Reviews

Les Misérables

Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Additional Material by James Fenton. The G&S Society of South Australia. Arts Theatre. 28th September -7th October, 2017

Set in 19th century France, Les Misérables is based on the novel of the same name by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. Transformed in 1980 into the musical we know today, with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and English lyrics by Herbert Kreuzer, it has been on a stage somewhere in the world ever since.

One Act Play Season

Gold Coast Little Theatre. September 28th – October 1st, 2017

GCLT’s One Act Play Season features four plays in the theme of Short and Dangerous.

Three first time stage directors presented a program with plenty of variety: Checkmate andThe English Game (Sam Cleverland), Nola (Dan Brixey) and A Murdered Mystery(Jay Ahrens).

The annual season is an opportunity for cast and directors to gain experience in live theatre and so allowances must be given as these people hone their theatrical skills.

Blue Love

Shaun Parker and Company. Directed by Shaun Parker and Jo Stone. Choreographed by Shaun Parker. Arts Centre Gold Coast. Sept 27th-30th September, 2017

Shaun Parker and Jo Stone are superb artists, with great comic timing, wonderful dance skills and a real talent for satire.

Hot Brown Honey

Created by Lisa Fa’a’afi and Kim “Busty Beatz’ Bowers. Briefs Factory. OzAsia Festival Adelaide 2017. Director- Lisa Fa’a’afi. Musical Director - Kim “Busty Beatz’ Bowers. Space Theatre. September 26 – 30, 2017.

“Welcome to the Hive!” – the hive where women rule and tell their stories fearlessly and noisily. This is a high energy, passion packed performance that plays on the stereotypes and then turns them on their heads to confront and challenge. This is a show, which starts conversations and promotes revolution.

Hot Brown Honey

Created by Lisa Fa’a’afi and Kim “Busty Beatz’ Bowers. Briefs Factory. OzAsia Festival Adelaide 2017. Director- Lisa Fa’a’afi. Musical Director - Kim “Busty Beatz’ Bowers. Space Theatre. September 26 – 30, 2017.

“Welcome to the Hive!” – the hive where women rule and tell their stories fearlessly and noisily. This is a high energy, passion packed performance that plays on the stereotypes and then turns them on their heads to confront and challenge. This is a show which starts conversations and promotes revolution.

Appropriate Kissing for All Occasions and To Heat You Up and Cool You Down

By Isabelle Martinez & David Finnigan. Directed by Louise Howlett. ReAction Theatre. Club Voltaire, North Melbourne. 27 September – 1 October 2017

Here are two short works (together they run for just over an hour) about love – or, more exactly, thwarted love. 

There’s a good idea underlying the first of the two, Appropriate Kissing for All Occasions: how the personal can derail and sabotage public performance and professional persona.  It’s the comedy of disruption of expectation and convention.

Hazel’s Circus Suitcase.

Devised and performed by Hazel Bock. Presented by Upswing Arts. Melbourne Fringe Festival. Emerald City at Meat Market, 3 Blackwood St, North Melbourne. 23-30 September, 2017.

This show has suitcases full of delightful offering for early childhood audiences and features internationally acclaimed juggler Hazel Bock. Bock’s captivating performance displays her craft and incredible dexterity. The performance begins with some traditional juggling and Bock astonishes the audience as she gradually increases the difficulty of the juggling challenges, frequently involving both hands and feet.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Music & Lyrics: Richard & Robert Sherman. Book: Jeremy Sams & Ray Roderick. Wyong Musical Theatre Company. The Art House, Wyong. September 23rd to 30th, 2017

Wyong Musical Theatre Company has scored a coup these school holidays by presenting the regional premiere of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The musical, about a magical flying car, is based off the generationally beloved film created by Ian Fleming and starring Dick Van Dyke.

Hot Mikado

By Gilbert and Sullivan, adapted by David H. Bell (book and lyrics) and Rob Bowman (orchestrations and arrangements). Chatswood Musical Society. Independent Theatre, North Sydney. September 22 to October 1, 2017

Gilbert and Sullivan’s satirical comic opera The Mikado has always been quintessentially British, despite being dressed up in Japanese costumes, festooned with lanterns and screens and peopled by characters with cod-Japanese names.

Not so much in this version!  Inspired by the 1939 Afro American Broadway version The Hot Mikado, the original comic opera songs in this 1986 version now have jazz, swing, gospel and torch interpretations and harmonies, while the costuming is a mix of Japanese and 1940s American.

The Producers

Music & Lyrics: Mel Brooks. Book: Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan. Savoyards. Director: Gabriella Flowers. Music Director: Mark Beilby. Choreographer: Hanna Crowther. Iona Performing Arts Centre, Wynnum, Qld. 23 Sep – 7 Oct 2017

Cult movies makes fabulous musicals as Hairspray, The Full Monty and Kinky Boots have proved, and if Mel Brooks’ The Producers is not the best of them, it’s certainly the funniest. Based on his 1968 movie about Broadway hucksters who scam little-old-ladies to finance the worst musical every written, Brooks created a satirical masterpiece that skewers the shams and pretension of musical theatre, with a score that pays homage to Broadway’s Golden Era.

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