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. 

Cats - WAAPA (11 September 2023)

What a ride the graduating musical theatre students have been on - from Sondheim (Assassins, Sweeney Todd) to Andrew Lloyd Webber by way of a pit stop in small town America (Footloose). I confess, I was a little wary going into Cats as I've always found it an oddly constructed musical but damn if the performers, musicians, and the production & design students didn't win me over, especially with a cracking 2nd Act. I still have no idea what a Jellicle cat is or what actually happens when one is reborn but it matters nary a jot with this amount of talent on display. 

Instead of wondering about the tenuous narrative through-line, it struck me early in the 1st Act that this is like a 1970s concept album or, perhaps more appropriately, a Showcase of sorts. Each song is a distinct set piece as different cats are introduced who have their own characteristics and personality expressed through lyrics and movement. Experienced through that lens I sat back and let the performances speak for themselves. 

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.

This was notable from the get go. All of the musicians are visible in the 'pit' in front of the stage so are part of the visual presentation. I really liked how the cast gathered stage right and listened intently to the Overture then applauded along with the audience before taking up their positions. Prior to the commencement of the 2nd Act, a sparkly attired Dalton asked the musicians to stand for applause which was another lovely touch. And applaud we did as they played out the show after final bows. The musicians did the keyboard/synth infused score justice and then some. Sound design by Dale Kerrison ensured the balance between music and vocals was spot on. 

Then there were the smart decisions that reinforced the "Seen through new eyes" tag line on the poster. Significantly, there isn't a tail or a whisker or a litter of lycra bodysuits in sight. Featured cats such as Jennyanydots (Eilidh Sinnamon) and Bustopher Jones (Mitchell France) are given distinctive, colourful costumes while the bulk of the company are all in black; sleek, sexy, and sensational. Sure, there is the occasional pawing motion or flick of an imaginary tail, even a hiss or two, but this show is designed for perpetual motion. 

To assist that kinetic momentum, the stage design is sparse to maximise the space for the nineteen strong company to cavort, tumble, and slink about in. There are numbers designed around a piece of movable set such as a wardrobe, street lamp or piano with the use of a scrim at other points to project surtitles onto or to enable startling shadow work. The lighting design uses a lot of spotlights to highlight individual performers for their moment in the moonlight but also use of shadow and darkness to disguise the movements of one mystery cat in particular. Excellent work by set and costume designer Elouise Greenwell and lighting designer Amber Lorenzi.

Which brings us to the MT students and what a marvellous cohort they are. 

Matthew Manning embodies a real sense of showmanship with his Munkustrap, like an emcee in this strange, feline world. I'm always a sucker for a tap routine which Sinnamon leads during The Old Gumbie Cat. Patrick Friedlander offers up swagger aplenty as a cross between Stuart Goddard's alter ego and Billy Idol as Rum Tum Tugger. France is an affable fat cat with padded cushion and all while Curtis Kossart and Emily Lambert dazzle in an early highlight with Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

Cameron Taylor has a gorgeous singing voice which lends his Old Deuteronomy enormous empathy. Genevieve Goldman sings the hell out of the iconic Memory and looks resplendent in a sequined evening gown as her Grizabella ascends to cat heaven. 

The first act ends with a prelude of that song right after the extraordinary dance sequence of The Jellicle Ball, a balletic and acrobatic tour de force that rightfully drew raucous applause. The WAAPA Marketing department has been doing a terrific job on social media posting behind-the-scenes clips one of which was the before and after of that sequence. Now I know why the performers were drenched in sweat! 

I was utterly charmed by Gus: The Theatre Cat as a quiet interlude early in the 2nd Act as Mia Beattie (Jellylorum) introduces Asparagus (Tim Brown) with such a deft touch. Then director Crispin Taylor cranks up the energy even further and the show rockets into another gear. Brown leaps forth to launch a full on charm offensive as Gus regales us with the tale of The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles usually reserved for Munkustrap. In this he is assisted by terrific shadow play on the scrim and other cast members engaging in some delightful whimsy... as humans playing cats playing, um, dogs. 

Before you can catch your breath Marcus Frost's Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat, is dancing up a storm with the rest of the cast using everything from umbrellas to old-fashioned lamps, suitcases, and brooms as props in another burst of eye-catching choreography. Then it's time for my favourite song, Macavity: The Mystery Cat, where Hanna Harvey (Demeter) and Grace Alston (Bombalurina) are seductive and playful as the song builds and the orchestra swells into a brassy crescendo. Patrick Volpe exudes physical menace as Macavity in a year that's also seen him play a brooding Sweeney and an intense Chuck from Footloose. There's a lovely piece of stagecraft that proves that Macavity was indeed not there. 

Then it's time for some audience singalong to Mr. Mistoffelees led by Friedlander while Declan Allen engages in an acrobatic dance routine that Cirque du Soleil would be proud of. Mia Guglielmi (Jemima) leads us into Goldman's showstopper and then we're racing towards final bows. In a move that surely was intended Volpe and Guglielmi are placed together in those final moments, Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett reunited.  

There's no doubt about it, my initial scepticism was swept away and this was an impressive way to end an impressive year.