Events, Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Melbourne’s Opening Night of WICKED

Return to Oz…

By Bradley Storer

The atmosphere was electrifying at the opening night of Wicked, returning to Melbourne for the first time since the original Australian production in 2008. As the lights dimmed and the first strains of music began, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause for the musical which, for better or worse, has defined contemporary music theatre for the past decade.

Elphaba (Jemma Rix) and Glinda (Lucy Durack) in WICKED

Jemma Rix reviving her role as Elphaba is brilliant, marking Elphaba’s journey from a down-trodden outsider to a self-determined revolutionary but never letting us forget the wounded loner that lurks beneath the exterior. Her voice is extraordinary, a technical marvel which she employs to maximum effect throughout but whose full power she only unleashes, to spine-tingling results, in her Act One showstopper ‘Defying Gravity’.

Lucy Durack returning as Glinda the Good Witch, Elphaba’s truest and eventually only friend, was a little unsteady vocally at the beginning of the evening but found plenty of times to show off her bright sunny soprano. While Durack nails the bubbly, air-headed side of Glinda’s personality, she doesn’t fully convey the burgeoning intelligence which shapes Glinda’s journey in the second act.

Steve Danielson as Fiyero, both Elphaba and Glinda’s central love interest, is charming and competent but a little forgettable. Reg Livermore (The Wizard) and Maggie Kirkpatrick (Madam Morrible) both find opportunities to steal the show with their smaller but significant roles.

The show itself is compelling throughout the first act, the extravagant sets and costumes brought to life by the enthusiastic and skilled ensemble, but the pace begins to droop in the second act as the plots takes a darker twist. The musical’s weaknesses begin to show at this point, the cutesy and twee tone of the musical’s book ill-matched with the dramatic events that transpire. Stephen Schwartz’ score does its best to liven events, in particular Elphaba’s emotional breakdown in ‘No Good Deed’, but the true emotional impact of the show is saved for the final moments, with the last image slamming home the heart-breaking toll of what has transpired.

VENUE: Regent Theatre, 191 Collins St, Melbourne.
DATES: 10th May – 20th July
TIMES: Wednesday – 1pm & 8pm, Thursday & Friday – 8pm, Saturday – 2pm & 8pm, Sunday – 1pm & 6.30pm.
BOOKING: www.ticketmaster.com.au, Phone 1300 111 011, Ticketek Outlets or at the venue.

Events, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Red Stitch Presents BELLEVILLE

Compelling theatre

By Narelle Wood

Belleville by Amy Herzog is a challenging play in that it explores a dysfunctional relationship in a witty, yet brutally honest and often harrowing, way.

Paul Ashcroft and Christina O'Neill in BELLEVILLE Photo Credit Jodie Hutchinson

The story follows a couple of days in the life of Zack (Paul Ashcroft) and Abby (Christina O’Neill), an American couple living and working in France. Apart from language and obvious cultural differences, Abby is still grieving her mother’s death and experiencing homesickness, while Zack is doing what ever he can to make ends meet and Abby happy. Pestered by his landlord Alioune (Renaud Momtbrun) and his wife Amina (Tariro Mavondo) for overdue rent, Zack finds himself more and more desperate to put his life and relationship back on track.

O’Neill and Ashcroft work perfectly together as they negotiate the emotional turmoil of their characters: from deep passion, to exasperation, tenderness, desperation, to outright hatred, these two actors depict it all with a disturbing realism that makes the play both riveting and difficult to watch. O’Neill’s portrayal of Abby is just as complex as her character’s slow mental decline and Ashcroft similarly presents Zack as a multidimensional character who is just as ingratiating as he is completely unappealing.

The Parisian apartment where the play is set is small, but director Denny Lawrence makes maximum use of the available space both on and off stage, with the bedroom and bathroom providing really clever opportunities for costume changes and storyline segues. The use of props, including their placement and movement to different areas of the stage, is very cleverly choreographed. However, what perhaps is the most impressive thing about Lawrence’s direction is the way he has dealt with and enabled the actors to deal with demanding themes and situations.

Although Belleville has some funny moments, it is not a play for escapism or one that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. Red Stitch’s latest production expertly provides a dose of relationship realism and is a resolute must-see if you like plays that are expertly staged with a quality script and excellent acting.

Venue: Red Stitch Theatre, 2 Chapel St, St Kilda
Season: Until 31st May, Wed-Fri 8pm, Sat 4pm and 8pm, Sun 6.30pm
Tickets: Full $39| Conc $20
Bookings: http://redstitch.net/bookings/

Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Bethany Simons in RECEPTION

Witty and winning cabaret

By Myron My

Two-time Green Room Award-nominated writer/performer Bethany Simons is back on stage with her comedy cabaret Reception, in which she recalls some of the more interesting and memorable moments of her job as a receptionist at the Australian National Academy of Music.

Simons’ caricatures of the different customers, co-workers and people she comes across at work are brilliant, with ‘Gillian’ in particular being just hilarious. The brisk flow of plays on words and other puns is very clever, and laughs constantly filled the room in response to Simon’s witticisms.

Reception

There are a number of memorable songs throughout Reception, but the one that received most laughs – and my favourite – was the rap song, “I Can’t Help But Help”. The fabulous lyrics, along with its simple choreography and Simons’ hysterical facial expressions made it a definite crowd pleaser. Show opener “My Name is Bethany”, and “They Ring My Bell” also showcased Simons’ talent as an impressive all-round cabaret performer. My only quibble would be that her voice needed more volume at times during the songs, as there were moments when she was more audible speaking rather than singing.

Accompanying Simons on piano is Peter de Jager, whom she fortuitously met whilst working at the Australian National Academy of Music. A highly established and talented pianist, de Jager’s skills more than shine through with the variety of songs played.

As funny as Reception is, it is also a little frightening how much I was personally able to relate to Simons’ anecdotes and experiences from working in administration for an arts organisation: the constant mishearing of her name resulting in such variations as Destiny, Stephanie and Melody (Byron, Brian and Simon for me), the hazards of the “reply all” button (been there, done that), and the cursed affliction of “type fright”. Her stories are both striking and familiar, and I certainly could empathise.

Reception should definitely sit on your latest list of cabaret shows to see, especially if you want to be completely entertained by interesting stories, clever writing, great songs and lots of laughs – and who wouldn’t?

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (entry via Carson Place), Melbourne
Season: Until 4 May | Tues, Wed, Sun 8pm | Thurs, Fri, Sat 9pm.
Tickets: $25 Full | $22 Conc
Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com

Dance, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Grayboy Entertainment’s GOOD BYE MISS MONROE

Hollywood starlets – and the man who moved them

By Narelle Wood

Good-Bye Miss Monroe is a short but exquisite look into the little-known life of dance director and choreographer Jack Cole, and the glory days of dance on film.

Goodbye Miss Monroe

The play, written and directed by Liam De Burca, is unusual in its construction; set in the days after Monroe’s passing, Jack Cole (played by Matt Young) recounts his experiences working with his ‘Baby Doll’ Marilyn, and includes recollections of and conversations with some of Hollywood’s greatest starlets. The story provides some fascinating insight into the creation of these iconic Hollywood actresses, including Martha Graham, Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable and of course Monroe. Cole’s character explains the difficulties of teaching these actresses to move in the ways they eventually became famous for as he laments the loss of Marilyn’s life and explains the development of the sex-bomb character that she became so famous for.

In the précis of the show, De Burca explains that Cole’s work is relatively unknown as most of it is uncredited. As a result it is hard to know whether Young’s portrayal of Cole is accurate, but what he presents is a believable, quintessentially old-fashioned choreographer who believes in the power of dance and the importance of accurately representing dance on film. Anna Burgess plays all of the female characters and her transformation between the different characters is indescribable: from the look, to the dance moves, to the voice, to each of the actress’s idiosyncratic mannerisms, Burgess portrays each of them with astounding accuracy.

The narration’s time-frame does cut backwards and forwards and Cole’s focus on what he’s discussing chops and changes regularly, making it initially a little hard to follow. This may be a reflection of Cole’s disorientation after hearing of Marilyn’s death or an attempt to explore as much of Cole’s littl- known character as possible: either way the format does do the story justice.

While the title might suggest a sole focus on Monroe, Good-Bye Miss Monroe explores so much more this and offers a unique perspective of what it meant to work in film during the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. If you love this era of film, Monroe or dancing in general Good-Bye Miss Monroe is moving, funny and simply brilliant.

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran
Season: 2nd to 4th May, 8pm, Matinee Saturday and Sunday 3pm
Tickets: Full $30 | Conc $22
Bookings: http://chapeloffchapel.com.au

Comedy, Events, Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Richard O’Brien’s ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Give yourself over to absolute pleasure…

By Myron My

I will confess: I have never before seen The Rocky Horror Show on stage. Yes, shocking, I know. In fact, the only time I have even seen the film was three years ago at an outdoor cinema event. So I was filled with much antici…pation when attending the Melbourne opening night of this new production, celebrating 40 years of Richard O’Brien’s outrageous musical creation.

To cut to the chase; I simply loved this show. Everything about it is flawless and fun. From the performances to costumes to the sets and lighting and of course, the music: I just could not fault it.

Rocky Horror Show

Tim Maddren and Christie Whelan Browne are perfectly cast as newly engaged couple, Brad and Janet. They radiate naivety and innocence, their  singing ability throughout the show was highly impressive, and their interaction with each other is a joy to watch. In fact, every single person on stage clearly loves their characters, but none more so than Craig McLachlan as Frank-N-Furter. From his initial grand entrance in those trademark fishnets, he has everyone hanging on his every word and movement and makes every new crazy development feel like it’s the most memorable scene in this rock ‘n’ roll musical. McLachlan’s improvised moments with the full house on opening night were particularly hilarious and he even managed to break his fellow actors into unavoidable laughter on more than one occasion.

The musical numbers are a thrill to watch and you can’t help but fight the urge to get up to sing and dance along to the well-known classics such as ‘Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me’ and ‘The Time Warp’, the latter which allows Kristian Lavercombe (Riff Raff) to show off his brilliant vocal talents.

The costumes by Sue Blane and wigs by Darren Ware are – pardon the pun – out of this world. From the initial simple and modest costuming of Brad and Janet to the wondrously crazy outfits for Riff Raff and Magenta (beautifully played by Erika Heynatz), the creation of these gems showcases dynamic design and visual excitement.

There are many more flamboyant, funny and fantastical moments throughout The Rocky Horror Show that make the event special – but instead of listing them all here, I just encourage you to go and witness them yourself. It will be a strange journey indeed, but it will also be an unforgettable evening of dazzling fun.

Venue: Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition St, Melbourne
Season: Until 13 July | Tues – Sat 8:00pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1.30pm and 5.30pm
Tickets: From $59.80 – $109.90
Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au

Events, Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: DreamSong for MICF

Redemption is not at hand

By Narelle Wood

I like clever, witty, well-constructed comedy and unfortunately I found DreamSong to be absolutely none of these. While the premise of the show (a money-hungry evangelist constructing a second coming of Jesus) certainly had potential, what ensued was two hours of clichéd cheap shots at a whole range of issues, religions and minorities that I felt were extremely offensive, and I’m not easily offended.

DreamSong

Pastor Richard Sunday (Ben Prendergast) has realised his church is in financial peril, and along with the help of his wife Whitney (Chelsea Gibb), the prime minster (Mike Mcleish), the prime minster’s advisor (Alana Tranter) and a wannabe actor (Connor Crawford), he stages a fraudulent resurrection of the son of God. Meanwhile the pastor’s daughter April (Emily Langridge) is trying to talk the real Jesus Christ (Brent Hill) out of a crisis of confidence. Prendergast certainly looked the part of evangelic preacher but his character lacked charisma and charm that was needed to make the deception believable. Evan Lever as Neville Gruber was fabulous as the eager-to-please church follower, but it was Hill’s portrayal of Jesus Christ that actually provided the only comical parts to the show: it was pity that his character had less than twenty minutes of stage time.

Author of DreamSong, Hugo Chiarella, seems unsure about what faction of society he takes issue with. His supposedly black comedy (in my opinion it’s rarely funny) about a non-specific church mocks soldiers dying in Afghanistan, the mentally disabled, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, abortions, people suffering and dying from AIDS, homosexuality, victims of paedophilia and animal cruelty. Excluding the cast, the one redeeming feature of this musical is in fact the music provided by Robert Tripolino. I can’t say I’m a fan or have that much knowledge of Christian pop, but the range and style of music seemed perfectly matched to the premise of the show.

Perhaps a warning at the show about the offensive content may have placated how offended I was, and this then may have enabled me to see beyond those cheap shots to a concept that is worth exploring and what attracted me to the show in the first place.

Venue: Theatre Works, St Kilda
Season: Tues-Sat at 7:30pm, Sat at 2:00pm, Sun at 5:00pm, until 20th April
Tickets: Full $35| Conc $30
Bookings: http://www.theatreworks.org.au/

Comedy, Festivals, Late Night Shows, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Cameron James and Jared Jekyll in PARADISE

Don’t be misled by the picture…

By Margaret Wieringa

Being asked by the usher, ‘Have you got a ticket to Paradise?’ was one of my favourite non-show moments of this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival – and what a way to kick off an hour of comedy. By the time I left the room, I was exhausted from laughing.

The premise is that Cameron James and Jared Jekyll are a comedy duo who are invited by a mysterious character to perform at PICF – Paradise Island Comedy Festival. Knowing nothing about it, they head off on an adventure that turns mysterious and dangerous, and it is possible not everyone will return. And there may need to be a hilarious pretend memorial partway through the show.

Paradise

Once on the island, the pair confront a number of interesting characters including the voodoo chief who shouts in a gibberish cross between rap and the Haka which is translated by another tribe member into a bizarre reggae number. Oh, and there’s the horny heir to the millionaire owner of the island. And not to forget the voyeuristic jungle animals…

These guys are great. Funny, affable and very talented. The show kicks off with their new song, Addiction, which involves some funky guitar, an awful lot of beat-boxing and mime. Big and hilarious mime.

The duo are still relatively new to the comedy world: after coming up through RAW Comedy in 2012 and 2013, Jekyll and James have been busy playing festivals and gigs across the country. It is very difficult to raise yourself above the crowd in a comedy festival with nearly five hundred shows, especially when your time-slot is at 11pm. Yet despite their frankly appalling image in the festival guide, the Locker Room was packed. The audience loved the show, rocking the room with laughter and eagerly participating whenever asked to.

It is fabulous that MICF sees so many familiar names returning and big names coming from overseas, but often my favourite moments come from seeing an act for the first time. Especially when it is an act that clearly has a lot to offer, and hopefully a big future in comedy. It’s a small room and a late night, but Paradise is more than worth the investment.

Venue: Portland Hotel – Locker Room
Dates: 27 March – 19 April (Thurs, Fri and Sat nights) 11pm
Tickets: $20 full, $15 conc
Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/, 1300 660 0131300 660 013 or at the door

Cabaret, Events, Performances, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: The Lepidopters: A Space Opera at ARTS HOUSE

Wonderfully weird!

By Margaret Wieringa

Aliens, in the form of moths, have invaded and are breeding with humans to create human-moth hybrids to take over the Earth starting in Jakarta. Wow.

This bizarre collaborative work has been created by Slave Pianos, Punkasila and The Astra Choir, based on a comic book commissioned from science-fiction writer Max von Schlegell.

The_Lepidopters

When the audience enters the main hall at Arts House, they are immediately confronted by what appear to be two giant, deconstructed grand pianos dominating the central space. On a closer look, these are intertwined wooden structures containing a variety of gongs, and other percussion instruments, and they appear to be playing themselves.

These it turns out, are the Sedulur Gamelan or Gamelan Sisters, made up of a variety of redesigned traditional Javanese instruments. A little internet research reveals that this amazing contraption does indeed play itself. Even before the performance begins, Slave Pianos are creating ambient music. During the performance, they play a wide range of pieces both on their own and with the other performers, and this alone would have been enough to make attending this event worthwhile, but there was so much more!

Far from a traditional narrative structure, the performance is strung together over two hours with short spoken-word sections from Richard Piper who is playing a mysterious character reporting back on the events in Indonesia. The events of the story also play out in a disjointed series of videos, mostly strange animations, that run on large screens at either end of the hall. The audience is strung along the length of the room in an unusual pattern and, during the two brief intervals, is encouraged to change chairs and experience the event from a different angle.

The stunning work from the Astra Choir begins with some extreme discordant 32-part singing, and then journeys through far more traditional choral works. In the second act, we are introduced to Punkaslia from Yogyakarta, working with singer-dancer Rachel Saraswati to create their interpretation of the Lepidopters beginning the breeding process. We also get some jazz (not trad jazz, but a sort of post-modern insane style so appropriate to this performance) from pianist Michael Kieran Harvey.

The Lepidopters: A Space Opera is definitely not for everyone as this mysterious and remarkably busy show is extremely experimental and strange. In fact, a number of patrons clearly weren’t coping and left early… but it inspired a standing ovation from those who willingly remained to embrace the weird.

Venue: Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall
Dates: Sat 12 3pm and 7:30pm and Sun 13 April 5pm
Tickets: $25 full/$20 conc/$15 student
Bookings: artshouse.com.au or 9322 3713

Comedy, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: The Gentlemen of Deceit for MICF

Put a little magic into your Melbourne Comedy Festival this year

By Margaret Wieringa

A voice from the darkness asks an audience member to place a shoe on a stool onstage. A brave audience member complies, then three men approach with red tape across their mouths and the magic begins!

Gentlemen of Deceit

The Gentlemen of Deceit use quite a lot of audience participation throughout the show, but it is friendly and welcoming. As long as you trust the magician, of course – especially in the section of the show called Do You Trust the Magician? One part involved a young girl and balloon animals and the trick was almost upstaged by the gorgeous expression on the girl’s face throughout. Only almost, though – at the end, the audience literally gasped with wonder.

Often, I find magic shows too big and sparkly and my feminist sensibilities are concerned by the need of a scantily-clad lady used as a prop. Thank goodness that Luke Hocking, Alex de la Rambelje and Vyom Sharma rely on talent and personality to entertain the crowd without the need for all of the showy bells and whistles. This makes the magic more impressive – everything seems normal and suddenly something has disappeared or reappeared or reformed.

It was a full audience at the Spring Street Conference Centre – not at all a traditional Comedy Festival venue, far more like a lecture hall, but a space that worked extremely well for this style of show. It was a little bit of a challenge to find the correct entrance in the rain, but was worth the perseverance! The conference room had audiovisual facilities that the magicians took advantage of during a section where they compared stage magic to that of television. It didn’t matter whether you watched the live or screen version, it was impossible to figure out the trick.

I’m not the kind of audience member who craves the answers on how a trick works. I am just happy to watch and enjoy. What I want is comedy; and The Gentlemen of Deceit definitely provide that. Funny, mysterious and totally delightful.

Venue: Spring Street Conference Centre, Melbourne Theatrette, Mezzanine Level, One Spring Street, Melbourne
Dates: March 27-29, April 3-5, 10-12 and 19, 7:30pm
Tickets: $23 full, $19 concession, $18 – groups of 5+
Bookings: http://ticketbooth.com.au or at the door

Festivals, Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Seussical – The Musical for MICF

Cute  and crazy musical comedy

By Deborah Langley

The Athenaeum stage was at bursting point last night for the opening of Seussical: The Musical when the 25+ cast from Old Carey Performing Arts Club brought all your high school musical fantasies to bear in this larger-than-life production.

Seussical

Based on the extraordinary children’s books by Dr Seuss and after the runaway success of the Broadway version of this magical tale, the show is a song-and-dance feast for the little people in your life.

The story follows the adventures of Horton the Elephant (Sam McPartlan), who one day hears voices coming from a speck of dust. He soon discovers that within this tiny speck exists the smallest planet in the sky and on this tiny planet is a race of creatures, known as the Whos, that need his help. Horton does everything in his power to save them because ‘a person’s a person, no matter how small.’

While the premise of the production relies on a clever lighting design by Giancarlo Salamanca and a childlike imagination,  we are introduced to many new creatures and jungle animals – some easier to envision than others – as we get thrown around from story to story in this crazy Seuss world.

The highlight by far is the vocals of the amazing cast: Eleanor Horsburgh gave a cute and comically infectious performance as Gertrude with her lovely voice and characterisation, and Elise Cavallo was appropriately amazing as Mayzie with her powerful vocals and brilliant back-up birds (Charlie Helliwell, Samantha Paulin and Sarah Cuthbert). Andreas Katsiroubas as Jojo sang well and gave a solid performance, but Cat in the Hat (Mark Yeates) only came into his own in his audience interaction in Act Two (although some of his antics seemed to verge on inappropriate for a family show). Professional musical theatre performer Nicholas Renfree-Marks (The Wind In The Willows) was the stand-out as Sour Kangaroo, channeling both Freddy Mercury and Aretha Franklin in his memorable performance.

Playing at the Athenaeum Theatre from Monday 7 April, OCPAC’s Seussical: The Musical will inspire your children to imagine anything is possible, even if the second act leaves them a little dumbfounded as to how. It’s just a shame they can’t appreciate the amazing orchestra directed by Daniel Donovan who are hidden away behind a scrim until curtain call.

Venue: Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Melbourne
Dates: Monday 7th through Monday 21st April (for times, see below)
Tickets: $30 adult, $19 children under 16. $79.80 Group of 4 ($19.95 per ticket)
Bookings: Ticketek, Comedy Fest Box office, at the door
Info: http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/seussical

Times: Monday 7 April 6:00PM, Monday 14 April 11:00AM
Tuesday 8 April 2:00PM, Tuesday 15 April 2:00PM
Thursday 10 April 11:00AM, Thursday 17 April 11:00AM
Friday 11 April 11:00AM, Saturday 19 April 11:00AM
Saturday 12 April 11:00AM, Monday 21 April 6:00PM