Merrily We Roll Along

Famished music theatre fans, kept away from live theatre by the pandemic, will have much to feast upon in this banquet of tasty morsels.

The company, which had staged one preview when the dreaded delta virus closed down Sydney, have been able to spend the extended break continuing to rehearse at times, bringing a rich depth to the characters that might not normally be available in a tight Hayes Theatre rehearsal schedule.

The musical famously had a false start on Broadway in 1981 when it was cast mainly with teenagers and closed after a few weeks. Since then it has been re-written and gained fans, enticed by a score considered by many to be one of the most appealing composed by Sondheim.

Indeed, the issue of how important a few good tunes are to a musical is playfully referenced in the script, when a producer gives instructions about what sort of a melody is required on Broadway.

The narrative, based on an original play by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart, could be described to a certain extent as naval gazing. It traverses the craft of writing musicals and producing films, with the action starting at the end and progressively moving back in time.

But it is hard to imagine a better production of the piece. Andrew Worboys’ five piece band impressively reproduce the full Broadway orchestra sound, whilst the set (Jeremy Allen) and costumes (Melanie Liertz) are deliciously in vogue for the 1970’s and 60’s.

Giving the production a further lift is the integration of video, which is designed by Dave Bergman. At times the characters face cameras at the side of the stage with the images beamed up on a screen at the back. It adds a layer of depth and comedy to many of the scenes. A highlight is an hilarious close up of the central character, Franklin Shepard (Andrew Coshan), when he is put under a blowtorch on live television.

There are a number of show stopping performances. In the first scene Elise McCann – as Mary Flynn -  is a sublime drunk as her wise cracking washed-up novelist character takes no prisoners at a disastrous party in 1975.

Ainsley Melham as Charlie is spectacular in his performance of a furious, bitchy musical rant.  Tiarne Sue Yek (as Beth) brought goosebumps with her recital of “Not A Day Goes By”and Georgina Hopson (as Gussie) sparkled with 1960’s glamour.

Audiences are spoiled to see such a high quality production in such a tiny space.

David Spicer

Photographer: Phil Erbacher