Reviews

Ordinary Days

Music and Lyrics by Adam Gwon. Directed by Chris Zuber. Presented by The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. 4 – 7 September 2024

Ordinary Days is a delightful New York musical, full of characters and crackling wit that would be out of place in any other city in the world, from a set piece about getting lost in the Metropolitan Museum to that particular sarcasm that’s as abrasive as it is hilarious. As Adam Gwon’s first piece, here’s a certain hopeful sweetness that I’ve seen in other young people’s work—Greta Gerwig’s film Francis Ha and Vikram Seth’s verse novel The Golden Gate have something of the same feel.

Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh*t

Performed by Betty Grumble. Created by Emma Maye Gibson. Produced by Thom Smyth / Performing Lines. The Courtyard Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre. 4 – 9 September 2024

Buckle up, folks. This show is a roller coaster of burlesque, explicit live sexuality, grief, homage, catharsis, performance art history lesson and skyclad pagan rite. Emma May Gibson’s work is a logical extension of the tradition of wild, hippy, witchy emancipated fringe performance art that flourished in the sexual revolution of the 1960s and feminist circles in the 70s and 80s with performers like Carolee Schneeman, Annie Sprinkle and Casey Jenkins.

A Chorus Line

Music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Theatrical. The National Theatre Melbourne, St Kilda. September 7 – 22, 2024.

A Chorus Line presented by Theatrical delivered a captivating performance that showcased the talent and dedication of the cast and crew. While the production had its moments, the overall experience was enjoyable and left a lasting impression. 

Carousel - A Concert

Music: Richard Rodgers. Book & Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II. Concert Adaptation by Tom Briggs. Director: Petra Kalive. Producer: Enda Markey. Musical Director: Guy Simpson. Choreographer: Philip Connaughton. The Princess Theatre, Melbourne. September 7 & 8, 2024.

Voted by Time Magazine as the best musical of the 20th century, Carousel's combination of a compelling storyline, well-crafted characters, and an unforgettable score solidifies its status as a landmark work in American theatre history. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote eleven musicals together including the highly successful Oklahoma!, The King and I and The Sound of Music.

Eucalyptus - The Opera

Composed by Jonathan Mills. Libretto by Meredith Oakes based on the novel by Murray Bail. Presented by Brisbane Festival, QPAC and QSO in association with Victorian Opera. QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane. 4-5 September, 2024

With an all-Australian theme, cast and creatives alike, this ominous story and production is a intriguing look at the relationship between a father and daughter through the eyes of the locals in a small outback country town, an interpretation conceived by acclaimed Director Michael Gow. From the very first notes played, there is a sense of foreboding eventually developing into a story full of symbolism reflecting mother-nature herself intertwined with the intricacies of the human condition.

Murder by the Book

By Duncan Greenwood and Robert King. Hunters Hill Theatre Company. Director: Margaret Olive. Club Ryde. 30 Aug – 15 September, 2024

A pedantic novelist/book reviewer, his estranged wife and his publisher are pitted against each other in a tricky plot in this slightly different murder mystery, that does, as director Margaret Olive suggests, “keep the audience grinning and squirming”. Add an attractive secretary, a strange neighbour, locked doors, a gun and poison and the possibilities might seem endless … as they are!

Grimm

Shake and Stir Theatre Company. Presented by QPAC and the Brisbane Festival. Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane. 31 August - 6th October, 2024

There have been many versions and interpretations of the folklore the famous German Grimm Brothers published in the 19th century, having compiled hundreds of stories and edited them in various ways to make them more palatable for the general reader. So many adaptations have surfaced over the years in theatre, film, animation, opera, ballet, you name it, but this version by the illustrious Shake & Stir Theatre Company is quite unlike anything I've ever seen before.

Guys and Dolls

Based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon. Music by Frank Loesser. Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Presented by Ipswich Musical Theatre Company. Directed by Robbie Parkin. Ipswich Civic Centre. 7 – 15 September 2024.

When it comes to musical theatre, the action is hot out in Ipswich – you can bet all your lettuce on that! The latest production of the award-winning classic, Guys and Dolls is bold and bright, and beautifully realised with an all singing, all dancing, all acting cast backed by a big live band.

Nora: A Doll’s House

By Stef Smith after Henrik Ibsen. WAAPA Third Year Acting Students. Directed by Sonya Suares. The Roundhouse, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. Sep 5-12, 2024

Nora: A Doll’s House has been described as “a radical reinterpretation” of Ibsen’s original play. Performed by WAAPA Third Year Acting Students, and designed, built and crewed by WAAPA Production and Design Students, this version features a much larger cast than the West End Production, whose 2020 run was unfortunately cut short by the Covid Pandemic.

You’re The Man

By Paul Mitchell. Presented by La Mama, Monstrous Theatre and Paul Mitchell. La Mama Carlton Courthouse, Vic. Sep 4 – 14, 2024

In this biting, aggressive tale about a broken family, two people fall in love and yet just don’t seem to be able to get it right to lead a happy life . You’re The Man is a cutting-edge dramatized experience on domestic violence written by actor/writer Paul Mitchell and directed by Theresa Borg from Monstrous Theatre productions.

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