Dusty The Musical

After the sadness of recent 2016 events, it was sheer joy to attend the opening night of Dusty, The Musical. This new reincarnation of the 2006 show, starring Amy Lehpamer, is vibrant, sassy and swinging. A wonderful way to usher in the New Year!

Lehpamer inhabits Dusty Springfield - every move, gesture, note and swish of amazingly bouffant wig, brings back this amazing lady. She is a multi-talented performer; mimicking Springfield’s physicality to perfection and with a belting, resonant sound that brings shivers.

Guiding and telling the tale of Dusty’s life, as if in Greek chorus, is young Dusty, played superbly by Adelaide’s own Baylie Carson. With her powerhouse voice, encapsulated in the awkward teenage body of young Mary O’Brien, Carson is a future huge star.

I was fascinated immediately in this production by the ever- present role of Mary in this reimagined version and how interesting Director Jason Langley’s vision was. His comments that Dusty was “haunted by her younger self…Mary became one of her demons and later in life, her solace” explain why this production is so poignant. We see Dusty always trying to deal with these demons (and her sexuality), having had a very difficult childhood. The scars of this are open for the audience to see in her ‘self-dialogue’ with Mary throughout the show. The mirrored wardrobe on stage is a constant reminder of Dusty’s self-reflection, analysing herself, looking back to who she was, not who she had become.

Whilst there were many highlight songs throughout the show that swelled the hearts of the Dusty fans in the audience, there were some moments which stood out for me, having spent a lot of my childhood listening to Dusty albums on my mother’s old record player. Whilst each song provoked a happy memory for me of this time, I was in awe of how she produced such hits throughout so much personal trouble, of which we, as young listeners were not aware.

The duets between Lehpamer and Carson “Mama’s Little Girl” and “All I See Is You” were beautiful and captured both the innocence and struggle of her life perfectly. The famous songs “I Only Want To Be With You”, “Wishin’ and Hopin’ ”, “The look of love”, all expected by the audience, were delivered beautifully and lived up to Dusty’s legacy.

Todd McKenney as Rodney is wonderfully over the top and shows yet again he can sparkle in any role. His stage presence is strong and he almost steals the limelight from Lehpamer in quite a few scenes. Virginia Gay as Peg was a surprise to me as I had only seen her television work. What a great talent and a beautiful voice! Chloe Zuel as Reno was a standout for this reviewer- an incredibly powerful singing voice, vibrant stage presence and powerful acting. Jackie Rees plays multiple roles as Kay O’Brien, Jeann Rook and the Doctor, but it was as Kay O’Brien and her rendition of “My Colouring Book” that she captured my heart as a mother. Paul Blackwell, also playing multiple roles, shines as Mary’s father Gerard. The ensemble and backing group singers are all incredibly energetic and vocally and physically strong. The band, ably led by Michael Tyack is onstage for the entire show and brings the songs to life with its constant presence and talent.

Set design by Anna Cordingly is clever- very simple framing and backdrop but highlighted by neon lighting and small set change pieces. Using large spot-lights on stage and the theatre fly bars as set is inspired and demonstrates well that Dusty is always ‘on stage’ wherever she is. Costumes are everything you would expect from the era of Dusty’s life- bright, bold and colourful. A beautifully accurate and stunning effort by Isaac Lummis.

Director Jason Langley has assembled a cast of superbly talented performers. He has tweaked the original script by John Michael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow to life, in a fluorescent explosion.

Amy Lehpamer is a joy to watch and I must say, I had great pride in local girl, Baylie Carson in her professional debut!

This show makes the heart soar and is a beautiful window into the life of one of the world’s much- loved idols. It is a wonderful night of theatre and an experience not to be missed.

Shelley Hampton