Dogfight

Dogfight
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. Book by Peter Duchan. Directed by Darylin Raymondo. Doorstep Arts. Chapel Off Chapel. May 5 – 15, 2016.

Darylin Raymondo is a fine director, and her reputation was made with her stunning production of Next To Normal in 2014. It wowed audiences at both Geelong and The Hayes in Sydney. It is only natural that expectations would be high for her anticipated production of Dogfight – a 2012 off-Broadway musical based on a 90s film. The cast is mostly excellent, the music is entertaining if not especially memorable, and there is a strong – if predictable – book. Her handling of scenes like the awkwardness of two virgins about to make love is exquisitely bitter-sweet and sensitive, with neither knowing what to do with their hands, and that makes such moments memorable, ultimately enhancing the overall effect of the show. All the elements are there for a huge success, and yet – apart from that one moment - I wasn’t able to make any kind of an emotional connection to the production.

The thin story of three Marine friends going off to Vietnam indulging in a Dogfight on their last night (where each tries to top the other by “pulling” the ugliest girl possible) certainly has all the potential for emotional connection, but ultimately the production seemed bland and unmoving, and that’s a great pity. What is a sweet and enjoyable performance missed the opportunity to actually hit home and move us to tears with intensity and electricity. The musical certainly has something to say, but, for me at least, it was said in a whisper and barely heard.

There may be several contributing factors. Having the band onstage is one. It’s a fine band, and Trevor Jones is a great asset musically, but there isn’t any doubt that Trevor  turning pages on the score pulled focus from the action too many times (though one could argue that if we were fully engaged in the show we wouldn’t have noticed…and many of  the audience DID notice). It’s a six piece band and also takes up too much room on one side, effectively making the stage lopsided in terms of performing space. Putting the band out of sight behind the black tabs at the back of the stage would have freed up the stage area, focussed totally on players and story, created a sense of context, and allowed for a separate set, perhaps for Rose’s bedroom, which might have been romanticised as a contrast to the dark and ominous dressing of the rest of the stage.

Shane Thompson’s set is both uninspired and uninspiring. Basically a rostrum at the far back of the stage with an unappealing stylised Golden Gate Bridge cut-out (barely recognisable as such), it forces any movement upstage, as if the action is being hidden from the audience. Contrast this with the marvellously innovative set for Doorstep Arts last production – a multi-levelled set of black rostrums on which the actors drew the sets (a window – a table setting etc) with white chalk. Thompson’s set does not contribute to the story of character journey in the same way. I am all for minimalism, but minimalism requires perfect balance, and that was missing for me. It was a breath of fresh air when the cast worked downstage and were able to make contact with their audience.

There are great performances from two of my favourite current performers. Zoy Frangos is a powerful presence who does bring his own intensity to the role of Boland, the emotionally stunted Marine who cheats to win. He is always believable and his voice sits right in the pocket of the music. It’s an impressive performance. Jaclyn Devincentis is fabulous as Macy, owning the stage and killing her musical numbers. She’s such a strong performer however that, if opening night is anything to go by, she’s in danger of swamping lesser performers and might need to pull back a fraction, but she’s a joy to watch. It’s not by accident that these two received the greatest ovation. The audience is hungry to connect, and so are these two performers.  Olivia Charalambous is a sheer delight as Rose; vulnerable/feisty, giving/guarded – she offers us a fully rounded three dimensional human being, with all the strengths and frailties being human entails. Her voice is a delight and she is the one person you truly care about. Unfortunately Alexander Woodward doesn’t match her at this stage in his career. He is new and fresh and lack of experience may well be the problem. Certainly he has the look and the voice for a terrific career in the future, but, as Eddie, the boy who goes along with the Dogfight, then is disgusted with himself, he was lacking in emotional depth and, worst possible sin, looked as if he was acting rather than feeling. Hopefully he will really tap his potential over the next few years.

Joel Granger (Bernstein) has only recently graduated from WAAPA but is already a fully formed performer (as most WAAPA grads are) with a charismatic presence laced with humour and natural charm. We will certainly being seeing a lot of him over the next decade. It is a crime that the wonderful Sally Bourne is wasted in the somewhat underdeveloped role of Mama, and that voice and presence really has nowhere to go. What she does is done with élan and class, but it isn’t a role worthy of her talents. The rest of the cast is fine, but the roles are not memorable. Leanne Marsland’s choreography is serviceable but hardly indicative of 1963. Where were “The Twist”; the “Hully Gully”, “The Monkey” ? Those were the dances I was doing in 1963, at age 18, along with the evergreen “jive.” The same applies to costuming. Mini-skirts were not “in” in 1963….not even for Hookers. The sack dress and pleated skirts were de rigeur, and fortunately Rose was dressed for the period. It is perhaps this lack of research and attention to detail which is the final disappointment. Don’t misunderstand, this is still a perfectly serviceable and entertaining production, and an enjoyable night. But Doorstep Arts promised so much in the past, that my expectations were fuelled by an adrenaline which was missing in the actual show. I was entertained…but I wasn’t dazzled, and I wanted to be.

Coral Drouyn

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