an obligation for louder, individual experiences, understandings and feelings to translate bigger, better. this lifeblood into our art - in essence, to connect our source So what is it exactly we are all looking for - actor and energy understanding to that of the characters. audiences alike - from our shared interaction? I believe we all seek By activating this same innate human mechanism of dealing the highest-grade quality experience possible. We want to be with all of the incoming stimuli of our life, we can then transfer rocketed into the here and now through a powerful sense of what we do naturally in life onto the stage. Once initiated it then immediacy and authenticity, in the hope of gaining insight and takes over and steers our sense of authenticity from the first meaning. This occurs principally by actors plugging into the reading to the final curtain call. creative source with such purity and skill, that the audience simply Through my 30-year teaching career I have never lost the follow suit and do the same. keenest of interest in the actor’s process and what empowers it. I Throughout my teaching life I have pursued the same essential have recently created an online acting program that includes a questions: ‘What working conditions prompt the purity of the platform for a worldwide performing arts forum. Here I wish to creative signal coming to the actors from the play’s source?’ Also, engage with actors, directors and drama teachers right around the and sometimes more importantly, ‘What working conditions world. compromise its integrity, thereby degrading the signal’s strength Technology now allows us such instant access and and quality?’ When learning acting, you need a vibrant connectivity, with particular communities sharing quality environment that actively addresses both of these questions. interaction 24/7. Hugh Jackman and I look forward to launching My focus has always been to search for and engage everything this exciting new initiative in October this year from Sydney. The natural about acting for the student. From this perspective a New York launch is set for early next year. performance platform can be secured upon where an organic, creative journey can take place. The unnatural elements are For all details on our full-time program or my new online inoculated through my teaching by activating each human’s program, see the websites below. www.acasydney.com.au www.theactingedgeonline.com

36 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Staging the Biggest Shows on Earth

Showcase

NIDA has upsized its old Scenery Course. So it’s out with making boxes and in with technical extravaganzas. Frank Hatherley chats to Nick Day, Head of Staging.

What was your favourite moment of the London Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies? Mine was a digitally resurrected Freddie Mercury leading the live 80,000 audience in a blissful recreation of his famous riff-along. How did they do that? In fact, how did ‘they’ seamlessly manage the two huge events with their astonishing mix of live mega-action, complex video, sound, lights and animation?

Now there’s a new undergraduate course at NIDA that aims to cover this brave new territory. The new Bachelor of Dramatic Arts (Staging) course starts next year and Head of Staging, Nick Day, can’t wait to get it going.

“When I first started teaching at NIDA,” he tells me, “we had a Diploma in Scenic Construction which was about fabrication in steel and timber with a bit of history of theatre thrown in. We were in competition with TAFE carpentry courses.

“Then all the NIDA courses were re-accredited. At that time [2005] I had a clever student by the name of Joe Au and I got him a secondment in London with a massive staging company called Stage One which was just getting Priscilla Queen of the Desert into the West End. Now Joe had come to us from the University of NSW having done a couple of years of a computer science course so he had this great skills mix of computers and then building and mechanics. The head of Stage One rang me from London and said, ‘Have you got any more Joes?’ I said, sorry, I was fresh out of Joes, but then later I thought, ‘Well, we could make some’.”

The increasing complexity of modern theatre production outdoors and indoors - demands new design and construction skills.

“I worked on the Sydney Cats bump-in 30 years ago,” says

Nick, “and I thought ‘this is just enormous,’ but it has just kept on growing. All the region’s production facilities come out of Sydney now. Big companies like Stage One, Qmotion and Stage Technologies are all here to service the South East Asia, Philippines, South Africa circuit.

“Within the large-scale musical milieu where everything opens and shuts there’s a need for a much more technically complex skill base, part structural engineer, part mechanical engineer, with a knowledge of computing and of data.

“And then there’s all the other areas- like film special effects, or major civic art installations.

“In events like the Olympics ceremonies the hardest part technically is knowing exactly where everything is at any point in time. Obviously it only takes one little thing to go wrong for the whole thing to become a horrible train wreck. So the tracking of all those movements is probably the most incredible, mindboggling part of the whole process.

“It’s all become so enmeshed these days - from film to animation to 3D manipulation of staging elements.”

Applications for the new Staging course close at the end of September. How many students will there be in the first year?

“Between four and six,” says Nick. “Most of our courses Costume, Properties - have that number. There’s only so many people that the industry can take up on an annual basis.”

Someone should tell that to the Acting teachers.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 37

VCA Celebrates 40 Years

dramas such as Rush. Clearly destined to be a major force, she spoke to me effusively about her time at VCA.

Coral Drouyn: Why VCA Nikki? Are you a Melbourne girl?

Nikki Sheils: (laughing) No, I’m not. And when I was about 17 I did a year part-time at NIDA in Sydney and it just didn’t click with me. Then I auditioned for VCA and right from the start I knew it was where I belonged. The physical work was so A few years ago they were marching in the streets protesting against changes to courses at the VCA. Times have now changed. important to me; I relate to it as a starting point for everything, and because I was honing different skills in different units, I had Earlier this year the Save the VCA group called its supporters to a street party to celebrate the survival of studio based training. Coral time to really work on things separately before bringing them all together.

Drouyn reports.

CD: And when did they come together?

NS: Well, hopefully before I graduated (chuckle) but I guess You’ll easily recognise the building on St Kilda Road - you can walk into the city to the theatre district from there. It takes about really when I worked with Daniel Schlusser in Peer Gynt. I was really stretched to my limits and it felt so great - an amazing ten minutes, though for students it’s a longer trip; usually three years of intensive training to end up on the stage of one of those Director whom some actors never get the chance to work with. I theatres, or on a film set or in a television studio. It’s all about the had the great Lindy Davies as my acting teacher, and access to so many professionals. The whole process was so rich and full. training and the commitment.

CD: What did you learn at VCA that you never expected to?

Art is the thing we all aspire to - but craft is the fuel we need NS: Well of course I learned technique, and stamina and to get there. VCA trains actors and directors, even musical theatre discipline, but more than that I learned things about myself, and I performers. You leave with a degree, if you work hard, but more learned to trust my judgement and not be afraid to push myself. importantly you leave knowing your craft, and with the ability to Above all I learned respect for other actors, and playwrights and turn it into art.

Just look at the alumni. It includes arguably our finest theatre directors. I’d always loved the theatre, but VCA taught me to respect it, and my choices, and so far that has helped me never director Daniel Schlusser; Award winning playwright and actress look back.

Hannie Rayson; international actor Vince Colossimo; prolific television actress Alison Whyte; AFI award winning directors Gillian Nikki graduated with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art. The course Armstrong and Tony Ayres and even a BAFTA winning producer in has changed slightly and that would now be a Bachelor of Fine Jonathan M Shiff.

Arts - Theatre Practice. This is because VCA has reinstated its One of the newer crop of future stars is the fabulous flame Music Theatre course and currently has graduates in musicals all haired Nikki Sheils, who is making her mark on stage in such plays over the country. You can find more details on their website but, as Top Girls - the MTC’s September offering, and on television in whatever the name, VCA is an inspiration to the Arts Industry.

38 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Showcase

How To Prepare For Your Drama School Audition So you want to go to drama school?

There are a few hoops to jump through first. These include tertiary entrance scores, age, and financial considerations - and of course, the audition.

were trained at the Big Three, so it is actually possible to tap into similar training elsewhere.

Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art (CADA), in the nation’s capital, is one of these. Their audition process differs from course to course, but their advice is simple.

“Having your lines down is one thing, but it’s quite another to have made an emotional connection between the text, your voice and your movement,” says CADA’s Managing Director, Elizabeth Avery Scott.

“That connection is the key: we want to see that you’ve found the meaning in the piece -work out what your character wants in the scene, and communicate that with commitment.”

One of CADA’s vocational education courses has a very simple audition process, with no preparation needed the Certificate III in Performance (Acting).

“This is an entry-level course, so we don’t expect any prior experience.

“You come along, we run you

The ‘Big Three’ - NIDA, VCA and WAAPA - open for applications months in advance of course commencement. If these are your schools of choice, you will need to apply on time, be clear about the requirements and follow their instructions to the letter when the day comes. Not only are they searching for talent, a look, and potential, they’re also after people who demonstrate they can respond to direction. This last point is a stumbling block to those who have memorised their pieces well, but when directed by the auditioning panel to repeat and alter their performances, are unable to do so.

Keep in mind, though, you are competing with literally thousands for a small number of places at these institutions. It’s important to realise that though it’s desirable to attend these prestigious schools, they are not your only options for Online extras! professional actor For more on Canberra Academy of training. Many Dramatic Art scan the QR code or visit private colleges http://bit.ly/MZqm22 now have staff who

through some drama exercises in a big group, and then interview you.”

She says that what they’re looking for is the ability to commit to the learning process - no matter how quirky it seems at the time.

“We’re looking for people who are teachable,” she says.

In contrast, CADA’s Diploma of Musical Theatre course requires a triplebarrelled dance, singing and acting audition.

“Always sing your song as if it is your own,” advises Ms Scott.

“Don’t put on any accent or mannerisms and don’t mimic popular performers.”

In the end, audition panels want to see what you personally have to offer.

“The most alluring performers are those who show their own selves, their own vulnerability in performance,” she says.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 39

Teaching From Experience The late great Noël Coward wrote a song called “Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington”. He should have added “Unless she’s properly trained”.

The reality is that talent will only take you so far, but you need strong craft skills to sustain a career, and those skills depend on the skills of those teaching you.

The APO Arts Academy in Melbourne knows this only too well, and they choose their teachers with care. It’s not about having done a course and then becoming a teacher. It’s about being a professional who has a career in dance, the theatre, television, etc., and is now passing on those skills to a whole new generation. You’re learning from people who have “been there, and done that.”

Take the Musical Theatre course. After a one year foundation course, students have the chance to commit full time to their Advanced Associate in Musical Theatre course.

The course attracts interstate and New Zealand applicants, and Victorians grateful they can enter the industry without having to study interstate or overseas.

Course Co-Ordinator Derek Taylor is a firm believer in performance based tuition. “You can talk about theatre academically,” he says, “but until you set foot on a stage and are confronted by an audience who will either connect with you or reject you, you can’t possibly know what it means to be a performer.”

Taylor began as a violinist and graduated with a music degree in 1987. He had a burning desire to do Musical Derek Taylor as Monsieur Andre with Andrea Creighton as Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera - Australian tour 2009. Photo: Jeff Busby.

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Find out more about APO Arts Academy by scanning the QR code or visiting http://bit.ly/SlpXrn 40 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Theatre, but the way in for him was through Opera. After three years performing with two state opera companies, he finally auditioned for Phantom of the Opera and got the part.

It was the beginning of an illustrious career of 3500 performances in Australia and the West End. His most recent credit was directing the Victorian Opera’s 2012 version of Cinderella, and while Derek is still performing, teaching a new generation of performers is giving him the most satisfaction.

“If you do any APO advanced course, don’t expect Theatre 101”. He tells me. “The academy is committed to giving its all to each student. We want to build our students’ confidence and belief in themselves. That takes hard work, discipline and dedication from students and teachers alike.”

Students of the Musical Theatre course do acting classes with professional actors, and dance classes with top professional dance instructors. Derek says the singing lessons are “about understanding what’s behind the notes; applying acting skills to lyrics; maintaining vocal and physical health; understanding how your voice works and the sounds you want to produce without damaging the instrument.

“We have people audition that come in and sing Defying Gravity from Wicked, relying on pure raw talent. That’s impressive, but they have no idea that they’re damaging their vocal chords, maybe permanently. Part of being in this industry is accepting that you might sing that song, eight performances a week, for 18 months. That’s when you need all your craft skills. That’s what we teach you.

“All facets are performance driven and all our teachers liaise and consult so that we’re all under the same umbrella.

It’s a complete, integrated course.”

There’s even an accent and dialects coach who will train you in everything from American (North and South) to Scottish accents and everything in between.

There’s a strong belief at APO that the more strings you have to your bow, the longer your career life will be in the industry, and it IS an industry, not a hobby. Performers are judged by how good they are and how strong their work ethic is - so why not learn the best from the start?

Showcases are held regularly and students are encouraged to choose their own repertoire. It’s the best way of discovering what your strengths and weaknesses are. I’m excited to be seeing their Sondheim showcase in September. One thing is certain, if I had an eligible daughter, I’d be sending her to APO before I put her on the stage. And Mr Coward would approve.

Coral Drouyn

Working Full-Time As An Actor While many aspire to work full-time on the stage or screen, achieving that aim is often the preserve of the minority who graduate from drama schools.

According to Sean Pratt the secret is being flexible. In this extract from his new book, To Be or Wanna Be - The Top 10 Differences between a Successful Actor and a Starving Artist, he explains what helped turn his life around.

father come back to me once again: “What’s your Plan B, Sean?” Not only was there no Plan B, but by losing my New York agent, my whole world had been turned upside down. Like so many actors, I had come to rely on him to make all the big decisions for me, guide my career, and do all the heavy lifting in regard to marketing me in the industry. It was as if, after all those years of hard work, I was right back where I started. Yet I soon discovered that sometimes starting from scratch A series of life-changing events can be the most liberating and forced me to truly take charge of my career. As the saying goes, every crisis invigorating thing that can ever happen to you. holds the seeds of opportunity, and I The first thing I did, once I literally was fortunate enough to see the picked myself up off the floor, was to potential for not only reshaping my career, but fundamentally transforming grab my paintbrush and hammer and scare up some work as a handyman; the way I approached decisions the bills still have to get paid, you concerning it. I had just moved to know. Next, I started contacting every Washington, D.C., after a successful person I thought could help me seven-year stretch of working in New York, to start my life and career over. brainstorm some new ideas. This group To help in the transition to this new eventually became my own personal board of directors, who would town, I had lined up parts in three motivate and challenge plays - what I thought would be nine months of acting work - at one of the me to restart my career.

Then, I began biggest theatres in town. My master plan was to hit the ground running, or investing my time in researching this new should I say rehearsing, and then spend the next several months getting marketplace and finding out who the real players a feel for Washington and what it were, networking with could offer me. But soon after my the actors I met, and arrival, I gave the theatre’s casting discovering just how office a phone call to check in and I different D.C. is from heard the phrase every actor dreads, New York. Then I “We’ve decided to go in another started to develop a direction with these roles.” (Insert sound of my jaw hitting the floor.) plan to capitalise on all The very next day, I called my New this information, got York agent to figure out what I should new pictures, and reworked my resume to do now, and was told the next-worst thing an actor could ever hear, “Sean, fit this unique town and in the process we’re reorganizing the agency and changed the look and dropping all of our out-of-town actors...and that includes you.” (Insert feel of what the company called Sean sound of me hitting the floor.)

Pratt, Inc. sold.

As I lay there, curled up in the foetal position, desperately wanting to wake Online extras! up from this To buy “To Be or Wanna Be”, simply scan nightmare, I heard the QR code or visit Sean Pratt Presents the words of my http://bit.ly/R9tl7c

Next, realizing that I was now responsible for marketing myself to all these new people, I taught myself the ins and outs of advertising, graphic design, business etiquette, and so much more. I came to understand that I could create my own personal brand by controlling the information I sent out and the impressions I made on people, and that this could further my career goals.

Finally, I began to look for other markets besides theatre in which to find work, and was surprised to discover many options available to me.

Narrating audiobooks, commercial modelling, on-camera hosting for training videos, small parts in the TV and film projects that were being produced in the area - all these opportunities and more were out there for the taking, and not just in D.C., either. Soon I was putting down my hammer, and for the first time in my career, was working full-time as an actor. It was simply amazing.

Singing For Your Supper Musical Theatre is a tough and overcrowded industry. Many performers fail at the first hurdle - the audition. In a new book, Musical Theatre Auditions and Casting, Neil Rutherford, a leading Casting Agent (for the Ambassador Theatre Group), who has auditioned thousands of people over the years, gives great advice. The first decision to make is what song to choose.

What makes a good audition song?

Audition songs have certain requirements: A song should last around two minutes.

It should immediately grab the panel’s interest and attention from the outset - in a first-round audition, you may only have three to five minutes to prove yourself worthy of getting a callback, so make sure your song engages us immediately. Don’t waste time on lengthy piano introductions; let’s hear your voice as soon as possible.

It should show off as many of your talents as possible This is difficult as not many twominute songs can show all your skills and range of vocal quality, but see if you can include as many as possible. Be sure of choosing songs that are within your talents - a hugely complex song that stretches you beyond your capabilities should be worked on in advance until it’s second nature. You should aim to stretch yourself, absolutely, but do so with your vocal coach and not for the first time in an audition.

It must be in your vocal range - yes, I’m afraid so many people come in with songs that have notes they just can’t reach.

It must provide an acting narrative each song should have a sense of narrative, or at least (if it’s a pop, country song or jazz standard) allow you to add your own context in order to achieve a sense of narrative and drama.

Remember, if you’re singing for a musical audition, it’s not just about your voice; it’s about singing and acting as the character within a dramatic context.

42 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

It should be appropriate for you, the actor - we want to see a bit of your own personality in your initial audition round, so find songs that make sense to you as well as your character, which will allow you to express and engage within the song. And be aware of descriptive lyrics that go against your physical appearance.

It should be appropriate for the character you are auditioning for - if your character is uplifting, cheery, in love, etc. you will do yourself no favours in singing a suicidal dirge.

Choose a song within the period of the production for which you are auditioning - singing a rock song for a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is obviously foolish and says a lot about you as a performer. Personally, I wouldn’t even let you sing it and would ask you to come back another day with something more appropriate.

It should allow you to be imaginative and inventive - interpretation and context is an interesting discussion in itself which I’ll address in the coming pages; but showing a degree of imagination in your song choices rather than presenting a standard version

makes us sit up and pay special attention.

It may include text/dialogue - only a little, but it’s nice to hear how you handle the technique of speech to song.

All songs should contrast and provide variety against other songs in your repertoire. You will almost certainly be asked to show a contrast in your audition pieces, so don’t have too many songs in your repertoire that sound the same.

It should be a song you enjoy performing and it should give you confidence - don’t choose songs you hate. Chances are if you enjoy singing it, we’ll enjoy listening to you.

What songs shouldn’t you sing?

Don’t sing your karaoke favourite.

Don’t sing something from the show you are auditioning for, unless you are specifically asked to.

Don’t sing songs in a foreign language unless you are asked to.

Avoid songs which have a few places where the panel can say ‘STOP!’ Some songs just need to be sung all the way through to show you off at your best. Most people on the panel will not

Stage Whispers Books Visit our on-line book shop for back issues and stage craft books (Continued on page 43) www.stagewhispers.com.au/books

be rude and stop you mid-vocal (unless you’re doing something really awful); they’ll generally wait until a solo piano moment. Therefore, don’t choose a song that has too many instrumental breaks in it.

Don’t sing a song where you’re constantly aware of the technical difficulties. If your mind is more focused on how you’re going to get that top Bb, rather than on ‘being in the moment’ dramatically, then it’s the wrong song for you. If you’ve prepared properly and have learnt your songs well, you shouldn’t be worrying about any technical difficulties during the song. Believe me, an auditionee who is worried about the technical aspects of the song might as well have a neon sign saying ‘Don’t Hire Me’ above their head. It’s that obvious.

Don’t sing a song that is boring or earnestly self-indulgent. Something which takes for ever to show off your skills, and is terribly slow and doesn’t say much, means we probably won’t say much about you either. Bear in mind we may have been sitting there for hours already, it’s hot, the mind wanders, and the last auditionee has left the panel wondering what’s for supper. Another boring song will, I’m afraid, have the producers snoozing at the table.

Don’t sing something that you can’t handle emotionally.

One must, as an actor, dancer and singer, retain control of emotion and not allow it to take you over completely. If you are out of control of your emotion within a song (and I don’t just mean ‘upset’; it could be ‘anger’, ‘frustration’, ‘joy’, etc.) you can completely destroy your performance. If you are ‘in the moment’ as an actor and you cry, that’s fine (in fact it can be electric in an audition) but you must maintain your sense of performance control.

And, of course, you must know how to replicate that same emotion eight times a week. I’ve seen sensational, emotionally charged performances in an audition room which have never been replicated as well on stage.

Don’t sing anything that is too difficult for your pianist. Part of this comes with experience and the pianist will certainly tell you if your song’s a nightmare to play (if you haven’t already discovered by him stopping every eight bars). You should have checked in advance during your preparation sessions, of course, and made adaptations. That doesn’t mean you can’t sing some of the great songs simply because the accompaniment is hard. See if there are other options, easier arrangements, or invest in someone writing a simpler accompaniment for you.

Stage On Page

Avoid songs that are overdone. If you know that the panel regularly hear the same songs being sung, or a song is particularly well known at the moment (perhaps the show’s just opened, or it’s a hit film theme tune), put it in the drawer for the moment.

Songs come in and out of fashion all the time, which is why I’m not giving you a list here. Just be sensible and get an idea of what others are singing regularly.

Musical Theatre Auditions and Casting can be purchased at www.stagewhispers.com.au/books

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 43

Theatre’s Child Labour Scandal

Just over a century ago a scandal involving children in a theatre troupe made headlines across Australia.

Children subject to abuse were left stranded on an overseas tour. Leann Richards reports.

In the mid 19th Century, child labour was common. Children were considered the property of their parents and governments were reluctant to interfere in the privacy of the home.

Children had long been a feature of Australian theatrical performances.

Carrie Moore and Ivy Scott started with J C Williamson as youngsters, whilst the Tivoli featured several juvenile performers such as Baby Parkes. In the 1880s, Tom Pollard had great success with his Lilliputians, a troupe of children who performed Gilbert and Sullivan and other comic opera pieces to great acclaim in Australia and New Zealand.

As the 19th Century closed, Government began to regulate child labour but the developments were slow.

State governments were responsible for child welfare and educational laws, and were reluctant to interfere in the private, family sphere.

In the late 1880s, several theatre entrepreneurs were prosecuted for employing performers under the age of 10 for profit. However, the penalties were small fines which were insignificant when compared to the amounts a child artist could make for

44 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

an enterprising manager. In these years the use of minors in the theatre was being challenged mainly by middle class philanthropic groups who saw the theatre as a morally corrupting influence.

However, in 1910, a scandal erupted that brought the matter to the attention of a much wider audience.

In 1908 Arthur Pollard (the brotherin-law of the well respected Tom Pollard) approached several parents in Melbourne and Sydney about employing their children in his family’s touring company.

He promised to educate, house and feed the children. He also promised to pay the parents between 10 to 15 shillings weekly. The Pollard name was well known in theatrical circles and some of the families had theatre experience. The prospect of fame, combined with financial reward, persuaded them to allow their offspring to join the troupe.

Over twenty performers between the ages of 7 and 19 were recruited. They rehearsed some musical comedies including The Belle of New York in Australia, and in July 1909 sailed from Melbourne for India via Malaysia.

Almost immediately after leaving Australia there was trouble. Arthur, a married man, reportedly began an affair with 19 year old Irene Findlay. The attention that Miss Findlay received was a source of jealousy for the other

teenage girls in the troupe. They began to break the rules, but the reaction of their manager was, by all accounts, excessive.

According to later court depositions, in Malaysia, one of the teenage girls was severely beaten by Pollard for going out in a car without permission. Later, in Bombay, another girl was violently assaulted for talking to the family of a jockey. In addition, according to one report, a much younger girl had been forced to take the stage when she was seriously ill. The poor child collapsed and was carried home.

Later it was revealed that Pollard had also reneged on his promise of education. The school mistress, Ruby Ford, admitted to a court that she was just another member of the company and was neither qualified nor asked to teach.

The company was in disarray by the time it reached Madras. Whilst there, some of the older children petitioned the police for help, but no aid was forthcoming. So they turned to Mr Rouse, a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

This organisation grew from the efforts of a New York church worker, Etta Wheeler, who attempted to aid an abused child in 1875. Wheeler found it necessary to approach the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to help the child as there were no other legal solutions available.

Mr Rouse, an eminent member of the Anglo Indian community, confronted Arthur Pollard about the abuse of the girls. Somehow he persuaded Arthur to give up custody of the troupe. About a day later Pollard changed his mind and sued Rouse for kidnapping.

By April 1910 the scandalous affair was being reported in Australian newspapers. Rouse’s trial was avidly followed in the press and every allegation of cruelty was publicly aired.

The Indian court decided in Rouse’s favour. It declared that Pollard was unfit to care for minors, and, in a decision that reflected the values of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children,

declared that the court had an obligation to act as a parent and in the best interests of the child.

This judicial activism reflected the growing role of state authority in family matters. The magistrate cited Pollard’s cruelty and relationship with Irene Findlay as determining factors. The adulterous relationship was a major problem, as immorality was considered contagious, especially to the young.

Upon hearing the verdict, Pollard, accompanied by Irene Findlay and the company’s profits, fled to the French zone of India.

The children and the adult employees of the company were left to find their own fares back to Australia.

The children gave performances, the local population raised money, and finally the orphaned company found their way home. Their arrival in Australia was greeted with tears, sentimental cries of ‘mummy’ and parental caresses.

The incident had a major effect on the employment of Australian children in the theatre. In November 1910, the Commonwealth Government passed a law forbidding the transport of children outside Australia for theatrical work.

The passage of the bill mentioned the Pollard affair, and although the law had exceptions, it significantly restricted the use of Australian children in overseas touring companies. The act also marked a significant Commonwealth intrusion into family welfare issues.

It was a humiliation for the Pollard family. The well-respected Tom Pollard was forced to disband his well respected Lilliputian Company shortly after the passage of the bill. As for Arthur, he died in New Zealand in 1940 and was mourned by his second wife, Irene.

Stage Heritage

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OH&S,” Mr Harman said. I asked him about what schools should look for when choosing staging system. His advice boils down to three key points:  check that it meets Australian Standards for strength and manual handling  make sure it is flexible system that can be used in a variety of ways for varying needs of:  dramatic performances  catwalks  choir risers  instrument podiums  look for one that packs away easily and stores in the smallest space possible, preferably using wheels to move it around to reduce handling issues.

Power Stage at Harvester Technical College, Sunshine VCAL Expo “If you had a staging system that was light, easy to use and store and met all the appropriate standards; setting it up and using it could If your school or theatre company has director, why don’t we build our own become an educational tool rather an old chipboard handmade set of lightweight stage and take it with than a wearisome and possibly staging, the chances are it is very us?” Kelvin said during a recent dangerous chore,” added Kelvin. heavy to lift and doesn’t meet current interview.

“Power Stage can provide a safety standards.

And so the first Power Stage was professional staging system to suit born. Today, after several evolutions, it individual needs. One that meets all of Kelvin Harman of Power Stage has is a very different product, made from these checkpoints, is competitively seen many that fit this category in his structural strength, lightweight priced and offers an ongoing strategic forty years touring schools and aluminium framing and carpeted partnership with a leading Australian regional centres. “In the early plywood infills. expert in the field.”

“We keep up seventies while on tour with the Magpie Theatre in Education team in with all the latest Online extras! country South Australia, the team got Australian Check out Power Stage’s full product so tired of having to lift heavy, and standards in range by scanning the QR code or visiting often broken, stages around before design, http://bit.ly/P9ZMkI ergonomics and they could set up. I said to the

46 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

Breaking More Than A Leg Lucy Graham reports from the National Frank Ward, Head of Production at Live Entertainment & Event Industry Safety Arts Centre Melbourne, addressed the Summit held at Entech Connect in gathering saying “a uniform Melbourne. understanding” in the form of a code of practice was needed. However drafting of Two teenage boys went wandering the code is particularly complex.

Consider the list of potential hazards: about the theatre. They’d volunteered as stage-hands for a regional school concert working at heights, in confined spaces, and, being curious, decided to go with chemicals, electricity, hazardous exploring. Eventually they found substances and pyrotechnics, safe manual themselves under the stage. It was handling, protection from loud noise, spookily exciting and as black-as-night asbestos, rigging, safe design and down there, apart from a sliver of light in construction of sets, transport, 24 hour working schedules, working with children, the stage floor above.

One boy felt his way through the and working with volunteers. darkness towards the light until he was Ward concluded that a new code of positioned almost beneath it. His mate, practice would need to refer to about 15 rather more sensibly, went in search of a existing codes of practice, “none of which light switch. Voila! When his companion are suited to our industry” but which turned the light on, the boy found he was require consideration in order to meet standing on the edge of a deep shaft, industry demands. beneath the stage’s trapdoor, just “Where does rigging start?” asked centimetres from serious injury.

Ward. “Does it start with a balloon on a Theatres are like the forbidden forest: string, or with the school who want to hang a polystyrene backed prop from exciting, magical and potentially fishing line? Where does rigging start?” dangerous. The boy standing on the precipice is now my husband, who, had While technically a high-risk license is his fortunes been different, would have required to hang a light from a bar, Ward joined the many people who have come recalls he was hanging lights for 20 years to harm in a theatre. before he had any sort of a license. And he’s not the only one.

Last month in Melbourne a packed room, representing live theatre and music “If I want to fly someone off a flying industries, met to hear about a new code- system I’m supposed to have an advanced of-conduct proposal for the live rigger’s license. I know that a lot of entertainment industry. Representatives venues, theatres, and acts do this stuff as a matter of course. I’m not saying people included the industry’s peak body, Live don’t do it safely; it’s just where are the Performance Australia, The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, and the guidelines to show you how to do it?

That’s why we need a code of practice for Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. our industry.”

“That doesn’t help the guy putting on the end-of-year school show in the town hall, and making sure the backdrop the kids have made is safe, and that the staircase the dads have built in the workshop is safe. The big question is, how do we know what we’re doing is safe?”

Ward said.

Hmm, I thought, my son’s school is contemplating suspending him in an overhead harness for the school production. I wonder who’ll be operating that apparatus?

Carolyn Davis from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported that a single workplace health and safety act would be a model for each state, but that ultimately each state would be responsible for its own legislation.

Chris Hayes, Operations Manager for Safety and Training at Arts Centre Melbourne, brought some human colour to the presentation in recalling the story of Dale Jewell, who died in 1988 after falling down a trap in a stage. Hayes said instances of falls and manual handling, in his experience, were the most common causes for concern.

While many of the major arts venues have their own work safety guidelines, it is unclear what the implications of the code will mean for community theatre and school productions. All we can do is wait for the process to conclude.

This week I have relished watching my son and his friends performing joyfully in their school’s production. To my immense relief he was not suspended in a harness after all. Yet it is sobering and necessary to recognise injury is a real possibility in the pursuit of a moment in the limelight.

Break-a-leg folks!

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 47

From The Back Of A Ute To Their Own Theatre This year The Guild Theatre celebrates its sixtieth anniversary. From a group of wandering actors, sometimes at the whim of moralistic landlords, the the ute with set, props and electrics, company now thrives in its own venue in head to the venue and, if lucky, get one Walz Street, Rockdale near Sydney bump-in performance beforehand. airport.

Afterwards they’d take off their make -up and costumes, bump out, load the The Guild Theatre at Rockdale ute, and take everything back to the member’s garage. was formed in 1952.

Formed under the auspices of the Foundation member Ivan Dennis recalls that stages were difficult to find Rockdale Musical Society, and known as in the early days. Performances took the RMS Drama Class, the group was place in scout halls, church halls, intended to give possible future actors Masonic halls, or anywhere where experience, under the mentorship of organisations wanted to raise funds, and Speech and Drama qualified mentor Miss Hazel Plant. asked the company to perform.

The company made their own sets, The first production, a collection of transported to the venue in a ute owned three one-act plays, was performed on a by one of the members. Before makeshift stage at Carlton School of Arts. Following a second collection of performances the cast would load up

48 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

one-act plays, it was decided that the group was ready to tackle a three-act play.

The group subsequently became the RMS Drama Group, performing several three-act plays annually, then, following friction over casting, the Illawarra Theatre Group was formed as a separate entity at a public meeting.

The company performed at many venues over the years. During this period, their production of Rape of the Belt won the Annual Sydney Play Festival (the Waratah Festival).

One venue, the Congregational Church at Kogarah, saw a production of Worm’s Eye View terminated prior to its sold out second night performance. A delegation of Church

during the establishment of the theatre at Walz Street.

Now, forty-six years later, Jim recalls the trials and tribulations of establishing a permanent home for a local community theatre.

The Guild acquired the use of its premises in mid-1965. At that time the Rockdale Community Building, a substantial Federation-style building, dating from 1912, comprised a large hall, central corridor and four fairly generous meeting rooms.

The local council agreed to lease two -thirds of the hall to convert the space into a theatre.

Enthusiastic Guild members set to work on a former billiard room. A Wardens called a halt to the season section of the floor was raised to form because, shock, horror, it had discovered the stage, hundreds of bricks were that a mixed cast were using the same cleared and redundant cinema seats (only) dressing room. were purchased.

When an impassioned plea to the Before long the first production was wardens went unheeded, the theatre in rehearsal. The artistic director, Hazel group’s leader Hazel Plant blasted the Plant, had chosen J.M.Barrie’s Quality wardens for their evil minds, while Street to open the new theatre. Opening defending the morals and integrity of in March 1966, the play had a very her cast. successful season, running for about Penshurst’s Cathoics had no such eight performances. qualms. The local priest thought it was These days a season runs 19 all very funny indeed. Patrons were met performances. Entry was straight from at the Kogarah venue and ferried by car the street into the 84-seat auditorium, to the Penshurst venue. and dressing rooms, still mixed, were The Guild later performed regular under the stage. seasons at the Rockdale Town Hall, After several successful productions developing the large regular audience, there was enough and the firm relationship with the local money in the kitty council, which eventually led to the to undertake acquisition of their present home. further building The company was works: a new fortunate to have a toilet block and qualified an awning roof architect, over the Jim Searle, as a member,

front steps. Later one of the meeting rooms was converted into a dressing room.

In 1980 it became clear that some upgrading of the theatre was necessary.

As the Guild was now something of an institution in the district - plays were now running for a fully booked season of around twelve performances - the group was in a strong position to expand.

Incorporating extra space previously occupied by a nursing service to expand the stage and auditorium, the theatre in its current form emerged.

A healthy bank balance enabled the group to raise a satisfactory loan, approvals were applied for and granted and work commenced. This time the Guild could afford to engage a builder.

This work was completed by March 1980 and the newly refurbished and enlarged theatre was opened to the delight of enthusiastic members and supporters. For this new opening, the play selected was Robert Anderson’s Tea and Sympathy.

Three of the four original meeting rooms were now exclusively for use by the Guild and became a store for furniture and bulky items, a dressing room and a store for smaller props and costumes.

By 2001 community use of the last room in the building had diminished, allowing the council to lease this to The Guild. Today it fulfils various functions: Green Room, overflow dressing room, workroom, committee meeting room and rehearsal room.

Various improvements have taken place over time and no doubt the expansion plans of The Guild Theatre are not over yet.

Thanks to Bill Ayers.

Four foundation members (L-R): Eric Stelzer, Shirley Diamond, Merle Lummis and Ivan Dennis at the recent 60th Anniversary celebrations.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 49

Stage Briefs

Laura MacIntyre, Natasha Oeberigs, Louise Jaques and Heath Cauchi in Miranda Musical Society’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast - September 19 - 23 at Sutherland Entertainment Centre. Photo: Moonen Creative Studios.

Hall of Fame Sydney pianist / musical director Jayne Hamilton and husband, performer extraordinaire Christopher Hamilton, both had to keep a big secret in July.

Each was being inducted into The Association of Community Theatre’s Hall of Fame but all they knew was that their spouse was up for the gong.

Both were delighted to accept the awards and amused that the surprise was shared and enjoyed by both of them.

Jayne Hamilton has tickled the ivories for an average of six shows a year for 35 years in both community and professional theatre. She has a remarkable talent of being able to play almost anything put in front of her.

Christopher Hamilton has had an illustrious 40 year career in community theatre as a performer, director, set designer, set builder and stage manager.

50 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

One incident illustrates his superb talent. When the Orange Theatre Company was about to perform Sweeney Todd, three days before opening their Sweeney had an accident on stage and damaged his spleen.

Christopher was called at 2am in the morning. The next morning he was in Orange and learnt the role in time for an opening night performance, described as a triumph.

Another recipient was Walter Moore, who has lit 90 productions in a row for Theatre on Chester.

Nothing fazes him. He has calmly dealt with the most serious of problems, even during the running of a performance.

Stella Dougherty was also honoured. She has worked as an actor, costume designer, usher, set designer, director and producer

on more than 40 productions for the Griffith and Regional Association of the Performing Arts. She is well known for the passion she shows in putting on critically acclaimed productions which often tour to small towns.

For more details visit www.communitytheatre.com.au

Jayne and Christopher Hamilton.

Cairns Choral Society present Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance at Cairns Civic Theatre from September 28 to October 13.

Bijou Creative presents the Tasmanian Premiere of Little Women: The Broadway Musical from 28 September to 13 October at The Playhouse Theatre, Hobart.

The Wellington production of Hairspray which played at the Opera House in August. The set will tour New Zealand.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 51

Puzzles

Compiled by Aaron Ware

www.thepuzzlehub.com

ACROSS 1. Horror show 5. Mr Darin 8. Rubber Ducky Fan 9. Somewhere that’s…

10. Aussie, Wilson 11. To Twitter 13. Paint tool 16. Vocal range 17. S. Pacific’s Josh 19. 1A’s producer 22. Aussie, Dorricott 24. Actor, Don 27. Ring of Johnny 28. Had book club 29. Henrik 31. Jim’s band 32. Xmas décor 33. See 19A 35. Musical, Dames (2,3) 36. Opera phan DOWN 1. Paquin’s mutant 2. Competitive musical 3. Babs’ gender swap 4. 2012 Best Musical 5. Friend of 8A 6. Pitt, Blanchett film 7. Submarine 12. I am the, man 14. Just, water 15. Film, All about 16. Di Franco

18. Oz women’s B’ball team 19. Stoppard ‘93 play 20. Learn yours well 12. Sun God 23. Circus act 25. In music, to be played 26. Fleur Delacour 29. de la Muerte 30. Author, White (1,1) 34. Pixar flick

SOLUTION TO LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE A Lovely Girl A Quiet Girl Conquering New York Chief Of Love Comes Once In A Lifetime Everlasting Fireworks Fivezeros I’ve Gotta Crow I Can Cook Too Just In Time Looking Back 52 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

My Own Morning Sextet Witches Brew

For heaps more puzzles and brain teasers scan the code or visit http://bit.ly/KlYNbT

NOTE This puzzle is available online as a digital crossword. We are beta testing this feature which includes the ability to save your game, get hints, as well as a final score.

On Stage A.C.T. Panic Stations by Derek Benfield.

Tempo Theatre Inc. Sep 7 - 15.

Belconnen Theatre. (02) 6275 2700.

Back to the 80’s by Neil Gooding. Free Rain Theatre Company. Sep 7 - 23. ANU Arts Centre. (02) 6275 2700.

Terrain. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Sep 13 - 15. Canberra Theatre. (02) 6275 2700.

Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon.

Canberra Repertory. Sep 13 29. Theatre 3. (02) 6257 1950 10-4 Monday to Friday.

Hair by Jerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot. Sept 19 - Oct 6. The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. (02) 6285 6290.

Side by Side by Sondheim.

Canberra Theatre Centre and Enda Markey. Sep 21 & 22. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700.

The School for Wives by Molière, translated by Justin Fleming. Sep 26 - Oct 6. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700.

From the Ground Up. Circus Oz. Oct 3 - 7. Canberra Theatre.

(02) 6275 2700.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Sasha Regan’s all-male version. Oct 10 - 13. Canberra Theatre. (02) 6275 2700.

War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne. SUPA Productions. Oct 12 - 27. ANU Arts Centre. (02) 6257 1950. (02) 6257 2718 (Dinner and show).

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Free Rain Theatre Company.

Oct 19 - Nov 4. The Courtyard Studio. (02) 6275 2700.

The Wharf Revue by Drew Forsythe, Jonathan Biggins and Phillip Scott. Oct 23 - 27. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700.

New South Wales Legally Blonde The Musical by Laurence O’Keefe, Nell Benjamin and Heather Hach. Opens October 4 (previews from Sept 20. Lyric Theatre, The Star,

Sydney. LegallyBlonde.com.au The Splinter by Hilary Bell.

Sydney Theatre Company. Until Sept 15. Wharf 1 Theatre. (02) 9250 1777 The Curious Savage by John Patrick. Theatre on Brunker.

Until Sep 15. Theatre on Brunker, Adamstown (Newcastle). (02) 4956 1263.

The Secret Reunion by Players Theatre, Port Macquarie. World Premiere. Until Sep 9. (02) 6584 6663.

Wrong Turn At Lungfish by Garry Marshall & Lowell Ganz.

Nowra Players. Until Sep 8.

Players Theatre, Bomaderry.

1300662808.

Conversation Piece by Lucy Guerin. Belvoir. Until Sep 23.

Belvoir Street Theatre. (02) 9699 3444.

Hairspray The Musical by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan.

Penrith Musical Comedy Company. Until Sept 8. Q Theatre, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre. (02) 4723 7600.

Wrong Window by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore.

Campbelltown Theatre Group.

Until Sep 15. Town Hall Theatre, Campbelltown. (02) 4628 5287.

Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey. Henry Lawson Theatre, Werrington. Until Sep 21. (02) 4729 1555 (9-5).

Night of the Living Dead. A Multi-Media Presentation by J Russo and G.A. Romero. Cooma Little Theatre Inc. Until Sept 15.

Book at Cooma Visitors Centre.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan (Essgee Edition). SUPA North. Until Sep 8. Ballina RSL. (02) 6686 2544.

Treasure Island adapted by Helen Howard and Michael Futcher from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel. Queensland Theatre Co and Matrix Theatre.

Sep 3 - 4. Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford. (02) 4323 3233.

The Sea Project by Elise Hearst.

Griffin Independent. Sep 5 - 29.

A.C.T. & New South Wales SBW Stables Theatre. (02) 9361 3817.

Red by John Logan. Ensemble Theatre. From Sept 6. (02) 9929 0644 Outlast. City life drama developed by the cast. Tantrum Theatre. Sep 6 - 9. Keightley Street, Newcastle.

Oliver! by Lionel Bart.

Muswellbrook Amateur Theatrical Society. Sep 6 - 15.

Musswellbrook Workers Club.

(02) 6543 2011.

Australia Day by Jonathan Biggins. Sydney Theatre Company. Sep 7 - Oct 27.

Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. (02) 9250 1777.

The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance. Adenau and 5 Minute Call Productions. Sep 7 15. The Factory, Adamstown (Newcastle). (02) 4929 1977.

The Lunch Hour by Chris Aronsen. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Sep 7 - Oct 7.

Darlinghurst Theatre. (02) 8356

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

9987.

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. Ballina Players. Sep 7 22. 6686 2440 (bh).

Nunsense by Dan Goggin.

Rockdale Musical Society. Sep 7 - 25. Bexley RSL & Community Club. 1300 244 523.

Dare Devils by Paul Dion.

Spectrum Theatre Group. Sep 7 - 22. Twyford Hall, Merimbula.

0466312289.

Calendar Girls by Tim Firth. Roo Theatre Company, Shellharbour.

Sep 7 - 22. (02) 4297 2891.

Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie. Genesian Theatre. Sep 8 - Oct 20. (02) 8019 0276 (10am to 6pm, Mon - Fri).

Sleeping Beauty. Music by Tchaikovsky, choreography by Marius Petipa. Imperial Russian Ballet Company. Sep 8 - 9. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Tom, Dick and Harry by Ray and Michael Cooney. Maitland

Stage Whispers 53

On Stage Repertory Theatre. Sep 12 -29.

Maitland Repertory Theatre. (02) 4931 2800.

From The Ground Up. Circus Oz. Sep 12 - 16. Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong. 02 4224 5999.

Bare Witness by Mari Lourey.

FortyFive Downstairs/La Mama.

Sep 12. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Into the Woods by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim.

Pantseat Productions. Sep 14 22. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle.

(02) 4929 1977.

Sweet Charity by Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Neil Simon.

Holroyd Musical and Dramatic Society. Sep 14 - 22. 0439 733 868 (B.H.) The Flood by Jackie Smith.

Critical Stages and Finucane and Smith. Sep 18. Cessnock Performing Arts Centre. (02) 4990 7134.

A Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher.

Ensemble Theatre. Australian

54 Stage Whispers

New South Wales

Premiere. From Sep 20. (02) 9929 0644 Peter Pan - A British Musical.

Wyong Musical Theatre Company. Sep 21 - 29. Wyong Memorial Hall, Anzac Avenue, Wyong. 1300 366 470.

Snake in the Grass by Alan Ayckbourn. Castle Hill Players.

Sep 21 - Oct 13. Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill. (02) 9634 2929.

Work Shorts 2012. Wollongong Workshop Theatre. Sep 21 - Oct 6. (02) 4225 9407.

Mum’s the Word by Jay Corr.

Picton Theatre Group Inc. Sep 22 - Oct 12. Wollondilly Shire Hall, Picton. 4677 8313 Hansel and Gretel by William Ford. Young People’s Theatre.

Sep 24 - Nov 17. Young People’s Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4961 4895 Fri 4-6pm, Sat 9am - 1pm.

The Wharf Review by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott. Sydney Theatre

Company. Sep 24 - 26, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, (02) 4224 5999 & Sep 28 - 29, Civic Theatre, Newcastle, (02) 4929 1977.

The Twits adapted by David Wood from the book by Roald Dahl. Hunter Region Drama School. Sep 26 - 29. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. Oct 4. Cessnock Performing Arts Centre. (02) 4990 7134.

Sex With Strangers by Laura Eason. Sydney Theatre Company. Sep 28 - Nov 24.

Wharf 1 Theatre. (02) 9250 1777 Private Lives by Noël Coward.

Belvoir. Sep 29 - Nov 11. Belvoir Street Theatre. (02) 9699 3444.

Ophelia Thinks Harder by Jean Betts. Newcastle Theatre Company. Sep 29 - Oct 12.

4952 4958 (3-6pm Mon - Fri).

Bare Witness. Musician/ Composer Jethro Woodward. A La Mama Theatre / fortyivedownstairs production.

Oct 2 - 6. Gordon Theatre, Wollongong. (02) 4224 5999.

Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett. CHATS Productions Inc. Oct 3 - 14. (02) 6651 9098.

Secret Bridesmaids’ Business by Elizabeth Coleman. Pymble Players. Oct 3 - 27. 1300 306 776

By Jeeves by Alan Ayckbourn & Andrew Lloyd Webber. NUCMS. Oct 5- 20. Normanhurst Uniting Church. www.nucms.org Between Two Waves by Ian Meadows. Griffin Theatre Company. Oct 5 - Nov 17. SBW Stables Theatre. (02) 9361 3817.

Swan Lake music by Tchaikovsky, choreography by Marius Petipa. Russian National Ballet Theatre. Oct 9 - 10. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Little Women by Allan Knee, Mindi Dickstein and Jason Howland. Maitland Gilbert and Sullivan and Musical Society.

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Oct 10 - 14. Maitland Town Hall. (02) 4931 2800. Oct 20.

Hawks Nest Community Centre.

Door sales. Oct 27-28. East Cessnock Bowling Club. Door sales.

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh. Stooged Theatre.

Oct 10 - 20. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Medea by Anne-Louise Sarks from Euripides. Belvoir. Oct 11 Nov 25. Belvoir Street Downstairs Theatre. (02) 9699 3444.

The School for Wives by Moliere. Bell Shakespeare. Oct 11 - 13, Civic Theatre, Newcastle, (02) 4929 1977 & Oct 16 - 20, I.M.B. Theatre, Wollongong, (02) 4224 5999.

Nunsense by Dan Goggin. Dural Musical Society. Oct 12 - 27.

Soldiers Memorial Hall, Dural.

1300 306 77 Miss Julie by August Strindberg, adapted by Christabel Sved and Kate Box. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Oct 12 - Nov 11.

Darlinghurst Theatre. (02) 8356 9987 TOP 4 TEA - 2. Cabaret Show.

Strathfield Musical Society. Oct 12 - 14. The Latvian Theatre, Strathfield. 02 96764601 / www.strathfieldmusicalsociey.co m.au The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas by Larry L. King, Peter Masterson and Carol Hall.

Canterbury Theatre Guild. Oct 12 - 21. Bexley RSL Club. 9559 0000.

Singin’ in the Rain by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown.

Orange Theatre Company. Oct 12 - 27. Orange Civic Theatre.

(02) 6393 8111.

The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry. DAPA. Oct 19 - Nov 3.

DAPA Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4962 3270.

The Hatpin by Peter Rutherford and James Millar. The Regals Musical Society. Oct 19 - 27. St George Auditorium, Kogarah.

0449 REGALS.

New South Wales & Queensland

Bogan-Ville Burlesque. Part of the Sydney Fringe 2012 from September 7 to 30.

More details: http://2012.sydneyfringe.com. Photo: Timothy Talti.

3 Short Plays. Roo Theatre Company, Shellharbour. Oct 19 - 27. (02) 4297 2891.

Hotel Hibiscus by Robert Cockburn. Epicentre Theatre Company. Oct 19 - 27. Zenith Theatre, Chatwood. 9777 7547.

Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo.

Ensemble Theatre. Sydney Premiere. From Oct 25. (02) 9929 0644 Mix Tape: Remastered musical revue. Pantseat Productions. Oct 25 - 27. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Peter Pan by James Barrie.

Upstage Youth Theatre. Oct 25 - Nov 4. Tocal Homestead, Paterson. (02) 4934 1516.

Jest at the West by Judith Prior.

Cootamundra Amateur Dramatic Arts Society. Oct 26 & 27. Theatre Restaurant / Melodrama. Cootamundra Town Hall (02) 69436252.

The Mikado by WS Gilbert and AS Sullivan. EUCMS (Eastwood Uniting Church Musical Society).

Oct 26 - Nov 10 Eastwood Uniting Church Hall.

Cosi by Louis Nowra. Bankstown Theatre Company. Oct 26 - Nov 4. Bankstown Arts Centre. 9676 1191.

Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Gosford Musical Society. Oct 26 - Nov 17.

Laycock Street Community Theatre. (02) 43 322 322.

The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan and the Hitchcock movie. Woy Woy Little Theatre. Oct 26 - Nov 4. The Peninsula Theatre, Woy Woy. 43 233 233.

Fully Committed by Becky Mode. Castle Hill Players. Oct 31 - Nov 10. Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill. (02) 9634 2929.

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. Popular Theatre Company. Oct 31 - Nov 3. PAN Building, Newcastle. 0402 139 920.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. A Regan de Winter Production. Oct 31 - Nov 4. I.M.B. Theatre. (02) 4224 5999.

Queensland The Body Snatcher by Scott T Barsotti. Arts Theatre, Brisbane.

Until Sep 8. 3369 2344 All Shook Up. Elvis Presley music with a book by Joe DiPietro. The Spotlight Theatrical Company, Benowa. Until Sep 8. (07) 5539 4255.

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

En Suite by Joe Byrne. Villanova Players. The Theatre, Morningside TAFE. Until Sep 15.

3899 9962.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Ballet by John Neumeier /Music

by Medelssohn. Hamburg Ballet.

Playhouse, QPAC. Until Sep 5.

136 246 Jersey Boys by Frankie Valli & Bob Gaudio. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Until Oct 14. 136246 1984 by George Orwell. Shake & Stir. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. Until Sep 1. 136246 Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein; Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics

by Sheldon Harnick. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Sep 1 - 29.

55322096.

Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica by David Williamson.

Gardens Theatre. Sep 4-6. 3138 4456.

Proof by David Auburn.

Javeenbah Theatre Company.

Sep 7 - 22. 5596 0300.

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl.

Arts Theatre, Brisbane. Sep 8 Oct 20. 3369 2344 Breaker Morant by Kenneth Ross. Centenary Theatre Group.

Chelmer, Brisbane. Sept 8-12.

0435591720 Stage Whispers 55

On Stage

Queensland Kelly by Mathew Ryan. QTC. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. Sep 15 - Oct 20. 1-800-355-528 The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett.

Arts Theatre Brisbane. Sep 15 Oct 13. 3369 2344 The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay. Nash Theatre. Merthyr Road Uniting Church. Sept 15 Oct 6. 3379 4775 In the Mood Again by Kate Peters. Top Hat Productions.

Sep 20 - Oct 6. Spotlight Basement Theatre. 5539 4255.

Guys and Dolls. Neptune Productions. Sep 21 - 29.

Tweed Civic Centre. 5536 2446.

That Woman by Jo Denver.

Nambour Lind Lane Theatre.

Sep 21 - 28. 54411814.

The Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. Noosa Arts Theatre Inc. Sep 21 - Oct 7.

5449 9343.

Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner. The Independent Theatre at Eumundi. Sep 28 Oct 7. 5472 8200.

Anything Goes by Cole Porter.

Savoyards. Iona Performing Arts

Centre. Sep 29 - Oct 13. 3893 4321.

Managing Carmen by David Williamson. QTC. Playhouse, QPAC. Oct 13 - Nov 4. 1-800355-528.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas by Larry L. King, Peter Masterton and Carol Hall. The Caloundra Chorale and Theatre Company. Oct 17 - Nov 4.

Chorale Theatre. 5437 2719.

Find the Lady by Michael Pertwee. Tweed Theatre Company. Oct 19 - 28. Tweed Heads Civic Centre. 55362556.

The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan. ProMac Productions.

Oct 19 - 21. Noosa Arts Theatre. 5449 9343.

A Tribute of Sorts. Inspired by Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Four of Five. La Boite, Roundhouse. Oct 24 - 10 Nov 10. 3007 8699 Carmen by Bizet. Opera Queensland. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Oct 26 - Nov 10. 136246 Uninetown The Musical by Greg Kotis & Mark Hollmann. Coolum

On Stage Theatre Players Inc. Oct 26 Nov 11. Coolum Civic Centre.

5446 2500.

The Music Man by Meredith Willson. Beenleigh Theatre Group. Oct 26 - Nov 10.

Victoria His Girl Friday by John Guare.

Melbourne Theatre Company.

Until Sep 15. Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse. (03) 8688 0800.

Mamdaddy by Yon (Tripod) and Fiona Scott-Norman. Until Sep 16. Chapel Off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000.

Woman in Black by Stephen Malatratt. Based on the novel by Susan Hill. Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre Co Inc. Until Sep 8. (03) 9735 1777 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, adapted by Charles Vance. Mount Players. Until Sep 15. Mount View Theatre. 1300 463 224.

Loyal Women by Gary Mitchell.

Malvern Theatre Company. Until Sep 8. 1300 131 552.

Top Girls by Caryl Churchill.

Melbourne Theatre Company.

Until Sep 29. The MTC Theatre, Sumner. (03) 8688 0800.

Doubt by John Patrick Shanley.

STAG (Strathmore Theatre Arts Group). Until Sep 9. Strathmore Community Hall. (03) 9382 6284.

The Woods by David Mamet.

Until Sept 9. La Mama Theatre.

(03) 9347 6142.

The Anniversary by Bill MacIlwraith. Essendon Theatre Co. Until Sep 8. Bradshaw Street Community Hall, West Essendon. 0422 029 483.

Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson. Eltham Little Theatre Inc. Until Sep 15. 9437 1574 Our Town by Thornton Wilder.

Geelong Repertory Theatre Company. Until Sep 15.

Woodbin Theatre. (03) 52 25 1200.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Beaumaris Theatre Inc. Until Sep 23. (03) 9583 6896.

Caps and Bells by Luigi Pirandello. Sept 5 - 9. La Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 6142.

Calendar Girls by Tim Firth.

Brighton Theatre Company. Sep 6 - 22. Brighton Theatre Company. 1300 752 126.

Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley. Williamstown Little Theatre Inc. Sep 6 - 22.

(03) 9885 9678.

Polly’s Party by Renae Shadler.

Sept 12 - 23. La Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 6142.

Queensland & Victoria

Schaubühne Berlin’s production of Enemy of the People, featuring in the 2012 Melbourne Festival, from October 11 to 27.

Walking Mark Rothko by Adam J. A. Cass. Sept 12 - 30. La Mama Theatre. (03) 9347 6142.

The Well by Robert Reid.

Melbourne Fringe Theatre. Sept 12 - 30. La Mama Theatre. (03) 9347 6142.

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

by Ray Lawler. Heidelberg Theatre Co. Sep 13 - 29. (03) 9457 4117.

Daisy Pulls it Off by Denise Deegan. Hartwell Players Inc. Sep 14 - 29. Ashwood College Performing Arts Centre. (03) 9513 9581.

Prelude to a Kiss by Craig Lewis.

Mordialloc Theatre Company.

Sep 14 - 29. Shirley Burke Theatre. (03) 9587 5141.

Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler.

Altona City Theatre. Sep 21 Oct 6. 0425 705 550.

Monash One Act Play Festival.

Peridot Theatre. Sep 21 - 23.

Unicorn Theatre, Mt Waverley.

2012 Melbourne Fringe Festival - Sep 26 - Oct 14 www.melbournefringe.com.au The Four Accordionists of the Apocalypse by Sofia Chapman.

Melbourne Fringe. Sept 26 - Oct 7. La Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 6142.

The Lichtenstein Nursing Home Massacre by Sarah Kriegler, Jacob Williams & Kristzan Bagin with John Paul Fishbach.

Melbourne Fringe. Sept 26 - Oct 7. La Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 6142.

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

Dreamboats by Edwin Coad, music by Paddy Broberg.

FAMDA. Sep 27 - Oct 8. Foster War Memorial Arts Centre.

0400 867 872.

The Tuxedo and the Little Black Dress by Louis Nowra & Stewart D’Arrietta. Sep 27 - Oct 14.

Chapel off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000.

The Biography of a Battler by Scott Welsh. Melbourne Fringe.

Oct 3 - 14. La Mama Theatre.

(03) 9347 6142.

The Unspoken Word is “Joe” by Zoey Dawson. Melbourne Fringe. Oct 4 - 14. La Mama Theatre. (03) 9347 6142.

All Shook Up by Jo DiPietro.

Inspired and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley. CLOC. Oct 5 20. National Theatre, St Kilda.

1300362547 Exit the King by Eugene Ionesco.

Dionysus Theatre. Oct 5 - 12.

Never Did Me Any Harm. Force Majeure / Sydney Theatre Company / Melbourne Festival.

Oct 9 - 13. MTC, Sumner Theatre. (03) 8688 0800.

No Child… by Nilaja Sun. Melbourne Festival / Theatre Works. Oct 9 - 14. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. 1300 182 183.

La Soirée. Featuring the stars of La Clique. Melbourne Festival.

Oct 11 - Nov 18. Forum Theatre, Melbourne. 136 100 After Life. Libretto by Michel van der Aa, after Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Melbourne Festival. Oct 11 - 13.

Stage Whispers 57

On Stage Regent Theatre, Melbourne. 136 100.

Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh. 1812 Theatre. Oct 11 - Nov 3. (03) 9758 3964.

Hello, Dolly! by Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart. Babirra Music Theatre. Oct 12 - 20. The Whitehorse Centre. 9262 6555.

The Kingfisher by William Douglas-Home. Encore Theatre Company. Oct 12 - 26. Clayton Community Centre Theatrette.

1300 739 099.

The Shifting Heart by Richard Beynon. Kyneton Theatre Co Inc. Oct 12 - 20.

Orlando by The Rabble after Virginia Woolf. The Rabble / Malthouse/ Melbourne Festival.

Oct 12 - 27. The Malthouse, Tower Theatre. (03) 9685 5111 Michael James Manaia by John Broughton. Taki Rua / Melbourne Festival. Oct 12 - 28. fortyfivedownstairs (03) 9662 9966

58 Stage Whispers

Victoria & South Australia

Slim Chance by Peter Gordon.

Sherbrooke Theatre Company.

Oct 12 - 27. 1300 650 209.

Freeway: The Chet Baker Journey. Tim Draxl. Blake Entertainment in association with Melbourne Festival. Oct 16 - 20. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. 1300 182 183.

Irving Berlin: Songs in the Key of Black. Performed by Lucy Maunder. Oct 16 - 20. Chapel off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000.

An Act of Now. Concept & Choreography by Anouk van Dijk. Chunky Move / Melbourne Festival. Oct 17 - 27. Sidney Myer Music Bowl. 136 100 The Minotaur Trilogy by Margaret Cameron & David Young. Chamber Made Opera / Melbourne Recital Centre / Melbourne Festival. Oct 18 - 21.

Melbourne Recital Centre, Salon. (03) 9699 3333 Hairspray by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan.

Catchment Players. Oct 19 - 27.

Darebin Arts Centre. (03) 8470 8280.

The Mikado by W S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Victoria. Oct 20 27. Alexander Theatre, Monash University, Clayton. 03 9905 1111.

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen. Melbourne Festival / Schaubühne Berlin. Oct 21 - 27. Arts Centre, Melbourne. 1300 182 183.

Before Your Very Eyes.

Melbourne Festival / CAMPO / Gob Squad. Oct 24 - 27. The Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre. (03) 9685 5111.

How High the Sky. Conceived by Sue Giles, Jessica Wilson & Anna Tregloan. Polyglot Theatre / Arts Centre Melbourne / Melbourne Festival. Oct 24 - 28. Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre. 1300 182 183 Blackrock by Nick Enright. Purely Pensive Productions. Oct 25 27. Mechanics Institute of Performing Arts, Brunswick.

0405 114 063.

42nd Street by Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble, Al Dubin and Harry Warren. NOVA Music Theatre. Oct 26 - Nov 11.

Whitehorse Centre. 1300 305 771.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Bert

Shevelove, Larry Gelbart and Stephen Sondheim. From Oct 27. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. 1300 795 012.

The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and Members of The Tectonic Theatre Project.

Mockingbird Theatre. Oct 27 Nov 11. Chapel off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000.

Elling, adapted by Simon Bent.

Melbourne Theatre Company.

Oct 27 - Dec 8. The MTC Theatre, Sumner. (03) 8688 0800.

Cabaret by Joe Masteroff, Fred Ebb and John Kander. Mansfield Musical and Dramatic Society MMuDS). Oct 27 - Nov 3.

Mansfield Performing Arts Centre.

More Sex Please … We’re Seniors! by John-Michael Howson. From Oct 31. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne.

Ticketmaster.

South Australia Top Girls by Caryl Churchill.

State Theatre Company of SA. To Sep 8. Dunstan Playhouse.

131 246.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

by Edward Albee. Burnside Players Inc. Sep 5 - 15. Burnside Town Hall, The Ballroom. (08) 8363 7442 All My Sons by Arthur Miller.

Adelaide Repertory Theatre. Sep

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage 6 - 15. The Arts Theatre. 8212 5777.

Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer.

Blackwood Players. Sep 7 - 17.

Blackwood 21. 1300 658 522.

Ladies Night by Anthony McCarten and Stephen Sinclair.

Sep 11 - 15. Star Theatre Hilton, Barossa Arts & Convention Centre, Marion Cultural Centre, Hewitson Theatre, Starplex, Gawler and Golden Grove Arts Centre.

Reaper Man by Sir Terry Pratchett, adapted by Pamela Munt. Unseen Theatre Company. Sep 14 - 29.

Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide.

Perish the Thought by Sue Harris Puppets. Sept 20 - 29.

Holden Street Theatres - The Arch. 8225 8888.

Mr Bailey’s Minder by Debra Oswald. The Stirling Players.

Sept 21 - Oct 6. The Stirling Community Theatre. 8339 3931.

Rent by Jonathan Larson.

Ovation Centre of Performing Arts. Sept 28 & 29. Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Mount Gambier. 8723 8741.

Who Killed Santa by Terrence Feely. Tea Tree Players. Oct 3 13. Tea Tree Players Theatre.

82895266.

Blasted by Sarah Kane. State Theatre Company of SA. Oct 5 13. Space Theatre. 131 246.

Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine.

Northern Light Theatre Company. Oct 12 - 27. Shedley Theatre, Playford Civic Centre Elizabeth. 8262 7713 Pornography by Simon Stephens. State Theatre Company of SA. Oct 18 - 27.

Space Theatre. 131 246.

Don’t Dress For Dinner by Marc Camoletti. Galleon Theatre Group. Oct 18 - 27. Domain Theatre, Marion Cultural Centre, Oaklands Park.

70073842.

Barry Manilow’s Copacabana.

The Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of South Australia (The Met). Oct 18 - 27.

South Australia & Tasmania

Musical Theatre legend Elaine Paige tours Australia in October, playing Riverside Theatre, Perth (20 Oct), Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre (23 Oct), Palais Theatre, Melbourne (24 Oct), State Theatre, Sydney (26 Oct), Canberra Theatre (Oct 28) and QPAC Concert Hall (Oct 29).

The Arts Theatre, Adelaide. 131 246.

The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie. Therry Dramatic Society. Oct 31 - Nov 10. The Arts Theatre, Adelaide.

Tasmania Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. Until Sep 15.

Peacock Theatre, Hobart. (03) 6234 5998.

Love Me Tender by Tom Holloway. CentrStage. Sep 5 - 8.

The Annexe, Launceston. (03) 6323 3666.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan (Essgee version). G-String Productions.

Sep 6 - 9. Longford Town Hall Theatre. (03) 6323 3666.

Swan Lake. The Imperial Russian Ballet. Sep 15 & 16, Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) 6233 2299 and Sep 18 & 19, Princess Theatre, Launceston, (03) 6323 3666.

Certified Male by Scott Rankin and Glynn Nicholas. Sep 19 22. Theatre Royal, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299.

The Trade by Jim Russell. The Tasmanian Theatre Company.

Sep 21 - Oct 6. Theatre Royal Backspace, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299.

Little Women The Musical by Allan Knee, Mindi Dickstein and Jason Howland. Bijou Creative.

Sep 23 - Oct 13. The Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. (03) 6234 5998.

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr

by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Linda Woolverton. Musical Theatre Crew. Sep 26 - Oct 4. Peacock Theatre, Hobart. (03) 6234 5998.

Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica by David Williamson.

Ensemble Theatre Production.

Oct 2 & 3, Princess Theatre, Launceston, (03) 6323 3666 & Oct 5 & 6, Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) 6233 2299.

Avenue Q by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty.

Launceston Musical Society. Oct 11 - 20. Earl Arts Centre. (03) 6323 3666.

Back to the 80’s by Neil Gooding with original musical Stage Whispers 59

On Stage adaption by Scott Copeman.

Old Nick Theatre. Oct 19 - Nov 3. Theatre Royal, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299.

Calendar Girls by Tim Firth.

Stephen Beckett Productions.

Oct 25 - 27. Earl Arts Centre.

(03) 6323 3666.

Soulmates by David Williamson.

Hobart Repertory Theatre Society. Oct 26 - Nov 10.

Playhouse Theatre. (03) 6234 5998.

Western Australia Annie by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan. GFO Entertainment.

Until Sep 16. Burswood Theatre, Perth. Ticketek.

Mid Year Show. Tivoli Club of WA. Singing, dancing and comedy. Until Sep 9. Tivoli Club of WA, Applecross. 9364 5463.

Night Was Our Friend by Michael Pertwee. Garrick Theatre. Until Sep 15.

Psychological thriller. Garrick Theatre, Guildford. 9378 1990.

Falling to the Top by Tyler Jacob Jones and Robert Woods.

Playlovers. Until Sep 8. World premiere musical about reality singing stars. Hackett Hall, Floreat. 0415 777 173.

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. Old Mill Theatre. Until Sep 8. Verbatim theatre directed

by Megan Burley. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. 9367 8719.

When Did You Last See Your Trousers by Ray Galton and John Antrobus. Rockingham Theatre Company. Sep 1-15.

British farce. Rockingham Theatre. 0412 119 122.

On the Misconception of Oedipus by Zoe Atkinson, Matthew Lutton and Tom Wright. Perth Theatre Company.

Sep 5-15. New take on historical legend. Studio Underground in the State Theatre Centre, Perth.

BOCS 9484 1133.

Season of One Act Plays by various authors. Goldfields Repertory Club. Sep 6-15.

Brookman Street 60 Stage Whispers

Tasmania & Western Australia

Theatre, Kalgoorlie. Goldfields Arts Centre Booking Office 9088 6900.

Love, Lust and Levity by various authors. Stirling Players. Sep 615. You Can’t Hurry Love, The Brute and Henry Wharton and The Einstein Fracture. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo. 9440 1040.

Blithe Spirit by Nöel Coward.

Roleystone Theatre. Sep 7-15.

Roleystone Theatre. 9397 5730.

Life After George by Hannie Rayson. Melville Theatre Company. Sep 7-22. Roy Edinger Theatre, Melville. 9330 4565.

Symphonic Abba by Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Sep 7-8. WASO concert featuring Rajatan vocal ensemble, Perth Concert Hall.

BOCS 9484 1133.

Unpack This by Geoff Paine.

Perth Theatre Trust and Redskin Productions. Sep 10-14.

Comedy about men’s anger management workshop. Subiaco Arts Centre, Subiaco. BOCS 9484 1133.

One Act Season by various authors. Darlington Theatre Players. Sep 12-15. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount. 9255 1783.

Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Sep 15-30.

WA Premiere of American thriller. Heath Ledger Theatre in the State Theatre Centre, Perth.

BOCS 9484 1133.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Reframe Theatre Company. Sep 17-22.

Dolphin Theatre, University of Western Australia. Nedlands.

BOCS 9484 1133.

Queen’s Diamond Concert.

Older Women’s Network Theatre Group. Sep 19.

Morning Melodies. Right royal concert. Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie. 9493 4577.

Over My Dead Body by Derek Benfield Harbour Theatre. Sep 21- Oct 6. Harbour Theatre,

Smetana’s The Bartered Bride - NBR New Zealand Opera - Auckland and Wellington.

Port Cineaste Building, Fremantle. BOCS 9484 1133.

Garrick One Act Weekend by various authors. Garrick Theatre. Sep 21-22. Garrick Theatre, Guildford. 9378 1990.

Hills Festival of Theatre by various authors. Darlington Theatre Players. Sep 21-23.

Marloo Theatre, Greenmount.

9255 1783.

Lawyers and Other Communicable Diseases by James Marzec and John McPherson. Showroom Theatre Inc. Sep 25-29. World premiere musical. Subiaco Arts Centre.

BOCS 9484 1133.

Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer.

Wanneroo Repertory. Sep 27Oct 13. Tony Award winning mystery. Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo. 9571 8591.

Cat Balloon, based on the book

by Palo Morgan. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Sep 29 - Oct 13. Cats can’t fly. Spare Parts

Puppet Theatre, Fremantle.

9335 5044.

Potted Potter by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner. Lunchbox Theatrical Productions and Potted Productions. Oct 2-7. An unauthorised Harry experience. Heath Ledger Theatre in the State Theatre Centre, Perth. BOCS 9484 1133.

Hairy Maclary and Friends by Lynley Dodd. AKA Presents. Oct 3-6. Stage adaptation of much loved books. Regal Theatre, Subiaco. Ticketek.

Who Killed Candy Sweetness by Bree Vreedenburg. Rag and Bone Theatre Group Oct 5-20.

World premiere featuring swing dancing. The Peninsula Ballroom, Maylands. Taztix 9255 3336 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

by Edward Albee, Old Mill Theatre. Oct 5-20. American drama directed by Garry Lawrence. Old Mill

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Theatre, South Perth. 9367 8719.

Grug by Ted Prior. 2012 Awesome Festival, Windmill Theatre and Out of the Box Festival. Oct 9-13. Based on the picture book character. Studio Underground in the State Theatre Centre, Perth.

BOCS 9484 1133.

Romeo and Juliet.

Choreographed by Graeme Murphy West Australian Ballet, Oct 10-14. Costumes by Akira Isogawa. Burswood Theatre.

Ticketek.

Crave by Sarah Kane.

Umbrellaco Theatre Company. Oct 10-19. Thought provoking theatre. Subiaco Arts Centre, Subiaco. BOCS 9484 1133.

Letters End by Wolfe Bowart.

Westfarmers Arts, Spoontree Productions and the Awesome Festival. Oct 11-13. Physical Theatre. State Theatre Centre, Perth. BOCS 9484 1133.

Les Misérables by Boublil and Schonberg. Remregal. Oct 1120. Regal Theatre, Hay St, Subiaco. Ticketek.

The Ghost Machine by Sebastian Seed. Climbing Vine Theatre. Oct 19-21. Modern Australian theatre. Canning Town Hall, Cannington. BOCS 9484 1133.

A Chorus Line by Michael Bennet, James Kirkwood and Marvin Hamlisch. Oct 20 - Nov

4. Quintessential backstage musical. Burswood Theatre, Perth. Ticketek.

Diving for Pearls by Katherine Thomson. Hit Productions. Oct 20-21. Subiaco Arts Centre, Subiaco. BOCS 9484 1133.

Madam Butterfly by Giacamo Puccini. West Australian Opera.

Oct 23-Nov 3. In Italian with English surtitles. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. BOCS 9484 1133.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Arts Projects Australia. Oct 24-27. All male production. Regal Theatre, Subiaco. Ticketek.

Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen. Class Act. Oct 24- Nov3. Subiaco Arts Centre. BOCS 9484 1133.

Witches, Wizards and WASO. Conducted by Warwick Potter.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Oct 28. Halloween treat for families. Perth Concert Hall. BOCS 9484 1133.

New Zealand The Producers by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. New Plymouth Operatic. Until Sep 8.

TSB Theatre. Ticketmaster Dangerous Liaisons by Christopher Hampton.

Whangarei Theatre Company.

Until Sep 15.

Some Girls by Neil La Bute.

Titirangi Theatre. Sep 4 - 15.

817-7658.

Auditions

Western Australia & New Zealand Playing Away by Janet Shaw.

Tauranga Repertory Society. Sep 5 - 22. Sixteenth Street Theatre.

(07) 577 7188.

Peninsula by Gary Henderson.

Howick Little Theatre. Sep 8 29. (09) 534-1406.

Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris.

Circa Theatre. Sep 8 - Oct 6.

Circa One, Wellington. 04 801 7992.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Detour Theatre - Tauranga. Sep 12 29. Baycourt Theatre. 5777188 The Gift by Joanna MurraySmith. Auckland Theatre Company. Sep 13 - Oct 6.

Maidment Theatre.

Manawa by Jamie McKaskill.

Tikapa Productions. Sep 15 Oct 13. Circa Two, Wellington.

04 801 7992 Serial Killers by James Griffin.

Stagecraft, Wellington. Sep 19 29. 0508 484 253 / (04) 974 4111.

The Producers by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. Tauranga Musical Theatre Inc. Sep 21 29. Baycourt Centennial Theatre.

The Bartered Bride by Smetana.

NBR New Zealand Opera. Sep 22 - 29, Auckland - ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, 0800 289 842 and Oct 13 - 20, Wellington - St James Theatre, 0800 842 538.

Love Generation by Jacqui & Andrew Watson. Uppr Hutt

Musical Theatre. Sep 26 - Oct 6.

04 527 2168.

Cinderella by Jack Perry and Robert Neil Porter. Hutt Repertory Theatre. Oct 1 - 7.

Theatre 108.

Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell by Keith Waterhouse. Elmwood Players. Oct 3 - 13. Elmwood Theatre.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Musical Theatre Dunedin.

Oct 4 - 13. Mayfair Theatre. (03) 477 8597.

Entertaining Angels by Richard Everett. Cue Theatre. Oct 6 - 20.

TET Cue Theatre, Inglewood. 06 7567032.

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. Khandallah Arts Theatre Inc. Oct 10 - 20.

The Truth Game by Simon Cunliffe. Circa Theatre. Oct 13 Nov 10. Circa One, Wellington.

04 801 7992.

Mary Poppins by Julian Fellowes, the Sherman Brothers, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Cameron Mackintosh.

From Oct 13. The Civic, The Edge, Auckland. Ticketmaster.

Communicating Doors by Alan Ayckbourn. Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe at Eastbourne, Wellington. Oct 18 - 27.

The Boyfriend by Sandy Wilson.

Wellington Repertory Theatre.

Oct 23 - Nov 3. Gryphon Theatre, Wellington. 479 3393.

“8” by Dustin Lance Black. Stephen J & Michelle R Barber in conjunction with Fabulous Nobodys Theatre Co. October 20 & 21. 0422 384 985 or 0413 452 997.

Victoria Murdered to Death by Peter Gordon. The Basin Theatre Western Australia Group. September 4 & 6. 0423 351 789.

The Ash Girl by Timberlake Wertenbaker. Harbour The Dixie Swim Club by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope Theatre. September 15 from 11 am. 0417 907 291. and Jamie Wooten. Willianmstown Little Theatre.

The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Koorliny Arts Centre and Kwinana Industries Council.

September 8 & 9. (03) 9399 2554.

September 16. 0425 445 986 Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson.

Mordialloc Theatre Co. Inc. September 9. 0419 529 208.

Are You Being Served by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.

For more auditions, visit Essendon Theatre Co. September 9 & 11. 0416 073 649. www.stagewhispers.com.au/auditions Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring. Heidelberg Theatre Co. September 16 & 17. 0432984781.

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 61

Reviews: Premieres

Eat Pray Laugh!

Eat Pray Laugh!

Barry Humphries’ Farewell Tour. Director: Simon Phillips.

Capitol Theatre, Sydney. July 5 - July 14, and touring.

HOW much spittle can a 78-year-old generate? That was my thought, as Sir Les Patterson rained down on the hapless members of the audience who sat in the front row for his ‘farewell’ tour.

The self-appointed cultural attaché was in the finest of disgraceful form - this time hosting a cooking segment in between the loudest of visits to the latrine. As you would imagine, his food hygiene was a little lacking.

The contrast between the intellect and sophistication of Barry Humphries and the base fart jokes of Sir Les is hard to get your head around. But it was side-splittingly funny.

Director Simon Phillips ingested a few helpings of showbiz pizzazz. There was even some good old-fashioned slapstick involving somersaults that you would not expect in a show starring man well past retirement age.

There was a new character, Sir Les’s brother Gerard, a paedophile priest forced by authorities to wear an ankle bracelet.

After the brash and base of the Pattersons, on came Sandy Stone, one of the more enduring of Humphries’ creations, an elderly man in his dressing gown reflecting on his life.

Dame Edna arrived in the second act like the Queen of Sheba, on the back of an exotic looking Indian Elephant. She asked if anyone was seeing her for the first time. When a hapless member of the audience put her 62 Stage Whispers

hand up …she got the third degree for the perceived snub.

But it allowed Dame Edna to use some old material, making fun of the ‘poorer’ members of the audience who bought tickets in balcony.

Perhaps they had the last laugh. They enjoyed the show with no chance of Sir Les Patterson’s spittle reaching them. And in egalitarian fashion, all in the audience received a colourful gift which Dame Edna has made famous. It was a night to remember and honour an extraordinary talent.

David Spicer Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons

By Michael Bate. Room 8 and AT Management (Vic).

Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne. Director Michael Bate. July 20 - 29.

A COUNTRY music fan I’m not, yet there is something magnetic about this musical tribute to Gram Parsons.

Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons is predominantly a biographical study in concert form.

Constructed around thirty-three songs, it’s punctuated by scripted dialogue as the characters of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris are brought to life.

Jordie Lane gives an assured performance as Parsons. His voice runs like a honey-river over the lyrically intriguing melodies. Even if you are not a country fan, here’s a voice worthy of undivided attention, and a talent we simply must meet again. But it’s not only about the voice - this guy can really play up a guitar-storm.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

sex.violence.blood.gore

Clare Reynolds graces the stage after interval, offering up a warm, empathetic Emmylou Harris. Vocal harmony work is tight and top-notch, and includes band members on tour for the show from Canada and USA (Pat McLaughlin - guitar and mandolin; Chris Breitner - bass; Al Bragg - pedal steel; and Tom Martell - drums). Who wouldn’t love that deep sonorous bass singin’ y’all?

Highlights included the old gospel rendition of ‘Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning’, a nod to Elvis Presley in ‘That’s Alright Mama’, ‘Dark End of the Street’, the wonderfully pensive ‘She’, the best Parsons reckons he wrote - ‘Hot Burrito #1 (I’m Your Toy)’, ‘Love Hurts’, and the encore number ‘Ooh Las Vegas’.

Towards show’s end I began to drown in the sorrow of it all. Personally I am becoming weary of references to binge drinking and drug abuse as comedy. These things are not funny, and audience laughs were ironically startling given the multiple human tragedies that litter this story.

Country music fans are sure to relish this show.

Lucy Graham sex.violence.blood.gore

By Alfian bin Sa’at (co-written with Chong Tze Chien).

Director: Stephen Nicolazzo. MKA (Vic). June 27 - July 14. sex.violence.blood.gore is unexpected, fascinating political satire. However without historical knowledge and experience of Singapore, its messages can be a little cryptic at times. Regardless, this production is engaging, absorbing, highly amusing and beautifully presented by

gifted, articulate, eloquent actors playing with restraint and irony.

Director Stephen Nicolazzo capably and impressively orchestrates the whole.

On a set (designed by Eugyeene Teh) inferring ageless civilization, of Grecian columns supporting an arch decorated with an extravagant freeze of torsos, limbs and body parts, behind gauzy curtains performers wait as though in a bordello, for their turn to be on stage.

Throughout, wearing exquisite, redolent undergarments - designed by Eugyeene Teh and made by Tessa Leigh Wolffenbuttel Pitt - five females and one male actor, all in stylised ‘oriental’ make-up, present a variety of confronting scenes of varying degrees of nihilism.

For me there was a twinge of ‘is this cultural exchange or appropriation?’ Perhaps for this adventurous theatre company such concerns would appear petty and ‘old hat’.

And, ultimately it is liberating and refreshing to watch theatre that questions notions of the ‘politically correct’ with sharp and subtle acumen.

Suzanne Sandow This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing Director: Noel Jordan. Subiaco Arts Centre. July 10-21.

AS outstanding as Barking Gecko’s productions have been in the last few years, and they have been predictably great, there has been a strong similarity in style. This year there has been a huge swing away from that tradition; The Red Tree and even more so this production being very

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 63

Helen Thomson and Julia Ohannessian in Sydney Theatre Company’s The Splinter. Photo: Brett Boardman.

different in feel.

This was a fairtytale style story, which seems so contemporary given the plethora of television shows and movies in this vein of late. It was also a coming of age story and a celebration of each young woman’s right to determine her own destiny. It would be equally appropriate for an eighteen-year-old as for an eight-year-old and felt much more theatre for young people than theatre for children.

Beautifully told, it was gentle and prettily presented and distinctly feminine without being cloying or ‘girly’.

There were excellent performances from the cast of four. Ella Hetherington, Jo Morris and Sarah Nelson played look-alike but distinctly different sisters Albion, Beatrix and Carmen, while Drayton Morley nicely played the various men in their lives, although having the same actor as both father and love interest can be somewhat disconcerting.

The set was surprisingly intricate for a production set to travel and its gradual destruction may well be described as a Stage Manager’s nightmare, although it looked fantastic.

More like this please Barking Gecko.

Kimberley Shaw

France in 2011 by Emily Ayoub and Roziye Delaney, both graduates of the Jacques Lecoq School.

The Grief Parlour deals with death. We are taken on a ‘through the looking glass’ journey with a young blonde girl in a blue dress. She leaves loved ones behind and wanders the seashore of the afterlife, accompanied by a collection of bizarre and lovable characters.

The production design is simple and brilliant - two pairs of screens propelled around the stage by performers. They can conceal what lies behind the face of death or a variety of costume changes and machinations with props.

There is little dialogue. There is much movement, which is breathtakingly beautiful. Our deceased heroine is joined by a quirky elf-like guide, who leads the beauty through storm and tempest towards the mystery of the afterlife.

There are no standouts in this true ensemble production. They move together like the sure fire mechanism of a beautiful old clock, deserving their name Clockfire Theatre.

Stephen Carnell

The Splinter

By Hillary Bell. Director: Sarah Goodes. Sydney Theatre The Grief Parlour Company. Wharf 1 Theatre. Aug 10 - Sep 15.

Created by the Cast (Emily Ayoub, Roziye Delaney, Katie IF a key aim of theatre is to provoke discussion and Crowl, Gareth Rickards and Kate Worsley). Clockfire Theatre make the audience go on an emotional journey, then The Company, Old 505 Theatre (NSW). May 30 to June 3.

Splinter has ticked both boxes.

CLOCKFIRE is an Australian theatre company dedicated It begins at the end of the story, so it seems. A child to producing original, ensemble-based theatre, founded in missing for an extended period is reunited with her parents.

64 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

There is a relief and joy from her father, played by Erik Thomson, and mother, played by Helen Thomson, who both anchored the performance with depth and empathy.

The child will not speak and behaves erratically. Tensions of the past bubble to the surface. They should be overjoyed to receive their daughter back, but something is not quite right.

This unease is accentuated by the representation of the young girl as a puppet.

The child was portrayed as wooden and limp, allowing us to feel the parents’ alienation from this apparent stranger who has come back to their home.

Coupled with paranoia that the child’s abductor would return, they spend the performance jumping at shadows, both real and psychological.

The set was sparse, but clever use of lighting and special effects such as wind made it a satisfying production to look at nonetheless.

Inspired by the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw, this production is one of the more successful commissions from the STC in recent times.

It leaves many questions unanswered. While this provoked a dynamic discussion in the foyer afterwards about what the ending meant, there was no ambiguity about the trauma caused to a family when a child goes missing.

David Spicer

Zandt has some much-needed fun with Jenny’s party-loving friend Elizabeth. There’s no doubting Simon Stone’s highflying theatre talents but this latest production is an earthbound disappointment.

Frank Hatherley

Metamorphoses

By Mary Zimmerman. Direction & Design: Dino Dimitriadis.

Lighting Design: William Ratcliff. Pact Space, Erskineville (NSW). July 4-21 OVID’S 12,000-line poem Metamorphoses was written in the first century of the Roman Empire. These were turbulent times of experimentation, licentiousness and violence. Ovid’s poem recalls one hundred and fifty stories from Greek mythology that illustrate these compulsions in man. Mary Zimmerman turned some of the tales into theatre, and director Dino Dimitriadis and his team were drawn to her invitation to “create images that amplify the text, lend it poetic resonance or even contradict it”.

He does, and with his cast of eleven actors, they do it very well. This is a work based upon movement, light, sound and boundless energy and imagination. Each story begins with one of the nine large wooden boxes on stage being opened, revealing the elements that will drive that particular tale. This clever production design concept works beautifully and enables each story to stay a mystery, until its box is opened and the contents revealed.

There are outstanding and courageous performances Face to Face from Sophie Haylen, Richard Hilliar and Jacqui Livingston.

A screenplay by Ingmar Bergman, adapted for the Stage by Sydney needs more shows like this.

Andrew Upton and Simon Stone. Sydney Theatre Company.

Stephen Carnell Sydney Theatre. Director: Simon Stone. Aug 7 - Sep 8.

AS THE busiest young director/writer in Sydney this year, Frequently Asked Questions Simon Stone’s choice for the STC was unexpected.

By Natalie Medlock, Dan Musgrove, and Michael Hurst.

Following back-to-back hits with Strange Interlude and Royale Productions, Director: Natalie Medlock. The Street Death of a Salesman at the Belvoir, here he stages one of Theatre, Canberra. July 11-21.

IT MAY not be possible to appreciate how fine an actor the most personal movies of the great Swedish director/ writer Ingmar Bergman. is until you see him play various disparate roles interacting He and Andrew Upton have crafted their text from with each other.

Bergman’s screenplay that follows the crack-up and In this one-man show, Hurst has the audience in stitches determined suicide attempt of Jenny, a seemingly capable with the humorous shock of the meetings of various psychiatrist. Played originally by Bergman’s muse, the Shakespearean worlds in the one pokey flat; of the totally luminous Liv Ullmann, Stone’s Jenny is the sturdier, more true-to-the-Bard lines they deliver to each other in a prosaic Kerry Fox, who virtually never leaves the wide modern setting; and of the violence they casually inflict on expanses of the Sydney Theatre stage. each other, knowing as they do that all the world’s a stage Pre-breakdown she roams the all-black space, with just a and they’re merely players on it. little help from the odd pieces of rolled-in furniture to The beautifully self-referential lines - which Hurst himself contributed to - would be an entertainment merely to read. represent any change of venue. Later, after steadfastly swallowing 50 Nembutals, she half-wakes in the all-white Hurst’s delivery of them imbues characters that we hospital room that has descended from the flies. This generally keep somewhere in an ancient castle of the amazing specimen-jar effect by designer Nick Schlieper, imagination with truth and punch, bringing them with a glass wall that separates Jenny from life and from us, undeniably to life. The agony of Othello, the violent selfrighteousness of Macbeth, the fragility of Lear, and through is particularly tough on Ms Fox who must play scenes of high stress and near madness distanced from her audience it all the surprises in Hamlet’s character: to see his and via microphones. characters meet and contest the field is to witness a barely The supporting cast do their best with the plainly contained riot. written inhabitants of Jenny’s crumbling life. Wendy And I haven’t even mentioned the fighting. The physical Hughes and John Gaden register well as the aunt and uncle comedy of Hurst’s characters engaging in vicious hand-towho adopted her as a young girl, and Queenie van de hand fighting is as funny as it is amazing.

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Michael Dalley and Paul McCarthy in Mademoiselle.

Photo: Ponch Hawkes.

Tanya Dickson’s direction displays foresight and immaculate attention to detail.

Engrossed by the hilarious weirdness of it all, I looked at my watch, craving more - not wanting it to end - knowing the short fifty minutes must almost be up. How often can one say that about theatre?

Suzanne Sandow

Mademoiselle

By Michael Dalley. High Performance Company (Vic). fortyfive-downstairs (Vic). Devised and Performed by Paul McCarthy and Michael Dalley. Design: Joel West. Aug 1-19.

MADEMOISELLE is a whirlwind of political incorrectness.

Michael Dalley’s witty hour-long script had the packed audience laughing and gasping in its assault on the “lower middle-class”.

Michael Dalley and Paul McCarthy feature as two effeminate man-servants of a certain Mademoiselle, who get creative in her absence in “an orgy of ridicule” and “a litany of abuse”. The irony of their relentless and superior sneering is that it’s dished out at the expense of their own social class, even as they attempt to position themselves apart from it.

Irreverent songs, linked by spoken segues, cover subjects including the secrets in people’s garbage, human faecal waste, debutante balls at suburban function centres, passive-aggressive Amway sellers, Sub-Continental call centre operators, “creative” name-spelling, and.…well…

If you love Shakespeare’s ability to bring home the truth, things I daren’t write here. then you’ll love this one-man show’s ability to bring you A few minor discrepancies early in the performance did face to face with it. But see the play simply to watch this not detract from well-paced and fearless delivery. The most gifted actor switch effortlessly between characters songs, adeptly accompanied by John Thorn, were a laugh-a that are completely unlike each other and make each one -couplet, and the set, featuring a toilet set-off with lollycompletely, hauntingly convincing. pink curtains, sets the tone.

John P. Harvey If you’re in any way prudish about crude language, sexual innuendo, or blacklisted physiological terminology Triangle this show is not for you. Perhaps I should be disturbed then

By Glyn Roberts. Presented by MKA (Vic). Director: Tanya that I found it so very funny.

Dickson. July 25 - Aug 4.

Lucy Graham LIKE an old haunting fairytale, Triangle seduces with the familiar, then commences a journey traversing the realms of Shifting Ground passion, violence and the supernatural in a perfectly

By Zoe Scoglio. Presented by Arts House. Concept/ unexpected yet strangely anticipated manner.

Performer/Videographer: Zoe Scoglio. Meat Market (Vic).

It commences with the student (Elizabeth Nabbin) July 19 to 22. addressing the audience about her response to and THIS refined work requires a receptive open mind from experiences at Piedemonte’s supermarket in Fitzroy. Then, its audience, who are ushered into a small reception room disconcertingly, realities start to shift. Similarly the situation to receive a piquant glass of tea and choose an industrial or of young wife and mother (Janine Watson), presented in a natural rock of their own, to then enter the small gallery of rational - factual manner, slips a cog and becomes a performance space. hilariously and outrageously funny.

In the intense, short, but highly immersive forty-five Triangle has been refined through input from an minutes, Zoe Scoglio engages, discovers, explores and plays inspired team. There is hardly a hair out of place. Sound with natural and constructed images of the forming, (Russell Goldsmith and Chris Wenn) underpins the formations, and constructions of geological terrain. Not a atmosphere and light (Rob Sowinski) mostly elucidates but word is spoken and the audience is free to read into it what sometimes endows the whole with a sense of question. Set they will.

by Eugyeene Teh and costumes by Chloe Greaves enhance Performer, lighting, sound, image and projections are from a ‘less is more’ perspective. honed and melded to explore shifting interactions with the Both actors are exemplary in their roles. Their work, universe, earth and man-made construction. although subtle, is clear, forthright and strong.

66 Stage Whispers

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Throughout, it is the interactive mechanisms of sound and movement that are particularly intriguing and affecting.

Shifting Ground is a beautifully managed, sensitive and finely tuned collaboration of considerable artistic merit.

Suzanne Sandow

becoming a grim reality as she tries to comfort her husband on the brink of insanity, climaxing in a chilling moment when the stoic but not yet broken woman reveals the truth about his past racist hate crimes.

Johnny Carr’s portrayal of Tom left you with empathy for the character. Ed Wightman’s naïve British Edward is delightful as well as heartbreaking. Olivia Beardsley’s Hell House: Provocation, Belief and Morality Charlotte was cold and calculating.

The set was almost surreal and left you feeling as Presented by Arts House and Back to Back Theatre. Director: Bruce Gladwin. Designers: Mark Cuthbertson and Emily though you were a fly on the wall watching the drama Barry. Arts House - Meat Market (Vic). July 3 - 5. unfold.

INTERESTED in theatre that provokes debate? Hell House Melinda Latsos and its subsequent forums will be discussed for months, and, judging by the Provocation Forum, the ideas examined Framed Direction & Concept: Tess de Quincey. Riverside Theatres, will germinate awareness, considerations and questions about both organised religion and theatre that will be Parramatta. Aug 8 - 11. influential.

THE THEATRE is dark. An echoing beat resonates, then Presented by a huge cast of professional actors from repeats and repeats. Soft light begins to focus on a frame, Back and Back, and fifty or so volunteers, as far as where, gradually, two faces emerge. For the next fifty installations go it is effective and has the potential to deeply minutes, almost frustratingly controlled, and with almost disturb, depending on the position one takes as viewer. imperceptible movement, they slowly take the audience Amazingly it is a prescribed copy of a serious modern day through a series of emotions and minute connections - until morality play staged yearly in the US Bible belt. the light, and the music, fade again to dark and silence. So The audience sets off in large groups following a ‘Devil’ concentrated is the atmosphere in the audience that a breathless quiet and stillness lingers. tour leader. The journey through ‘hell’ is a bit like a ghost train, particularly towards the end where the imperative This performance, by Tess De Quincey and Victoria Hunt, builds towards heaven and is released in the barn, where brings together butoh, BodyWeather and the teachings of sugary rewards of cordial and lamingtons are offered with the Natyasastra, an ancient Indian treatise covering all songs of love and community from an earnest gospel band. aspects of artistic practice. De Quincey has concentrated The whole is full of horror, death and dying, and this piece of theatre on the eight internal emotional states defined by the Natyasastra - love, pity, anger, disgust, features the marginalised as victims of their own sin.

However one approaches stock standard demonisation, this heroism, awe, terror, and comedy. production and forum demonstrates that tacit acceptance Conveyed by minute body movements of the head, of medieval concepts of heaven and hell mask toxicity, cruel glimpses of expression in the eyes and faint movements of exploitation and very real lurking danger. the lips, each emotion emerges almost agonisingly - and is lost, as a new emotion begins, imperceptibly, to emerge.

Suzanne Sandow For the audience the journey is just as concentrated and Charcoal Creek intense. With Michael Toisuta’s score, inspired by Ligeti’s

By Marcel Dorney. IPAC, Wollongong (NSW). Director: Anne Poeme Symphoniquefor 100 Metronomes, providing an -Louise Rentell. June 5 - 16. echoing, sensory background, and all focus pinpointed on MERRIGONG Theatre Company’s staging of Marcel the micro movements in the frame, no one moves or reacts.

Dorney’s Charcoal Creek was an intimate take on the darker Comparisons with Munch’s The Scream come to mind.

Carol Wimmer side of Australia’s early history.

The opening sequence begins with Brigid’s (Catherine Moore) observations of the world around her: sometimes amusing, envious and a general reflection of life in the Illawarra.

Tom Regan (Johnny Carr), her dairy farmer husband, is a typical Australian battler: reserved until you get to know him, you would never guess the secrets he was hiding.

British newcomers Edward and Charlotte (Ed Wightman and Olivia Beardsley) settle into Charcoal Creek. The very British Edward is naïve and almost childlike in his interactions with Tom Regan. His wife Charlotte is a spoilt little girl.

Looking for a choreographer or lighting The script is so well written that it allows the actors to let the story unfold and make each character their own. director for your next production?

Catherine Moore delivers a mesmerizing and powerful performance as Brigid; tormented by nightmares which are

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Reviews: Musicals

South Pacific Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. Opera Australia. Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House from Aug 11. Princess Theatre, Melbourne from Sep 13 and QPAC. SOME have wondered why an Opera Company is branching out into mainstream musical theatre with stars who clearly are not opera singers. Any misgivings were swept away like the tide on a golden beach by the thunderous ovation from the audience at the opening night of South Pacific.

The biggest question was how opera singers would blend with musical and pop stars. This was achieved successfully by using microphones throughout.

It immediately gave the overture a boost.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes as French planter Emile De Becque had the voice and looks to make women go weak at the knees. His Wagnerian like baritone needed no amplification.

Tahu Rhodes’ intense vibrato contrasted with the sweet tones of Lisa McCune as Ensign Nellie Forbush.

Other singers held their own. Kate Cebrano was powerful as Bloody Mary and Eddie Perfect slipped very nicely into the character role of Luther Billis.

The most sensational singing, however, was from Daniel Koek as Lt Joseph Cable. His arias soared.

The production from the Lincoln Centre in New York is beautiful to look at. Filled with crisp blue ocean backdrops and authentic looking World War Two scenery. A plane looked like it was freshly lifted from an aircraft carrier.

Regardless of the high standard of the production, the question remains whether South Pacific as a musical has dated? It is a little slow to get started. The racial elements of the story reflect the attitudes of the 1940’s.

However the big themes of love, death and war remain as relevant to our generation. Coupled with glorious music it was without doubt some enchanted evening.

David Spicer Jersey Boys Music: Bob Gaudio. Lyrics: Bob Crewe. Book: Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice. Director: Des McAnuff. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Opening Night: 15 July.

JERSEY Boys comes to Brisbane after playing Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland. It’s in good shape. Three of the guys playing the quartet are new to their roles; Graham Foote (Frankie Valli), Anthony Harkin (Tommy DeVito), and Declan Egan (Bob Gaudio). Glaston Toft as Nick Massi is the one holdover from the original Australian cast. Playing the quiet guy, and the one who walked out on the group, it’s a performance that registers strongly. The same could be said for Harkin who eats up the bad boy role of DeVito. Egan also defines the songwriter Gaudio with a boyish charm, while the diminutive Foote had no trouble finding the dreamer in the piece. The vocal performances of the group were first rate except for Foote whose voice had an unpleasant harshness in its middle register. From the 68 Stage Whispers

moment the show started with a thumping bass 2000 version of “Oh What a Night” musically we knew we were in good hands with the kick-ass band conducted by Luke Hunter.

Peter Pinne The Producers

By Mel Brooks. The Production Company. Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre. July 8 - 15.

AT the Melbourne Arts Centre, directors Andrew Hallsworth and Dean Bryant have fashioned an engaging and sophisticated interpretation of Tony Award winning musical The Producers.

Max Bialystock is played to perfection by Wayne Scott Kermond. Brent Hill and Christie Whelan-Browne are likeable as Leo Bloom and Ulla respectively, but the standouts are Mitchell Butel as Roger De Bris and Rohan Browne as Roger’s assistant (and arguably, partner) Carmen Ghia. Every character is hilarious, with the cast finding opportunities to maximise expressive elements. It sounds good too; the quality of singing throughout the show is high.

Every department worked together, producing the best possible result. Lighting by Paul Jackson and Robert Cuddon was excellent, with sharp use of spot and experimentation with colour. Audio by System Sound was clear, and Costume Design by Kim Bishop was spot on for each character.

The placement of the band on stage, and the small portable set pieces, took a couple of numbers to get used to. The band didn’t detract though; rather they filled up the otherwise thin stage and kept the set minimalist.

With standouts like “I Wanna Be A Producer” and “Keep it Gay”, The Production Company certainly earned their standing ovations. A magnificent local production.

Tammy Shmerling Hairspray

By Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan, Mark Shaiman and Scott Whittman. Harvest Rain Theatre Company. Playhouse, QPAC, Brisbane. June 22-30.

THIS is a big-hair, bold, sassy, rocking, writhing and kicking mother of a show.

With its huge talented cast, great sets, dazzling light and costume designs, it starts at full throttle and races us through admirable fantasies: a 1960s community with people of all body sizes and different races that integrate amicably.

The clutch of booth singers and a big show band under Maitlohn Drew backs the high-energy songs. My quibble: the mostly full-on sound, despite individual radio mikes, was at times so brash it swamped the singer(s).

It’s criminal to isolate performers in this showful of talent so these are strictly personal choices: As Edna Turnblad (cross-dressed and padded) Simon Gallagher deftly uses the light side of his vocal range to achieve a wonderful mother impersonation, to Casey McCollow’s plump (also padded) central character Tracy.

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Young, talented Dakota Striplin sizzles as Link; Rachel Dunham (Motormouth Maybelle) stuns the audience in her big numbers; as does William Motonuu (Seaweed). The schmaltzy duo “You’re Timeless to Me” by Gallagher and Gary Jones (as Tracy’s father) brought the house down.

I reserve my biggest stars here for choreographer Callum Mansfield and director Tim O’Connor, who keep creating such slick, professional productions.

Jay McKee Chicago Book: Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, Music: John Kander and Lyrics: Fred Ebb. Ballina Players Theatre. Directors: Sue and Paul Belsham. July 6 - 21 SUE and Paul Belsham have styled their production of Chicago on the original ‘80s version with all the colour and razzle dazzle that made it an audience favourite.

The strong cast featured Natalie Havilah as Velma Kelly, Lali Gill as Roxie Hart, Mike Sheehan as the dashing Billy Flynn and Jacquie McCalman as Matron Mama Morton.

Ballina’s Youth productions have proven to be a great training ground. Lali was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical at last year’s Gold Coast Area Theatre Awards. Tollin Pamphilon, with his convincing characterisation as Mary Sunshine, had the audience surprised when revealed as a cross-dresser. Both of these teenage performers have a promising future in the theatre Multi-talented Paul Belsham designed the set, codirected the production with his wife Sue, and was the drummer/Musical Director (Paul has won two Gold Coast Area Theatre Awards for his Musical Direction), together with choreographer Jamie Whittingham’s inspired routines and GCAT Award winner Jackie Reidy’s sound design, Chicago was another successful production from this leader in regional theatre.

Roger McKenzie Carousel

By Rodgers & Hammerstein. Playhouse Theatre Inc. Director: Pauline Vella. Playhouse Theatre, Auckland (NZ). July 7 - 21.

AS the music begins we are immediately transported to the fairground in Maine, with the revolving carousel with authentic horses created by Kate Lang and Julie Dyson and perfect doll-like children.

Carousel revolves around the romance between carousel barker Billy Bigelow and millworker Julie Jordan. A secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow, who are destined to come as close to ‘’happily ever after’’ as Carousel allows.

The crowd scenes are a joy to watch with the chorus gloriously “bustin’ out all over” to the well-structured dance sequences thanks to the choreography of Clayton Curnow, in elaborate vibrant costumes with swing skirts and boaters.

Pauline Vella’s production boasts some outstanding performances. Tizane McEvoy’s Julie Jordan is beautifully focused, hitting the notes with ease in a well-developed and believable portrayal. Zaverr Doctor as Carrie Pipperidge was funny, touching and charming. Nicholas McGough

played Billy Bigelow sympathetically, though at times not yet quite convincingly. Zane Fleming articulates the devilish sly lowlife Jigger superbly and Delwynne Winter (Nettie) sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with grandeur, warmth and an overwhelming emotional charge.

The sequence in heaven is a strange element, however it is brought to life by the highlight of this production; the ballet performed with precision and dedication by Aimee Gray as Louise, accompanied by Cameron Clayton.

A few opening night jitters and technical issues meant often the dialogue and vocals were missed. Whilst the decision to use an orchestra backing ensured the orchestration demands of this piece were met, it did not allow the cuts required to sharpen the overall pace and streamline the length of the production.

Though it may end on a note of spiritual uplift, Carousel is memorable for finding the pain and the pleasure in the kind of love that will never run smooth.

Emma Bishop The Pajama Game

By Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. Diamond Valley Singers & The Eltham Orchestras Inc. (VIC). Warrandyte High School Theatre. Director: Lynne Counsel. Musical Director: Ian Lowe. July 6 - 14.

TYPEWRITERS, telephones and sewing machines set the scene for the 1950s story about guys and girls falling in love amidst the threat of a strike in a pajama factory.

Diamond Valley Singers’ snappy and vibrant production of The Pajama Game - testament to the talent pool in the north/east suburbs of Melbourne - shows evidence of the hard work that goes into such a demanding production.

Tightly directed, with a smooth opening night run, this show is clearly carried by strong leads supported by an enthusiastic cast. Tim Warren as Sid Sorokin and Victoria Lock as Babe Williams are charming leads with lovely voices.

Michael Try is endearing as the love-sick Vernon Hines and Malcolm Wilton rises to the authoritative character Myron Hasler with his well-projected, bellowing voice.

The most entertaining performers are Annette Dick as Poopsie and Meg Warren as Mae, albeit aided by their vivacious roles, demonstrating a professional edge with their capable vocal and character portrayals.

It is a highlight when the company comes together, as their harmonies are a stand-out.

The Pajama Game is probably a dated story now, with fellas chasing squealing gals and women cooing in the presence of a handsome man; but it’s nevertheless fitting in the light of the genre and the 1950s setting - and the audience no doubt had fun with it.

Karen Coombs Jekyll & Hyde

By Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn. Gosford Musical Society (NSW). Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford. Director: Rob Hickey. July 27 - Aug 11.

THERE’S some mystique around this 1990 musical.

Though popular among aficionados because of several

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This Tony Award winning rock musical, adapted from a century old play, tackles issues as contemporary as they are timeless - adolescent sexual awakening and orientation, teen angst, youth suicide and teenage pregnancy.

This uncomplicated, intimate production is a seamless ensemble effort, with a strong sense of theme and narrative. Director Elle Zattera has created a fluid minimalist staging.

Thirteen young performers make varied individual Hairspray - Matt Byrne Media contributions, but unite impressively in close-quarters memorable songs and a seeming affinity with period - often in-your-face - ensemble work. blockbusters Les Miz and Phantom, Jekyll & Hyde has never In key roles, Nicole Lotters’ Wendla has a delightful, had a professional production in Australia. So community naïve sensuality; Julian Luke’s intense Mechior is a theatre must lead the way; but only companies that - like convincing young outsider and John Apotsis develops the excellent Gosford Musical Society - have the resources Moritz credibly from nervy and hyper to angry and and talents to match the show’s considerable demands. frustrated.

Frank Wildhorn’s music is complex, often downright Adult authority figures are generally well-handled by five operatic and with challenging tempi. Veteran librettist Leslie performers, though in one scene Wendla’s mother might Bricusse has done a blood-and-thunder, melodramatic express anger with more variety and less shouting. makeover of the old story, requiring some over-the-top Choreographer Craig Nhobbs has created gritty, effects from his director and his principal actors. dramatic movement. With Stephen Zrnic’s small band Simon Castle gives the physically and vocally exacting positioned backstage, the sound balance works well. lead role a red-hot go and his reward was a first-night Engaged with the truth of their characters, these young standing ovation. He sings beautifully - ‘This is the Moment’ community theatre performers make Spring Awakening is terrific - and he prowls menacingly. He’s not aided by an well worth a look. obvious and unlikely pony-tailed wig as Jekyll; though, Neil Litchfield unleashed, it does become an instant disguise for him to Hyde behind.

Hairspray Adaptations for stage or screen of Robert Louis Book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Music by Stevenson’s great High Victorian novel unfailingly add Marc Shaiman and Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc females to the all-male original. Here we have upper crust Shaiman. Matt Byrne Media, Arts Theatre, Adelaide and dames and lower class dancers (the troupe at The Red Rat Shedley Theatre, Elizabeth, July 5-28. joint are particularly feisty), plus two ‘love interests’ for the ADELAIDE missed out on the professional tour of hero/villain doctor. Reed-thin blonde Rachael Harpur is fine Hairspray. as his puzzled fiancée, and dark-haired Monique Donath With such a void to be filled, enter Director/Producer/ dominates the second half as the prostitute who seeks his Actor Matt Byrne with a vibrant, joyous, exciting version of help. Her moving, openhearted rendition of ‘A New Life’ is the classic show. the evening’s highlight.

With Byrne’s biggest cast to date, 60 performers, the Frank Hatherley show ticked all of the boxes with a fantastic ensemble cast, an innovative pastel set and a rocking 12-piece band led by Spring Awakening Rodney Hrvatin.

By Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, based on the play by The high-energy show was led by petite powerhouse Franz Wedekind. Blacktown Theatre Co. (NSW). July 6 - 14. Michelle Davy as the naïve dreamer Tracy Turnblad. Davy ROUGH hewn rustic furnishings, subdued lighting, was simply born to play this role and her vocals were young people dressed in old-fashioned school uniforms; the passionate and pitch-perfect. ambience of the world of Spring Awakening is established David Gauci gave a knock-out performance as Tracy’s on entry. Modern posters, juxtaposed with the period mama, Edna Turnbald. It was easy to forget that under all settings: intimate timelessness. of the padding and the wigs hid a man.

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And it was especially wonderful to see Gauci in this role in his own right as he was the understudy in the professional Australian production.

Kat Sachse as the ditzy Penny rounded out the stand -out performances, while newcomer Igor Igiraneza made an impressive debut as Seaweed J. Stubbs.

Choreographer Sue Pole did an amazing job with the large cast - especially on the ensemble numbers.

MBM’s Hairspray received a standing ovation and with The Mikado - Three little maids in pink uniforms (L-R) Deborah Rogers (Peep-Bo), Kristy Swift (Yum-Yum), Emily Burke (Pitti-Sing) and Eugene Gilfedder (Ko-Ko). such a talented cast of seasoned and new actors - it was well-deserved and may there be many more.

Ronaniuk, Choreographer Siobhan Ginty, and Conductor Melissa Phillips Brian Castles-Onion.

With its use of mobile phones and iPads, Maunder’s Chicago production established very early on this was a Mikado for Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Music by John Kander. the Y generation.

Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Townsville Choral Society. July 18 - 22.

Ronaniuk’s delightful costumes brought a fun IT’S 10 years since Chicago was last seen in Townsville, dimension to the action, and Ginty’s well-executed dance so it was good timing for the Choral Society to bring back routines would not have been out of place on Broadway. this vibrant, exciting show. Director Pat Nuttall assembled a But it was Castles-Onion’s handling of the Queensland generally young, talented ensemble and the end result was Symphony Orchestra that was masterful. The revelation of a wonderful night’s entertainment. the performance was how well Dominic Walsh, an Opera Kylie Fusco as Velma and Jasmin Delle Baite as Roxie Queensland Young Artist 2012, sang the role of Nanki Poo. tackled their roles with vibrant enthusiasm. Liam Mooney His rich tenor registered time and time again, especially in made his lead role debut as lawyer Billy Flynn and, after his opening “A Wandering Minstrel, I.” showing some nervousness in Act 1, grew into the part as Kristy Swift was an appropriately sweet Yum-Yum, with the night went on. her second-act “The Moon and I” particularly tender, but Matthew Palmer gave an appealing interpretation of Adele Johnson’s Katisha lacked class and was difficult to Amos Hart, and Daniela Tama as Mama Morton and Kim understand: a crime when you’re delivering Gilbert’s witty Nuttall as Mary Sunshine both played their parts well. The lyrics. input of experienced vocal director Cheryl Platt really Eugene Gilfedder, as the only ‘actor’ on stage, had no showed. The amazing men’s and women’s chorus/dancers trouble in landing his laughs as Ko-Ko, but this was no also deserve special mention. Choreographer Lynda Tama defining performance of the part. got the most out of them with “Cell Block Tango” which for Peter Pinne me was the highlight of the evening. I must disclose that the Musical Director, Claire Dickson, is the daughter of your The Pirates of Penzance Junior reviewer, but I don’t think anyone attending could disagree By Gilbert and Sullivan. Eltham Little Theatre. Director: John that the orchestra was exceptionally good, having a tight, Leahy. Choreographer: Amber Smith. July 12 - 22. brassy sound without overwhelming the singers.

OPENING with a bang - a cannon! - the ship came on The proof of its success showed as the season was close stage, part of the side folded down and the pirates spilled to a sell-out. onto stage. Very effective!

Ray Dickson I haven’t previously encountered the junior version of The Pirates of Penzance. The plot was unaltered, most The Mikado songs were cut down and some eliminated, trimming the

By W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Opera Queensland. running time to a little over an hour. Songs were Director: Stuart Maunder. Conservatorium Theatre, transposed into lower keys, with little harmony.

Brisbane. July 7-28 and regional tour.

However, the production was most entertaining.

THE rousing success of Opera Queensland’s sparkling The chorus and most of the soloists were in tune and the voices good. The computer-generated backings were a new production of The Mikado is due to four people: Director Stuart Maunder, Set and Costume Designer Simone bit restrictive, but the cast coped well.

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Stage Whispers 71

Key to the success of Company is a tight, balanced ensemble cast like the one at Arcadians, with complementary, well-defined characterisations. In addition, they mostly handled the complex Sondheim score effectively.

Standout performance for mine in the well-balanced cast is the quirky, animated Amy of Mara Lazzarotto Davis, nailing the rapid-fire patter ‘Getting Married Today’ superbly. Lisa Thrift nails Joanne’s sardonic moments and asides with relish, with stalwart counter-balance provided

by Roberto Galanti’s long-suffering Larry.

The musical’s couples are all very complementary pairings, while Alexander Andrews’ Bobby is an interesting mix of apparent bemusement and opportunism.

Linda Shaw-Wilson’s choreography is smart and original.

An effective sound balance was achieved without radio The Last Five Years microphones, with a medium-sized band placed to the side,

By Jason Robert Brown. Ignatians Musical Society. and good sound insulation.

Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, Brisbane. June 20 - 23.

If I have a couple of criticisms, they are that the martial THE Last Five Years has heart, hurt, humour, and raw arts scene was played too much for gags rather than emotions. It engages anyone who has ever been in love and credibility, while an old-fashioned tray-mobile jarred with suffered the euphoria and heartbreak associated with that. an otherwise contemporary setting.

The stars of this production are the cast (Bethan An enjoyable first visit to Arcadians warm, intimate Ellsmore as Cathy, and Tim Dashwood as Jamie) as well as theatre.

Neil Litchfield the instrumental combo of seven under Musical Director Ben Murray. This group doesn’t so much accompany the songs as become integral to most of them.

Jack The Ripper Neither Dashwood nor Ellsmore has a classically trained By Ron Pember and Denis de Marne. Director: Cat Baxter. voice; but each has strong delivery, true pitch, and the Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana (WA). July 13-21. ability to sell the mood of any song they deliver here. Each FOLLOWING the recent demise of the Kwinana Theatre has the capacity to connect with you and your personal Workshop, it is reassuring to see some quality theatre memories, to break your heart or give you a glow of coming out of the Kwinana area. remembered moments. What’s more to love?

Nine Lives and Koorliny Arts Centre combined to stage Director Travis Dowling keeps the action efficient and this production in Koorliny’s smaller theatre. This more effective; his creatives faithfully support him in movement, intimate space allowed us to feel closer to the action and a simple well-lit set design. although I found myself wondering why they chose to use My cherished moments: Jamie and Cathy’s first song cabaret style seating which seemed an antithesis to the style together, “The Next Ten Minutes”; Jamie’s “Schmuel Song” and era. with its amazingly complex rhythm and key changes (it While ‘Ripperologists’ may baulk at this version of the brought the house down); and the finale where Cathy, story - which includes victims outside the canon and remembering the parting after their first date, sings distorts some relationships, it is a nice theatrically conscious “Goodbye until Tomorrow”, while Jamie laments their version and makes for good, if unnerving entertainment. break-up “I Could Never Rescue You”.

Tarryn Bullock was a beautiful and fragile Polly Anne Jay McKee Nicholls, really too pretty for the role, with an ethereal voice. Tall Kate Sullivan was the obvious choice for Long Liz Company (who in reality was only 5’ 5”) while Victoria Luxton,

By Stephen Sondheim and George Furth. Arcadians Theatre Georgia McGivern, Niquelle Rhodes, Pam Brown and Group (NSW). June 15 - 30.

Taneeka Loreto were lovely as the Ripper’s other victims.

NOT quite the 42nd Street stereotype, but close.

The female ensemble - playing prostitutes, East End Just prior to curtain up on Company came the ladies and missionaries - was very strong. announcement: “At this performance, the role of…”

While the gentlemen did not always reach their high Unable to decipher the multiple announcements, I standard, there were some impressive individual performances, including Darren Bilston as Mendoza. discovered at interval that Tori Allen’s Marta was achieved at two days’ notice. She stepped up from the smaller role of The multi-purpose music-hall inspired set was nicely Cathy, with ensemble member Emma Llewelyn stepping constructed and efficiently employed. Roz Adey and Pauline into that breech capably.

Lawrence’s costumes were slatternly with contrived First-time director Allegra Wilson has delivered a clean, elegance with beautiful use of colour.

A guilty pleasure. crisp, well-paced production, attractively dressed and set in Kimberley Shaw red, white and black.

James Gilmour dominated the stage as the Pirate King, with the appropriate swagger, wonderful timing, a husky speaking voice, and strong singing voice. It’s a gem of a role which he made the most of. Aaron Buffham-Teakle was a good Frederick, Caitlin Lambourn a strong Ruth and Tenzin Fox a funny Major-General. Olivia Sproule as Sergeant of Police had a lovely voice.

A little older than the others, the experienced Emily Crawford would have been better in the original version.

She didn’t need her aria transposed down and with two duets cut, Mabel became almost a minor character. We will hear much more of her.

The large chorus and choreography worked well, but it was the young cast’s enthusiasm which won the day.

Graham Ford

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Reviews: Circus

OVO Cirque du Soleil. Northshore, Hamilton, Brisbane. Writer, Director and Choreographer: Deborah Colker. Director of Creation: Chantal Tremblay. July 17 to Sep 2, then touring nationally.

CIRQUE du Soleil has bounced back into Brisbane with its new show titled OVO (Portuguese for egg). Almost an institution now with its blue-and-yellow big top and village and on this occasion an air balloon to boot for an appropriate introduction - this new production is an epic journey into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where the variety of bugs work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, they are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives.

The cast of OVO is comprised of 54 performing artists from 16 countries and with impressive sets, costumes, lighting, an effective combination of live and pre-recorded music, the creative team have cleverly intertwined the ‘insect’ theme with a variety of breathtaking circus disciplines: in particular the foot-juggling and Icarian ‘ant’-tics (a remarkable display from the Chinese cast-members), the mind-boggling Firefly (Tony Frebourg) with the use of the diabolo and to finish, some incredible trampoline acrobatics from the 11-team ‘crickets’, involving crawling and jumping to precipitous heights, including the back wall of the set.

Using an international vocabulary of bohemian mime, sight and sound, the traditional circus ‘clowns’, Ladybug, Master Flipo and Foreigner interspersed the action by employing just about every eccentric non-verbal technique in the book, even with the audience participation, to tickle your funny-bone, and with effective aplomb. Perfect for an international production.

In all this was a scintillating heady mixture of camp, camaraderie, caricature and ‘classe’, with charisma; and plenty of bubbles.

Brian Adamson Circus Oz: From the Ground Up Birrarung Marr, Melbourne June 20 - July 15. Then touring regional Australia.

I LOVE Circus Oz. It’s an icon. But sometimes an Icon loses perspective, or perhaps our expectations are just too high. CO has always been political, but it’s been subtle anarchy in a nose-thumbing style in the past, and not overt and preachy political correctness. Circus Oz is entertainment - and when it’s on its game it’s amongst the best entertainment in the world.

That wasn’t the case on opening night. Two key cast members were missing, and the plethora of mistakes or ‘muffed’ performances were not covered with the normal comments which left us guessing whether the mistake was intentional or not. There were so many dropped clubs during the four person juggling act that it seemed there were more on the floor than in the air at one point. The “Building” theme was cleverly interwoven in the first half, with antics on the steel beam and a clever brick juggling act, then all but forgotten in the second. Some of the acts required a substantial “fit up” and, since the “clowns” now perform set pieces, we were left with long waits of nothingness between performances. But, inevitably, it was the comedy that overcame any misgivings - especially the Magic Hammonds prestidigitation (that’s magic!). The band was exceptional as always and Bec Mathews literally “swings” in an astounding contraption where she displays her percussive power while moving through a 120 degree arc. Ghenoa Gela, all personality and bunched hair, is a delightful Ringmistress whose very presence was enough to guarantee reconciliation without heavy handed metaphors in script and song.

Circus Oz is still an institution that inspires us and takes our identity out to the world. Its message should be inherent.

Personally I long for a time when we are so integrated that we don’t notice any differences between us, and are shocked when they are repeatedly pointed out. Please Circus Oz….do what you do best. Entertain us.

Coral Drouyn

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Stage Whispers 73

Reviews: Plays

Nicholas Hope (Major Metcalf), Christy Sullivan (Mollie Ralston) Justine Smith (Sargent Trotter) & Gus Murray (Giles Ralston) in The Mousetrap.

The Mousetrap

By Agatha Christie. Michael Coppel, Louise Withers, Linda Bewick in association with Adrian Barnes by arrangement with Mousetrap Productions Ltd London. Director: Gary Young. Sydney Theatre. July 4 - 29, then touring.

THE Mousetrap is a bit like a reality TV show star: famous for being famous. Half way through the first act I was scratching my head. How is this the longest running play ever?

It feels like it was written in 1952 and is comparable to many middle of the road oh so English murder mysteries which you find in the Samuel French play catalogue.

It must be that this was a very nicely crafted production.

Nothing appeared to be spared on the set. Designed by Linda Bewick, it looked like the guest house had been carved out of a fine old oak tree.

Inside, an unlikely series of coincidences link guests to the murder of a woman in London.

The young couple running the guest house, Mollie and Giles Ralston, played by Gus Murray and Christy Sullivan looked just as though they had stepped out of a 1950’s women’s magazine.

A number of oddball characters come in as guests. The most charismatic of which were Robert Alexander, as the continental Mr Paravicini, and Travis Cotton, who was delightful as the hyperactive and peculiar guest Christopher Wren.

Into the mix comes Justin Smith as the smooth Detective -Sergeant Trotter, who arrives on skis to the snow-logged house just as the phone line is cut.

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The finger of suspicion is pointed around the guest house until the inevitable twist in the last scene.

The audience is instructed not to reveal who the killer is.

Alas, in 1952 there was no Wikipedia or internet, so those attending need to avert their eyes to get the most out of an entertaining evening.

My last Mousetrap experience was in 1986, when I squeezed into the St Martin’s Theatre in the West End. Someone else in the audience told me they saw in 1963. I could remember clearly ‘whodunit’.

An Agatha Christie fan - but Mousetrap virgin - next to me had a great time. The super sleuth theatre manager texted his wife his prime suspect at interval and was chuffed to be spot on.

David Spicer The Flood

By Jackie Smith. Directed by Laurence Strangio. The Street Theatre, Canberra. Aug 15-25 and touring.

THE play opens to an isolated country lounge room so buried in magazine clippings that it looks as though it’s already been flooded. On the lounge sits Janet, rambling about dogs and being able to hear her husband Brian arriving home. She’s clearly suffering some form of senility.

Later she claims to her daughter that she committed a dreadful act decades before. But has dementia caused her to become confused?

Author Jackie Smith has drawn multi-layered psychological portraits of a family in crisis, each character complex, layered and perfectly Australian, all presented with pitch-black humour. Truth is twisted - there are lies,

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and lies within lies that the characters believe to protect themselves and others from having to face horrifying realities.

Director Laurence Strangio has tuned the performances to perfection. Maude Davey gives a nuanced performance as Dorothy, a rough-as-guts country woman calloused over with defence mechanisms. Caroline Lee imbues the awkward, out of place Catherine with a certain innocence.

If there is a standout, it would be Shirley Cattunar’s remarkable and energetic performance as the senile Janet, inhabiting the character absolutely convincingly.

This story is harrowing, visceral and satisfying, exploring how a distant horror can have effects for years afterwards, without sentimentality but with humour, and ending on a note of hope. Highly recommended.

Cathy Bannister Lipsynch Presented by Arts Centre Melbourne. Director: Robert Lepage. Produced by Ex Mancina (Canada) & Theatre Sans Frontieres (UK). Aug 4 - 12.

THIS unique adventure, of ‘a grand theatre marathon’, with its rich gratifying sense of humanity and haunting imagery, is a wonderful experience. Simply lit (Etienne Boucher) with a beautiful, magical design (Jean Hazel) of movable interchangeable and projected sets, it often seems like a film or television show with live performers.

Simultaneously there is a sense of actors being framed in live sets that have personalities of their own. The imagery is often stunning and the nine actors all shine in main and supporting roles.

Amazingly it’s not only theatre for the initiated, but an extremely accessible, beautifully honed work offering comfortable inroads into poignant, lived experience.

Although some of the storyline involves distressing subject matter and many situations spring from dire need, everything moves forward with a sense of inevitability - like life really.

Sitting for a whole day amongst a large audience, being offered the cathartic affect of actors on the stage, in real time, exploring complex emotional encounters, affords the profound experiential reward of a ritualised celebration of life, such as the wedding of a much loved friend.

Suzanne Sandow Head Full of Love

By Alana Valentine. Queensland Theatre Company.

Cremorne Theatre. July 7 - Aug 11.

DEFYING genre definitions, Head Full of Love is a drama about intertwined lives but is so full of humour that you leave the theatre with a warm, fuzzy respect for the central problem - and hopefully remember and discuss it widely.

Credit for this goes to Alana Valentine’s deft play structure and to the splendidly light and affecting performances from Roxanne McDonald (Tillie) and Collette Mann (Nessa). The relationship that develops between these two marginalised women is at the heart of the piece and they carry us there with them through a ‘beanie connection’.

Simone Romaniuk’s set of rusty corrugated iron surrounding a red earth wasteland captures the Red Centre instantly. Projections of wide horizons and desert vegetation establish the wide-open spaces and isolation that tourists come here to experience. Top marks to Ben Hughes for his ingenious lighting design that supports Romaniuk’s concept.

There is a culture clash: Nessa, refugee from a Sydney divorce, a dominating son and a possible police search, meets Alice Springs local, Tilly (with advanced kidney disease needing regular dialysis) knitting a beanie. They eye each other off cautiously. Nessie’s opening line: “Should I say Sorry first?” invokes instant laughter. From then the audience is on their side as they forge emotional contacts to become ‘sisters’ and share each other’s social and personal loads.

We even get a beanie garden and tears at the end!

Jay McKee The Harbinger A Dead Puppet Society production. Roundhouse Theatre, Brisbane. Aug 11 - 1 Sept 1 THIS is a provocative, imaginative fantasy, gothic at times but totally enchanting.

If you grew up in the 80s and 90s when nursery stories (especially Grimms’) were subjected to severe political correctness restrictions, here is your reward!

The prototype filled houses in La Boite’s 2011 Indie season. One hour long with no dialogue, audiences had to imagine their own version of the story from the back projections.

This new version still revolves around the unnamed street waif (played again superbly by Kathleen Iron) and the three-metres-tall puppet, now with articulated fingers and able to talk, and graced by name Old Albert. You still need to interpret your own version of the story.

The reality happens in the old man’s bookshop/home, but now the girl and Old Albert establish a prickly, if affecting, relationship. The rest of the story happens in the girl’s mind. Two moments melted my heart (both when the old man was asleep): the girl climbed up beside him and wrapped his arm around her. Apart from having discovered the joy of stories, she had also found a father/ grandfather figure to give emotional direction to her miserable life.

Special kudos to Barbara Lowing, Niki-J Price, Anna Straker and Giema Contini who manipulated over twenty puppets. To the numerous creatives who brought this show to life, bravo!

Jay McKee Accidental Death of an Anarchist

By Dario Fo. Epicentre Theatre Company. Zenith Theatre, Chatswood (NSW). June 22 - 30.

TRUE to Fo’s commedia style and didactic humour, this production is bright, fast and funny. It mixes traditional and contemporary slapstick, adds live music, a song and some running gags, but still keeps the sting of Fo’s satirical message to the ordinary man.

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Stage Whispers 75

Directors Michael and Con Costi, and designers Ben Wilson and Alice Joel, have collaborated to devise a production where realism and expressionism blend and contrast effectively. It is true to Dario Fo’s script and style yet has contemporary feel and appeal.

The directors have obviously worked hard on developing and rehearsing routines and helping their cast find and establish the strength and veracity of characters, so essential for the style and pace of this play. The whole cast works hard and fast for much of the production, which has a genuine ensemble feel.

Con Costi himself, plays the Maniac, controlling every moment. Energy, timing and tempo are vital in this role and Costi doesn’t let up for a moment. His lithe movement and spot-on timing set a fast pace to which the rest of the cast must rise in order to sustain the rhythm. Stephen Lloyd Coombs as the Constable provides his perfect foil. He is a great straight man. His timing and expressions are perfect and the audience loves him!

Carol Wimmer

Lead by Jack Thompson as narrator, an illustrious cast skip through some 70 briefly sketched characters, their night dreams and their daytime chores, bitterness, loves and yearning. The result is a lush and tender affirmation of community and human frailty, dominated by Thomas’ obsession with sex and death.

Williams spins fast our focus through swarming groups to individuals, creating a kaleidoscopic view of a day’s routine unfolding. Veterans like Drew Forsythe and Bruce Spence (hilarious as the two obedient ghost husbands of Sandy Gore’s tyrannical widow) are well matched to younger actors like Cameron Goodall (ever plotting the poisoning of his own nagging wife - Helen Thomson).

Composer Alan John enriches the rhythms with judiciously added songs, including a soulful ditty to lost love from the town’s loose woman (Paula Arundell).

This is joyous heartfelt theatre which tugs at your humanity and - whether set in a Welsh village or beyond still remains true to Thomas’ one directorial advice: “love the words”.

Martin Portus

The Imaginary Invalid

By Moliere. Centrepiece Theatre. Director: Jordan Best. The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. July 11 - 21.

FROM highly refined, intelligent wit and word play, almost acrobatic acting and slapstick, to gross-out bodily functions - there’s the feel of a circus to this bawdy, vibrant and confident production. From the moment the actors stride out onto the stage the audience is transfixed by their energy. Everything is taken to the extreme, so that what the audience sees is a fast-moving chaotic storm of colour.

Tony Turner brings Argan an injured naturalistic dignity as he is manipulated, cheated and swindled, poked, prodded, purged and enemaed. Argan’s second wife, played by Jordan Best with superb comic timing, pretends to be the model of love and attention, while secretly coveting his money and bedding a sleazy young lawyer.

Ridiculous as Argan’s predicament is, Turner’s underplayed performance makes the character someone for whom the audience has empathy, and this is what makes it work so well. The other participants are overplayed hilariously in various flavours from appealing to appalling. All the cast are great, but Erin Pugh, Kiki Skountzos and Jim Adamik are hilarious. Director Jordan Best has a magnificent comedic sensibility, as she demonstrated with last year’s Love Story.

Cathy Bannister

Breathing Corpses

By Laura Wade. Stooged Theatre. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. Aug 1 - 4.

IN the first scene of Breathing Corpses a young chambermaid in a cheap hotel finds a man’s body in the bed she has come to make, the second she has found in a short time.

Playwright Laura Wade weaves together the chambermaid’s story with that of two other people who find dead bodies: the middle-aged owner of a self-storage business and a businesswoman walking her boyfriend’s dog in a park. What initially seem to be unrelated matters are revealed by play’s end to have links.

Director Carl Young and the actors did excellent work in laying out the pieces of the author’s puzzle for the audience to put together. The play, however, is more than a whodunit. The impact of the discovery of the corpses on the finders and people in their lives is intriguingly and movingly shown, though not without occasional humour.

Cassie Hart’s maid, for example, was relieved when she lifted the sheet off a sleeping guest to find that the young man (Zachary Garred) was not only alive but charming and promising romance.

Dez Robertson’s self-storage proprietor initially made cutting remarks about the loneliness of his wife (Rachelle Schmidt) now that their children had left home but she’s the one who keeps the business going, with the aid of his Under Milk Wood gormless young assistant (Joshua Yager), when he

By Dylan Thomas. Sydney Theatre Company. Drama becomes depressed after finding a body.

Theatre, Sydney Opera House. May 22 - July 7.

And the already fractious relationship between the DYLAN Thomas’ poetic saga of a spring day in a Welsh domineering businesswoman (Giverny Lewis) and her toy coastal village was written first for radio and, of course, for boy (Mitchell Bourke) descended into verbal and physical the lilting accents of its Welsh inhabitants. Just think of violence after she blamed his dog for the disruptions Richard Burton’s voice in the original BBC 1954 production. caused by the discovery.

STC associate director Kip Williams here artfully Ken Longworth transposes the radio play to the Australian stage, and in fleshing out the voices drops all attempt to sound Welsh.

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Circle Mirror Transformation

By Annie Baker. Ensemble Theatre (NSW). Director: Shannon Murphy. Aug 2 - Sep 2 WE’VE all been there, us theatre nuts: playing rehearsal games, pretending to be someone’s mother/father/cat/potplant, improvising situations in turn silly and deeply personal. This Ensemble staging of Annie Baker’s 90 minute 5-hander will be rewarding for all who have endured and/or enjoyed such ‘creative drama’ classes.

On Justin Nardella’s excellently realistic set - featuring the wooden floor, brick walls, ballet barre, full-length mirrors and swing doors of a bookable hall in up-north Vermont - four locals sign up for a course run by Marty (Eliza Logan). James (Alan Dukes) is her quietly hostile husband; Theresa (Jenni Baird) says she’s done a bit of acting in New York; Schultz (Paul Gleeson) is a local carpenter, divorced and lonely; Lauren (Chloe Bayliss), a brittle 16 year old constantly hiding behind her hoodie, wants tips on playing Maria in her school’s coming production of West Side Story.

With not so much a plot as a series of linked character developments, this mysteriously titled play is nevertheless witty, wise and enjoyable, with excellent acting opportunities for its hard-working cast under the assured direction of Shannon Murphy.

Particularly naturalistic (always a tough call at the upclose Ensemble) is Gleeson as the puzzled, out-of-his-depth Schultz; and Baird as the sexy, friendly Theresa, genuinely surprised at the waves she is making.

Frank Hatherley Private Lives

By Nöel Coward. Director: Stephan Jean De Jonghe. Town Square Theatre, Kalamunda (WA). July 20 - Aug 11.

THE trouble with presenting Nöel Coward’s Private Lives to theatre writers is that they inevitably have seen this production before and probably many times.

On the whole, this incarnation stood up well. It looked great. Liza Mollan’s costuming captured the era and the class of the characters beautifully and allowed the women to wear some gorgeous frocks. The set for act one was practical and well-used and converted to Amanda’s apartment for the latter acts - a lovely example of a Parisian apartment - beautifully.

Shana O’Shea is perhaps the ideal Amanda. She understood the Coward style perfectly and had beautiful timing and mannerisms. She looks like the archetype Coward heroine, although her beautiful hairdo was distracting her on the night I saw the show. Diana McLeod was a lovely choice as Sybil and has the beautiful Britishness of Coward characters. Jacqui Minkey played the small role of Louise the French maid with scene stealing haughtiness and a French accent to envy in an excellent performance.

John Bevan and Graham Miles were working hard in their respective roles, but I feel that their forte is more knock-about comedy than Coward, even though they won more than a few fans in the audience.

Stephan Jean De Jonghe continues to grow as a director and whose passion for the theatre is obvious, led a good production.

Kimberley Shaw Skylight

By David Hare. Ensemble Theatre (NSW). Director: Mark Kilmurry. June 21 - July 27.

DAVID Hare’s brilliant Skylight gets a stirring up-close production at the Ensemble where the wrap-around audience must share an icy, cramped North London flat with Hare’s two unhappy lovers. In fact a gentleman in the front row has to move his feet every time schoolteacher Kyra (Katharine Cullen) or visiting restaurateur Tom (Sean Taylor) moves between grotty, fully working kitchenette and narrow sitting room.

It’s a real pleasure to inspect designer Ailsa Paterson’s setting at close quarters, and the moving performances of Taylor and Cullen stand up to minute examination, too: he, blustering and wounded; she, intelligently watchful and vulnerable.

The 1995 play’s private anguish is set against a pre-GFC London, where super-rich Tom sees only financial opportunities and passive Kyra wants only to help the underprivileged children she teaches. And yet, believably, they love each other. Their tensions, scorn and desires are beautifully felt and displayed. Our sympathies shift regularly, and there’s a heart-stopping moment of revealed truth at the Act One conclusion that will be difficult to forget.

Director Mark Kilmurry expertly choreographs this emotional roller coaster. Cullen seems particularly perfect as the jumpered, cardiganed and bereted Kyra, a warm and confused woman working on her survival techniques in a cold and selfish world.

Frank Hatherley The Memory of Water

By Shelagh Stephenson. Canberra Repertory. Director: Ed Wightman. Theatre 3, Acton. Aug 3 to 18.

THIS play is frankly a treasure: a great yarn of psychological medicine, medical science, and old family hurts; revealing, touching, and surprisingly funny. (The title refers to intergenerational influence, via the discovery by French scientist Jacques Benveniste - and later by dozens of replicating experimenters - that the high-”potency” solutions that homoeopathic medicine commonly uses retain detectable physical and medicinal properties of their absent solutes.)

The strength of Rep’s performance lies largely in its players’ consistency. The portrayal was particularly rewarding and interesting of family members compensating for but almost undiscerning of each other’s behaviour. (A later small poll on outstanding players reached inconclusive results, but I found Eliza Bell’s performance as the confused Catherine particularly convincing.)

Costuming was appropriately amusing; set design was straightforward but versatile. There were a couple of short

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Stage Whispers 77

This takes some getting used to - for me, most of the first act. These modern-day Aussies talk about Brooklyn, Yonkers, playing American football, listening to Jack Benny on the radio. And this must surely be the first-ever production of Salesman to feature a working iPad. But by the riveting second act such difficulties fade before the onslaught of Miller’s bitter passion and the general excellence of all concerned, lead by the deeply committed Friels, perfectly matched by Genevieve Lemon as loyal wife Linda, sadly implicated in sustaining Willy’s American Dream delusions.

Frank Hatherley

Death of a Salesman. Hamish Michael, Colin Friels and Patrick Brammall. Photo: Heidrun Lohr

scenes in which the lighting’s odd colour might be unhelpful to some with focusing problems.

I’d like to make special mention of the original music by composer Jonathan McFeat. Melodic and well arranged, it was let down just a little by its electronic instrumentation, too tinny to offer the merest rumour of acoustic instruments. That said, the music so well suited the scenes that it would have been easy to overlook altogether had it not been playing a tad too loud to remain unobtrusive.

John P. Harvey Death of a Salesman

By Arthur Miller. Belvoir Theatre, Sydney. Director: Simon Stone. June 23 - 19 Aug 19.

COLIN Friels playing tragically deluded Willy Loman sounded so good the Belvoir season was extended to eight weeks well before opening night. And before very long an extra two weeks was announced at the Theatre Royal. No worries, Friels is magnificent. Never off the broad and mainly empty stage, he suffers, squirms, regrets and rages in a volcanic performance guaranteed to win all the year’s Best Actor awards.

But this is not your standard production of Arthur Miller’s 1949 classic. It’s directed by the Belvoir’s wunderkind resident director Simon Stone, who specialises in rebooting classic texts - repositioning them to Australia, updating them to Now, rewriting dialogue if he pleases.

He clears away the author’s complex setting - the kitchen, the bedrooms, the hemmed-in yard - replacing it with just Willy’s white motor car (only a sound effect in the original) against the theatre’s brick walls painted black.

Every scene is played in and around this potent symbol of Willy’s travelling salesman’s life. And though costumes, props and auto are modern, Miller’s text is unchanged beyond tactful trimmings, and delivered throughout in contemporary Australian accents.

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Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare. Director: Paul Treasure. Roleystone Theatre (WA). July 20-28.

DIRECTOR Paul Treasure always applies an intellectual approach when making contextual decisions and as usual has carefully considered his approach to this production.

Retaining the original Sicilian setting, he imagined a Messina where all able-bodied men have been at war and a matriarchal leadership has developed. This lead to several gender changes to major characters.

Leonato, Hero’s father and local governor becomes Leonata. Sherryl Spencer made this role her own and delivered an impressive performance, her strong yet feminine leadership becoming an interesting element. Her sister now called Antonia was well played by Bonnie Rae Bruce. The other gender swap roles included Donna Williams’ Dogberry and Jodie Hansen’s Verges. Both ladies displayed a palpable joy in playing these comic roles.

Also having great fun were the young female servants who doubled as junior members of the watch; Dinda Hargrave, Erin Hight and Emma Truffet’s enthusiasm in playing physical comedy created a really endearing Saint Trinian’s vibe. Therese Cruise played Beatrice beautifully, with passion and strength, nicely contrasted with the quieter, sweet Hero, well created by Sharrya Thomson.

Brin Coldrick was a lovable yet infuriating Benedict, a great combination, while Simon Hands made an earnest attempt at the notoriously difficult Claudio.

The director, as always, short of men, slipped into the role of Don Pedro and did an excellent job.

Well considered costumes on a simple set let Shakespeare’s beautiful language sell the show. The show was well understood by the cast and very efficiently conveyed.

Kimberley Shaw

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Key For Two

By John Chapman and Dave Freeman. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Director: Cecile Campbell. June 16 - July 7.

KEY for Two was a little slow to start while the plot was set (you know; who was doing what to whom and who was paying) but once that was out of the way the play took off with hilarious results.

The seven performers worked well together in creating the chaos which is the basis of English farce - where timing is of the essence.

The set consisted of a bedroom and living room in the flat where the mistress entertained her male admirers (each unaware of the other’s existence and each happily paying all the expenses). It gave a new meaning to the expression “double dipping”.

Cecile Campbell’s tight direction maintained the pace necessary for the success of the show and the audience appreciated all the “goings on” on stage.

Roger McKenzie

ego-centric, inter-dependant, alcoholic, middle-aged brothers. Richard is physically blind, garrulous and manipulative. Sharky is morally blind, solitary and violent.

The tension rises as the brothers goad, probe and resurrect their sordid and sad pasts, then rises further when a third man enters the room. Ivan is the foil, bumping into furniture and bouncing off bluster, somewhat like Buster Keaton in a film by Samuel Beckett.

There are powerful echoes of Beckett, Pinter and the Farrelly brothers throughout the play. These are amplified when Nicky and Lockhart enter the room. Finally, after an hour of drinking, jibing and Gaelic banter, there’s a reveal that really escalates the tension and promises a significant twist. These are the best moments of the play and William Zappa’s performance here is memorable.

The very capable, talented cast does a fine job depicting these fragile tormented men trapped in living purgatory.

But in The Seafarer, the devil is in too much detail.

Stephen Carnell

Money and Friends

By David Williamson. Genesian Theatre (NSW). July 21 Aug 25.

CRITICAL appraisals of David Williamson’s work often infer that the messages are ephemeral, the one-liners forgettable, the characters one-dimensional. Yet in Money and Friends, the underlying messages still ring remarkably true and translate relatively well to a twenty first century setting. People are just as ambitious, greedy, gullible and vulnerable - and money still causes rifts between families and friends.

As with all of Williamson’s social comment plays, the characters are easily recognisable and the dialogue short, pithy and pacy. So it is no wonder that the play is such a favourite of community theatre companies.

In this production, the set is realistic, and this causes some problems. Most scenes occur on a small deck area set upstage, and as much of the action occurs here, it becomes very crowded in scenes where all nine actors are performing. Masking and the inevitable straight lines result.

Of the cast, Rob White plays Peter with a very natural and easy style. His Peter is affable, kind and vulnerable. As Margaret, Shane Bates is a little hesitant with some lines but is confident in her characterisation. Marty O’Neill’s expressive portrayal of Stephen, the miserly, pessimistic surgeon is strong, physical and comically believable.

This is director Peter Lavelle’s first major production and it was wise to choose a play that speaks as much for itself as this play does.

Carol Wimmer

Prescription Murder

By William Link & Richard Levinson. Nash Theatre (Brisbane). July 14 - Aug 4.

THERE’S something homely and familiar about this production. The play originated in 1960 as a radio play, Enough Rope, which morphed a year later into this stage play. It introduced shambling, dishevelled policeman Lieutenant Columbo. This character’s popularity led to a two-hour television movie, forerunner of the TV series Columbo.

As a period piece, it holds up very well. Set in New York in the late 1960s, it captures the era and lifestyles. Director Sandra Harman and her team do a creditable job in remaining true to our memories of the Peter Falk series.

Paul Careless as Lt Columbo is super, ably matched by Aaron Bernard as Dr Roy Flemming and Natalie Mead as Flemming’s paramour, Susan Hudson.

Columbo plays were different from most crime plays.

We learn from the outset who perpetrated the crime. The rest of the plot is devoted to Columbo’s modus operandi: pick up available clues, then pursue the suspects in his bumbling way, giving them ‘enough rope’ to hang themselves.

Supporting players Nikki McCrea (Claire Flemming, the victim), Andrea O’Halloran (Flemming’s receptionist) and Simon Pagano (Dave Gordon and a delivery man) maintained the high standard set by the leads, as did the Nash creatives.

A slick piece of nostalgia of which Nash Theatre can be justifiably proud.

Jay McKee

The Seafarer

By Conor McPherson. O’Punksky’s Theatre. Director: Maeliosa Stafford. Darlinghurst Theatre, Potts Point. July 17 - Aug 11.

THE SEAFARER is messy. The play opens on Christmas Eve in a snow bound cottage on the north coast of Dublin.

The living room is filled with the detritus of the lives of two

When the Rain Stops Falling

By Andrew Bovell. THEATREiNQ, Townsville. Directed by Terri Brabon. June 6 - 16.

THIS is the company’s first production under the name of THEATREiNQ, previously Shakespeare under the Stars. It is driven by Australian Shakespeare Company members Terri Brabon and Brendan O’Connor.

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The introduction of an Australian play last year, plus a number of youth training initiatives in addition to the annual Shakespeare, meant the name needed updating, so THEATREiNQ was formed. It is a community funded company.

This year’s production of When the Rain Stops Falling was performed in Dance North’s performing space and it was packed on most nights.

Brabon and O’Connor were joined by USQ theatre graduates Madeleine Dyer and Daniel Mulvihill, while acclaimed local actors Beth Honeycombe and Brian and Lisa Edmond rounded out the cast.

To say this was a fully professional experience of quality theatre is almost an understatement. The performances were impeccable, the direction was sublime, the set was effective yet deceptively simple and of course the play itself - I think I would run out of superlatives if I continued, so I will simply sum up the production as a triumph.

THEATREiNQ’s next production will be King Lear in September, and Actor/Director John du Feu will return from his (premature) retirement in Italy to play the eponymous role. Theatre- goers are salivating at the thought of another memorable theatrical event.

Ray Dickson Himmelweg: Way to Heaven

By Juan Mayorga (translated by David Johnson). Redroom Theatre Company (Vic). Theatreworks, St Kilda. Director: Alister Smith. June 21 - July 1.

ON June 23, 1944, Red Cross workers inspected the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp north of Berlin.

Rumours about atrocities being committed against the Jewish people were circling the world. Unthinkable things.

Skeletal bodies in striped pyjamas, and worse. But the visitors found no starving children, mass graves, torture, or gas chambers - just ‘an ordinary town’. It was a hoax codenamed Operation Embellishment, orchestrated to pull-thewool-over-the-eyes of the world.

Himmelweg is a difficult and demanding work. The script is predominantly constructed of lengthy monologues. At times the repetition crosses the line from shifting emphasis and perspective, to labouring the point.

True to its subject the cheerless script allows no relief from the tragic circumstances. Even the ‘jokes’ are disturbing.

Seven cast members (Nicholas Colla, Lily Constantine, Alex Duncan, Tim Paige, John Shearman, Veronica Thomas and Claudia Tory) playing 13 characters all gave intuitive performances. Most remarkable was the imposing sense of detachment maintained between characters, right up until the father-daughter scene near the close. Unfortunately spoken voices were sometimes unclear over shuffling papers and amplified sound effects.

Lighting and sound design are most effective. The sound of trains brings passengers we never see, as they are led straight to the ‘infirmary’. It is a haunting and unifying thread. Set design is minimalist to begin, but becomes more prop-based in the second half.

Himmelweg plays for two hours without interval.

Lucy Graham 80 Stage Whispers

Richard 3

By William Shakespeare. Reamus Youth Theatre. Maitland Repertory Theatre. Aug 3 - 11.

THIS adaptation was a gripping study in villainy, with the title character ruthlessly plotting the elimination of all who stood in the way of his ascension to the English throne and then threatened his kingship.

Director Rod Ansell adapted the three-hour text to a brisk 75 minutes by keeping the focus tightly on Richard’s ambitions. And the actor playing the role, Alexander Spinks, delivered a performance that sometimes had the audience reacting not unsympathetically to the forthright reasons he gave for his behaviour.

The production began with King Henry VI and his court celebrating at a ball the end of a long conflict, when the dance was interrupted by the arrival of Richard and his supporters, their late 20th century punk attire and behaviour foreshadowing the anarchy to follow.

Spinks was charismatic as he delivered the famed “Now is the winter of our discontent” soliloquy, revealing how Richard has suffered because of a deformed body which acts against him as a lover, and then effectively wooing Princess Anne (Kaysia Dowie) after she has berated him for slaying her father-in-law.

Craig Lindeman’s Buckingham - Richard’s henchman who does much of his dirty work - changed from a gleeful accomplice to a vengeful figure when Richard ignored a promise to give him a slain duke’s estate.

Ansell brought together separate scenes from the text to first-class effect, as in a night sequence which showed Richard and Richmond (Luke Yager) sleeping in tents on the night before a battle. Richard’s sleep was disturbed by visits from the ghostly figures of people he had killed, while Richmond smiled as he dreamt peacefully.

Ken Longworth Porn.Cake

By Vanessa Bates. Griffin Theatre Company, SBW Stables Theatre (NSW). Director: Shannon Murphy. June 20 - July 14.

PORN.CAKE is served up as a bizarre, over-wrought and somewhat messy blend of masturbation, procrastination and mastication. Cake features strongly throughout.

It combines an unusual and clever stage set (a carpeted conversation pit), fast talking characters, quick lighting changes, minimal stage furniture and props, plus endless plates of cakes coated in many coloured icings. Often, a good combination of ingredients, careful preparation and elegant presentation can result in a well-crafted, attractive and enjoyable feast. Unfortunately Porn.Cake falls rather flat.

Two couples - Ant & Annie and Bill & Bella - are modern late thirtyish professionals with very busy, very expressive and very empty lives. Their wild and wacky behaviour is somewhat forced and lacks conviction. Little is revealed about these characters’ inner lives. They are caricatures of modern man in mid-life crisis. They are grumpy, moody, argumentative, ego-centric, whinging, cringing and overly

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greedy for sex, love and food. They are not very likeable, nor interesting.

The serial metaphor for their voracious and narcissistic appetites is the production and consumption of plate loads of gooey cake. This metaphor is half-baked and over-done.

Stephen Carnell The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde. Heidelberg Theatre Company. Directed by Wendy Drowley. July 12 - 28.

OSCAR Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a gift to theatre companies for two reasons: Lady Bracknell and tea cups. Any play with an acerbic matriarch and scenes that allow actors to explore the comic possibilities of teacups, trembling upon their bone china saucers, never goes out of favour.

Heidelberg Theatre Company is marking its 60th season with classics, and this Earnest upholds the company’s reputation for good-quality shows. Director Wendy Drowley, who started with HTC in 1953, captures the fun and intelligence of Wilde’s script.

Often it is the actress playing Lady Bracknell who steals the show but this time it is James Jackson, as a cheeky Algernon Moncrieff. Jackson is a hoot, and has terrific chemistry with his co-stars, particularly Taryn Eva (Cecily Cardew) and Ian McGregor (John Worthing).

Frances Hutson is no disappointment as Lady Bracknell but plays her too straight and nice. She isn’t an intimidating presence, and some of those fabulous lines lose their impact. Judi Clark is adorable as Miss Prism, a proper lady who blushes every time the Reverend Chasuble (John Cheshire) passes by. Cheshire is over-the-top as the geeky Rev, but he gets some of the show’s biggest laughs. Ian McGregor is dashing as John Worthing, while Taryn Eva and Aimee Sanderson are lovely as Cecily and Gwendolen, respectively. This Earnest is a crowd-pleaser, even if it isn’t tapping into the dark, biting elements of the script.

Sara Bannister Brilliant Lies

By David Williamson. Director: Zina Carman. 1812 Theatre (Vic) Aug 9 - Sept 1.

IT’S 40 (+1) years since playwright David Williamson shook us out of our complacency. How fitting, then, that the 1812 theatre company chose his 1993 play Brilliant Lies for their 40th Anniversary season.

Brilliant Lies deals with sexual harassment in the workplace. When Susy brings her sexual harassment case against her sleazy boss Gary, we aren’t sure if she is a victim or a scheming opportunist.

Although there are more positives than negatives, some of the humour is missing from this production, and some performances are too low-key to give Williamson his full weight. However Chris Proctor hit just the right level to make a feast of his role as Brian, the father who has “touched up” both his daughters and is oblivious to the damage he has done. His skills are matched by Phillippa Adgemis as Marion, the tribunal investigator who seeks to change women’s status, but not at the expense of lying.

These two performances are stand outs in a strong cast.

The split level set is interesting and lit well, but perhaps because the set takes up so much space, Zina Carman’s blocking is quite static. However, kudos for her work on characterisation and text. Whilst this may not be 1812’s finest production, it is still well worth seeing. The whole package is an indisputable asset to the hills area.

Coral Drouyn Vampire Cowboy Trilogy

By Qui Nguyen and Robert Ross Parker. Company Clegg.

Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. July 13 - 22.

THE three 20-minute plays in Vampire Cowboy Trilogy offer amusingly over-the-top stories based on popular genres. The title character in Jake Misco, Outer Borough Detective is a 1940s hard-boiled private eye attracted to beautiful dames; the caped flying heroes in The Adventures of Captain Justice and Liberty Lady are 1950s comic-book figures fighting communist hordes; and Tina, Teenage Warrior Princess is a television-era schoolgirl fighting zombie cheerleaders and her boredom with French lessons.

The mixture made for a late-night show in Hunter TAFE’s acting students festival that sent audiences away grinning broadly.

Watchers knew that Jake Misco (Rafael Diaz), who reveals his inner thoughts in voiceovers, was in trouble when a slinky dame in a low-cut black dress (Rachel Sara Bailey) came into his office and declared “I’m not sure where to begin”. Director Gabriella Stevens and her actors got the mix of parody and the real thing just right.

Cloak and tights-wearing Captain Justice (Matt Graham) and Liberty Lady (Cordelia Hamilton-Russell) faced a Hooded Menace (Hilary Park), purple-haired evil Spectator (Kane Gavin) and hordes of ninjas as they fought for “truth, justice and the American way”. The physical battles were amusingly staged by director Rafael Diaz.

Tina (Gabriella Stevens) and nerdy offsider Gabby (Georgina Hardy) also had to battle massed attackers - in their case zombiefied cheerleaders and stoned hippies who came to the aid of bad scooter-riding Missy (Anna Lambert). Sweat socks featured as weapons in Megan Elizabeth Kennedy’s energetic staging.

Ken Longworth Waiting in the Wings

By Noël Coward. Hobart Repertory Theatre Society.

Director: Chris Hamley. Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. Aug 3 18.

NOËL Coward wrote Waiting in the Wings, his 50th play, lovingly, with regard and belief in his characters.

Its Dublin premiere in 1960 was well received by audiences and critics, the London Premiere not so! Five decades on, WITW is again receiving praise and performance. “All the world’s a stage….even in retirement!” Hobart Repertory Theatre Society presented Waiting in the Wings directed by Chris Hamley, to an appreciative audience. The Wings is a charity home for retired actresses, where “former stage stars await their final curtain call with good humour, grumbles and grace. When

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Stage Whispers 81

a new resident arrives, old friendships and rivalries are rekindled.” Hobart Repertory excels at ensemble theatre.

Despite some line stumbles, and the usual uneven-ness of skill, this cast of fine actors and friends relished the play and their part in its successful performance.

It’s hard to pick standouts, although Noreen Le Mottee (Deidre O’Malley) gave an excellent, assured performance. Gillian Hunt (Lotta Bainbridge) and Pip Tyrell (May Davenport) were convincingly antagonistic then tender friends, and Deidre McMaster delightfully overacted her dementia scenes as fading ingénue (Sarita Myrtle) with convincing reality, excellent humour and perfect timing.

Chris Hamley directed with sensitivity and respect for the play and actors. A wonderful set, excellent costumes, well designed and executed sound and technical input gave us enjoyable, touching entertainment. Go see Waiting in the Wings while you still appreciate a fun night out.

Merlene Abbott Sylvia

By A.R. Gurney. Encore Theatre (Vic). Director: Peter Newling. July 13 - 28.

WHILE walking in the park, Greg meets Sylvia, a dog.

He takes her home, where his wife, Kate, is not happy about the situation.

Melissa New gave a wonderful portrayal as Sylvia, not an easy role, considering she spent most of the play on all fours, with a collar and leash, and sleeping in a doggy bed. New convincingly captured the essence of a dog, down to chewing the cushions and a shoe.

Greg, a man who is not happy with his life but not sure what he wants, was played effectively by Ron Kofler.

Vicki Smith has good stage projection, and provided a good balance to Kofler as Kate, trying to understand her husband and putting up with Sylvia although she doesn’t want a dog.

Shane Ryan played all the other characters. It’s not an easy task to change characters believably, particularly from one sex to the other, but Ryan handled the changes with aplomb, adding to the evening’s enjoyment.

Peter Kemp The 39 Steps

By Patrick Barlow, adapted from the book by John Buchan and the Hitchcock film. Castle Hill Players (NSW).

Pavilion Theatre. July 27 - Aug 18.

SINCE its resounding London and New York success, this play has become the new ‘pop’ comedy for community theatre. It’s a director’s play, an actor’s play and a designer’s play. Its comedy relies on creative collaboration, tight control and a commitment to strive for perfection in pace and timing.

The play can be very funny, and this production is as close to professional as community theatre comes. It is finely honed. Clever direction and committed, experienced performers and designers are supported by skilled operators and slick stage management.

82 Stage Whispers

Director Meredith Jacobs has a flair for seeing the creative possibilities in comic moments. What makes them work in her production is the careful coordination of her vision and her realisation that the play’s success relies upon the interdependency of the action and effects, and very tight rehearsal.

As Richard Hannay, Paul Sztelma is totally in command of the role and makes the most of his comic timing and physical skills. Leigh Scanlon is funny, quirky and convincing as the three very different female characters.

As the Clowns - and the many characters they become - Dave Went and Richard Ifield bounce off each other with well rehearsed efficiency. Both work very hard to sustain the pace of the action - as do the sound and lighting operators and the busy stage crew.

This production is one where working together really does seem to have been the key to success.

Carol Wimmer The Odd Couple - Female Version

By Neil Simon. Javeenbah Theatre Company, Nerang, Gold Coast. Director: Jim Dickson. July 13 to 28.

JIM Dickson’s production of the female version of Neil Simon’s comedy was full of promise but lacked oomph.

The tension between Olive and Flo never seemed to reach boiling point. The contrast between Olive (the slob) and Flo (the pedantic flatmate) could have been developed further with great effect.

The set worked well and was suitably dressed before and after Flo’s arrival to create the influence she imposed on everyone. Colin Crow’s sound and lighting enhanced the onstage antics.

Javeenbah’s intimate theatre is well suited to shows of this nature with the audience feeling as though they, too, were playing the weekly Trivial Pursuit game with the gals.

Roger McKenzie La Voix Humaine

By Jean Cocteau. La Boite Indie & Motherboard Productions. Roundhouse Theatre, Brisbane. June 27 July 14.

THIS play is a challenge that will appeal to theatregoers who prefer ‘intellectually stimulating theatre’ to ‘a show where you relax and be entertained.’

Cocteau’s 1930s original was concerned with the telephone, a new invention, which presented a convenient barrier between people in seriously personal situations who normally would have to cope in face-toface and eye-to-eye resolutions. Eighty years later we have a whole raft of new technologies to help us twist out of such awkward relationships.

That, I think, is what director, Dave Sleswick is exploring. His and Cocteau’s treatment were aimed at the universal relationship breakdown. He and his team overlay multiple sound possibilities, back projections, audio-visual techniques and even one performer who speaks a totally foreign language to explore that original concept!

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I congratulate the technical creatives who contribute so much cerebral power to this show. They not only point up the latest modern aspects of the problem, but also support the three actresses in their roles.

Erica Field, Noa Rotem and Liesel Zink live the turbulent hour on the phone for the last phone call between a woman and her former lover. All gave committed and passionate performances, which flashed across generations.

Equal kudos to offstage supporters: this was a credit to everyone who contributed to achieving the initial concept.

Jay McKee Bindjareb Pinjarra The Pinjarra Project, Deckchair Theatre, ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and Footscray Community Arts Centre.

BINDJAREB Pinjarra is the essence of a stunning touring show. Particularly accessible because of its down to earth ‘boysey’ humour it is a vital, engaging, partly improvised and often very funny, highly tuned physical theatre piece that borders on Theatre In Education.

Part of its considerable charm is that in dealing with contemporary race relations in Australia it walks an excruciatingly fine line, between both the potentially sanctimonious and the awkwardly self-effacing politically incorrect with surprising and uplifting success.

Bindjareb Pinjarra explores black/white relations in south-west Western Australia, with a focus on the early days of settlement and it culminates in the retelling of the Massacre at Pinjarra, lead by Governor James Stirling in 1834.

However, on another level, it is the story of how some white blokes and some Noongar blokes have taken on the mission of sharing shameful and baffling truths from violent pasts that, hidden in a kind of half-life, are haunting us.

As a piece that does not have a single writer or a director it is a testament to what can be achieved by a group of talented dedicated men, with lashings of integrity and purpose, working and creating together.

Inspirational!

Suzanne Sandow Hotel Sorrento

By Hannie Rayson. Newcastle Theatre Company. NTC Theatre, Lambton (Newcastle). June 16 - 30.

THE building of the title is a house in Victorian seaside resort Sorrento jocularly called a hotel because its owner and his fishing mates spent hours drinking on the front veranda.

Hannie Rayson’s play looks at relationships of many kinds - parents/children, siblings, long-term friends, casual acquaintances and people of different backgrounds and countries. She also looks at Australians coming to terms with their national identity when the country celebrated its bicentenary.

It’s an ambitious work, but the writing and the excellence of this production directed by Barbara Delaney

made it an engrossing one.

The oldest, stay-at-home sister, Hilary Moynihan (Sandra Monk), is a widow who cares for father Wal (Alan Bodenham) and 16-year-old son Troy (Brayden Porter).

Middle sister Meg (Wendy Ratcliffe) lives in London and has recently written a novel. Her English husband, Edwin (Michael King), has a tendency to regard Australians as colonials.

Youngest sister Pippa (Amy Edwards) certainly doesn’t have any sense of social inferiority after 10 years as a highly paid advertising executive in New York.

When circumstances bring the three sisters together in Sorrento, their relationships are occasionally strained because Meg has drawn on family events for her novel.

The characters were beautifully drawn, with the sisters well-contrasted. Monk’s Hilary was down-to-earth but anxious to avoid unhappy memories; Ratcliffe’s Meg emphatically insisted that her novel was fiction and not autobiographical; and Edwards’s Pippa found that bigcity sophistication has its limitations as an aid in reconciliation.

Ken Longworth The Philadelphia Story

By Phillip Barry. Theatre on Chester, Epping (NSW).

Director / Designer: Joy Sweeney. July 27 - Aug 18.

GERSHWIN jazz piano arrangements waft from the gramophone. A smart-looking young man lounges nonchalantly, reading the paper in a stylish period living room, filled with furniture and paraphernalia in predominantly black, white and grey tones. Effective use of coloured cyclorama lighting complements the setting attractively.

If you’re only familiar with The Philadelphia Story courtesy of the Hollywood musicalisation, High Society, the original play is a slightly darker comedy, with a very different character balance.

The play places socialite Tracy Lord firmly at the centre.

Nicole Brennan’s vivacious, complex and engaging portrayal delves deep for the emotional truth beyond her two-dimensional social façade.

She’s supported by a strong ensemble performance, vital to the success of this large cast period comedy. The acting is mostly truthful and convincing, with the comedy emerging from character, situation and timing. While not diminishing other performances, the contribution of the outsiders, Scott Clare (reporter Mike Connor) and Janina Hamerlok (photographer Liz Imrie), is decisive, enhancing the balance and dynamic of the production, by contrast with the well portrayed Philadelphia social set.

In a Fred and Ginger combination, two servants make the relatively minimal scene changes in full vision - part of a nicely conceived nod to the servant class.

Joy Sweeney’s well-known eye for detail is apparent everywhere in this attractive, entertaining community theatre production.

Neil Litchfield

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Stage Whispers 83

Aida, played by American soprano Latonia Moore, had that uncommon quality of both looking perfect for the part and singing just as beautifully Other principals formed a strong ensemble with Aida Warwick Fyfe most commanding as Amonasro - Aida’s

By Giuseppe Verdi and Antonio Ghislanzoni. Opera Australia. Director: Graeme Murphy. Opera Theatre, father, the King of Ethiopia.

Sydeny Opera House. July 17 - Oct 13.

While some of the full cast scenes drifted slightly away THIS sumptuous production is even stronger on its from the orchestra and the fourth act did stretch a little on the long side (which Mr Verdi was responsible for) it second outing in Sydney in less than four years.

It was created when Opera companies across Australia came close to being a faultless night at the opera.

David Spicer pooled resources to stage a new production of Aida, with fresh choreography from Graeme Murphy. The set was simple and clever. At the back of the stage are projected Die tote Stadt images, often along the theme of a pyramid. It was ideal By Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Paul Schott. Opera Australia. Director: Bruce Beresford. Conducted by for the love triangle at the centre of this story.

Christian Badea. June 30 - July 18, 2012.

At the front was a length of water to represent the Nile. Just behind it, two tracks running horizontally DIE tote Stadt is an intense and beautiful opera, yet across the stage allowed for a procession in the grand almost one hundred years after its first performance, this sections of Opera - free of elephants but rich with was the Australian premiere. It was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold in his early twenties. He went on to symbols.

Often the stage movement was portrayed in the style win two Academy Awards for his film scores. of hieroglyphics. While it was perhaps a little too literal at Appropriately, Bruce Beresford directed a production times, there were many beautiful moments. In one scene with cinematic intensity. The first sight was a screen striking lovers dived semi-naked in and out of the water. showing a picture of the large orchestra tuning up in a nearby space outside the theatre. Liberated from the The costumes looked gold plated and the light also much-cursed Opera House pit, their picture and music sparkled, particularly in a clever scene portraying sand were beamed back in surround sound. filling a glass.

Rosario La Spina played Calaf in Opera Australia’s Instead of having their music muted by the stage - the Turandot earlier this year without quite climbing the audience could swim in the lush score. Some of the most operatic mountain. However as Radames - the Egyptian exciting musical moments were when there was no general in Aida - he never failed to hit the mark. It was a singing at all. The use of film was liberally sprinkled into the production from images of beautiful roses to relaxed performance with poise and confidence. haunting faces.

Reviews: Opera

Die Tote Stadt - Cheryl Barker as Marie or Mariette and Stefan Vinke as Paul. Photo by Lisa Tomasetti.

84 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Die tote Stadt is about grief. Since the death of his wife Marie, Paul has created a shrine for her, complete with a braid of her hair and scarf. Then appears a woman with a remarkable resemblance to her.

The leading tenor role of Paul (Stefan Vinke) and soprano role - Marie/Mariette (Cheryl Barker) are fiendishly difficult to perform. For Vinke it felt like the elastic was stretched to capacity. Cheryl Barker sounded more at ease in her dual role and sang beautifully.

But ultimately the orchestra was the star of night.

David Spicer

was in fine voice but sometimes overshadowed Roy Best as Ferrando, though Roy had his moments to shine.

Roger Howell was a strong and funny Don Alfonso with his Italian accent. Andrea Creighton has a lovely voice, but I expected a soubrette.

This was a most enjoyable production.

Graham Ford

Master Peter’s Puppet Show / What Next?

By Manuel De Falla and Elliott Carter. Victorian Opera.

Conductor: Daniel Carter. Director: Nancy Black.

Melbourne Recital Centre. Aug 15 - 22.

Cosi Fan Tutte VICTORIAN Opera was back to their usual fare with

By Mozart. Melbourne Opera. Director: Suzanne two twentieth century one act operas, one less than Chaundy. Musical Director: Greg Hocking. Athanaeum twenty years old. However, they were cast from strength Theatre, Melbourne. July 11 - 18, 2012. with an innovative production.

I KNEW this production was going to be different Master Peter’s Puppet Show was produced using large when during the overture, Don Alfonso in his Lygon sheets with shadow puppets behind. A narrator (The Kid) Street wine bar was showing the barmaid the ring he was tells part of the story, and then the puppets act out that planning to give to his intended when said lady walked part. Different scenes were enacted behind different out with another man! He immediately tore down the sheets as the action moved. It was very effective.

Alfonso sign and put up a neon sign, “Cosi Fan Tutte”, as Rising star Carlos Bárcenas was a strong Puppet the title tune appeared late in the overture.

Master and the evergreen Ian Cousins an appropriate It was a nice touch.

Don Quixote.

There were similar moments throughout the What’s Next? is a strange work, with five adults, production, and I also liked the end of the first scene members of a disfunctional family on the way to a where the other couple on stage stood up, picked up wedding, and a boy having survived a catastrophe. After their table and chairs and walked off, and the barmaid much drama they decide they are stuck with each other helped others push the bar and wall off stage such that and will just have to get along. we were left with a bare stage for the start of the next The music was very avante garde but compelling and scene. It allowed for the action to flow. the performances uniformly strong. Young soprano Cosi is an ensemble opera and it was in the ensembles Jessica Aszodi played the main role of Rose with strong, that the singers shone. In particular, voices were scaled beautiful tone. Her voice has developed well since I last back in the duets and trios to get a beautiful blend with heard her. Ireni Utley, Emily Bauer-Jones, Tim Reynolds their partners. The first act trio “Soave sia il vento” was a and Gary Rowley also performed well and made the particular highlight. difficult music sound easy.

Danielle Calder coped well with the wide-ranging With no pit, the orchestra was a bit loud for the tessitura of Fiordiligi and worked well with Victoria singers at times, but they coped well. The mainly young Lambourn as Dorabella. Phillip Calcagno as Guglielmo audience was most enthusiastic.

Graham Ford

Reviews: Cabaret

Ben Vereen - Steppin’ Out Live Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne. June 23 V IS for Virtuoso… E for Excellence, R for Remarkable, E for Exciting, another E for Electrifying….well, you get the picture.

Ben Vereen took to the stage at the Atheneaum, Melbourne on Saturday night and stayed for 3 hours (including the interval). At the end of that time, after channelling the youthful energy of Peter Pan, he didn’t want to leave, and the audience didn’t want him to go. It was love at first sight for both of us.

The dancing, The Fosse days, are behind him now, a tragic car accident 20 years ago forced Ben to re-assess how he moves, though the grace is still there, and the slender fingers and elegant hands still have their own magic to do. In their place is a voice that soars, that whispers, that hits impossible head notes, that ranges from an operatic baritone to a soulful Marvin Gaye with everything in between. It more than rivals his idol and long-time friend Sammy Davis Jnr, to whom he pays tribute with a stream of numbers, including Sammy’s special version of Mr Bojangles.

Quite simply he is sublime….and the five different standing ovations he garnered throughout the show are a testament to a man who has honoured his art and perfected his craft.

Coral Drouyn Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

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Reviews: Youth

Accidently Ugly Co-devisors: Melinda Hetzel, Joseph O’Farrell and Jacob Williams. St Martins Youth Arts - Northcote and South Yarra programs. July 6 & 7.

WHAT do you fear? Spiders? Witches? The Boogey Man? How closely are your fears associated with appearances? A warty nose, a hunched back, eight hairy legs and too many eyes?

Using Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant as its centrepiece, Accidently Ugly pursues the connections we make between what we find ugly and therefore fear. Perhaps looking closely at a creature we find to be ugly will reveal intricate detail, just as looking beyond a person’s appearance reveals deeper truths.

With a cast aged between 5 and 12 years - some hearing impaired and profoundly deaf - images of spooky trees, kids with torches in their tents, night sounds, and ghostly stories are brought to mind.

Notions of transformation are carried into a junkyard inspired set. Perhaps you think the cardboard box is ugly, but look what we have created from it. Perhaps the giant is scary, but he is brought to tears by children’s singing.

Lines are either recorded or spoken off-stage.

Unfortunately these were quite difficult to decipher at times, and occasionally distorted, and I didn’t make the connection between the theme and the submarine appearances.

That said, the manipulation of set and effective lighting were good, and audience participation measures, including bubble blowers for all, had the almost capacity, and family orientated audience engaged.

Here’s a company that takes inclusivity and access seriously, with braille indented business cards, Auslan performers and facilitators for the

workshop process, and a clearly articulated belief that performance is as much about process as it is about product. And there is nothing ugly or accidental about that!

Lucy Graham Babe, The Sheep Pig Adapted by David Wood from Dick King -Smith’s novel. Young People’s Theatre. Young People’s Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). July 2 - Aug 25.

CHARMING and delightful. Those were the words that repeatedly came to mind while I watched this tale about a pig raised by a sheep dog that becomes a champion sheep herder.

The young actors playing the farm animals brought out amusingly, and at times movingly, the changing relationships as the title character develops from a piglet bewildered after being taken from his mother to an assured creature who develops friendships with all around him.

Director Kelsie Clarke and a mainly teenage cast masterfully revealed much about all the farm animals, including mature sheep dog Fly and dignified old sheep Ma, with farmer Hogget and his wife being dour but colourful characters in the performances of the sole adult actors.

There were some darker scenes, including a raid by rustlers on the sheep herd and a nightmare Babe experiences on the eve of the sheep dog trials, but these were staged so that they didn’t frighten young children. The audience also had opportunities to interact with the characters in key moments.

The behind-the-scenes production team added to the magic, with Jennifer Ellicott’s costume designs helping to define the animals. White-feathered ducks wore sailor caps and a multi-coloured cockerel had a striped waistcoat in matching colours.

Ken Longworth

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Schools on Stage

The Great Australian Rock Musical Sandgate High School QLD The Great Australian Rock Musical, presented on the 27th and 28th of July, was a great success. The top-rate Aussie humour and the soundtrack of classic Australian rock songs kept cast and audience alike laughing and tapping to the beat. Also, the musical’s special ability to turn every last singer, dancer, and actor into a star, showed that it really was one-in-a-million. The script made sure everyone was important and valued, so it’s no wonder that everyone on stage performed at their very best. The twiceweekly rehearsals were a highlight for students. Cast and crew had the opportunity to make new friends and grow closer to their old ones as they worked together to bring the show to life. Everyone who attended and participated will remember The Great Australian Rock Musical as one of the best high school musicals ever performed on our school stage.

By a senior student.

Cruisin’ the Musical St Mary’s Catholic College, Cairns It seems all of Cairns was abuzz when Cruisin’ - the Musical came to life at the Cairns Civic Theatre in April.

The school doesn’t do musicals by half. It hired the 700 seat venue for four nights, built a large spectacular set and was excited when word of mouth saw the house full sign

The Great Australian Rock Musical

going up on closing night.

The school reports, “audiences at all four performances were enthralled by our talented students. The swinging rock’n’roll tunes had everyone tapping their feet, while the dancers brought back memories of days gone by.”

Cruisin’, written by Rod Christian and Peter Waterman from Perth, is a 50’s rock’n’roll musical about a ‘good Italian boy’ who wants to become a pop star. It has lots of comedy as young Vinnie rebels against his father’s wish to work in the family business. A play-off in the battle of the bands brings the drama to a head. The musical also has good dance opportunities from the score, which has Latin, rock and jive numbers.

Cruisin’ has now been performed across Australia, in New Zealand, UK and USA.

Online extras!

Watch a clip from Cruisin: The Musical by scanning the QR code or visiting http://youtu.be/3lJpGy2aAeo Cruisin’ the Musical

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High School Spoofical by Tim Bain and Adrian Szondy Lameroo Regional Community School (SA) Montrose Bay High School (Tas) Welcome to Sweet Valley High - a perfect world of perfect Disney-type teens. High School Spoofical is a parody of all those Hollywood teen movies you love to hate, featuring a large cast full of every clique imaginable - jocks, cheerleaders, eggheads, emos, homies - but is easy to costume and simple to stage.

Lameroo Regional Community School recently completed their season. “We loved this show - it offered everything a school needs for a successful production: accessible material, friendly support, very reasonable royalties, sound tracks, band parts, photocopying rights for scripts, videoing permission Cats and production notes. We are finding an increase in Oakhill College (NSW) the number of students volunteering to participate Oakhill College - all boys in Year 7 - 10 in our school productions - in big part due to the and co-ed in Years 11 & 12, is a College calibre of musicals such as this”. with a strong reputation and history of performance work Montrose Bay High School also presented High School with productions of two plays per year and a musical, Spoofical: “One of the most critical decisions is the choice alternating between a major full school musical and a of musical; it has to be manageable for both actors and junior musical. 2012 saw the Performing Arts Faculty musicians, hold their attention, all whilst providing an wanting to challenge and excite the student body with a entertaining experience. This musical was a huge success different sort of production. Cats was a perfect choice! because it was so much fun to work with - the performers The production is a marvellous ‘ensemble’ piece of could identify with and relate to the content, making the theatre with as many as thirty principal cats. Oakhill ran rehearsal process a captivating and fun journey. This is the with thirty leads and a company of a further sixty cats…and third musical we have staged from Maverick. The support every cat looked different, had its own personality and its provided has always been exemplary and the package own name, chosen by the students themselves.

For the first time the College not only ran singing and dance auditions but also acrobatic auditions, allowing a whole section of students with skills in this area a chance to shine. With the upsurge of interest in dance as an art form students embraced the various styles of dance in Cats from ballet to tap to modern.

In a world where reality entertainment dominates our TV screens Cats was a wonderful escape into a magical and colourful world….. our production was filled with ‘Cats with Attitude’.

Lameroo Regional Community School Cats - Oakhill College

Montrose Bay High School

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provided is an excellent option for any school who wishes to head down the track of musical productions”.

The package from Maverick Musicals includes rehearsal and backing CD’s, band-parts, a production DVD and an extensive production booklet for directors. A mixed media performance package is also available providing animated graphics and sound effects. www.mavmuse.com Sweet Charity The Ringwood Secondary College (Vic) The annual musical production is a highlight of our College calendar that involves a cast of about 80 students, as well as scores more across various teams in orchestra, props, staging, lighting, costumes, sound and makeup. Supported by a team of over 20 staff and a dedicated crew of parent volunteers, the entire company pushes well over 200 in size and presents 7 performances to a combined audience of over 2000 people in August of each year.

This year we staged Sweet Charity for the first time in RSC history. The set design and execution was technologically complex, with an elevated orchestra, huge revolving trucks, LCD screens, a real lake and a dynamic

Ringwood S.C.’s Sweet Charity

Schools on Stage

lighting plot that painted the stage in an ever-changing array of colours. We took full advantage of our burgeoning dance program and featured the full cast in several choreographed sequences such as Rich Man’s Frug and Rhythm of Life. An audience highlight was the 30-strong, all-singing, all-dancing boys’ chorus - it’s amazing what you can achieve when taking to the stage is not seen as ‘uncool’!

Benjamin Moody - Director of Performing Arts

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Choosing a Show

From SELTAEB MUSIC Class of 77 - The Australian High School Musical CLASS OF 77 written by We asked rights holders to let us know what’s new for the Sydney composer David Hines school market. centres around a group of students in 1977 as they From Dominie Drama prepare to leave school and Thirst For Life - Book by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus. face the “brand new world” Music and Lyrics by Bill Francoeur. of the 1980’s. For 7M/5F or Cast: 4M, 12F, plus 2 roles that can be either, chorus.

7F/5M and variable chorus Every story needs a bad guy. In this one, he happens to be size. a vampire. But this play is not about witchcraft, dark arts, The show has 14 brand new songs, all in a 70’s rock/pop voodoo or black magic. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s style. For those schools without access to live musicians a about belonging and being true to who you are. This play is professional backing CD is included with the licence. The a parable about a wondrous place where mortal enemies royalties are very affordable at $350 complete for unlimited come together to live in peace. It just happens to be told performances. Sets and costumes are easy to source and with humans and vampires... and cool music. overall the show represents a fantastic opportunity for Australian schools to showcase a locally written musical.

“I wanted to write a show that reflected our own culture,” says Hines.

The World Premiere was in Sydney in March 2006 and since then the show has been sold to many companies and schools in Australia and overseas.

For further information contact local agents SELTAEB MUSIC on 0418 299 241 or visit the official website at www.classof77.com.au For more information on this musical, visit http://bit.ly/NMn2Hx, call (02) 9938 8600 or email: drama@dominie.com.au Online extras!

Check out a trailer for Class of 77 just by From ORiGiN Theatrical scanning the QR code or visiting Happy Days - A New Musical (Full Length & 90 minute http://youtu.be/h8FxYxRTuxw Versions) Cast: 10m, 7f expandable cast.

From Hal Leonard Australia Goodbye gray skies, Miss Saigon - School Edition hello blue! Happy Along with extra theatrical days are here again resources and show with Richie, Potsie, requirements catering to Ralph Malph and the high schools, there are two unforgettable “king major differences between of cool” Arthur “The the original show and the Fonz” Fonzarelli.

School Edition: Based on the hit The language (both Paramount Pictures dialogue and lyrics) has television series, been cleaned-up throughout.

Happy Days, A New A few songs have changed keys to accommodate student Musical reintroduces voices. one of America’s best -loved families, the A Little Princess Cunninghams - yes, Written by Tony-nominated Howard, Marion and composer and lyricist Joanie are here too Andrew Lippa (JOHN & to a whole new JEN) and award-winning generation of kids book-writer and lyricist and parents.

Brian Crawley (VIOLET), A Read free sample online at http://bit.ly/T7wJgC LITTLE PRINCESS is the story For more information contact: Kim Ransley by email of a little girl with a great kim@originmusic.com.au big imagination.

90 Stage Whispers September - October 2012

A Little Princess, which features an updated script, score, orchestrations, and new material, is based on Francis Hodgson Burnett’s children’s novel, popular since the late 19th century.

Choosing A Show With original music and classic hits including Rock Around the Clock, Shakin All Over, Pink Shoe Laces, The Great Pretender, It’s My Party, La Bamba, Itsy, Bitsy, Teenie, Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Summer Holiday and I Remember You. “This show sizzles!” Stage Whispers.

Betty Blue Eyes. Music by George Stiles. Lyrics by Anthony Drewe.

Book by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman. Based on Alan Bennett’s screenplay, A Private Function.

Twenty six years ago Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray wove this story into a hilariously funny but sharply observed comic film called A Private Function, which centred around Betty, an adorable pig, Online extras! who is being illegally reared to ensure See why Pyjamas In Paradise is so the local dignitaries can celebrate the Royal Wedding with a popular! Simply scan the QR code or visit lavish banquet http://youtu.be/ZitWjQhKHlA while the local population make do with Spam. Now it’s become a deliciously infectious toe-tapping, retro contemporary score musical.

Judith Prior’s What’s New Pussycat For information call (03) 9585 3300 or email Inspired by the nmckail@halleonard.com.au story of “Puss in Boots”, first written during the Online extras!

Watch the trailer for Betty Blue Eyes. Scan sixteenth century

by French author, the QR code or visit Charles Perrault. http://youtu.be/dcYbSsX_i9s The show embraces an eclectic collection of great pop and rock From David Spicer Productions songs drawn from the rock era of the fifties and sixties Pyjamas in Paradise by John-Michael Howson, Ashley Irwin through to today’s popular music that the cast and and Peter Pinne audience will identify with and enjoy.

Before there was Schoolies, there was Pyjamas in Paradise! Songs include Material Girl, I Wanna Be a Billionaire, These In the late 1950s and early 1960s, pyjama parties attracted Boots were made for Walkin’, Walk Right In, You Better thousands of young people from all around Australia to the Shop Around, Ballin’ the Jack, Congratulations, What’s New small resort town of Surfers Paradise. Their popularity put Pussycat?, Hey Baby, Simple Simon Says and more.

Surfers on the map.

For more info contact david@davidspicer.com or phone/fax (02) 9371 8458

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Musical Spice

Ladies Night

Audience Appeal

Sometimes it’s just as interesting to see who is cast in the audience as on stage.

Just as a trip around a DVD store divides the audiences into niches, such as Action (Blokes), Comedy, Romance (Chick flicks), Horror and Animation, so too does commercial theatre.

When I saw Legally Blonde the Musical in London it seemed like everyone around me was young and female.

It was no surprise that a show which featured the odd heart-throb and traversed shopping and Chihuahuas would appeal to this demographic.

Producers always argue that it’s not just the obvious target group who should buy tickets.

When I interviewed the original Director of Legally Blonde, Jerry Mitchell, he tried to convince me that young men would be just as enthusiastic as young women about the musical, to learn how to catch an ‘Elle’.

That is a nice spin on it. I know in my home my wife and daughter are desperate to see it but my son is neutral.

The question is whether the appeal of a show is strong enough for the targeted demographic to drag their partners or friends along?

On my only visit to Broadway I noticed that the audience for Avenue Q was almost exclusively 20 to 30 somethings. Beauty and the Beast was entirely dominated by families.

It is never a surprise to find a particular age group of women in the audience of Menopause the Musical.

This show has toured again and again.

Try getting someone who is not gay or female to buy the tickets to Naked Boys Singing.

Opening soon in Melbourne is More Sex Please … We’re Seniors! This sounds like a show grandparents will

buy tickets to. But would you go with your grandmother?

The trend towards targeting a group is not slowing down. The wider the group the better.

Motherhood the Musical is currently touring Australia.

The Kiwi comedy Ladies Night is also on a tour of eastern Australia. The publicity material says it’s not just for women, but nonetheless hen night groups are seen in the audience while bucks parties steer clear.

The amateur rights to Breast Wishes have just been released after an extensive tour of regional Australia.

Hey, at least they can say everyone has a breast and unless they were exclusively bottle-fed have used one for natural reasons.

What other categories can we think up to attract wide demographics?

What about Family Feud The Musical? People who like dogs or cats on ice? We’re Only Human - The Melodrama?

Hungry Homo Sapiens?

Ten Fingers are Not Enough?

Warm Blooded Mammals Jerry Mitchell

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Rule the World? Who Wants to Live Forever?

Of course we could produce a play or musical with an engrossing storyline that appeals to everyone. That would be old fashioned wouldn’t it?

Perhaps Jerry Mitchell was holding the answer. The most successful form of entertainment has mass rather than niche appeal. Here he is holding our Cirque Du Soleil cover from the last edition.

David Spicer Let us know what funny ideas you have for a niche show? Email to david@davidspicer.com

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