Reviews

Matt Byrne is never afraid to bring big musicals to the Adelaide Community Theatre scene. Aware of the success of Matt Byrne Media’s past musicals, such as Mary Poppins and Wicked, I expected Saturday Night Fever to be a feast of energy, fantastic singing and dancing, a strong storyline, memorable performances and the disco beat of the iconic Bee Gees’ songs.

On the show’s opening night some of my expectations were realised, namely in key performances, but various elements outside the cast’s control let the production down.

I encountered this production in Dandenong last year, at the start of another tour of the country. With another invitation to review, I thought it might have been a new production, but it wasn’t, and many of the performers were retained.

It worked very well with an Australian translation and scenery. The period costumes didn’t quite fit, but no one minded. I don’t recall Cherubino rifling through love letters from his girl-friends to find his commission last time, so that was a welcome innovation.

Anthony Street has mastered at least two major art forms — Irish dancing, and stage magic — and in 2011 he married the two in a show called Celtic Illusion.  Eclipse, a brand-new show that is touring from Townsville to Victoria, features similar dancing but almost entirely new magical illusions.

It is refreshing to attend a packed house matinee, full of excited young people, many presumably having their first live-theatre experience, and to see an energised, enthusiastic young cast on stage.

High School Musical is based on the Disney Chanel Movie of the same name. The characters are familiar to many in the audience and the kids in the crowd also clearly knew the songs.