Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: The Butterfly Club Presents THE LAST FIVE QUEERS

Robert Brown re-imagining is all about the music

By Myron My

More and more you hear people saying, “It’s a small world”. Thanks to modern living, our lives are becoming intertwined in ever-more varied and surprising ways. In The Last Five Queers, book by Adam Noviello & Madi Lee and music by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, we meet five individuals who are all connected with each other in some way. In this song-cycle cabaret, their relationships are all pushed to the forefront as they tackle the high and lows of being in love with someone and trusting another enough to give yourself over to them.

The Last Five Queers

There were some incredibly strong musical performances in the show. Keagan Vaskess as the woman in love with her best friend was exceptional with her songs. What is even more impressive is the confidence and emotion on display, considering she was only brought in five days ago after the original performer became unwell. The scenes between gay couple, Henry Brett and Jack O’Riley were just as accomplished however. The belting out of memorable numbers ensured their duets and solos were by far the highlights of the show. Rounding out the cast were Tim Carney and Lee who, despite their strong effort, were unable to affect me as much as Vaskess, Brett and O’Riley did. Their projection was not as successful, and for me their vocal range didn’t reach the breadth of the other three

Playing his own arrangements of Brown’s music was musical director Barnaby Reiter. I’ve seen Reiter perform in a number of cabaret shows over the years and it’s always a pleasant surprise when he appears on stage. He really is one of Melbourne’s great musical talents, playing with finesse and skill and really creating moments on stage for not only the audience to experience, but also for the performers to occupy.

While the cast shone in their singing, the acting is where some cracks surfaced. There were several awkward vignettes between songs, due to dialogue that sounded trite and acting that felt unnatural. There was not much authenticity in the portrayals and it felt everyone was just going through the motions: there was the lack of intensity from a spontaneous kiss, the lack of chemistry between loving couples and the lack of familiarity between siblings and friends.

I could have happily enjoyed Vaskess, Brett and O’Riley singing all night, and listened to Reiter play the piano. However, I was there to see The Last Five Queers, and as a whole, the show required some fine-tuning. The writing needed to be more genuine and organic and the acting side of this cabaret needed stronger direction. It’s still an enjoyable show but I will remember The Last Five Queers as more of a quick fling than a long-lasting relationship.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Season: Until 9 August | Tue-Sat 8:30pm, Sunday 8:00pm

Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: The Butterfly Club

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: MTC Presents DEATH AND THE MAIDEN

In the hands of the leading lady

By Bradley Storer

The opening image of Melbourne Theatre Company‘s highly anticipated production of Death and the Maiden, the intensely political and unsettlingly violent work of Ariel Dorfman, is striking and instantly ratchets the tension to maximum level – a lone woman in a darkened room, stirred to action by the sound of an approaching car, creeps through the darkness and conceals herself in the corner, the revolving stage giving an eerie flipbook-like effect as the woman slowly reveals a gun. In this single image the blurred boundaries between the domestic, civilisation and the dark savage underbelly of human nature which Dorman sets out to explore is already laid out for the audience.

Death and the Maiden

Set in an unnamed country, inspired by post-fascist Chile but potentially any country emerging from under tyranny, Death and the Maiden examines the slow recovery from politically-sanctioned atrocity and horror on both the personal and national level through the lens of differing characters. The trio presented include a victim of the former fascist regime and its unspeakable methods, Paulina (Susie Porter), her husband Gerardo (Steve Mouzakis), the lawyer who is now part of the government committee dedicated to uncovering the atrocities of the former regime, and Roberto (Eugene Gilfedder), a doctor whose unexpected incurrence into the lives of Paulina and Gerardo sets off the whirlwind of terror and violence which engulfs the rest of the play.

Unfortunately, only in the performance of Porter does the extent of Dorfman’s bleak vision truly come to fruition. She morphs from an uncertain and flighty creature, beset by unknown fears, into a facade of iron-hard determination and self-righteous fury that maintains the central ambiguity of Paulina’s character: whether she is a victim of horrific trauma and gruesome torture that has driven her to insanity, or a woman empowered to throw off the chains of victimhood and become an terrible avenging angel against her former tormentors.

Mouzakis and Gilfedder do not fare as well, their earlier scenes which communicate the bulk of the work’s political background sapping all of the tension and drive from the performance. They improve as the play goes on but sadly lose momentum whenever Porter leaves the stage. Nick Schlieper‘s revolving set does much to symbolically comment on the cyclical nature of violence and victimhood, but slowly loses its impact as the play goes on – its use in Gerardo’s final monologue leaves the last mystery of the play more confusing than intended.

Perhaps this production of Death and the Maiden is not the definitive one, but the performance of Porter is to be commended for its bravery, delving into the darkest and rawest areas of the human psyche that Dorfman is preoccupied with, bringing out the violence and cruelty that Is suggested to lurk within us all.

Venue: The Sumner, Southbank Theatre, 140 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Dates: 18 July – 22 August, 2015
Price: $36 – $109
Bookings: At the venue, www.mtc.com.au, 03 86880800
Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Laura Johnston is HITCHCOCK’S BIRDS

Clever and appealing cabaret of tantalising tales

By Myron My

Alfred Hitchcock was a genius when it came to creating cinematic experiences. Very few directors, if any, have been able to recreate the tension and anxiety that Hitchcock managed to conjure up in such great scenes as Janet Leigh‘s shower death in Psycho or the attack on Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder. However, behind the scenes, things weren’t always so “great” for his leading ladies. In her cabaret show Hitchcock’s Birds, Laura Johnston explores what it really meant to be a woman in one of Hitchcock’s movies.

Hitchcock's Birds

Johnston portray a number of these Hollywood legends, including Leigh, Kelly, Doris Day and Tippi Hedren, and while many of the stories are not exactly new to anyone who has an interest in the man behind the camera or the women in front of it, the way Johnston tells these stories is what draws you in. Johnston uses verbatim interviews and speeches from these stars, which builds on the drama and authenticity of Hitchcock’s Birds. This is also supported by her portrayals of the eight actors where, with some simple but highly effective mannerisms and expressions, she strongly captures the elegance of Kelly, the liveliness of Day, the frustrations of Hedren and so on and so on.

It is Hedren’s story that Johnston spends most of her show exploring, speaking of Hitchcock’s obsession with her and his refusal to let her break free from her contract. Infamously, Hedren did the one thing that no one was ever allowed to do: she mentioned his weight. Needless to say, their relationship was extremely strained during the filming of Marnie: they communicated via a third party during the remainder of its filming. Even though Johnston doesn’t specifically mention this event, you can feel the history coming through in the performance.

While Johnston had a great voice for this intimate cabaret show, a number of songs seemed out of place and didn’t tie in with the events she was relaying. Her impressive rendition of “Que Sera” however, was the musical highlight of the evening.

Johnston brings these famous Hitchcock leading ladies together as if they were attending the same dinner party. It starts out with excitement and laughs they had at the honour of performing in one of his films, but slowly moves to sadness and resentment due to the controlling and dominating nature of Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock’s Birds is an intriguing and thoughtful debut by Johnston with strong potential for growth.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Season: Until 26 July | Fri-Sat 7:00pm, Sunday 6:00pm

Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: The Butterfly Club

Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: David Stewart in AZURE

An intriguing show is growing

By Jessica Cornish

Magician, mentalist, spiritualist and psychologist David Stewart swung by The Butterfly Club last night to perform his one-hour show Azure to an eager audience in a sold-out venue.

Azure

Number tricks were hot on tap, with Stewart showing off his incredible ability to rapidly and precisely manipulate numbers and patterns to boggle the minds of onlookers. Even more impressively, or should I say psychically, he could pluck out random audience members, allow free choice to ensue, and then accurately reveal their thoughts – even naming an unspoken word sent telepathically between a couple celebrating their two-year anniversary.

The show relied heavily on this audience participation, mostly in the form of providing double-digit numbers for random allocation of participants (although it quickly and amusingly became apparent that evening’s clientele at The Butterfly Club were not strongly trained in the art of basic arithmetic and spontaneously conjuring up double-digit numbers was in fact too difficult for some, providing answers like ‘four and four,’ rather than forty-four!)

The show is highly enjoyable and has great potential, and there is no denying Stewart is a capable and entertaining performer. However it seems the show is still developing, and as he tours across Australia and beyond, Azure will continue to benefit as Stewart gains in confidence and ease in his showmanship skills, which will come with more time and experience. Additionally, the performance could have been improved technically by adding audio cues (which could be as simple as incorporating more background music into the performance to break the sometimes awkward silences), and further enhanced by utilising different lighting states where possible to add more dramatic atmosphere. I already believe this show will go from strength to strength, and even in this early evolving stage is utterly fascinating to watch.

Azure is therefore an hour definitely well-spent, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance last night. The crowd were actively engaged and eagerly participating all night in the web of intrigue weaved by this British mentalist, David Stewart. I would definitely recommended popping in to The Butterfly Club tonight for Stewart’s last performance in Melbourne, starting at 7pm ($34.00 adult, $28.00 concession), just make sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment.

https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/azure

Cabaret

REVIEW: Declan Greene’s I AM A MIRACLE

Grim tales woven together with heavenly music and powerful imagery

By Margaret Wieringa

Chairs are strewn across a bare stage, and a few other items, hard to distinguish, lie in piles. Three actors in the orange jumpsuits recognisable as those worn by people incarcerated in US prisons are in place around the stage. As the lights come down, one begins to address a prisoner on death row who has only a few minutes to live, while the others whisper, possibly prayers. Thus begins the intense journey of I Am A Miracle.

I Am A Miracle

The title comes from the last words of Marvin Lee Wilson, a man with an extremely low IQ who was executed in 2012. Such a low IQ should have prevented his death, but did not. Declan Greene wrote this play for Marvin, to document various miscarriages of justice. There is the story of a young Dutch solider in Africa in the eighteenth century, sent on a mission through the jungle to quell a slave uprising, and that of a man in Melbourne entrapped by his carer.

This is a hard production to watch; the Malthouse publicity has the message that this is “not for the timid”. The story of the Dutch soldier has images that are hard to forget, and while the boy is seventeen, Melita Jurisic brings an innocence and purity to the character that makes him seem so much younger, so much easier to be broken. Later, she plays the carer (and possibly partner?) of Bert LaBonté‘s character, and while this woman seems to have the emotional control, he is clearly physically able to overpower her. It is the music, notably the beautiful singing of Hana Lee Crisp, that ultimately brings the pieces of the play together. Crisp drifts through the performance, or stands aside, like some kind of angel.

At times, the combination of the soundscape and music and lighting are overwhelming, as though director Matthew Lutton is deliberately creating a religious experience. Indeed, the powerful climax is the world being reborn, blinding the audience with light and deafening with sound. While I must admit that I did not understand everything that happened, it was a theatrical event that I am very glad I experienced.

Where: Malthouse Theatre, Sturt St Southbank
When: July 18 – Aug 9.
Tickets: $30-$60
Box Office: www.malthousetheatre.com.au
WARNING: Contains dynamic sound, strobe lighting and some adult language.

Musical Theatre, Performances, Review

REVIEW: The Songs of Mackenzie-Spencer and Strano

Once was not enough…

By Adam Tonking

Do you remember the musical revue? Not the latest incarnation where the greatest hits of a deceased or retired composer are swept together so the paying audience get to hear their favourites. I’m talking about an evening where a composer and lyricist team get to showcase their collection of stand-alone songs. Maltby and Shire come to mind. An evening with The Songs Of Mackenzie-Spencer and Strano was just like those glory days.

The Songs of Mckenzie-Spencer and Strano

And what’s glorious about this format is that each new song is its own story: a new character to meet, a new dilemma to be faced, and resolution in six or so minutes. This allows for the exploration of characters and situations that probably wouldn’t be sustainable over a longer work. And boy, did Mackenzie-Spencer and Strano explore some unchartered territory. From addiction to babies, to making incest work, to coping with discount airlines; the quirky situations seldom strayed from the continuing theme of overcoming obstacles. Mackenzie-Spencer and Strano just found them in places Maltby and Shire never dared.

And it was hilarious. Strano has a strong understanding of comedy in song, and Mackenzie-Spencer’s playful yet carefully crafted music elevates the bawdiest of joke to something golden. There were a few tender, more emotional moments, and the team were more than up to the task, to show that they are more than a comedy duo.

The cast were sublime. This was essentially a showcase for the brilliant creations of Mackenzie-Spencer and Strano, but I couldn’t leave without mentioning the cast. Rob Tripolino with his deft handling of incest, Andrew Broadbent with his gorgeous bass voice in “Weekend Getaway,” Stephanie Jones’ sweet awkwardness in “Sandwiches,” Mike McLeish selling the slow-burn story of “Crack Babies,” Keagan Vaskess – a last-minute replacement – who nearly stole the show with “Scientific View” a song about love as science fiction and “Still Waiting” about the expections of becoming an adult after reading Harry Potter, and finally Fem Belling who absolutely rocked the audience with “Kabaret,” a parody of the tropes of cabaret performance. I did feel like the cast could have used more time with the material, but I understand that a concert performance of new songs by new Australian writers would have limited resources to allow this. More’s the pity; the cast were more than capable, and the songs would have shone brighter.

Since this was a one-night only performance, and you won’t have the opportunity to see this show, I insist you take down the names of everyone involved and see everything that they do. Particularly Lochlan Mackenzie-Spencer and Andrew Strano, for there is a limited amount of support for original material for musicals in Australia. And they deserve the chance to become at least as famous as Maltby and Shire.

The Songs Of Mackenzie-Spencer And Strano played at Chapel Off Chapel on June 20th 2015 at 8pm. Since I’d normally give you details where to buy tickets, this time I thought I’d give you details to follow them. Twitter: MS&S (@MS_and_S) or Facebook: Mackenzie-Spencer & Strano

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Red Stitch Presents DEAD CENTRE / SEA WALL

Impressive and powerful as always

By Margaret Wieringa

Three squares of light, perhaps windows, gradually appear on the scrim that divides the stage. As the audience quieten for the start of the show, slowly the lights come up on a couple, the woman sleeping on the man’s shoulder. There is a weight to the tableaux which is held and held, and then fades to black.

Dead Centre and Sea Wall

And then out bursts Helen an Englishwoman who now lives in Australia, accidentally. Rosie Lockhart plays Helen with charm and a fast smile that immediately has the audience in the palm of her hand. She relates her stories filled with such ridiculous behaviours (such as her choice of travel companions when heading inland to visit Uluru), yet there is something beneath it, something sinister or painful. And it comes out in a strange mix of sadness and anger, somewhat misdirected.

After Helen leaves the stage, Alex wanders on, an Irishman photographer who relates stories of taking his wife and daughter to visit her father in France. Like Helen, he is charming and bright, a man who people like, and who likes people. But he too has a darkness, and as he spoke, and I realised where it was going, I was hoping, almost praying, that it would turn out he was taking us for a ride. But no. Ben Prendergast broke my heart with his smiles through the tears, with his ability despite it all to give some sense of hope. Of hope not for now, but for one day.

Sea Wall was written by Olivier award-winning Simon Stephens (whose Birdland recently closed at MTC). Dead Centre was written in response to this by local Green Room and AWGIE winner Tom Holloway. In Sea Wall, Stephens has created a monologue that grabs the audience and draws them in to Alex’s story, so they cannot help but feel his grief as he attempts to get through it. Holloway captures these juxtaposing emotions beautifully, and manages to give Helen her own story without stepping on the toes of Alex. And the gentle vignettes behind the scrim bring it all together for a strong but emotionally challenging evening of theatre directed by Julian Meyrick, from the ever-impressive company Red Stitch.

Where: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda East
When: July 14-August 15, Wed – Sat 8pm and 3pm Matinee on Saturdays and 6:30 Sundays
Tickets: $20 – $37
Booking: By phone Tues-Fri 11-2pm 9533 8083 or visit www.redstitch.net

Musical Theatre, Opera, Whats On

REVIEW: Victorian Opera Presents SWEENEY TODD

Loved it!

By Jessica Cornish

In celebrating their 10th birthday, Victorian Opera have chosen to end their Stephen Sondheim trilogy that began in 2013 with the famous musical horror Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet St, directed by Stuart Maunder.

Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd (Teddy Tahu Rhodes) is a man seeking revenge on Judge Turpin (Philip Rhodes) for the wrongful imprisonment that separated him from his beautiful wife and child, Johanna (Amelia Berry). Escaping colony convict life, Todd returns an obsessed and disillusioned man, and in a cruel and unforgiving society crumbling into filth and poverty, loses his humanity and becomes a serial killer alongside his infatuated accomplice, Mrs Lovett (Antoinette Halloran). They promptly make a business of slitting the throats of barbershop customers and baking them in to pies. Meanwhile, Todd’s estranged daughter is locked away by her adopted guardian the Judge, and a lovesick boy Anthony Hope (Blake Bowden) tries to free Johanna from the lecherous man planning to marry his ward.

Victorian Opera debutant but Melbourne music-theatre favourite Teddy Rhodes has a beautiful rich voice, and his strong brooding frame demanded attention at all times; however, for the first act he seemed a little wooden and detached (even for Todd) when delivering his few lines. Halloran was a triumphant highlight of the show: her singing was always clear, well-executed and perfectly acted, providing black humour throughout the night. Her Mrs Lovett was all at once funny, revolting, and greedy yet still managed to gain the sympathy of the audience. Another standout performance was soprano Berry as Johanna, who effortlessly and accurately glided through her notoriously difficult songs and had amazing vocal clarity and control. Finally, Kanen Breen as Beadle Bamford definitely needs a mention for his hilarious performance as the snarky Judge’s companion, with a killer falsetto that reared itself spectacularly in the second act.

The ensemble are highly participatory throughout the performance, reminiscent of a Greek chorus narrating and commentating on the action unfolding. In this production, the ensemble’s well-executed diction was truly impressive because of the rapid-fire of lyrics and intense musical and narrative demands, whereupon for the most part every word was heard even amongst the complex rounds of verses. The famous Sondheim score is lyrically rich, metrically unstable, dissonant and riddled with constant tension. Under Phoebe Brigg‘s astute musical direction, even songs seemingly beautiful and sweet were laced with vengeance and murder, always leaving the audience deliciously uncomfortable and on edge.

The clarity of the audio designed by Jim Atkins was excellent: however the balance between the orchestra and the vocals was often slightly off, leaving the occasional vocal lines difficult to hear, while the infamous eerie factory whistle was literally painful to listen to and, with patrons covering their ears, really needs to be turned down. Philip Lethlean‘s atmospheric lighting was harsh, using cool washes, up-lighting, and at times, one dimensional angles to give a real horror feel, and adding to the unease of Fleet St. The sets by Rodger Kirk were simple yet adequate, and were easily and smoothly manipulated on a scene-to-scene basis (with just the one bed that seemed to be stuck on stage for a little extra time than required).

Sweeney Todd is a thrilling and enthralling musical, and with a difficult score for the regular music-theatre or operatic performer, it is not often as vocally perfected as it is here by the Victorian Opera. The opening night performance was an absolute pleasure to see and hear, and as the ‘Demon Barber’ isn’t a steady theatre standard, I warmly suggest everyone go see this musical operetta. (Just make sure that if you are purchasing or picking up ticketson the day to arrive at least half an hour in advance due to very long lines, and even more importantly make sure you are in the correct venue! Many people, including myself were ushered into the wrong theatres within the Arts Centre, so I almost saw West Side Story, another Sondheim classic, last night!)

Victorian Opera’s Sweeney Todd is playing at the Playhouse in The Arts Centre until July 25, 2015. Tickets from $50, bookings via http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/opera/sweeney-todd

Image by Jeff Busby

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: TBC Theatre Presents MADE IN CHINA

Irish ninjas and gang politics

By Myron My

You wouldn’t expect the seedy underworld of Dublin to have much in common with martial arts, but in Mark O’Rowe‘s dark comedy Made In China, these two worlds collide for three men who are all facing their own power struggles with each other and within gang politics. One wants to get out, one wants to get in, and the other one wants to remain on top.

Made In China

Unfortunately, this promising story moves at an incredibly slow pace, with nothing happening until roughly the final twenty minutes of this two-hour play. Even when the plot reaches its climax, it still feels drawn out and lacks any suspense. There is very little in terms of character development, which has these people come across as monotonous beings. Even by the end of the show, there is very little that has actually changed for these people in the greater scheme of things.

High up in the gang food chain, Kirby (Stuart Jeanfield) is such a weird character that his menace and aggressiveness is farcical, and not in a good way. In fact, I found a lot of the humour scripted in this to be quite a miss, particular the cringe-inducing sexual overtone scenes with Kirby and his Nik Naks crisps. Hughie (Vaughn Rae) is more or less a passive pawn in his power struggle with Kirby from beginning to end. Damien Harrison as Paddy is fortunate enough to play a character that at least gets to go on an emotional journey and is somewhat changed by the end of the proceedings, even if the way it occurs seems forced.

Despite these issues, first-time director Fleur Murphy works well with the actors to produce highly committed performances, and some physically demanding ones too with the choreographed fight scenes by Myles Tankle. Murphy does her best to keep the action on stage engaging, but given the confines of the space and script, it results in a lot of repeated pacing around and sitting down.

I have to say the set design failed to excited me aesthetically and the random lighting effects during the fight scenes felt contrived. The vocal coaching by Suzanne Heywood proves to have worked soundly with all three actors consistently keeping to their accents. However, the strong accents and the added slang used throughout the play admittedly made it very difficult to follow what was happening at times.

Walking out at the end of Made In China, I must confess I did not feel satisfied with the pay-off we received as an audience. Despite the interesting premise, this is ultimately not the most exciting story, and as written, the characters feel boring and one-dimensional. There appear to be some talented minds behind TBC Theatre however, with the choice of their current production, that does not come across successfully.

Venue: Q44 Theatre, 550 Swan St, Richmond.
Season: Until 25 July | Wed- Sat 7:30pm
Tickets: $30 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: Q44 Theatre

Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: The Production Company’s WEST SIDE STORY

Simply impeccable

By Narelle Wood

There were two things: the fact that The Production Company was responsible; and the recreation of Jerome Robbins’ original choreography by Michael Ralph. It did not disappoint, in fact with this production of West Side Story, The Production Company has set a new bar for itself and for theatre in Melbourne.

West Side Story

The storyline is a mostly faithful reinvention of the Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet, set on the streets of New York’s Upper West Side. Two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks are engaged in a turf war, more to do with cultural prejudices and nothing better to do, than an actual place to hang. Of course when Tony (Gareth Keegan), a boy from the Jets, and Maria (Anna O’Byrne), a girl from the Sharks, meet, dance and fall in love, the cultural tensions go from casual street rumblings, to choosing weapons at a war council. And, as per the original, tragedy ensues, but not before some of the most spectacular renditions of some of Broadway’s most iconic songs.

Byrne’s voice is incredible and had the potential to overpower the rest of the cast. However, under the direction of Gale Edwards, it perfectly complimented all the other voices, especially Keegan’s and Deone Zanotto (Anita). Byrne and Keegan seemed to fit so naturally together that I found myself genuinely hoping things would somehow work out; something that I’ve not experienced before in any production of West Side Story or Romeo and Juliet. The whole cast was brilliant, but Zanotto was spectacular in absolutely everything she did.

Sets and costumes were exactly as I expected from The Production Company: simple, effective and impressive. In fact, what made this production so remarkable was how flawlessly everything came together. It was a highlight for me to hear the music to West Side Story played live, at speed and with every nuance. But the star of the show was the choreography. It was truly a privilege to watch how Ralph and the cast were able to recreate the original choreography and make it their own. I would have happily sat and watched them dance every number over and over again.

I don’t think I will ever risk seeing this musical again. The Production Company’s West Side Story is perfection.

Venue: The Arts Centre
Season: Until 19th July
Tickets: Tickets between $21 – $126
Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/musicals/west-side-story