Seussical

There’s something special about an opening night that’s not only an opening night but also the opening night of a society’s first-time production. And so it was with Camden Musical Society’s opening night of Seussical. Something of a formal affair, with society president Craig Davidson zhuzhed-up in bow tie and giving a short speech prior to performance, in front of a full audience that included many local councillors.

The Western Sydney Airport and attendant suburbs in the Macarthur region have seen the Camden Local Government Area become the fastest growing LGA in Australia. With the only other two theatre groups in the area (one of which I run) not being able to properly serve the needs of the growing population, it seemed inevitable that a new company would arise to match the influx of talent.

This was a great production, packed with colour, vitality, fun, and talent. And boy, such talent! First-time director Melissa Musgrave has worked hard with M.D. Sally Quinnell and choreographer Joy Pennock to craft a production that amply displays the amount of talent the area has to offer. Adding to the challenge was that blocking had to be done in accordance with Covid restrictions, not only those in place by the government but also extra limits imposed by the venue’s owners.

Yet Melissa Musgrave and the creative team still made it work. Sally Quinnell adapted the show’s Broadway harmonies in a way that excellently suited the younger untrained voices, and the cast’s singing was lovely to hear. Joy Pennock’s choreography cleverly reflects the wackiness of the characters and situations, and Craig Davidson (he sure gets around) created a clever and effective lighting design.

There are some superb visual delights – the underwater sequence of McGelligot’s Pool is a highlight with the dancing sea creatures. And there are some funny visual gags that looked like they escaped straight out of a woftam show. I half-expected a rubber chook to cameo.

There is a double cast. I saw both – one on opening night and the other the following day. Both casts are equally excellent, with each bringing out different aspects of their characters. Two of the cast are in both groups: Peter Gollop nailed it as the Mayor of Whoville, and like the rest of the leads always in character and pitch perfect. Dean Irwin - no stranger to playing cats - was stellar as the Cat in the Hat, and his clever adlibs added spark to the proceedings. There were a couple of times he was racing the backing tracks to fit in his adlibs, which meant these bits came out rushed, but on the whole the adlibs landed (even the naughty ones with Gertrude’s limp feather and Melania Trump that would have gone over the kid’s heads). Some of the lesser-experienced/first timer cast didn’t always fully commit to their character but this was due to a lack of experience, and their talent and enthusiasm more than made up for it. It’s good that CMS is taking a nurturing role with the untrained talent. And the cute under-10s in the cast just stole the show.

The show was let down by two things beyond the society’s control: sound and accoustics. Opening night and the matinee had too many pops, bursts of white noise, dead mics, and feedback issues. The Civic Centre is an all-purpose function centre. The problem with that is the venue is not a purpose-built theatre and acoustically not suited for musicals. It’s like performing in the Echo Chamber of Doom. The first few front rows will be ok, but to the side, middle, and back of the hall it's like hearing the cast at most times through cotton wool, no matter how hard the sound techs scrambled to make them heard. This was despite it being obvious the cast were clearly enunciating. As a quick fix I suggest the society print a programme insert that gives the plot of the show: I’ve seen the show before and still had difficulty following story points due to the sound and acoustics clogging them up. I can’t stress enough these issues are not the fault of the society.

Regardless, it was amazing how the cast still kept performing without dropping character and were determined to entertain us. And entertain they certainly did. The applause at the end was more than well-deserved and the society proved that anything is possible. I hope Camden Council notices the great potential it has here and will support the society and provide an appropriate theatre or at least accoustic panelling (side note, I hear the planned performance space at Camden’s Gregory Hills has now been re-zoned for a cinema. The Macarthur region so far has 26 cinemas. Are we really hard up for more?)

This society deserves our support. Go see them. Congratulations to all involved.

Peter Novakovich