Reviews

The set, the work of Jake Sanger, is enticing. The Victorian parlour, however, is not all that it seems, much like the conflicted man, Lewis Carroll. Projections and back lighting augment scenes in which Chris Hamley, as Carroll, narrates his tales. These are played out by an ensemble of three highly capable and versatile actors with great energy and humour.

These playfully mad episodes are juxtaposed against darker scenes in which Carroll appears to confront other demons.

If you missed Penrith’s Seussical then you missed a spectacular treat. This big bold musical that brings together major characters from the books of Dr Seuss was not only fantastic quality entertainment but was also a lesson in crowd management. There were 91 in the cast and whenever all or most of them were on stage (which was lots of times) they were positioned in such a way so that each one could always be easily seen. I don’t know how directors Bek Want and Brenden Neaton achieved this feat and made it look easy.

Be More Chill is a relatively new musical, based on Ned Vizzini's novel of the same name, with a book by Joe Tracz and Music and Lyrics by Joe Iconis. Strangely for a show which is yet to have a Broadway (or even Off-Broadway) run, it also has an “underground” or cult following, which has led to capacity houses and requiring Musical Director Krispin Maesalu to make (an obviously 'once burned' announcement) that audience members are requested not to sing along “even if you DO know all the words”.

Babirra Music Theatre was at its absolute best again. Though Singin’ in the Rain is not a great piece of theatre, with its two dimensional characters and melodramatic story line, it is a delightful romp and has some spectacular dance sequences.

It started with a film being shown during the overture, introducing the main characters, which was a nice touch.