Beaudy The Musical

Sometimes a production is so awful that it almost becomes entertaining … much like a farce.
Such was the case with Beaudy the Musical which, just when you thought it could not get any worse, it did and more so.
According to the program Michael Orland started writing ‘Beaudy’ 28 years ago. I understand that he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money putting it on with a large professional cast, orchestra, venue and a publicity machine with all the trimmings.
He was told this was not wise – but pressed on.
How bad was the production? Well someone started heckling just ten minutes into the show. This was before the stage-hands started their regular routine of wandering onto the stage like a group of clumsy removalists. They looked lost (no they were lost), disinterested and kept dropping things. It is the type of cardinal sin of theatre which you might see in a very bad High School production.
Finally the stage curtain came down for a scene change and the audience was relieved that interval had come. But no we had to sit down again for another scene.
Those who bothered to come back for the second act were treated to an even more ghastly affront. The microphones of cast members were left open. One was heard to say...“Oh Damn it I sang that song flat.” A few moments later, a stage hand was heard to use the f word.
What is the show about? Well it is an Aussie take on the Sleeping Beauty myth. The heiress to a timber yard goes into a coma when her drink is spiked on schoolies week.
The large orchestra was excellent and the cast worked their butts off. The stand out for me was Matt Greenlaw who played a male bimbo with great humour.
But the material they had to work with was almost as bad as the production. It featured glib lyrics, dated music, awkward kissing, frenetic annoying dance routines, and only the occasional joke to bring some relief.
We left the theatre at eleven pm feeling as though we had just survived an ordeal.
David Spicer