Oh What a Night
Coral Drouyn sums up the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria’s 2015 Bruce Awards Ceremony in Geelong.
The buzz started in the foyer, where spray tans and fake lashes seemed to be de rigeur along with frocks to die for, and some which should have died and been buried before they were put on. Truly, the peacock array, accompanied by literally thousands of selfies, would have made the Tonys seem very drab. Hair was a big thing, and I was almost slapped to death by the long hair of the girl sitting next to me. She twisted it, ran it through her fingers, tossed it back, brought it forward, polished it and even spoke to it for a lot of the time. I’m sure there are countless selfies she will remember forever.
Guild President Bev Meldrum avoided the words “Amateur” or “Community” and last night talked about “Non-Professional” Theatre instead. But there was nothing “Non Professional” about the ceremony itself or the companies who performed.
From the moment the stunning orchestra started its overture with a plethora of Musical Directors handing the baton from one to the other before Daniel Heskett (himself a nominee) took control – and even played a great improv trumpet solo- the audience could sense that the bar was being raised even higher than preceding years. It was a Masterclass in how to run an awards ceremony and still be hugely entertaining. It was also a reminder to all there, of the absolute joy Musical Theatre brings to our lives. In short, it was fabulous
The big winner of the night – and rightly so judging from the cheers from the back of the auditorium (and from my seat in D row) – was PLOS’ sensational mid-year production of Legally Blonde. The show, which I considered far superior to the Gordon Frost Main Stage production, picked up eight awards, including Production of The Year. PLOS’ President, Fran Boyd, was also given the Edith Harrhy Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre.
There is a full list of winners at the end of this article, so let me talk about the entertainment – otherwise I shall be accused of being a Fan Girl/Groupie for PLOS, and there may just be more than a grain of truth in that.
OCPAC kicked off the ensemble numbers with a rousing Megamix from Footloose. It was impossible not to dance in your seat. This year The Junior Awards featured prominently in the excerpts from nominated shows. Junior performer Sian Crowe is headed for a great stage career if her performance as The Witch in The Peninsula School’s production of Into The Woods (please Peninsula School – invite me to review your next production….ditto Ringwood, who won Junior Production of the Year) is anything to go by, and BRUCE winner as Best Junior Male Supporting Performer, James Crozier absolutely nailed “The Gypsy in Me” from St Michael’s Grammar School production of Anything Goes. What a comic talent with a great voice; remember the name.
Chris Burgess as Pippin and Josh Gordon as the Lead Player were mesmerising in Corner Of The Sky, supported by the ensemble, with Gordon winning the Bruce Award as Best Junior Male in a Lead Role. It was hard to believe that this was a Junior Production from St Leonard's College and Hart Theatre Company. The same can be said of Ringwood Secondary College’s production of Oliver! The voices in “Who Will Buy” were worthy of any stage in the world. St Columbia’s College proved that Fosse’s style is immortal, with a terrific ensemble version of ‘Steam Heat’ from The Pajama Game – and all these were just the junior nominees.
My favourite tiny company, Fab Nobs Theatre, always punches above its weight and it has found a true star in the making in Melissa Harrington, who nailed “Why Not Me” from Carrie. She won The Bruce for First Performance in a Featured Role, and altogether Fab Nobs – with their shoe-string budgets – picked up five nominations, proving again that excellence comes from passion and commitment, and that costs nothing.
The delightful (and Best Female Performer winner) Megan Coe, joined with Ju-Han Soon for a marvellous performance of “Shall We Dance” from Babirra Music Theatre’s multi-nominated production of The King and I and the indefatigable CLOC gave us a somewhat frenetic “Supercalifragi……well, you know the rest” which almost overflowed the stage, colour and movement everywhere. Jacyln DeVincentis was brilliant as Fanny Brice, and so were Tyler Hess’ stunning costumes, for MDMS’ amazing version of Funny Girl, and BLOC’s much talked about production of Miss Saigon was powerfully represented by some of the finest voices you will ever hear in “Bui Doi”. Leongatha Lyric Theatre showed us why their production of Gypsy was in the mix. Every number was beautifully balanced and a credit to Director for the night Brad Beales.
But when the Fabulous Elise Stevens (as Paulette) took to the stage with the cast of PLOS’ Legally Blonde for “Bend and Snap” it was all over Red Rover. She almost brought the house down. What a performer. And “Elle” – the terrific Tayla Thomas – flew back from Hong Kong just to be on stage.
It was truly a night to remember and I didn’t hear one single bitching comment from anyone who lost. It truly was a celebration of what we all love – Music Theatre. And long may that love continue.
Image: PLOS members with their array of Bruce Awards.
Full List of Winners
Production of the Year (Bruce McBrien Award)
Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Junior Production of the Year
Oliver!, Ringwood Secondary College
Direction (Vin Foster Award)
Danny Ginsberg, Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Direction of a Junior Production
Melinda Slade, Into The Woods, The Peninsula School
Musical Direction
Tied - Ben Hudson, The King and I, Babirra Music Theatre and Martine Wengrow, Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Choreography (Marie Cumisky Award)
Ashley Tynan-Mill, Evita, CenterStage Geelong
Male Performer in a Leading Role (Harold Burrows Award)
Jonathan Guthrie-Jones, Peter Allen, The Boy From Oz, Babirra Music Theatre
Female Performer in a Leading Role (Doreen Burrows Award)
Megan Coe, Anna Leonowens, The King and I, Babirra Music Theatre
Musical Direction of a Junior Production
Corey Hall and Natalie Calia, Anything Goes, St Michael's Grammar School.
Choreography of a Junior Production
Kate Tanner and Gaynor Borlase, Oliver!, Ringwood Secondary College.
Male Performer in a Supporting Role (Rob Constable Award)
Adam Stafford, John, Miss Saigon, Footlight Productions
Female Performer in a Supporting Role
Elise Stevens, Paulette Bonafonte, Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Junior Female Performer in a Leading Role
Olivia Cavallo, Belle, Beauty and the Beast, Emmaus College.
Junior Male Performer in a Leading Role
Tied - Josh Gordon, Pippin, Hart Theatre Company, and Samuel Rowe, Beauty and the Beast, Emmaus College.
Junior Performer in an Open Production
Caleb Waterworth, Younf Peter Allen, The Boy From Oz, Babirra
Concert/Revue Performance
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Shepparton Theatre Arts Group
Ensemble Performance
The Cast, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Camberwell Grammarians’ Theatre Company
Dancer’s Award (Tony McShanagh Award)
Cameron O’Reilly, The Boy From Oz, Babirra Music Theatre
Cameo Performance
Beryle Frees, Bird Woman, Mary Poppins, CLOC Musical Theatre
First Performance in a Featured Role (Gladys Moncrieff Award)
Melissa Harrington, Carrie White, Carrie – The Musical, Fab Nobs Theatre
Technical Achievement (Nigel Wallace Award)
Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Lighting
Brad Alcock, Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Wardrobe (Hazel Rodgers Award)
Victoria Horne, Mary Poppins, CLOC Musical Theatre
Design Award (Peter Blizzard-Allen Award)
Michael Fletcher, Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Settings (Grahame Murphy Award)
Nathan Weyers, Miss Saigon, BLOC Music Theatre
Sound
Marcello Lo Ricco, Legally Blonde, PLOS Musical Productions
Junior Female in a Supporting Role
Julie Brown-Natafali, Seussical, Gladstone Park Secondary College.
Junior Male in a Supporting Role
Tied - James Crozier, Anything Goes, St Michael's Grammar School, and Daniel Mellow, Beauty and the Beast, Emmaus College.
Life Membership
Bev Woodford
Edith Harrhy Award
Fran Boyd.
Musicians Award
Bryn Bowen
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