Showing posts with label Jersey Boys Melbourne Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jersey Boys Melbourne Review. Show all posts

Die Fledermaus Opera Australia

Posted by Should I See It on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 , under , , , , , , | comments (0)





Show: Die Fledermaus
Presented By: Opera Australia
Directed By: Lindy Hume
Starring: Antoinette Halloran, David Hobson, Amelia Farrugia
Date Reviewed: Friday 14 May, 7.30pm
Plot: I’m not even going to tell you the plot, because really there isn’t much of it, this show is all about farce, silliness and fun.


I was very excited to see Die Fledermaus as part of my subscription to Opera Australia. But this production of Die Fledermaus is a bit of a mixed bag.

The show starts off well enough. Actually, Act I works very well even with the complete translation into English. I didn’t even mind setting the show in the 1930s. It added a touch of class, glamour and sophistication. The direction is energetic and there is a pizzazz that carries the whole thing.

Then, unfortunately interval happens. All the energy and whim that made Act I so enjoyable somehow disappears. And the questionable directorial choces begin.

What the HELL is Cole Porter’s ‘Night and Day’ doing in a Strauss Opera???? And don’t even get me started on the random appearance of Marlene Dietrich in the party scene in Act II. Well, I know what it was doing there; It was meant to capture the ‘flavour’ of the thirties. Unfortunately their addition sat at odds with the rest of the show. And it doesn’t help that Yvonne Kenny sounded like a drag queen and completely managed to ruin a perfectly lovely song. If you are going to the trouble of adding a song (God knows why you would want to do that to Strauss, I’m sure he’s probably turning in his grave) why don’t you just put it in a key she can sing it (oh, I know she was actually trying to sound like Marlene Dietrich, but why ANYONE would WANT to sound like her is beyond me). And it didn’t help that it was accompanied by some seriously awkward choreography that made the whole song far more painful than it needed to be.

And then there was the random “let’s put in all of Strauss’ famous waltzes so we can have a pointless dance scene where the leading actors, their dialogue and the plot get completely lost!!!” scene which seemed to go FOREVER. And then there was a very big misstep of the extended third act opening, which included interaction with the conductor and concluded with an extract of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game.’

There is not a lot of plot to begin with, and with all of the (unnecessary) additions to the second and third acts, as well as TWO intermissions for a running time that totals 3 hours and 15 minutes, the plot and the momentum get completely lost (much like the purpose of this sentence). In making these decisions, director Lindy Hume managed to suck all the energy and freshness out of the show, leaving the rest of it less than satisfactory.

There were a few high points: The sets were remarkable. They perfectly captured the style of the era. Amelia Farrugia as house maid Adele was the stand out performance of the night.. Loving the hammy characterisation- clearly enjoying herself and the audience enjoys watching her. Also charming, well actually HILARIOUS was Stephen Smith as Italian lover, Alfredo.

The rest of the cast were decent, but not outstanding. Antoinette Halloran flubbed several of her big notes, and David Hobson was not nearly as debonair as the role needed him to be.

This could have been a fabulous show, but some unfortunate decision making left this production as merely decent.





Should I See It?

Well, it's not a must see.


Opera Australia Official Site here.

Jersey Boys Melbourne Review

Posted by Should I See It on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 , under , , , , , | comments (2)





Show: Jersey Boys. Princess Theatre, Melbourne.
Plot: The story of Frankie Valli and the four seasons as told by each of its members; Tommy DeVito, Bob Gaudio, Nick Massi and Frankie Vali.
Starring: Bobby Fox, Scott Johnson, Stephen Mahy and Glaston Toft. Date Reviewed: Sunday 8th November, 6.00pm. Please Note: At this performance the role of Frankie Valli was played by Gareth Keegan.

I have to admit I was sceptical of Jersey Boys. Yet another Jukebox Musical? A redeeming fact was that it won the Tony Award in 2006 for Best New Musical, beating out The Colour Purple, The Drowsy Chaperone and The Wedding Singer. But, after seeing a performance clip from the Tony Awards, I was convinced that four guys standing behind microphones could not make a good musical.

Boy, am I glad to be wrong!

It’s premise, we are told in the opening by Tommy DeVito: “You ask four guys how it happened, you get four different versions.” What results is an energetic, fast paced, entertaining night at the theatre. It is full of songs you didn’t know you new.

At the centre of the show are four wonderful performances. Gareth Keegan as Frankie Valli seamlessly transforms from wide eyed innocent to strong, independent leader. Stephen Mahy is incredibly warm as a softer spoken Bob Gaudio, the writing talent that drove The Four Seasons to the top of the charts. Glaston Toft, as mostly silent Nick Massi, can certainly tell a joke. But the real star is Scott Johnson, who has the shows best role as trouble maker Tommy DeVito. He gets the best lines, the best story arc, and Johnson carries it all with a bravado you can't help but like. The chemistry between the four leads is crucial. There’s something about the four of them together that is believable.

But the magic really begins when they sing together. They blend magnificently producing a full, smooth sound. My favourite scene would be, funnily enough, the first time they sing together. There is a simplicity to the staging of “Cry for Me” that lets the vocals shine, and gets to the heart of what Jersey Boys is about: the music.



I must also give major kudos to the supporting cast. All of whom inhabited the plethora of bit parts so well, that it made it seem as though there was an endless supply of actors waiting in the wings.

As with all Jukebox Musicals, music is an imperative part of the show. However, in this case, the music is able to transcend the jukebox musical trope of music for music’s sake, and actually drive the story. The music is the plot.

Jersey Boys is often described as a documentary musical; but is a documentary of the music as well as The Four Seasons. The music acts more like a soundtrack, often used to reflect the characters emotions, rather than as an expression of that emotion as traditional musical theatre would.

However, when the music does venture to being used in the traditional musical theatre sense, it is very jarring. I am specifically re thinking of “Oh What A Night”- the first song to be explicitly used out of the “Soundtrack mode” of the rest of the show. Oh, I get the joke of "Oh What A Night" as Bob Gaudio tells of the night he loses his virginity, but it is incredibly jarring I context with the rest of the show. And for such an up tempo number it seemed incredibly under-staged.

The show is incredibly tight. It demonstrates the polish that other major musicals (*cough* Wicked *cough*) lacked. The tightness of the material and the creativity of the staging is what is behind the success of the show.



A few minor complaints: The Jersey accents were inconsistent. Every character broke accent several times. Stephen Mahy was the worst offender (even though he was doing more of a generic American accent, not a Jersey accent like the rest of the cast.

Also the balance of sound was off. Several numbers suffered from over amplification, leaving the audience struggling to hear the lead vocals.

My only other complaint was that the audience was not informed that understudy Gareth Keegan would by playing Frankie Valli. This is not meant as an insult to Mr Keegan in any way, I enjoy seeing understudies and I enjoyed his performance. I only bring this up because in the American theatres, the audience must be notified two of three ways if an understudy is performing.- 1. An understudy board, 2. A program slip, 3. An announcement prior to the commencement of the show. None of which was done by the Princess Theatre. The audience should know which performer they are seeing, especially if there is a substitution for the LEAD.

Should I See it?
Do not miss it. Oh what a night.



Jersey Boys is currently playing at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne. Official Site here.