Musical Theatre – Page 17

An Unexpected Editorial

by Kim Edwards

Our inbox has been loaded lately with various long-winded emails as part of a campaign to spam theatre reviewers. The emails contain protestations in violent objection to or in passionate support of the latest Andrew Lloyd Webber musical to open in Melbourne.

Love Never Dies purports to be a sequel to the wildly successful Phantom of the Opera, and its latest season has prompted an extraordinary turf war among fans of the latter and former.

Both sides have apparently concluded it is important for reviewers to know Love Never Dies is respectively awful/awesome, while insisting we are, of course, to write impartial reviews as we see fit.

As we foresee that a further deluge of such emails may be inevitable, we felt it was important to voice an opinion on behalf on Theatre Press reviewers.

We are yet to attend Love Never Dies, or to offer either a review or opinion on it*. Theatre Press reviewers are requested always to give honest feedback, offer constructive critique, and point out the subjectivity of their stance: this is simply one person’s opinion.

While we might remark on the audience’s reaction or the wider reception of the production, we have no interest in reading unsolicited reviews from fans or foes of any show who, despite their best rhetorical efforts, are seeking to influence us.

Theatre is a fickle and troublesome industry. Sometimes wonderful shows close too early, while poor shows manage to drum up extensive audiences. Sometimes excellent productions do not appeal to a local crowd, and weak productions strike an unexpected chord.

But sometimes critically acclaimed does translate into universal popularity, whereupon spectacular musicals achieve all the fame and success they deserve, and the unsuccessful ones fall quietly into obscurity.

Interestingly of course, public protests over ‘bad’ shows usually end in the latter being far more successful than they might otherwise have been…

Ultimately, this is all irrelevant for theatre reviewers. There is a place for all forms and levels of theatre, and producers, composers and artists have every right to create any new shows they like for the mingled delight and despair of theatre audiences.

Whatever strange motivations are behind the recent spat of love/hate fan emails to Theatre Press, the actual effect is to imply our critical integrity and credibility is in question because we need reminders to offer unbiased opinions.

As theatre critics however, we always wish to support the industry we love, rigorously deny censorship by attending as many and varied performances as we can as open-mindedly as we can, and then constantly do our best to express an honest opinion and make an effort to link the right audiences with the right shows. Every time.

If you like Love Never Dies, enjoy seeing it. If you don’t like it, enjoy avoiding it. If you have an opinion on a show, share it – but respect the rights of others to disagree. However, if you think the way to share this opinion is to spam review sites – please think again.

*Edit: Since writing the above, we have attended the show and offered an opinion. You can find the review here.

The lustre is lacking, but the performers bring their own shine

By Kim Edwards

Anthony Warlow received a standing ovation for Melbourne’s opening night of the new musical Dr. Zhivago, and it was richly deserved.

His sumptuous voice soars through Lucy Simon’s melodious ballads, and his sleek performance of Zhivago slides easily between delicate characterization and the sweeping charisma that made him glorious on the Australian and international stage.

However, the vehicle for his achievement has the propensity to be as clunky and awkward as the show’s cumbersome ‘train’ set piece. Dr. Zhivago the musical boasts a lavish and quite lovely score, a famous and beloved tale to tell, and fine performances from an excellent cast. But even the man himself could not overcome the problems of trite lyrics, perfunctory character development, historical caricature and messy staging.

Rising star Lucy Maunder has a bright beautiful voice, and is charming as Lara, although she is given little room to explore the character emotionally. Her lovely co-star Taneel van Zyl has even less opportunity in the thankless role of Tonia.

Fortunately Pasha the revolutionary-turned-rogue is fleshed out more fully, and allows dynamic Martin Crewes to rip into his character and create a ferocious, flamboyant and strangely pathetic and appealing man as Zhivago’s foil and reflection.

While clearly necessary to truncate an epic history and vast landscape for a two-act musical on a proscenium stage, sadly this is not managed well. The set is versatile but dull and the projections of giant figures looming over the action are disconcerting and distracting.

Great battles, tragic events and extraordinary moments of emotional possibility are packaged up into menial exposition, running about with chairs, and songs (in a story about a poet, no less) with relentless rhyming couplets so predictable they become painful.

Having said this, the show is by no means boring. The blocking is full of action and interest (although peasants suddenly turning from rural Russia to push a train into Moscow was one of several jarring continuity breaks). The cast work energetically through their material, and the wedding dancing by the revolutionaries and the lively female opening number for Act II were highlights.

Act II is generally superior in pace and excitement: there is also particularly beautiful lighting in the abandoned house, and the powerful confrontation of Zhivago and Pasha is more moving than the finale.

Playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, Dr Zhivago is emphatically an enjoyable night out: if it does not achieve all the profound tragedy, romance and grandeur the tale deserves, hearing Warlow make magic once again is wonderfully worthwhile.

Photos by Kurt Sneddon