Cinderella: A Traditional Christmas Pantomime - Zealous Productions (22 December 2021)

If the success of a pantomime can be measured by the level of audience interaction then Dixie Johnstone’s Zealous Productions has a hit on its hands. The large number of children at today’s matinee were wildly enthusiastic and fully engaged throughout the entire opening show. No small feat for a production that runs some two hours. Many of the shouted remarks were funny in the way only kids can make them. My favourite was the boy who kept referring to Cinderella’s friend Buttons (Tate Bennett) as “Button Boy”.

This level of participation in all the traditional hallmarks of a panto is set up and encouraged by a wonderfully talented cast that is having a whale of a time. The youngsters catch on to the call and response nature of the show almost immediately. They heartily booed the Baroness (Penny Shaw), squealed in warning as instructed whenever anyone went near Buttons’ gift-wrapped present, and were delighted by the exemplary wand waving antics of the Fairy Godmother (Elethea Sartorelli) who conjures up the magic to make dreams come true. I’m not sure what they made of the ugly step-sisters Danni (Brendan Hanson) and Fanny (John O’Hara) who supplied more of the sly adult asides to keep the grown-ups chuckling. But I do know they were enchanted by Amber Scates who is thoroughly likeable as the put-upon Cinderella before transforming into the beautiful ‘Princess Starlight’ as she attends the prince’s ball. There she meets Prince Charming himself, played with winning, well, charm by a dashing Ethan Jones.

Lachlan Obst plays Dandini, the prince’s manservant, with alliterative dexterity while Robert Hofmann adds a little Ol Blue Eyes himself as the henpecked Baron. Then there’s the ensemble of Bri Caracciolo, Georgina Charteris, Tory Kendrick, and Phoebe Tempra who revel in Allen Blachford’s choreography and add vocal punch to the bigger numbers.

Sartorelli and Bennett drive the plot machinations and set the tone from the very beginning. Bennett is so affable that he instantly has the audience in the palm of his hand. It’s a winning turn and I was happy to see him (and Tory Kendrick) outside taking photos with starstruck children immediately after the show finished. I understand there will be a rotating roster of performers doing this after each show which is a real treat for the youngsters. Sartorelli is joyous as the Fairy Godmother and irresistible when the wand becomes a faux microphone as she belts out One Night Only as the first act closer, a memorable highlight.

The other major highlight comes in the second act and reminded me why I love theatre. For all the broad humour, witty puns, panto antics, and pretend magic, when Jones and Scates duet on Rewrite the Stars it is actually magical in a way you only get onstage. Beautifully sung and heartfelt with a gorgeous backdrop, both performers look amazing in costumes by Brooklyn Rowcroft and sound divine.

The show itself looks great – from the costuming to clever lighting (Brad Voss) and set design (John Johnstone) – with real treats such as Cinderella’s ball gown, the pumpkin inspired carriage and its horses, and midnight looming over every moment with a large clock backdrop. The makeup (Manuao TeAotonga) and wigs (Pip) are bold and delightfully garish in the case of Danni and Fanny. It took me a full ten minutes to recognise Hanson and I only discovered it was O’Hara as Fanny whilst consulting the digital program at the interval! I love that and the two of them gleefully chewed more scenery than all of the Jaws films combined.  

There is a mixture of live band (Tommi Flamenco, Alex Barker & Jarrad Van Dort) and recorded tracks under Musical Director Joshua Webb with well-known songs from Madonna, Beyonce, Sinatra and Kool and the Gang amongst others. Director Peter Cumins keeps proceedings moving briskly though he allows plenty of room for such a talented cast to play to the audience and improvise where necessary.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the surprise cameo of ‘John from Subiaco’ who caught the eye of Danni from the second row. He played it pretty cool but I believe stardom could be just around the corner.

Sure, not all the puns and jokes land and there is a scattershot approach to various Perth references shoehorned into the script but this is a fun production that the children adored. With the breadth of talent on display it’s also well worthwhile for us bigger kids. A strong recommend for a family friendly outing during the holiday season.

Now playing at the Regal Theatre in Subiaco at 1pm and 6pm 23-24 & 28-29 December.

Nevermore - The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe - Grey Lantern Productions (1 December 2021)

An old adage familiar to writers is “write what you know”. Now, we can debate the soundness of that advice (it can and does lead to pedestrian material if another key ingredient, imagination, isn’t engaged) but what if all you know is loss, abandonment, and addiction along with an (un)healthy dose of the macabre? The result is the works of Edgar Allan Poe, a key figure in American literature. This dazzling production tells his story in a highly stylised manner through song and verse. It plays, to use modern film parlance, as a biopic covering Poe’s life from his birth, loss of his parents (mother died, father left) to the Allan’s taking him in to the various women in his life, to his struggle to be published, and eventually Poe’s death. It also asks the question about how much the creations of his imagination and life experience influence him by the fact of their very existence at his hand. It’s a heady brew.

I admit, it took me a while to lock into this production as it’s quite dense and demands your full attention. This was compounded somewhat by the onstage orchestra (more of them later but they played beautifully) sometimes obscuring the plentiful lyrics. Once it clicked for me though, it proved to be a wonderfully satisfying experience, theatrically and intellectually. It’s a smart show and director Lorna Mackie has created a precise and striking production. It’s no coincidence that the rehearsal period was twice the length of a usual undertaking.

The precision is evident in all departments. The look of the show is unique and arresting, from Therese Cruise’s memorable costumes (including the representation of perhaps Poe’s most famous creation, The Raven, which gave a couple of audience members heart palpitations at one point!) to the monochromatic makeup by Andrea Lim that adds an eeriness especially under Mackie’s lighting design. The set design is sparse to say the least in the black box space, deliberately so to enhance the performers’ look and movements. The orchestra under Musical Director Maddison Moulin adds so much mood and atmosphere with an excellent score, violin and cello at the fore. Choreography by Anita Lawrence is also sparsely utilised but when it is the result is hypnotic.

The show is structured using another filmic device – there is a key moment at the beginning where the Players assail Edgar Allan Poe (Cal Silberstein) before we flashback to tell his life story and eventually catch up to that point in time again where certain revelations are made. To aid this there is a literal Book of Poe’s life that each of the players will take turns throughout the show to narrate key moments in rhyming verse.

Silberstein is excellent as Poe representing his trauma and sense of loss through plaintive song and an aura of melancholy. Brief moments of joy are allowed to intrude when Poe is with his siblings or Elmira (Erin Craddock) who seems to be his true love and the one who understands Poe's darker impulses. Silberstein plays the most grounded character as larger than life figures swirl around him and there are times he literally pleads to the audience as he sings.

The other six “players” take on multiple roles as well as narrating duties. Daniel Burton brings gravitas and his booming voice to authority figures such as John Allan; Arianne Westcott-King generally plays the more sympathetic female characters from Poe’s younger sister to his wife (and cousin) Sissy who dies of tuberculosis. Simon Brett is always lurking as almost an omniscient presence with an excellent singing voice and Zac Bennett-McPhee is most notable as Poe’s brother Henry. Craddock brings a mischievously dark energy as Elmira while Charlotte Louise deploys an incandescent smile, enhanced by the makeup, in multiple ways – sinister, wickedly gleeful, occasionally sympathetic – as generally the mother figures in the story. The seven of them work wonderfully well together, vocally and in their highly coordinated movement.

The highlight is when all these elements fuse perfectly in a stunning rendition of the famous poem The Raven, performed as song. I confess, when the first verse began it was like a crackle of electricity straight from the stage to the audience.

Mention must go to the individual orchestra members who formed a character in and of itself at the back of the stage – Moulin, Shaun Davis, Jade Henderson, Jack Duffy, Suresh Manievannan, Emily Gelineau and Liz Moss. Book, Lyrics, and Music are by Jonathan Christenson.

There are only four more shows of this highly original and striking work – Thursday and Friday nights with two shows on Saturday at the Subiaco Arts Centre. I would recommend getting along to see this theatrical treat with a cracking cast and orchestra working in a beautifully staged environment.

Bright Star - WAAPA (2nd Year Musical Theatre) - 13 November 2021

The second-year cohort introduced themselves to the public with this toe-tapping and thoroughly charming production written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. I was delighted by its slow southern drawl and banjo-picking depiction of North Carolina in the 1920s and 1940s as the ramifications of a harrowing personal event are played out. Aspects of the story do strain credulity but it’s carried by an excellent score and such enthusiasm that you can discard such misgivings. 

All departments are on top of their game, from the wooden beams and crates of the main set design (Charlotte Meagher) that reminded me of a huge barn; to the eight-piece orchestra (MD Craig Dalton) that added so much to the pace and mood of the story. The music brings an authenticity of time and place, reinforced by the period costuming of Nicole Denholm. It's a handsome production with the lighting design (Shannon O’Neill) creating additional locations, notably the riverside. Kudos to sound designer Dale Kerrison, especially during a critical reveal in the second half. 

There are joyous moments aplenty as the orchestra ups the tempo and choreographer Jayne Smeulders has the cast kick up their heels in such numbers as 'Another Round'. But Director Adam Mitchell also brings plenty of dramatic chops to the darker elements; one set on a train that actually had my jaw drop as a terrible act unfolds. 

Then there’s the cast. It’s always a joy to see a new cohort for the first time and there are plenty of bright stars amongst this group. The vocal talent of the principals is outstanding with all of them embracing the southern twang but I was particularly impressed with Brittany Carter as the older, officious Alice Murphy; Madeleine Betts as the younger, more playful Alice; Sarah Monteau as the lovelorn Margo; and Campbell Parsons who has a voice dipped in molasses and was superb as Jimmy Ray. Betts and Parsons, one of the key couples, have excellent chemistry with ‘What Could Be Better’ a highlight, followed soon after by Betts unleashing a powerhouse vocal performance in the gripping ‘Please, Don’t Take Him’. Mentions also to Jackson Britza as the earnest writer Billy Cane freshly returned from war and Hayley Parnaby who provides comic relief and pizzaz as Lucy Grant. 

While I’d expect the singing to be good (here it’s fantastic), it’s the quality of the acting that surprised me. The nature of the story means there’s nowhere to hide with the emotional stakes involved and the cast handles those aspects well. There’s a quiet moment, for example, where Carter’s Alice lies to her father (Anthony Garcia) to spare him further pain which is beautifully handled.

The musical wraps up perhaps a little too neatly but I left the Roundhouse Theatre with only one word on my mind – wow!