The Philadelphia Story

The Philadelphia Story
By Phillip Barry. Theatre on Chester, Epping (NSW). Director / Designer: Joy Sweeney. July 27 – August 18, 2012.

Gershwin jazz piano arrangements drift across the room from the gramophone. A smart-looking young man lounges nonchalantly reading the paper in a stylish period living room, filled with furniture and paraphernalia stylishly matched in predominantly black, white and grey tones. Effective use of coloured cyclorama lighting complements the setting attractively, in a stylishly attractive production from start to finish.

There’s a clever, engaging illusion; a twist which I won’t spoil, to Director Joy Sweeney’s prelude to the play’s main action.

If you’re only familiar with The Philadelphia Story courtesy of the Cole Porter Hollywood musicalisation, High Society, the original Phillip Barry play is very different – a slightly darker comedy, with a very different character balance to it.

Though the musical became more of a vehicle for Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, the play places socialite Tracy Lord (the Grace Kelly character from the musical, Katharine Hepburn in the original film) firmly at the play’s centre. Nicole Brennan’s vivacious, complex and engaging portrayal, delves deep for the emotional truth beyond her two-dimensional social façade.

She is supported by just the kind of strong ensemble performance vital to the success of this large cast period comedy. Throughout the acting is mostly truthful and convincing, with the comedy emerging organically, as the play demands, from character, situation and timing. While not diminishing other performances (too many to mention individually, as the old cliché goes), the contribution of the social outsiders, Scott Clare as reporter Mike Connor and Janina Hamerlok as photographer Liz Imrie, was clear and distinctive, really enhancing the balance and dynamic of the production, in contrast with the well portrayed Philadelphia social set.

There’s a Fred and Ginger combination at work as servants make the relatively minimal scene changes in stylish full audience vision - part of a nicely conceived nod to the servant classes, timely with the popularity of Downton Abbey.  The set design is smartly conceived to allow a simple switch from indoor to outdoor locations.

Joy Sweeney is well-known for her fine eye for detail, most often as a costume designer. That eye is apparent everywhere in the detail of this attractive, entertaining community theatre production, right down to newspaper and magazine covers.

Recommended.

Neil Litchfield

Earlier coverage - more details.

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