Camp Rock

Camp Rock
Book by Robert L Freedman and Faye Greenburg. Music by Various – adapted and arranged by David Lawrence. Stage Masters. Directed by Jess Benney and David Venn. Randall Theatre South Yarra. 17th-27th October, 2013.

What a delight to see the Musical Theatre ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ on stage NOW. There’s talent galore on the stage amongst the teenagers, so much so that seasoned performers like Rohan Browne and Cameron MacDonald barely make an impact, though their presence must be a comfort to the young cast.

The show is pure Disney….light on a workable book and full of cliches, heavy on music, almost all of it forgettable. But the talent is so great that you really can’t go past this for entertainment. It’s pure joy for cast and audience alike.

Basically the flimsy plot concerns a retired rockstar Brown (Rohan Browne) and his ex group member Axel (Cameron MacDonald) who run rival music camps and battle it out on live television to decide whose is better. There is a teenage romance between Mitchie, a talented driven girl, and Shane, teenage member of an already successful rock group, Connect 3. And that’s enough to hang the show on and provide the vehicle for 16 songs in just 90 minutes. I couldn’t find a credit for the choreography but it was excellent throughout, and the kids sing live while they dance.

Maggie McKenna (Mitchie) and Wil King (Shane) were both excellent as the two leads and will undoubtedly make it to the professional world of Music Theatre, if they choose to. Both are triple threats and not short of charisma. Wil’s lean and slightly gawky look with a mop of unruly hair is very appealing and there’s a sweetness to his strong singing voice which makes him perfect juvenile lead material. Maggie is strong in the acting department but needs to be aware of a shrillness when she’s “belting” a song, though her lighter voice is terrific. Brenton Gardiner (Nate) is a delight as the shy boy who gets tongue-tied except when he’s singing. His “romance” with Katya Harrop (Dana) is beautifully played and their number “Introducing me” is the best song in the entire show. Kudos to Brianna Bishop (Tess) and James Majoos (Luke) Their portrayals of the self absorbed and selfish stars of “Camp Star” provided light humour and, again, they were excellent. Kurt Russo (Jason) and Stephanie Mann (Rosie) also impressed and special mention must go to Damian Meredith (Barron), a super versatile asset to the cast. But in truth there were no weaknesses and the band, under the musical direction of Nick Hedger, was very impressive. David Bramble’s set works a treat, the use of projection is colourful and appealing, and lighting is good. On opening night there were huge sound problems, particularly in co-ordinating the levels…but that is undoubtedly just a temporary glitch.

Directors Benney and Venn, with the strong commitment of Stage Masters, auditioned 350 young performers from schools all over Victoria, and it has paid off for them. This is a show by young people for young people and they don’t deserve to have the number of empty seats in evidence on opening night. So take your kids…or send them, or teens, get a group together. It’s terrific fun and great value. Rock On!

Coral Drouyn

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