Reviews

ABBOTT The Musical

Adelaide Fringe. Tandanya, Grenfell Street. February 24-28, 2016 8pm and March 2-5, 9.30 pm.

The cast of ABBOTT The Musical is talented and the material is clearly spot-on, with the musical’s 2016 Adelaide Fringe production parodying events in Canberra up to the demise of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

The Light In The Piazza

Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel. Book by Craig Lucas. Based upon the novella by Elizabeth Spencer. Directed by Hayley Horton. Adelaide Fringe / Davine Interventionz. The Star Theatre, Hilton (SA). February 24-March 5, 2016

For this year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival, Davine Interventionz Productions present a classy, yet accessible South Australian premiere of The Light In The Piazza – a musical that tells a disarmingly simple, intimate love story through a series of deeply layered, sometimes dazzlingly complex songs.

Little Shop of Horrors

Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. Luckiest Productions and Tinderbox Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co. Hayes Theatre, February 18 – March 19, 2016, then touring.

Audience members were overheard describing the evening as  "magical" as they left the Hayes Theatre. The Sci-Fi musical, based on the 1960 cult film written by Charles B Griffith then developed into a musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, had just exploded onto the stage, with power house vocals boosted by surround sound.

Moonlight and Magnolias

By Ron Hutchinson. Directed by Bruce Akers. Heidelberg Theatre Company 36 Turnham Avenue, Rosanna. 19 February – 5 March, 2016.

David Zelznick (Tim Constantine) is the hyperactive visionary who created what is often considered the greatest film produced in Hollywood. Zelznick convinces scriptdoctor Ben Hecht (James Antonas) and director Victor Fleming (Jeremy Just) to work on a rewrite of the screenplay for five days, while cooped up in his office. They live off peanuts and bananas provided by the faithful assistant Miss Poppenghul (Pauline Constantine).

Beowulf: The Blockbuster

Developed & Directed by David Horan. Written & Performed by Bryan Burroughs. Adelaide Fringe. The German Club, Adelaide. February 23-28, 2016

A single father discovers that he is dying of cancer, and won’t live to see his young son grow up. Whilst struggling to find the right words to express this sad news, he relates the epic legend of drangonslayer extraordinaire, Beowulf, to his child in the form of a bedtime story, at times appropriating the language of Hollywood blockbuster movies that the youngster can relate to. Over the course of the evening, as the action in this epic tale grows more intense, various emotional issues that both father and son have bottled up rise to the surface.

The Point of Light

By Amberly Cull and Greg Lavell. Casa Mondo, The Pleasure Garden, Fringe World, Northbridge WA. Feb 17-21 2016

The Point of Light was a fabulous choice for my final Fringe World show for 2016, a sweet and inspiring show from a supremely talented performer.

The Magic Flute

By Mozart. Presented by State Opera SA. Adelaide Fringe. Directed by David Lampard. Freemasons Great Hall, Adelaide. Feburary 19-24, 2016

For this year’s Fringe Festival, State Opera SA present a musically immaculate and visually striking, if dramatically uneven production of Mozart’s much beloved light opera, The Magic Flute – that is likely to delight fans, even as it leaves opera newbies scratching their heads.

The Legend of Ned Kelly

Written and compiled by Deirdre Quinn. Upstage Theatre Inc. Adelaide Fringe. The Irish Club. Directed by John Martin. 21 February - 5 March, 2016.

It's terribly frustrating to witness a show begin so promisingly, and to aim so high, only to fall so disappointingly short.

The exploits of the Kelly Gang are virtually second-to-none in terms of genuine historical - yet mythic - figures to emerge from - and endure throughout - Australia's history. There will presumably always be tremendous appeal to the idea of staging a re-telling of the tale, and probably always an audience interested in paying to see one.

Sincerely Yours

By Jason Arrow and Kohan van Sambeeck. Studio 411, Murdoch University, WA. Fringe World. Feb 18-20 2015

Fringe World premiered a number of new musicals and Sincerely Yours, presented by Stray Cats Theatre Co. and Mad Cats Theatre was a top class and worthy offering.

This beautiful and gentle three-hander features book and lyrics by Jason Arrow, music by Kohan van Sambeeck and Jason Arrow, with guitar arrangements by Campbell Ellis.

A lovely story set in the 1970s against the background of the Vietnam War, it centres on artist Sarah and her willingness to take a second chance at love.

Chase The Feeling

By Michael Allen. The Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide. February 22-27, 2016

Chase The Feeling is a multi-layered, genre-busting theatre piece that defies easy categorisation or explanation. It’s a poignant coming of age drama, that pulls at the heartstrings without watering down the harsh realities of life… it’s also a critical examination of the nature of theatre as an art form, that presents academic concepts to the audience in a manner that is both accessible and humorous.

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