Playground

Nick Hedger, Nick Hedger, Nick Hedger….I’m saying the name three times so that you never have any excuse to say you don’t remember it. Of course, if you’ve already been exposed to Hedger’s astonishing talent, there is no way you could ever forget it.

Playground is a showcase of music theatre pieces from the 6 ( yes SIX) shows that Nick has written to date – and he’s still only 23 (what does he do in his spare time?) This frighteningly gifted composer/ lyricist/ librettist/ arranger/ musical director/ actor/singer has assembled an all star cast of fellow WAAPA graduates (all bar one) for this offering which is set in a playground and loosely tied together by the themes of connection, young relationships and longing for home. The songs are lyrically sophisticated and witty, with an effervescent sense of youth. Musically they are astonishingly diverse and play with dissonance and harmonies, always with a twist of the unexpected. Hedger’s style will develop as the years go on; you can see the musical differences between The Little Match Girl ( when he was 16!) and his current work Homesick (still in development, but based on the Black Saturday bushfires). Right now his work is not derivative, but it is in the same mould as the great Jason Robert Brown, and that’s not a bad place to be.

Apart from the great voice of Hedger himself, who also directs the excellent band and stays at the piano for the entire show, the line-up of talent is a sheer delight. There’s the magical Emily Langridge – soon to be seen as Cosette in the new production of Les Misérables; Kerrie Anne Greenland, who will join her playing Eponine (what a marvel her version of “On My Own” will be!) and Erin Kennedy, who will also join the cast of that iconic show, and brings the same maturity she has added to many shows over the past couple of years. The blokes are equally well represented. The marvellous Brent Hill (Green Room award for Rock Of Ages and a Helpmann nominee), is joined by Ben Nicolson, another WAAPA wunderkind who was part of the World Premiere last week of Atlantis. Andrew “Hondro” Hondromatidis is the only ring –in, a graduate of The University of Ballarat Arts Academy, who was part of the cast of South Pacific last year.

With this stellar cast, there were bound to be some standouts musically: Brent Hill and Kerrie Ann Greenwood are magic in the duet “Hot Night”; the astonishing “Perfectly Imperfect” gives “Hondro” a chance to excel. “Worth The Breath” is a stunning ballad performed beautifully by the three girls; and the hilarious “Golden Rule” – a song about etiquette in a men’s urinal, gives Brent full scope for his comic skills. “Back in Salem”, with the three men playing witches brought back to life for a “Temptations” style choreographed delight almost stopped the show, and Ben Nicolson’s two songs from “Homesick” were touching and poignant. All of Nick’s performances were beyond superlatives.

You won’t have heard any of these songs, but if you love Musical Theatre you should. The depth of talent in Melbourne theatre in particular right now just beggars belief, and these are the musicals you will be paying hundreds of dollars to see in a few years time. The fact that I’ve witnessed Playground and Matthew Robinson’s Atlantis in the same week is almost surreal and I feel very privileged. Back in the “Old Days” before social media, physical word of mouth was how reputations were made and bums put on seats. These days, show runs like this are shorter (3 performances only in this case) and we need social media to spread the word. Cancel your party tonight….or get there at 6.30 on Sunday. Share on Facebook or tweet your friends. Spread the word, buy a ticket, storm Chapel off Chapel if you have to. This is very special and you deserve to see it.

Coral Drouyn