Hairspray - HAMA Productions (18 September 2024)

There's a reason Hairspray won 8 Tony Awards in 2003 including Best Musical. The songs are terrific, it has an upbeat tempo, a crowd-pleasing ending, and positive messages about inclusion, body image, and speaking up for what is right no matter what the odds. I first saw it on stage in 2012 at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre and it quickly became one of my favourite musicals.

That community theatre production went on to win four Finley Awards and is notable for a couple of other reasons - it featured a certain Jason Arrow as Seaweed who would later originate the Australian role of Alexander Hamilton in the mega-hit musical; and Tate Bennett, in the ensemble here, was Finley nominated for his portrayal of Corny Collins.    

Twelve years later and the show is getting a lavish staging at the Crown Theatre. In the lead up to the run I watched all the announcements on social media with growing interest as a stellar roster of performers and creatives was being assembled under Vincent Hooper who directed last year's All Shook Up at Crown. This is an exceptionally talented company and, significantly, the number of people who are either from WA or trained here is impressive. 

Perth doesn't get all the big touring shows - the aforementioned Hamilton has literally been everywhere else but Perth - so the importance of producing a local show that can credibly fill the spacious Crown Theatre can't be understated. It showcases our homegrown talent, entices expatriates to come back, and signals to the professionals recruited from interstate that there are viable opportunities westwards. 

The show is deep into its run and there are no signs of any of the early teething problems that may have been evident on opening night. The sound balance between vocals and orchestra is good though I would have liked a little more volume in the big, set piece numbers. Lyrics are concise, set transitions slick, and the production feels like it's in a comfortable rhythm.  

With a big venue comes the need for big production values and it's clear that the instruction has been to dial everything up to eleven - big performances and big hair with a larger-than-life look in everything from costuming to lighting design and the set itself. 

There's no doubt this is a visual treat. I may be colour blind but Lucy Birkinshaw's lighting bathes the performers with such vibrancy and sheer style that even I was gawking with approval. The set by Michael McVeigh is a marvel of highly detailed and functional trucks and other elements that put us in this stylised version of 1962 Baltimore. The studio where the Corny Collins Show is aired feels like a fairy-tale land; visually and, more importantly, thematically as the views and values of the Von Tussles are at odds with the reality of a diverse America. Costumes and wigs by Marina Del Basso are bold and bright though I'm not sure about the exaggerated bouffant that adorned the head of Corny Collins. That one felt too over the top for mine but it's a minor quibble. 

Choreographer Thern Reynolds joins forces with Hooper once more and the results are again outstanding. Movement and dance styles are an integral part of the story and the delineation is done well before it all comes together in the toe-tapping finale. The 13 piece orchestra under Musical Director Harry Oliff does tremendous justice to the Tony-winning score which is infectious.

What struck me at today's matinee is how well matched pivotal pairings are throughout the show. First and foremost is Paige Fallu who is simply tremendous as Tracy Turnblad. Fallu sings beautifully, radiates enthusiasm, and has genuine chemistry with John Berry's Link Larkin. Berry has all the moves and matinee idol looks in a role that subverts the expectations those attributes bring. Their work together is excellent as the backbone of the show.

Chelsea Plumley and Elaina O'Connor are the presumptive villains of the piece, Velma and Amber Von Tussle. Plumley delights in chewing the scenery while O'Connor is increasingly honing her fine comic instincts to enhance genuine leading lady talent.

Rob Palmer, in what may pass as celebrity casting, is more Travolta than Fierstein as Edna Turnblad. He gives a good account of himself and his rendition of (You're) Timeless To Me with a suitably goofy Brendan Hanson as Wilbur develops into a funny and charming highlight with both performers revelling in the audience response. 

Bella McSporran and Jacob Steen increasingly become a potent combination as Penny and Seaweed. That 'transgressive' relationship is well handled and greatly appreciated by a modern audience who audibly gasped at many of the supposed societal norms from over sixty years ago.

Then there are two standout performers who bring the charm in Joshua Firman's Corny Collins and the vocal authority in Paula Parore as Motor Mouth Maybelle. Firman plays the host to perfection while Parore starts slowly with the best number - I Know Where I've Been - building until it flowers into an irresistible powerhouse of an anthem. 

Outrageous talent abounds in smaller parts and the ensemble with performers such as Bennett as well as Ethan Churchill and Tory Kendrick who only a few months ago were playing the leads in Saturday Night Fever. Adding to the embarrassment of riches are local luminaries Elethea Sartorelli and Tim How in a multitude of roles.  

Vincent Hooper, producers Marina Del Basso and Hamish McSporran have assembled a first class company in all aspects. The show is bright, entertaining, bold, and sounds terrific. I suspect that after this and All Shook Up, an annual Hooper directed musical might become a Crown tradition. Here's hoping...

Hairspray is on at the Crown Theatre until 28 September. 

Sleeping Beauty - Zealous Productions (20 December 2023)

On the drive home after a fun night at the theatre my mind wanders to two topics. One is how savvy Zealous Productions and Founder/Creative Director Dixie Johnstone are when it comes to staging these big, end-of-year pantomimes; the other is the wonderful impact they have on their audience. The two go hand in hand and there's no doubt that the Christmastime panto is making a mark on the Perth theatrical scene. Let's start with the savvy...

First and foremost they feature top line talent both onstage and off. Yes, the shows may be silly in nature but the creative skill involved is formidable. Then there's the commitment to local talent but also nurturing the next generation of stars with a willingness to cast performers who've only graduated from WAAPA mere weeks ago in key roles. In this case, Cameron Taylor who plays Prince Frederick the First of Fremantle... son of King Kevin the Kourageous of Kwinana, obviously. 

Stage the shows at the Regal Theatre in Subiaco, a big venue that will attract big crowds as the quality of the production makes itself apparent with the right content at the right time of year. Ratchet everything up to eleven from the choreography (Allen Blachford) to the lighting (Richard Timms), the costuming (Katie Elizabeth Williams) and wigs & makeup (Manuao Teatonga), the choice of musical numbers, the eagerness to embrace the silliness and engage an audience of all ages, and, perhaps most notably, have fun doing it. In all this Sleeping Beauty is a major success. 

The roster of talent is undeniable and there's clearly a core group of trusted creatives and performers the company keep returning to. For good reason. They're bloody good at what they do. Brendan Hanson who played one of the 'ugly step-sisters' in Cinderella two years ago is back as director this time. He knows the rhythms and key beats of any good pantomime and plays up to those elements with aplomb. The call and response is set up early. The positioning of key items on stage and their significance is made clear. The good and evil of it all is established with clarity. Hanson also sets up the eighties vibe from the get go with a Cyndi Lauper classic that acts almost as a mission statement for the show. Girls, goblins, princes, fairies, evil sidekicks, and Cameron from the front row all just wanna have fun.  

Musical Director and Arranger Joshua James Webb runs with the retro theme to deliver the perfect mix tape of well-known songs tailor made for the vocal talent he has on hand. And, oh my goodness, what voices they are, crisply presented with sound design by Michael Fletcher. Amongst all the zaniness there comes a time when a gem emerges and here it's A Thousand Years by Christina Perri that is beautifully sung by Taylor and Joshua Firman. But such interludes of quiet introspection are rare because there are aisles to be danced in and wands to be waved to a diet of classics such as You Can't Hurry Love, The Loco-motion, a wonderful mashup of Aretha Franklin's Think and Respect by the duelling fairies Fairy Nuff (Maree Cole) and Carabosse (Elethea Sartorelli), Time Warp, Holding Out For A Hero, and many more before we end with a Wham classic (don't worry Whamageddon devotees, you're safe) and a Christmas staple. My favourite was the arrangement of I Put A Spell On You, a song perhaps made most famous by Nina Simone, that Sartorelli makes her own in the most delightful of character driven ways.

There is an embarrassment of riches with the whole cast - Amy Fortnum looks and sounds divine as Princess Beauty and has a wonderful sequence with Firman during a quintessential 80s movie song. Maree Cole establishes and maintains the fun tone immediately with her good fairy. Sartorelli is glorious as the evil fairy who reminded me of Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein... if Blucher held a twenty one year old grudge and owned a schpinning veel. Firman is a crowd favourite as the loyal court jester who mysteriously turns into John Howard a hundred years hence before regaining his vim. Timothy How revels in one of pantomime's great traditions playing Queen Doreen with imperious scorn, never more so than when puns fall flat which is bound to happen when they're being fired off with machinegun regularity. Taylor prances around as any brave prince should while Tate Bennett slinks in evildom as Lurgy. They're supported by an excellent ensemble that enhance the energy and crowd interaction. Props too for ZP's regular band of Webb, Jarrad Van Dort, Tommi Flamenco & Alex Barker. 

As for the second part, the impact? This is where a little magic happened. I ended up talking to a lovely woman from a remote country town in South Australia who had brought along her young daughter to see the show. They were in Perth for a fortnight and had never been to a theatre production before. To watch her daughter dancing in the aisle, waving a fairy wand (purchased at interval), and to see the beaming smile on her face was absolutely priceless. She wanted to meet the cast and outside I saw her having a picture taken with Sartorelli and Cole, still in character, in another smart move by the company. There was a long queue down Rokeby Road of children with their parents waiting to do the same. What a gift for that young girl and what memories she might always retain. That is why shows like this are so vital and alive. I hope you remember it for a long time, Letty!

Sleeping Beauty runs right up until Christmas Eve with 1pm and 6pm shows each day. 

Theatregoing Year in Review - 2023

After a barren few years mainly due to the pandemic, 2023 saw me bounce back to more of a normal theatregoing clip. In all I managed to see 39 shows which is a fair effort considering I was tied up with screenwriting duties until April. I was approached to formally review 14 of those shows for this blog which is also somewhat of a comeback. 

In the past I used to publish end of year Top Ten lists for Musicals & Cabarets and for Plays along with performers, crew, and creatives who caught the eye. That was when I was seeing almost double the amount of shows in a year. This time I thought I'd set a task for myself and nominate ten productions of any format - in chronological order - and ten individuals who excelled. This proved to be extremely difficult as I saw a lot of excellent theatre this year with outstanding performances and contributions. So while these shows and individuals may be highlighted there were many more talented actors, musicians, directors, writers, crew members, and others who made the theatregoing experience the joy that it is.     

PRODUCTIONS

Le Nor [The Rain] - The Last Great Hunt (April)

I had missed this Helpmann nominated show on its initial run and could not have been more delighted to attend an encore season at the Studio Underground. About thirty minutes in my theatregoing and screenwriting brains momentarily lurched into gridlock because I couldn't process the sheer skill on display as an 'independent foreign film' was being made onstage before my eyes. Simply outstanding.

"I can't even begin to conceive of how much time, effort and thought went into piecing this all together. The choreography of performer and camera(s) is a dance in itself. The understanding of cinematic transitions and composition done completely live is exemplary. The wonderful use of light and shadow and silhouette. The acting is superb. The attention to detail exacting."

Footloose - WAAPA (June)

I'm used to WAAPA's mid-year musical being one of the highlights of the theatrical calendar but this year felt like a concerted effort to razzle dazzle. The number of guest artists and staff involved was notable as was the work of the Production & Design students across all departments in support of an outstanding graduating cohort of performers.  

"All these elements combine perfectly into the highlight of the show for mine, Somebody's Eyes, one of the best sequences I've seen on stage for quite some time. The show rockets into gear from that point onwards. My only complaint is that there was no pause for applause before the next scene as I would have clapped my hands off." 

Catch Me If You Can - Koorliny Arts Centre (June)

I was intrigued with how a musical adaptation of the Steven Spielberg movie would translate onstage only to be thoroughly entertained with a breezy show that took a meta approach that was colourful and slickly executed. 

"This is a show with a magnetic lead performance, an excellent supporting cast, and an ensemble who all look the part and play up to the inherent fun and sexiness of their multi-faceted roles. The numbers are breezy and well sung (Musical Director Kate McIntosh) with Director Katherine Freind delivering a high energy, brisk production that looks and sounds fantastic."

Zoo Story - Irish Theatre Players (July)

The last thing I expected on a Sunday afternoon was to be made to think so hard at the first of three one act plays at the Irish Club. And I loved them for it in this intriguing two-hander that was beautifully written (Edward Albee), acted and directed (Michael McCall).

"I loved the symbolism and thought behind the staging. The acting was excellent. [Patrick] Downes has the showier part, especially with the monologue that sees the character become increasingly unhinged but [Grant] Malcolm's silent reactions are equally impressive until his character explodes in the third stanza. Thought provoking and thematically rich."

A Chorus Line - Drew Anthony Creative (August)

Musical as character study and what a line-up of local talent there was to bring these characters to life. The show had me from the start and was a rollicking ride where the lack of an intermission was barely noticed. I'm aware there was some controversy over a role that had been excised for the first few shows but understand that was rectified for the rest of the run.

"I say all this because opening night of A Chorus Line made me feel so damn comfortable. Not because the seats at the Theatre Royale are so comfy (they are) or that the venue is ideal for an intimate viewing experience (it is) but because I immediately knew that I was in good hands. Trying to put it into words in the lobby after the show I equated it to sitting at home watching a prestige television series where you simply know that everything is going to be first rate and reward your attention. It was and it did."

Wise Children - WAAPA (September)

On entering the Roundhouse Theatre one of the third year acting cohort (who was not performing due to being cast in The Twelve) motioned at the stage and exclaimed, "look at it!" She was not wrong. The set was an outstanding playground for the actors to thrive in during this most theatrical of productions. 

"...director Adam Mitchell has pushed the students to perform 'large' and there's ribaldry and plenty of shtick to go around. This is aided by the work of choreographer and movement coach G Madison IV who puts the cast through their paces with mock fighting, dancing, and pratfalls. But there are also beautifully crafted moments of tragedy; one where blood is spilled and another that changes the fate of a character forever." 

Cats - WAAPA (September)

As an avowed Cats sceptic and somewhat of an ALW agnostic, I confess, I was not feeling the Jellicle of it all before the show. But damned if the third year musical theatre students didn't win me over, especially with a cracking second half that rocketed along with so much kinetic energy it was undeniable. 

"Two aspects are immediately apparent - this is a dance heavy production with Jayne Smeulders' stunning choreography testing the performers' stamina and athletic limits; and the music students in the 16 piece orchestra (including 5 staff members) under the baton of musical director Craig Dalton are featured as equally as the performers on stage."

Tick, Tick... Boom! - Arise Productions (October)

One of the surprises of the year was when a (film) director I work with declared that he loved the Andrew Garfield movie, listened to the soundtrack all the time, and on being told there was a live production coming up insisted we go. Who am I to argue when a show is this good?

"[Tate] Bennett's acting is superb as he tackles an array of emotions culminating in the song which builds until he's singing with such raw emotion and anger you feel Jon's pain radiate from the stage. It's a stunning sequence highlighting Bennett's acting and singing talent with accompaniment by Musical Director Taui Pinker on piano." 

Godspell - WAAPA (November)

The second year musical theatre students announced themselves to the wider theatregoing public like a thunderclap from on high in this outstanding introduction. The most impressive aspect was how cohesive a unit they already seem with a palpable sense of joy and camaraderie onstage. 

"What an introduction to the 2nd year musical theatre students at WAAPA with a terrific production of Godspell tonight. Brilliant singing, energy to burn, and a real sense of chemistry as a cohesive cohort already. This is going to be a fun group to follow next year." 

The Pillowman - Hayman Theatre Company (November)

The more I think about this extraordinary play the more I marvel at the high wire act playwright Martin McDonagh has pulled off. The writing is exceptional and all involved in the mounting of this production clearly reveled in bringing it to life. 

"Director Travis Koch has assembled an excellent company of Hayman alumni and existing students, both on and off the stage. From the look of the play, the sound of it, and the performances, this is exceptional independent theatre not for the fainthearted."

PRACTITIONERS

Bronte Frances (Performer) - Orlando (WAAPA)

Utterly magnetic as the titular character in a role that saw them effortlessly portray male and female versions in vastly different time periods no less. 

Barry Park (Director) - Private Lives (Old Mill Theatre), The York Realist (Garrick Theatre), The Normal Heart (GRADS)

From the scintillating wit of Noel Coward to the words unspoken in The York Realist and the roiling anger at the mishandling of the emerging AIDS crisis in The Normal Heart, Park had an excellent year, directing with intelligence and precision. 

Adriane Daff (Performer) - Le Nor [The Rain] (The Last Great Hunt)

If you told me Daff was the biggest movie star in Europe circa 1962 I would believe you based on her extraordinary performance in Le Nor. The camera simply adores her and she's equally adept at using the close-up and monologue to devastating effect. 

Bryan Woltjen (Set Designer) - Footloose (WAAPA), All Shook Up (Hama Productions)

Woltjen gave us the astounding multi-tiered set of Footloose at His Majesty's then a month later backed it up with another striking set for All Shook Up at Crown. Big spaces superbly presented to put us in very specific time periods and places with great clarity.

Joshua Firman (Performer) - Catch Me If You Can (Koorliny Arts Centre)

Perfectly cast in the lead role that Leonardo DiCaprio made famous in the movie, Firman has the charisma, stage presence, and joyous vocals to make us barrack for his wayward conman.

"Firman brings considerable charm, acting chops, and the best singing voice I have heard at Koorliny if not in all the community theatre shows I have attended over the years." 

Mia Simonette (Performer) - All Shook Up (Hama Productions)

The pivotal role on which all the Shakespearean plot complications rely on, Simonette gives a star making turn as the lovelorn Natalie and the blokey Ed.

"Simonette has an outstanding singing voice but the show doesn't work if she can't convincingly sell the... comedy and ensuing romantic chaos. This is where (she) excels, giving a wonderful performance." 

Sarah Halton (Set Designer & Costume Designer) - Wise Children (WAAPA)

Responsible for the visual feast that was Wise Children from the incredibly detailed and dressed set to the vast array of colourful costumes that added so much to the theatricality of the piece.

Tate Bennett (Performer) - Tick, Tick... Boom! (Arise Productions)

A blistering performance by Bennett in the lead role which builds in intensity until he's singing with such raw emotion and anger you feel the character's pain radiate from the stage. 

"Bennett immediately draws us in with a charming turn that is vulnerable, funny, confessional, anxious, sarcastic and, above all else, real. His singing is excellent with a vibrancy in both power and emotion. He grabbed the audience by the collective scruff of the neck and didn't let go."

Samuel Ireland (Performer) - The Pillowman (Hayman Theatre Company)

An outstanding performance that is emotionally and physically draining but never less than compelling in the intimate confines of the Hayman Theatre. 

"Ireland is rarely off-stage and conveys such a wide array of emotions, mostly in a heightened state, that he is physically drained by the end of the play... It's marvellous work."

Tadhg Lawrence (Performer) - Othello (GRADS)

Sly and confident, Lawrence draws the audience and unsuspecting characters into his orbit with ease making his character's intentions even more sinister.  

"The play is propelled by an excellent performance from Tadhg Lawrence... (who) plays Iago with great energy, cunning, and an affability that was disarming as he addressed the audience.

Finally, two names to watch for next year:

Ellen Ebbs who gave a compelling turn as 'JC' in Godspell; and Bridget Bourke who played the precocious Dolour Darcy in The Harp In The South: Part Two (WAAPA) with "wide-eyed enthusiasm and was always in the moment." 

Catch Me If You Can The Musical - Koorliny Arts Centre (14 June 2023)

The suit jacket. Elegant, refined, a mark of status and authority in the sixties. With the right jacket, well, you could be most anyone. A substitute teacher, an airline co-pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, even an FBI agent. After you served a few years in jail for bank fraud of course. It also helps if you have charm, confidence, and the ability to churn milk into butter, mouse-like. This is the tale that awaits us in the musical adaptation of the movie Catch Me If You Can, itself an adaptation of the book written by our charming protagonist Frank William Abagnale Junior. A young man who conned his way across America and beyond, cashing forged cheques that eventually totalled in the millions.

It is significant then that costuming plays a prominent role in this production staged at the Koorliny Arts Centre. Frank Jr. (Joshua Firman) is coming to us Live In Living Colour where his attire marks his progression from teenage runaway to notorious ‘paperhanger’ and all the professions he brazenly inhabits. By contrast, his nemesis, FBI agent Carl Hanratty, and his associates are doomed to don “black and white” as Hanratty doggedly pursues the con-man until the bitter end. It is a lovely touch when Firman sheds the garb of jacket (and tie) once Frank Jr’s goose is cooked and all pretence has finally been dropped.

The ensemble, even more so, is given a wonderful array of colourful and sixties-styled costumes from sleek airline hostess outfits to the risqué nurses’ uniforms in the Act 2 attention grabber Doctor’s Orders which sets young Frank’s heart all a flutter and jolts the audience out of any post-intermission lull. Excellent work by Head of Wardrobe Lyn Leeder and Costume Assistant Neroli Sweetman.

But back to our story. I rewatched the Spielberg movie starring Leo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, and Christopher Walken a couple of nights ago to familiarise myself again with the plot. I wondered how certain aspects would translate into a musical. The answer in the Book by Terrence McNally, Music by Marc Shaiman, and Lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman is to break the fourth wall, go meta and turn the whole thing into a ‘show’ and blast through exposition in the early musical numbers. It is all so breezy, fast paced, and cheeky that the conceit works an absolute treat. In this it is helped immeasurably by a swinging 60s-themed score, stylish choreography by Kate Leeder, and the substantial stage presence of Joshua Firman in the lead role.

Firman brings considerable charm, acting chops, and the best singing voice I have heard at Koorliny if not in all the community theatre shows I have attended over the years. He soars vocally in the penultimate song Goodbye and sings throughout with such joy that it is palpable. There is a twinkle in his eye which hints at the childlike wonder Frank Jr. feels when he lucks into his next con. But there is also the hurt over the failure of his parents’ marriage which is a contributing factor in Frank Jr’s behaviour.

He is well-matched with two other important performances. Chris Gerrish is excellent as the FBI agent determined to get his man, Carl Hanratty. Interestingly, a lot of the pathos in the tragic figure of Frank Sr. played with understated brilliance by Walken in the movie, is transferred to Hanratty in the musical. This is most apparent in the blues-infused number The Man Inside The Clues. Gerrish also excels leading the showy Don’t Break The Rules. The closing number Stuck Together (Strange But True) sees Firman and Gerrish play off each other to great effect and it’s clear that there is a real onstage camaraderie at work here.

The other performance is by Matilda Jenkins as Brenda Strong who appears as the love interest in the second act. Jenkins makes for a forthright and competent Brenda and has a show stopping moment with her wonderful solo Fly, Fly Away which echoed another Shaiman & Wittman song, I Know Where I’ve Been from Hairspray.

John Taylor gives a perfectly fine performance as Frank Abagnale Sr but the role as written somehow feels diminished. Here, Frank Sr. is pitched more as a man who falls into booze after his wife betrays him rather than a far more complicated and tragic figure in Frank Jr’s life. He shares a heartwarming father-son duet with Firman in Butter Outta Cream and, similarly, the confrontation between Frank Sr. and Hanratty turns into the buddy number Little Boy Be A Man.  In both cases the feel-good mood dictated by the overall tone of the musical undercuts the troubled nature of a man Frank Jr. looked up to and wanted to make whole again.

Other performances that caught the eye include Catherine Archer’s classily staged Don’t Be A Stranger and Rp van der Westhuizen’s bumbling agent who reminded me of an exaggerated version of Oscar Wallace played by Charles Martin Smith in The Untouchables.  

This is a show with a magnetic lead performance, an excellent supporting cast, and an ensemble who all look the part and play up to the inherent fun and sexiness of their multi-faceted roles. The numbers are breezy and well sung (Musical Director Kate McIntosh) with Director Katherine Freind delivering a high energy, brisk production that looks and sounds fantastic.

I would not be surprised if this show features heavily in Finley Award nominations at the end of the year. It is a shining example of the best of community theatre in Perth.

Once We Lived Here - The Blue Room Theatre & Western Sky Theatre (25 October 2017)

At the question and answer session following the Wednesday night performance Ryan Dawson (who plays Burke) and Megan Kozak (Lecy) indicated how difficult it is to sing with their natural Australian twang. They explained that most musicals are delivered with either an American or leastways neutral accent given the predominance of the US as a generator of this type of entertainment. How refreshing then to hear the unique sounds and vernacular of a homegrown Aussie musical no matter how difficult to maintain. There are lyrics and rhymes in Once We Lived Here that you wouldn’t hear created anywhere else in the world. For that alone this is a notable entry in the modern musical canon.

But the show is much more than that. The setting is utterly Australian – the country farm and its inhabitants battling the elements and themselves to eke out a living. In many ways it reminded me of the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre production simply called Farm from a couple of years ago. Life is bloody tough on the land. Families toil for generations in conditions that would make the average city dweller blanch. There is a fierce loyalty and bond to that land and to each other. Those loyalties are constantly tested and this is where we get to the heart of the musical. 

Times are tough for the McPherson clan. The sheep farm is failing as is the health of the matriarch Claire (Sharon Kiely). Oldest daughter Amy (Taryn Ryan) has managed the farm ever since the death of her father some eight years earlier. Amy's siblings Lecy (Kozak) and Shaun (Joshua Firman) return to the property to be with Claire in what may be her final days. Former farmhand Burke (Dawson) also arrives at 'Emoh Ruo' though his motives are questioned by Amy. Hard earned truths and tragedy ensue as these five distinctly drawn characters interact in the furnace of the drought afflicted environment and competing memories of their shared history. Events of the past are revisited. Revelations made. Futures put in flux.

There is a truthfulness here that is commendable and while emotionally fraught, resonates with authenticity. There are no easy victories, no glib story beats. This heightens the joy we experience when these characters find even the smallest moment of happiness or deliver the briefest of smiles. The humour is distinctively Australian, at times laugh out loud hilarious, and a coping mechanism for the ever present harsh realities of country life.

Behind all this there is a spirit that infuses the musical that strikes me as quite special given it is counter-intuitive to what could be perceived as the general bleakness of the premise. It celebrates the strength and resilience of these characters and of those who choose to makes sacrifices, personal, professional and emotional, to work in the country. The love between siblings, and between a mother and her children, also rings out loud and clear. It's an impressive and ever present energy. 

The Book, Music and Lyrics are by Matthew Frank and Dean Bryant who, as was remarked at the QandA, are country lads. The structure involves cutting between two timelines - the present and eight years early when a key event shaped who these people have become. I admit, I was a little disoriented when the first 'flashback' occurred but once I keyed into the device it was fine. In this I was aided by the lighting design and notable change in performances - Shaun, for example, is only 13 years old in the flashbacks.

I very much liked that Frank and Bryant found a simple yet creative way to deal with exposition in the early going as Lecy uses a handheld camcorder to capture her feelings on returning to the farm and to interview her siblings. It works because it reveals so much about Lecy, the materialistic girl who fled to the bright lights of the city. It also sets up the family dynamics as the others react to her posturing. 

The music, beautifully played by the three piece band of (Musical Director) Joshua Haines on piano, Harry Love (guitar) and Luis Santos (double bass) in a room off to one side, is evocative and perfectly balanced with the vocals. So much texture is created here. The songs move the story forward and give us character insights aplenty. There's wonderful use of reprises to buttress emotional beats and recurring motifs for each character. Highlights include Ryan's Gotta Fix The Pump and As Far As The Eye Can See, Firman's haunting The Shearing Shed, and the moving The Leaves of Summer. Then there's the showstopper We Like It That Way that opens the second half in hysterical fashion. The cast sang superbly in the small space.

The dramatic heft of the Book means that the five performers have to show off some serious acting chops to go along with the impressive vocal talent. Foremost in this is Ryan who plays the practical, responsible daughter who, in many ways, is the replacement for the father that is so sorely missed. Ryan, one of the brightest stars in Perth's independent theatre scene, is simply terrific. There is a sequence where her character Amy finally lets all the bottled up emotions explode into life to quickly cut to a moment of happiness in the past which is just as swiftly undercut back in the present. The emotional range on display in a maybe 5-6 minute sequence is extraordinary.

By contrast, Kozak imbues younger sister Lecy with self-absorbed snark, and overt flirtatiousness when it comes to Burke. There is a certain desperation that bubbles under all this which becomes clearer in the second half. I'm a big fan of the off-beat comic energy Kozak brings to her performances and director Andrew Baker utilises it well here never letting it verge into caricature. 

Joshua Firman does incredibly well with a tricky role - as the larrikin 13 year old who grows up to be the cruising-through-life Shaun with a gnawing sense of emptiness that festers. Firman has charm to burn so it's intriguing to see the restraint deployed in the present day sequences. He nails the cheeky, boyish enthusiasm of We Like It That Way and his work with Dawson in Guitar Lesson is excellent. Firman also has such a joyous singing style when let loose that is a pleasure to experience.

I had not come across Kiely or Dawson before but both round out an excellent cast. The former oozes maternal love and protection as Claire, never allowing the character to be defeated by either her illness or the past. It is a performance of great integrity and decency that anchors the production. Likewise, Dawson's Burke is a voice of reason amongst the emotional tumult. His character is a multi-faceted link to the McPherson children that sees him display fatherly concern towards Shaun; care for Lecy whilst rebuffing her advances; and notably a tenderness mixed with some tough love towards Amy. Again, he gives the character an aura of down to earth decency.

Props to Andrew Baker and fledgling company Western Sky Theatre for staging a two hour Aussie musical at The Blue Room and assembling such a talented cast, band and production team (shout outs to Rhiannon Walker for the rustic set design and costumes and Katrina Johnston for the lighting design). His intention is to mount productions that attract talent that is either from WA or trained here. If this opening salvo is any indication we are in for many excellent productions.