Reviews

St Nicholas

By Conor McPherson. The Street Theatre, Canberra. Online livestream 5 to 7 June 2020.

Stage Whispers reviewers Beth Keehn and Cathy Bannister both caught The Street Theatre's online streamed production of St Nicholas.

True North

Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). Online livestreamed concert. 6 June 2020.

QPAC’s Chief Executive, John Kotzas told Stage Whispers: “While we remain closed, we are focused on finding new ways to continue connecting with communities, artists and audiences.” This quest included QPAC’s concert for Queensland Day on 6 June. The event was titled True North to encapsulate the definition: ‘a fixed point in a spinning world’ – the role that culture has played for many people during the COVID-19 crisis.

Holiday Inn

Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin. Book: Gordon Greenberg & Chad Hodge. Based on the 1942 movie of the same name. Director: Gordon Greenburg. Musical Director: Andy Einhorn. Choreography: Denis Jones. BroadwayHD Free Streaming. 30 May, 2020.

Jerome Kern famously said, “Irving Berlin has no place in American music, he is American music,” and there’s no better example of it than in the score of Holiday Inn. Based on the 1942 movie which starred Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, this version of the backstage show-business story overcomes the clichéd plot with a score of Berlin favourites that lift it every time.

Hairspray Live!

Music: Marc Shaiman. Lyrics: Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman. Book: Harvey Feinstein, based on the Broadway original by Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan. Director: Kenny Leon, Alex Rudinski. Choreographer: Jerry Mitchell. Musical Director: Lon Hoyt. The Streamed on The Shows Must Go On! YouTube - 30-31 May 2020

One of the best, if not the best, musical comedy of the past two decades, Hairspray Live! had a perfect cast and was the perfect vehicle to showcase them. The stars lived up to their hype, with Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle and Ariana Grande as Penny Pingleton knocking it out of the ballpark with their vocals. Harvey Fierstein, repeating his iconic performance of Edna Turnblad from the original Broadway production, and with a list of cameos as long as your arm to add to the star power, this NBC production was totally euphoric.

Bombshell In Concert

Music: Marc Shaiman. Lyrics: Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman. Director: Michael Mayer. Musical Director: Marc Shaiman. Choreographer: Joshua Bergasse. People.com free live-stream. Wednesday 20 May 2020

When Bombshell In Concert aired last Wednesday it was manna from heaven for musical theatre geeks who worship at the shrine of Smash, the beloved NBC series which aired for two seasons 2012-13.

Noah, Moses and Jonah

Sight & Sound Theatre. Featured on BroadwayHD.com

At the start of the Covid-19 lockdown I received many excited messages from friends telling me of BroadwayHD.com, a streaming service dedicated to performing arts. The channel has a diverse range of titles from traditional live musical theatre and movies to plays and concerts.  Dozens of titles include performances from Hugh Jackman (Oklahoma!), David Hasselhoff (Jekyll and Hyde), Zachary Levi (She Loves Me) and the complete Nunsense series. 

The Sound of Music Live!

Music: Richard Rodgers. Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. Additional Lyrics: Richard Rodgers. Book: Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse, adapted for television by Austin Winsberg. Executive Producers: Neil Meron, Craig Zadan. Directors: Rob Ashford, Beth McCarthy-Miller. Musical Director: David Chase. The Shows Must Go On YouTube Channel. Free Stream. 23-24 May 2020

When NBC aired The Sound of Music Live!, on Thursday December 5th 2013, itwas the first time in over 50 years that a television network had broadcast a live version of a Broadway musical. The telecast pulled in nearly 20 million viewers.

Begotten: the radio play

Written and performed by Bianca Butler Reynolds. Minola Theatre. Launched online 16 May, 2020

Imagine being able to go back in time and have a conversation with your grandmother or your great-grandmother when they were young and full of ambitions for their future. What would it be like to hear an uncensored version of their life choices and the reasons behind them? It could be confronting, sentimental, provocative, worrying – in the case of Begotten by Bianca Butler Reynolds, it is all of the above. The writer has woven together one family’s passions, secrets and lies into a fascinating tapestry, brought to life with music and audio effects as a radio play.

Cats

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot. Director: David Mallett. Music Director: Simon Lee. Choreography: Gillian Lynne. You Tube “The Shows Must Go On” Channel. Free streaming 16-17 May 2020

Mark Steyn* divided the history of musical theatre thus: BC – before Cats – AD – Andrew Dominant. The profound influence Cats had on musical theatre in 1982 was as game-changing as Oklahoma! in 1943 and Hamilton in 2015.

Funny Girl

Music: Jule Styne. Lyrics: Bob Merrill. Book: Isobel Lennart from an original story by Miss Lennart. Revised Book: Harvey Fierstein. Director: Michael Mayer. Vision Director: Robert Delamere/ Musical Director: Alan Williams . Choreographer: Lynne Paige. Recorded Live Manchester Palace Theatre, August 2017. Digital Theatre. Cost: £7.99

What is it about the English and American musicals? They seem to be able to revive them and bring dollops of lustre to even the most jaded of musical forms – for instance the backstage musical. Just look at Imelda Staunton’s groundbreaking performance as the definitive Mama Rose in Gypsy.

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