Theatregoing Year in Review - 2024 (Part Two - Practitioners)

Part of my evolution as a reviewer is continuing to learn more about all the technical roles that go into making a show work at an optimal level. My background is as a screenwriter so I have a pretty good handle on story and acting, however, at times, it leaves me a little weaker in other aspects. No, I'm not a theatre kid! Which, I believe, actually works in my favour in terms of being an outsider with no direct ties to the theatre world other than going to lots of shows and trying to write honestly about the experience.  

Thank you then to sound designer Michael Fletcher who met with me earlier in the year to give me a better insight into all the factors he needs to consider in making a production sound great. I also appreciate him taking the time to talk me through specific challenges like when he saw me at a tech rehearsal for Carrie.

Speaking of Carrie, thank you to now graduated stage management student Elysia Harris who I sat with to write a story for the Friends of the Academy before watching her call that tech rehearsal (and subsequent performance run) as deputy stage manager. Another insight into the makings of a great show.

I'm now probably going to disappoint you both by naming a lot of actors... but I'm trying to better understand the offstage aspects, I promise!

I also have an apology to make. I sometimes get tied up in faux rules about how to do these end of year write-ups which means I left off someone I shouldn't have last year which has subsequently nagged at me. Belated apologies to Patrick Volpe who had a sensational 2023 playing the title role in Sweeney Todd, Chuck Cranston in Footloose, and my favourite feline miscreant, Macavity, in Cats.  

To this year's theatre practitioners who caught the eye!

Kieran Ridgway (Director) - Evil Dead The Musical (Wanneroo Repertory)

What an auspicious directorial debut with Ridgway presenting an ingeniously over-the-top experience that clearly showed a deep affection for the material. 

Tara Oorjitham (Musical Director) - Young Frankenstein (Darlington Theatre Players)

Silhouetted at the rear of the stage, many patrons still believed it was a music track playing which is how good the orchestra was under Oorjitham's baton.

Solonje Burns (Performer) - Top Girls (GRADS)

A superb performance in a demanding role where Burns was nothing less than full tilt as she kept "running up hills" of the character's imagination and own circumstances. 

Anna Head (Performer) - The Deep Blue Sea (Melville Theatre Company)

"What a performance. Full of layers, complexity, and contradictions. Head plays her at times as bursting with emotion verging on the melodramatic and, at others, as repressing her true feelings whilst putting on a brace face."

Amy Fortnum (Performer/Producer) - She Loves Me (Western Sky Projects) 

Displaying very good comedic chops and a superb singing voice, Fortnum leads the standout show of the year with grace and class whilst impressing at the aftershow Q&A with her producer hat on.

Matthew Jones (Performer) - Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Koorliny)

If you ever doubted how powerful a tool an actor's voice is then Jones' performance as Mina and Van Helsing would set you straight right quick. His vocal command and variation was exceptional and drove a lot of the comedy here. 

Yvette Drager Wetherilt (Wig Design) - Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Koorliny), Young Frankenstein (Darlington) & The Addams Family (Roleystone)

Wetherilt went on a tear with horror themed shows where her wigs were an integral part of the look and tone of those productions including a sequence in Dracula that was inspired lunacy. 

Amberly Cull (Performer) - Same Time Next Week (Presented by Nick Pages-Oliver & Scott McArdle) 

"...special mention goes to Amberly Cull who is extraordinary as Drew, Freya, and the startling puppet incarnation of Lady Morinth. While the others give a good account of themselves in the singing department, Cull is superb vocally."

Alexandria Henderson (Performer) - Nora: A Doll's House (WAAPA)

"Alexandria Henderson excels as a modern woman trapped by circumstances she can't control. Henderson's emotional responses are exquisite especially when Angelo Torres' Daniel imparts shattering news." 

Paige Fallu (Performer) - Hairspray (HAMA Productions) 

The pandemic meant I never saw Fallu whilst she was a student at WAAPA but she sure made an impression as Tracy Turnblad here, singing beautifully and radiating such an enthusiastic stage presence.

Kate Naunton Morgan (Performer) - Emma (ARENA Theatre Productions) & Antigone (GRADS)

Freshly graduated from Curtin University and straight into lead roles as diverse as the two titular characters here. A delight in Emma, it's in Antigone, however, where Morgan soars as the tragedy unfurls and she rises to the heightened emotional state needed. 

Mahali (Performer) - Come From Away (Koorliny) 

Showcasing a powerhouse voice and empathy to burn, Mahali is absolutely riveting to watch. The long foreshadowed reveal, when it comes, is still devastating because you feel the intensity of her emotion.

Tadhg Lawrence (Performer) - Come From Away (Koorliny) 

I'll confess, it took me a good twenty minutes to figure out where I knew Lawrence from - Iago in Othello! I did not know he had such a wonderful singing voice and in a superlative ensemble he makes his presence felt with an assured performance.  

Ben Clarke (Performer) - The Drowsy Chaperone (Stirling Players)

You couldn't ask for a better stage debut. He has the audience in the palm of his hand as Man in Chair and immediately sets the tone for the antics to come. 

Ben Goldsbrough (Performer) - Legally Blonde (WAAPA) & Pinocchio (Zealous Productions)

"Goldsbrough brings real empathy and a genuineness to Emmett that I found charming and quietly compelling." (Legally Blonde)

"Goldsbrough is terrific as the comic foil quickly winning audience empathy with his deliberately bad puns and dubious pizza making skills. It's such an assured performance for his first professional gig." (Pinocchio)

Ellen Ebbs (Performer) - The World Goes Round & Legally Blonde (WAAPA), Pinocchio (Zealous Productions)

From the moment Ebbs strode onto the stage and blew the roof off the Roundhouse Theatre in the Kander & Ebb revue show; to her stellar turn as Paulette in Legally Blonde; and then as Pinocchio in the big Christmas panto, it's been clear that she has an enormously bright future. A major new talent to watch. 

Georgia Unsworth (Performer) - Sydney II: Lost and Found (Theatre 180) 

A good music theatre performer, Unsworth caught me totally by surprise with a fantastic dramatic performance opposite two seasoned actors. Her vocal command, accent work, and portrayal of different ages - including a young boy - was excellent and had me buzzing afterwards. 

Ones to Watch For Next Year:

Iris Warren (Writer/Deviser/Performer) - Femoid (WAAPA)

I was super impressed with the quality of Warren's writing in Femoid and keen to see how the extended version turns out. 

Kimberly Rose (Performer) - Carrie The Musical (WAAPA) 

Rose gives the lynchpin performance as Carrie's mother that makes the whole show work tonally. Scary good in such an intense role. 

Pippin Carroll (Performer) - The Laramie Project (WAAPA)

It's difficult to define that elusive quality some actors have but when Carroll started his first scene I exchanged a look with the person I was with and it was clear we could both feel it. Need to see more next year but it was a tantalising glimpse. 

That's me done for the year. Back to my screenwriter's lair to work on my own projects for a while. 

Have a great festive season all and see you at the theatre in 2025!

Richard Hyde 

   

She Loves Me: The Classic Broadway Musical in Concert - Western Sky Projects (10 August 2024)

Classy. The word that immediately comes to mind to describe not only this fabulous production but the entire experience at the matinee performance. From the pre-show tour of the Liberty Theatre that had lain dormant for so long in the heart of the city, to the cast interacting with the audience before the Prelude, to the joy of the show itself, and the post-show Q and A, this was sheer class from top to bottom.

While the two sold out evening shows catered to an audience of some 160, the matinee was specifically tailored to be a more intimate affair of around sixty. The tour conducted by director, co-producer, and Western Sky founder, Andrew Baker, along with cast member Noah Humich (Arpad Lazslo) was a lovely touch. Especially given that the Humich family has played such a significant role in bringing the space back to life and is committed to developing more arts venues in the city precinct. There was an inescapable authenticity and enthusiasm as Humich guided us around the heritage listed venue. This included passing through the green room where the cast was preparing. We will return to the significance of this later. Another benefit of the tour - front row seats!

Mark Flower Photography

The performers, all fabulously costumed, enter and begin to mingle with the audience. I'm asked what perfume I would like to sample by stylishly attired Chris Gerrish in character as Ladislav Sipos, an employee of Maraczek's Parfumerie. The year is 1934. The place, Budapest, Hungary. The rustic nature of the Liberty suits this perfectly. There may not be a $100,000 set but what we do have is a multi-tiered series of platforms that give the perfume shop depth; great set decoration and props; and the inventive deployment of furniture and lamps in the wings to efficiently depict other settings. Set design by Trace Co with effective lighting design by Production and Lighting Facilitator Adelaide Harney. 

Then there's this - the four piece orchestra, stage left. Who begin to play under Musical Director Joshua Haines who's also on keys. We quickly come to realise that this is a sublime score that is expertly played by Haines, Alex Barker on drums, Cooper Williams on trumpet, and Ruth Klein Cook whose violin playing elicits so much emotion in what we will soon recognise as a wittily realised romantic comedy. 

Indeed, this is but one incarnation from the original 1937 play Parfumerie that will also see the Hollywood movie adaptation You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Here our lead characters, Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash, are wonderfully played by Will Groucutt and Amy Fortnum. Georg and Amalia, in a classic romantic comedy trope, immediately dislike each other whilst unknowingly communicating back and forth by letter. Shenanigans ensue. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1963 and, again, there's a real sense of class all over the writing, the songs, and the music.

Mark Flower Photography

Baker has put together an exceptional cast - the vocal talent across the board is superb; the acting is excellent; the comic timing and staging impeccable. You can sense a real camaraderie between the performers. Yes, the production is described as "in concert" which means performers will often have script in hand but this in no way detracted from the overall experience.  

Fortnum sings superbly with Act One closer Dear Friend one of many highlights. She displays very good comedic chops, especially in the second act with numbers such as Where's My Shoe? Groucutt impresses as Georg realises the entanglement he's in before embracing the possibility of love. Showcasing an expressive singing voice, Groucutt combines beautifully with Fortnum vocally. 

Lainey O'Sullivan has a lovely arc as her jaded Ilona Ritter ends up finding love in an unexpected place with that trajectory perfectly personified by, firstly, the defiant I Resolve to the charming A Trip To The Library. Ryan Hunt as Steven Kodaly might be the closest thing to a villain of the piece as Kodaly woos then abandons Ilona while also fraternising way above his pay grade with all sorts of ramifications. 

Gerrish brings a light touch to Ladislav Sipos and is so good in support of comic set pieces such as the visit to the Cafe Imperiale where Georg goes to meet his pen pal for the first time. Speaking of that sequence, Robert Hoffman makes for a magnificent Head Waiter adding another potent singing voice while bringing the funny in spades. 

Mark Flower Photography

Robbie Burns adds an understated gravitas as Mr. Maraczek while Humich is all youthful eagerness as Arpad transforms into Mr. Lazslo. There's also an embarrassment of riches in the ensemble with Alan O'Neill, Jess Clancy, Sophia Matthews, Lindsay McNab, Lynzie Bremner, Andrew Baker himself, and, in a delightful surprise, Cooper Williams jumped out of his chair in the orchestra to participate in the fun! This all comes together in perhaps my favourite moment which was like a movie montage - Twelve Days to Christmas where the cast becomes increasingly frenetic as festive season sales boom. 

Special mention to Sound Designer Michael Fletcher who I spoke to earlier in the year to better understand how critical his work is to shows such as this. Humich had mentioned in the tour how good he thought the acoustics at the venue were but I suspect a lot of skill and effort has gone into ensuring that the balance and clarity between the performers and the orchestra was so good. 

To finish, after rapturous applause at final bows, the Question and Answer session hosted by Jess Clancy was insightful. Two observations that were notable - the 'in concert' approach meant that the cast, many of whom have full time jobs, were able to do the show as they didn't have to spend so much time absorbing the text. Then Amy Fortnum, also a co-producer, spoke so passionately about what musical theatre could and should be and how she wanted to break down the fourth wall between audience and performer, hence the trip through the green room and the cast mingling with the audience before and during the show.  

This was an exceptional afternoon. If the final show hadn't already been sold out I would have been sorely tempted to buy a ticket and go right back in to watch it again. 

Western Sky Projects' ethos of supporting local talent for the benefit of performers and audience alike is genuine. Taking a risk as a not-for-profit production company on a Broadway classic that hasn't been performed in Perth in over fifty years at a venue that hasn't been in regular use for over forty is laudable to say the least. 

The fact that it ended up as a triumph is a testament to the vision, creativity, talent, and hard work of all involved. 

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. 

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - WAAPA (16 October 2017)

Ah, musical theatre, what a great educational resource you are! My knowledge of American presidents has grown exponentially over the past few years due to Assassins (Midnite Youth Theatre Company, 2015) with its clutch of dead and almost dead presidents (as English Bob says mockingly in the movie Unforgiven, "Now, a president... well I mean... why not shoot a president?"), Clinton: The Musical (Black Swan State Theatre Company, 2016), the ubiquitous Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hamilton: An American Musical, and now, the second year's first standalone musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

The American obsession with the office of the presidency, its inhabitants, and their legacies is perhaps an odd cultural phenomenon as seen through Australian eyes but one ripe for creative interpretation and reimagining. The four shows above use, respectively, a carnival sideshow setting; an actual split personality; the language of rap; and here, the world of a self-absorbed emo rockstar.

I admit, it took me a while to zero in on the tone of this production. In its opening salvoes it is spectacularly politically incorrect particularly towards the Native American Indians. This had me squirming more than a little. Jackson, a former general, founder of the Democratic Party, and a populist president (1829-37) is a polarising figure in presidential debate mainly due to his treatment of the native tribes and his support of slavery. The 'bloody' moniker is not unearned.

The comparisons to the current incumbent are, to be frank, scarily prescient. Especially when you consider this was written a decade before Donald Trump's ascendancy. Jackson, the 7th president, wanted to overthrow the system run by 'corrupt aristocrats' and, as was shown here, fiercely for American nationalism and bitterly opposed to the English, Spanish, and Native American Indians, forcibly resettling the latter westwards. He was the Trump of his day... with much better dialogue.

The show started to click for me during the number Illness As Metaphor where Jackson (Jarrod Griffiths) and his soon to be wife Rachel (Stacey Thomsett) cut and bleed each other as a demonstration of their love. It's a metaphor, get it? From then on I settled into the, more often than not, outrageous retelling of Jackson's life and political career.

Not only is this a pungent satire on the crass nature of political populism but a pointed commentary on musical theatre tropes as well. In an inspired moment Jackson starts to sing about his feelings on losing his first bid for president - a classic musical theatre technique to allow us insight into a character's emotional state - only to be interrupted by several of his political rivals vocalising their own feelings over the top of him. This is followed by a 'montage' like sequence to show the passage of time, again skewering more conventional narrative devices.

Indeed, all sorts of devices are thrown at the wall to see what sticks starting with the rear wall of The Roundhouse Theatre itself. This was plastered with posters and photos of many former presidents including Obama, Bush 43, Clinton, JFK. The path to the highest office in the land isn't perhaps so different for any president after all. There's even a weirdly complementary song to Hamilton's The Room Where It Happens with The Corrupt Bargain as behind closed doors shenanigans lead to Jackson being bilked of the presidency at his first attempt.

Other deliberately off-kilter choices for the period included the crippled Storyteller (Amy Fortnum) riding around on a motorised scooter; the Bandleader (Josh Reckless) wearing a Ramones t-shirt; the use of a modern day phone/intercom on the presidential desk, and even a disco ball makes an appearance. Once I latched onto the "all bets are off" nature of the production these elements, while raising an eyebrow, actually worked reasonably well.

The four piece band (Craig Dalton on Keyboard, Tom Purdy - Guitar, Ty Barwick - Bass, and Liam Hickey on Drums) is at the back of the stage with a microphone set up to replicate, in several songs, a concert feel for featured singers. The band is, again improbably, part of the action as Jackson declares them to be his Cabinet. They played well, especially the more upbeat bass and guitar driven numbers.

The conceit of President as Rock-Star-In-Chief is given a wonderful workout by Griffiths who dominates proceedings. He is rarely off stage, is charismatic and belligerent in equal measure, and sings well with appropriate swagger. There was also a lot to like to about his acting, notably in the, admittedly rare, serious moments such as when he confronts the Native American Black Fox (Jarrod Draper) about further compromises and betrayals of his people.

Others to shine: Fortnum as the cheerful provider of historical facts even when deprived of her scooter and having to haul herself across the stage; Thomsett gives a lovely rendition of The Great Compromise as Rachel forces her husband to choose between politics and their marriage; Josh Reckless who comes to the fore in the last third as the Bandleader particularly with Second Nature and leading the finale; Jessica Clancy as the Announcer who is like the political pundit of the day (and interesting that there are no less than three characters who provide overt narration); Prudence Daniel who featured with the deceptively sweet sounding yet rancorous Ten Little Indians; and Todd Peydo (John Quincy Adams), Elise Muley early as Frederick, and Imogen Howe all caught the eye in lesser roles/the ensemble.

It's a wild kind of show that runs for 90 minutes with no interval. It lost some of its bite and energy during the second half as Jackson assumes the presidency. There are too many sequences with citizens asked for their opinion on issues of the day to demonstrate he is a man of the people. The point is well taken and didn't need repeating before they turn on him. I did like, however, the choreography that was, at times, reminiscent of the all out assault of 2015's Urinetown.

Finally, special mention to the young actress who played Lyncoya in a delightful portrayal that was an audience favourite.