ABBOTT The Musical

The cast of ABBOTT The Musical is talented and the material is clearly spot-on, with the musical’s 2016 Adelaide Fringe production parodying events in Canberra up to the demise of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

Perhaps it partly resulted from where I was seated in the rear of the hall, but I left somewhat disappointed on opening night. ABBOTT The Musical was brought down from within its own ranks, just like the show’s real life subject. The volume of backing music often completely overwhelmed the singing and satire, not allowing full enjoyment of the show.

Clearly, as demonstrated by those segments that could be heard, this is a clever, fast-paced production, making it even more disappointing that far too much of the opening night dialogue and lyrics couldn’t be deciphered.

Nic Conway has Tony Abbott down pat, including looks, stance and mannerisms and is the standout performer. Lisa Harper Campbell as Julie Bishop, Daniel Murnane as Malcolm Turnbull, Alister McMichael as Joe Hockey and Ellis Dolan as Peter Dutton are all good. The cast is multi-talented, moving smoothly and skillfully back and forth between characterisation and playing drums, guitar and keyboard.

There are some gems when the sound mix is right, including the songs ‘Misogyny Me’ and ‘F..k Them All’. The final scenes, including when Julie changes her loyalty to Malcolm, are particularly funny and extremely well done.

The ‘Quote’ board is a terrific touch, lighting up frequently when an actual Abbott quote is used.

Hopefully the sound issue has already been recognised and resolved and the talented young cast can settle in to a successful Adelaide Fringe season of ABBOTT The Musical.

Lesley Reed