Reviews

Tom, Dick & Harry

By Ray and Michael Cooney. Tea Tree Players. Director: Barry Hill. Tea Tree Players Theatre, Surrey Downs. 10-20 October, 2018.

If comedy is hard, then farce is especially so. For a really crackerjack farcical comedy to have been written in the first place is relatively rare; to see it staged and performed at the level of true expertise required feels like a privilege. TTP’s production of Tom, Dick & Harry is all of this, and more besides: it’s a joy!

Shrek the Musical

Based on The Dreamworks Animation Motion picture and book by William Steig. Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. Music by Jeanine Tesorei. Willoughby Theatre Company. The Concourse Theatre, Chatswood. October 13 – 28, 2018.

Willoughby Theatre Company’s production of Shrek, the classic family movie turned stage musical, was a delightful experience on a mammoth scale, with production values on a par with professional theatre I have seen of late.

Nine The Musical

By Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston. Stage Art. Chapel Off Chapel. October 12 – 28, 2018

An allusive and vivacious Stage Art production!

Nine The Musical is not just an entertaining night out with a bunch of songs, it is a true experiential stirring of the senses.

Bullies

By Reg Cribb. WAAPA Second Year Acting Students. Directed by Andrew Lewis. Enright Studio, WAAAPA, Mt Lawley, WA. 12-18 October, 2018

The world premiere of this moving original commissioned work by Reg Cribb, is presented by Second Year Acting Students, and designed built and crewed by Production and Design Students.

Reg Cribb, working with WAAPA with support from the Mindaroo Foundation, has created a collection of stories and songs, all based on real-life incidents that reveal people’s vulnerability to bullies.

Heathers The Musical

Book, Music and Lyrics by Kevin Murphey and Laurence O’Keefe. Based on the film written by Daniel Waters. Presented by Dramatic Productions (ACT). Produced by Richard Block. Directed by Kelly Robert and Grant Pegg. Gungahlin Theatre. 12 – 27 October 2018

The Heathers are a colour-coded, croquet-playing triad of pure teen bitch power. Veronica Sawyer tries to join the group but is ejected when she refuses to bully her friend. She falls in love with JD, an intellectual outsider with ideas for revenge. And that’s when the deaths start. People of my vintage will remember the dark, dark 80s movie about bullying, harassment, toxic love, revenge and murder in an Ohio high school, which was adapted to musical form in 2014.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare. WAAPA 2018 Graduating Acting Students. Directed by Stefanos Rassios. The Edith Spiegeltent, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. 12-18 October, 2018

For the first time, a major acting production is being performed in WAAPA’s Spiegeltent (The Edith), with the 2018 Graduating Acting students presenting A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the round.

Ear to the Edge of Time

By Alana Valentine. Sport for Jove. Seymour Centre. October 11 – 27, 2018

Set in the world of astronomical research, Alana Valentine’s compelling play explores how sexual discrimination can lurk within the traditional team ethic of science.

Astrophysicist Professor Jocelyn Burnbell , interviewed by Valentine, denied being cheated when her male supervisor won the 1974 Nobel Prize for what were her discoveries:  accepting the team leader, usually a bloke, collects the gong.

Mamma Mia! The Musical

Presented by Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick in association with Adelaide Festival Centre. Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus (and some songs with Stig Anderson). Book by Catherine Johnson. Originally conceived by Judy Craymer. Additional material & arrangements: Martin Koch. Festival Theatre, Adelaide. 9 October - 18 November 2018.

In the nearly twenty years since its inception, Mamma Mia! has become far, far more than just one of the many immortal smash hits launched into the unsuspecting world of the 1970s by Swedish popmeisters (and Eurovision Song Contest winners) ABBA. It is a ‘jukebox musical’ whose success with the public has reached phenomenal proportions, going on to spawn not just a blockbuster onstage run, plus a movie adaptation (which set its own U.K. box office record as the most successful British cinema release in history), but also a recently released original screen sequel.

Dusty – The Original Pop Diva

Songs recorded by Dusty Springfield, book by John-Michael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow. Babirra Music Theatre. Director: Christian Cavallo. Musical Director: Stacey-Louise Camilleri. Choreographer: Jessica Mohi. The Whitehorse Centre. October 12 – 20, 2018

Babirra Music Theatre continues to produce top flight shows. It was not just the leading lady, but every role that was cast from strength.

Of course, most of the heavy lifting was done by Emily McKenzie as Dusty, and she met every challenge. She has a terrific voice, and we felt for this woman as she initially took up the fight to become a singer and then struggled with alcoholism and relationship issues. Many of her best vocal moments were when she was at her lowest ebb.

Tarzan

Music and lyrics by Phil Collins. Book by David Henry Hwang. Stray Cats Theatre Company. Directed by Karen Francis. Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, WA. 11-14 October, 2018

The Western Australian premiere of Tarzan burst into live in a very lavish production, presented by Stray Cats Theatre Company and Mandurah Performing Arts Centre.

The jungle of Western Africa is gorgeously recreated in a highly detailed set designed by Bronwyn White and Karen Francis, with projection by Alan White, establishing high production values from the outset. Costumes are also impressive, with makeup, by team led by Jodie Mars, giving credence to the gorilla characters.

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