Reviews

The Wizard of Oz

By L. Frank Baum. Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg. Background Music by Herbert Stothart. Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. A production by Richmond Players with Richmond High School. The “Mac” Auditorium, Richmond High School, Lennox Street, Richmond. August 10 – 19, 2018.

I had the privilege to sit in on the tech run of this production on Monday night and though there were a few little glitches (after all, that’s what tech rehearsals are all about), director Josie Dwyer, musical director David Catterall and their very efficient and hard-working crew have their show ready to “hit the high spots” – and there are plenty of high spots to hit!

Bi-Cycle

Written & performed by Sam Anderson. The Butterfly Club, Melbourne. 6 – 11 August 2018

Sam Anderson is a big, brawny, super-fit guy.  He has to be super-fit since in this show he rarely rests and is rarely still.  The sweat is real.  Dressed in work-out gym gear, his persona is a hepsi-pepsi, gung-ho, semi-bullying gym instructor and we’re his ‘class’, bent on self-improvement.  He’s on an exercise bike – well, the bike is mimed – and he’s pedalling fast.  Supposedly, we are too. 

Barnum

Music by Cy Coleman, Lyrics by Michael Stewart, Book by Mark Bramble Directed by Ralph Ashby and Theresa Kendal. Mousetrap Theatre Redcliffe Qld. July 27 – August 12, 2018.

This musical is based on the life of Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum over the period from 1835 through 1880, as he followed his belief that there is a sucker born every minute and, with the right amount of humbug, you can achieve wonders that people will pay to see. He is supported by the rationality of his wife, Chairy, as he introduces the oldest woman in the world, Tom Thumb, Jumbo the elephant and tours with Swedish opera singer, Jenny Lind. He runs for mayor of Bridgewater, and wants to be a Senator.

King Of Pigs

By Steve Rodgers. Red Line Productions. Old Fitz Theatre. August 1 – September 1, 2018

Steve Rodgers is a fine actor masterly at playing decent if uncertain blokes. Now as playwright, he’s created a fascinating kaleidoscope of four men acting out some level of violence against women. 

The women are played by the one, Ella Scott-Lynch, who authentically modulates across four scenarios this vivacious, headstrong and expressive Everywoman.  The Men too are given strong performances.

Downtown! The Mod Musical! A Celebration of the ‘60s!

Created by Phillip George, David Lowenstein, Peter Charles Morris. Primadonna Productions and The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. Directed by Carole Dhu. 2-4 August, 2018

This little-known musical (known as Shout! The Mod Musical outside Australia and New Zealand) was presented to sold-out audiences in Manpac’s Fishtrap Theatre, as a community partnership between Primadonna Productions and The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre.

This juke-box musical, is what it says in the title, as it follows a group of young women, fans of a popular magazine “Shout” from 1962 through 1970, featuring twenty-eight of the 1960s’ most memorable songs.

Torch Song Trilogy

By Harvey Fierstein. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Eternity Playhouse, Dalringhurst (NSW). July 29 – August 26, 2018

This is a stunning production where writing, direction, design and acting come exquisitely together. It takes Harvey Fierstein’s beautifully written script and his very delicately drawn characters through the maelstrom of discrimination and the fight for acceptance. Conceived in the late 1970s, when homophobia and vilification reigned, Fierstein’s trilogy was way ahead of its time, an inspiration to others to “imagine the possibilities that could lead to positive changes”.

Soloists and Spontaneity

Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Alondra de la Parra. Piano: Sergio Tiempo. Concert Hall, QPAC. 4 Aug 2018

The overriding theme of this Maestro, series with works by Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok and Sergei Rachmaninov, was that they were all works that premiered in America.

Side by Side by Sondheim

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (and music by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Jule Styne). Playlovers. Directed by Gillian Binks. Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo, WA. July 26 - Aug 4, 2018

Currently homeless, Playlovers presented this musical entertainment at Wanneroo’s Limelight Theatre. This show is often performed quite formally, as director Gillian Binks describes, “in a long black dress by a piano”, and working in a borrowed venue, this would be the simpler approach. This production has a different feel, set in a bar, and feeling more like a conventional musical than a revue.

The Mastersingers of Nuremberg Act 3

By Wagner. State Opera of South Australia Adelaide Festival Centre. August 4, 2018.

Sometimes what is promised on the box is what you get, and this twenty-year celebration of the first production in Adelaide was packed with masterful singers.

The semi-staged production of the third act of Wagner’s only comic opera delighted the full house with the quality of the music, played superbly by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under the assured baton of Nicholas Braithwaite, returning to Adelaide for this special performance. The music they created soared and melded beautifully with the singers.

Bring It On The Musical

Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Pelican Productions (SA). Norwood Concert Hall. August 2-5, 2018

Less than a year on from winning the Adelaide Theatre Guide Award for ‘Best Show, Youth Theatre’ with Bring it On the Musical, Pelican Productions has brought this slick show back. If audience numbers and enthusiasm are any indication, it has been a winning move.

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