Beach Blanket Tempest

Affectionately known by the hard to pronunce acronym ‘NUCMS,’ this company has staged 43 musicals since 1975 and all have been written overseas.

Their first Australian musical presentation is Beach Blanket Tempest.

The surf rock musical is a send up of the ‘incy wincy’ bikini films of the sixties with a pop score loosely based  on Shakespeare’s classic.

I am the agent for the show, and have seen several productions over the years, but this one was one of the strongest.

A bright as a button band under the direction of Dave Russell and sharp singing set the tone for a juicy evening.

There were lots of cute moments, with Director Jan Mahoney hitting the mark again and again.

Andrew Drummond, as Frankie, has a sexy song where his character wakes up on the beach and instantly falls in love with  the delightful Annette, played by Cara Suleiman.

There appeared to be so many hormones flowing on stage that I wondered what the Uniting Church parishioners would make of it.

The Prospero brothers, played by Dominic Augimeri and Kent Blackmore – one an aging rock star, the other his evil brother - were excellent foils for each other.

NUCMS only had limited facilities and a small stage, but with imagination pulled off the Second Act highlights of a Supremes style wedding and TV Game show.

Many people left the theatre saying they didn’t know Beach Blanket Tempest was so much fun.

David Spicer

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