Reviews

The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde. Genesian Theatre, Kent Street, Sydney. May 26 – June 30, 2018.

It can be a little harrowing to take on the task of directing such a well-loved and oft’ produced play, but first-time director Trudy Ritchie has obviously approached the challenge with dedicated zeal – and the support of an experienced and creative team of designers. Her production of Earnest captures the elegance and wit of Wilde’s writing as well as the ‘modish’ manners and style of the time. It moves quickly and efficiently without losing the impact of the ripostes and repartee or the hypocrisies that Wilde cleverly exposed.

Haydn’s The Creation

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs accompanied by The Metropolitan Orchestra. Sydney Town Hall. May 26, 2018.

What is it about The Creation that make choirs reprise it year after year? That makes audiences queue down the steps of the Sydney Town Hall on a cold autumn evening to get tickets? Is it the music? Is it the swell of a host of voices? Is it the mixture of the language of the bible and its phrasing set to music? Or is it all of this?

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Music & Lyrics: Frank Loesser. Book: Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert. Murray Music and Drama Club. Directed by Carole Dhu. Pinjarra Civic Centre, Pinjarra WA. May 10-26, 2018

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Tryingobviously had many people trying their utmost to make this show a success, A tight and fun version of this 1961 musical (based on Shepherd Meed’s 1952 book of the same name), it was engaging throughout.

Spamalot

Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle. Music by John Du Prez. Directed. Marie Clark Musical Theatre. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. May 26 – June 2, 2018

Could there be anyone who has not seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Possibly, but even if they haven’t, they will still enjoy Spamalot (my guest did)

The story is simple. King Arthur travels England to find knights to join him in his quest for the Holy Grail. His quest is hindered by many trials and tribulations.

Oklahoma!

By Rodgers and Hammerstein. The Production Company. Director: Chris Parker. Musical Director: Guy Simpson. Choreographer: Amy Campbell. State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. May 26 – June 3, 2018.

Celebrating its twenty year anniversary, The Production Company decided to repriseOklahoma! This was the musical which changed the face of music theatre in the middle of the last century, introducing a dark character, and a feisty woman who didn’t like to be taken for granted.

Heathers – The Musical

By Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe. Spotlight Theatre, Benowa, Gold Coast. Director & Choreographer: Jamie Watt. May 25 – Jun 16, 2018

Advertised as “RESTRICTED MA 15+”, it took very little time to realise why! The subject matter was confronting as were many of the numerous dance routines.

13 – The Musical

Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn. The Hills Musical Theatre Company (NSW). Model Farms High School Auditorium. May 25 – Jun 2, 2018.

Evan Goldman is about to turn thirteen and is looking forward to his Bar Mitzvah party. Then his parents announce that they are getting divorced … and his mother takes him from New York to the little country town of Appleton, Indiana – "The Lamest Place in the World". It’s all a bit too much! How will he celebrate this important birthday in a country town where he doesn’t know anyone. In a bid to get in with ‘cool kids’, he learns that "What It Means be a Friend" is more important than being popular.

Bosom Buddies

Devised by Peter J Adams. Director: Jason Langley. Musical Director: Michael Tyack. Christine Dunstan Productions. Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, Qld. 25 May 2018, and touring.

Toowoomba’s crown-jewel, the art-deco Empire Theatre, was host to two of Australia’s musical theatre crown jewels when Nancye Hayes and Todd McKenney, in their only Queensland performance, presented their two-hander theatrical walk down memory lane Bosom Buddies.

To hold an audience on stage for one-hour is a feat and a half, to do it for over two-hours requires not only stamina but amazing talent, and Hayes and McKenney have bucket-loads of both.

Frank Forbes & the Yahoo Boy

Written and Directed by Matt Hawkins. South Australian Playwrights Theatre. Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide. 23 May – 2 June, 2018.

Can a piece of theatre cross cultures and manage to entertain audiences all along the demographical spectrum? Can it do so by combining elements of serious drama and character detail with almost-farcical comedy? This one certainly can.

Centering around the by-now familiar news story of a Westerner targeted by an online scammer in Africa and persuaded to part with a substantial amount of money, writer/director Matt Hawkins brings mature insight and a perceptive eye to his multi-dimensional story. He also regularly manages to make us laugh – sometimes uproariously!

The Pillowman

By Martin McDonagh. Patalog Collective. Chapel off Chapel. 22 – 27 May 2018.

Horror can have an inescapable fascination; cleverness and humour can be irresistible; and story twists can be riveting.  Such are elements of The Pillowman, a seductive work of Martin McDonagh’s very individual imagination.

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