In many ways it is fitting that the program notes only list
the names of the 19 members of the second year musical theatre class in this
their first public outing as WAAPA students. It is a true ensemble piece with
everyone given an opportunity to shine. It makes it a little difficult,
however, to identify who is who with no roles assigned. But there’s plenty of
time over the next two years to put faces to names and become familiar with
this next wave of talented performers. I do know some and can make a guess at
others but I apologise in advance for any incorrect attributions and the
unavoidable omissions in what follows.
This is also the first time I’ve seen a show at the
amphitheatre and it’s a really nice venue that allowed for the creation of mood
in the open air space with lovely use of lighting, sound and smoke effects.
Unfortunately it also meant that shows had to be cancelled early in the run due
to the inclement weather. While it threatened to rain late in proceedings it
turned out to be a really great night for what was an evocative treatment of
the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow epic poem. Most impressively it allowed the
musical theatre students to showcase several facets of their craft with
singing, though present, taking a back seat. The focus was more on acting,
vocal projection, movement and dance with the at times acrobatic ensemble work
showing off the athletic prowess of the cast.
The poem is presented in its chapters with a rotating roster
of female narrators after an opening Introduction featuring Jason Arrow. While
the narrator addresses the audience, the featured actors in the scene with
accompaniment from the ensemble give a stylised representation of events. I
particularly liked how certain battles were handled where the use of magic is
implied and the depiction of various animals including the bear that
Mudjekeewis (Joshua Firman) kills. Hiawatha himself is played by a rotating
roster of actors with only characters like Mudjekeewis, Nokomis (Melissa Russo)
and Minnehaha (Christina Odam) undertaken by the same actor during the entirety
of the piece.
Music is provided by one or two cast members just off stage,
again this task being rotated through different performers. It was
predominantly drum and percussion heavy with some additional sound effects
added for eeriness or even slight comic effect. These rotations between
narrators, Hiawatha, and music duties were seamless. I also liked that the cast
were often dispersed at the rear of the audience and during The Hunting of
Pau-Puk-Keewis their animal sounds from behind and facing away from us echoed
off the surrounding buildings to great effect.
The back of the set had a large drape covered with
constellations and the moon (or sun depending on lighting cues) made from
feathers. The stage floor had a cloth covered in different symbols which I
initially took to mean the different Indian nations that Hiawatha brings
together though could have signified geographic locations. The cast were
uniformly costumed (with some temporary exceptions for certain minor
characters) again highlighting the ensemble nature of the work.
Mood and tone were very important to the piece and two
moments that highlighted this were Minnehaha’s death during the famine that was
particularly well handled and the Ghosts (Katherine Schmidli and Rebecca
Cullinan) that visit Nokomis, Minnehaha and warn Hiawatha in the preceding
chapter. And even though singing wasn’t featured there was enough here to get
excited for the group’s subsequent foray into musicals.
This was a strong introduction to the second years as it
showed so many different aspects of their undoubted ability and potential, but
also worked as a standalone piece of theatre that did justice to the great
American poem. A nice touch that I really enjoyed was that the cast greeted and
chatted to the audience before the show which gave everything an informal,
relaxed air.
Directed by Crispin Taylor with Choreography by Claudia
Alessi, Hiawatha stars Jason Arrow, Hayden Baum, Embla Bishop, Hannah Burridge,
Stefanie Caccamo, Rebecca Cullinan, Andre Drysdale, Marissa Economo, Joshua
Firman, Mikey Halcrow, Matthew Manahan, Christina Odam, Jens Radda, Ashley
Roussety, Melissa Russo, Katherine Schmidli, Nathan Stark, Stephanie Wall and Samuel
Welsh with only two more shows on 18-19 March.
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