Saturday Night Fever - Drew Anthony Creative (10 May 2024)

If you were going to devise a jukebox musical one could do far worse than basing it on the second biggest soundtrack album of all time. Indeed, before a certain moonwalking superstar started singing about Billie Jean, Saturday Night Fever was the highest selling album of all time, period. But the John Travolta starring movie (1977) and subsequent musical (1998) have far more things on their mind than simply celebrating that quintessentially seventies phenomenon of disco and the songwriting genius of the Gibb brothers. 

There is an exploration of what would now be called toxic masculinity, disaffected youth, the impact of religion on shaping social norms at the time, unsettling attitudes towards sex and women, and breaking free of stifling domestic and economic situations. It's pretty heady content for a 'greatest hits' package of songs. There's a level of tonal friction between all those elements that accentuates music and dancing as an escape from the realities of life in New York. 

The "pre-show entertainment" sets this up brilliantly. Projected on a large screen at the rear of the stage with amazing clarity, an old-fashioned television shows a mix of news clips juxtaposed with ads circa 1978. The news is all about the decay of America from a Son of Sam (serial killer David Berkowitz) segment to infrastructure literally falling apart. The ads are late-70s kitsch featuring supermodels such as Farrah Fawcett hawking all kinds of fare from fast food to beauty products. To modern eyes it's a bemusing time capsule of Americana but it sets up the time period, a sense of place, and the fissures within society to great effect.

Into which struts one Tony Manero (Ethan Churchill), a 19 year old who escapes the drudgery of his job at a paint store and the demands of the family home by tearing up the dancefloor at the local clubs. Tony becomes infatuated with Stephanie Mangano (Tory Kendrick) to the despair of lovelorn Annette (Izzi Green) and sets out to win a dance competition with her. Meanwhile, family and friends provide all manner of complications that he must navigate to escape the dead end life his father's alcoholism or, even worse, his friend Bobby's suicide, portend. 

Churchill is rarely off the stage in a committed and passionate performance that presents a warts and all depiction of Tony. We sense Tony's frustration, his yearning for more, his ego, his darker impulses, and yet, ultimately, his discontent with who he is and the ability to change if given a chance. All this with a broad Nu Yawk accent and, yes, strut throughout. Churchill, star of a previous Drew Anthony production, Strictly Ballroom, also handles the dancing requirements of the role with style and embraces the iconic look that Travolta burned into popular culture's psyche. It's in perhaps the quieter moments that he is most potent - the solo Immortality where Churchill is bathed in light and sings beautifully; the monologue where he stands up to his father; and the delight of How Deep Is Your Love as he duets with Kendrick, all artifice stripped away.

Kendrick commands attention the moment she hits the stage in a dance number that draws all eyes; Tony's and the audience. Her Stephanie is sassy and confident on the surface but we sense her own longing for much better, represented in crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and moving to Manhattan. Kendrick soars in the best individual vocal performance of the show with What Kind of Fool and has genuine moments of connection with Churchill as they dance. 

Izzi Green does well with the unforgiving role of Annette whose fate is hard to watch as she descends into a self-pity that allows her to be abused in the most egregious of ways. Green's solo If I Can't Have You is another highlight with a stripped back arrangement that accentuates the underlying pain of that song.

The production is blessed to have Noel O'Neill and Lucy Williamson play Tony's parents in non-singing roles. O'Neill brings the New York having studied there under Lee Strasberg no less and Williamson gives an intense turn as the religious woman who fears for her son in this life and the next. Christopher Tierney plays the favoured son Frank Jr who couldn't be more different from Tony. His monologue about why he's leaving the priesthood is a lowkey highlight as an unexpected wrinkle in such a musical. Thirteen year old Aaleyah Chater rounds out the family unit. 

Tony's friends - Bobby (Kade Sweeney), Double J (Ethan Battle), and Joey (Zak Rolton) - all work well together with the four of them (along with the nightclub singers) providing an early highlight with Jive Talkin. Sweeney has the more interesting throughline and plays Bobby with an earnestness that counterpoints the more opportunistic and base nature of the other two. His fate is tragic but the musical doesn't really have time to let the implications truly sink in for either the audience or the other characters. Sweeney's solo of Tragedy is heartbreaking. 

The aforementioned nightclub singers - Abby Stevenson, Tahlia Loren, and Carrie Pereira - add vocal punch and panache to, especially, the more famous songs and I liked that they were almost omnipresent in the wings to give the nightclub scenes a realistic feel. Alex Graciano, Noah Skape and Sophie Psaila-Savona portray various characters with the latter, in particular, impressing with her expressive dancing, while the ensemble adds energy and colour to the bigger dance numbers.

The production looks spectacular with the Lighting Design by Drew Anthony and Richard Timms providing a colourful backdrop for the action using everything from lights in the patterned stage floor to lamps; strobe lights for a fight scene; a halo of spotlights for solo numbers; and the vibrant video projections were quite astonishing to establish scene settings even though it was a little glitchy for the first half.  

There was no band but the music playback and sound balance with the vocalists was superb (Audio Design Jordan Gibbs) with even the whoosh of the elevated train on the video projection audible in quieter moments. Production Design (Anthony) wisely allowed plenty of space for the dance action with lounges and tables set up on either side of the main space to represent the club. 

Costume Design by Dani Paxton recreates memorable outfits from the movie while also representing the colour and glamour of the disco scene with plenty of sequined dresses and silk shirts. Kendrick looked fabulous in her featured dress that was both glamorous and practical for dancing.

Finally, the show rests heavily on its dance numbers as the reaction of the row of ladies sitting next to me who were doing all the hand movements can attest. Choreographers Jamie & Suzi Rolton have to meet expectations with legendary dance moves while bringing their own creativity to the fore with highlights such as the first half closer You Should Be Dancing and the megamix of songs at closing bows. 

In all, director Drew Anthony has presented a tricky production that is part musical, part social drama by infusing it with colour and movement for the former and gritty realism in the latter. The tonal shifts don't always work - the humour which sometimes verges on slapstick feels out of place, for example. But as a well-performed piece of entertainment it certainly had them dancing in the aisles and I was happily humming along with a smile to solid gold classics from the era.

Saturday Night Fever is on at Theatre Royale in Northbridge until 26 May. 

A Chorus Line - Drew Anthony Creative (4 August 2023)

The key element to the theatregoing experience for me is how a show makes you feel. Does it move you, make you laugh or cry or both. Maybe it's thought provoking or confronting. Oftentimes it could simply be entertaining in a toe tapping, sit back and relax kind of way. How we respond to a production also depends on what we bring to the table. Our mood, our life experiences, whatever happens to be rattling around in our brain at the time. Then there's that ingredient that I always crave in a live performance of any kind - that moment of magic you weren't expecting and didn't see coming that plasters a grin all over your face.

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. Then there's this - there's not one but TWO moments of magic that had me tingling with joy in a way only theatre can make you feel. More on that later.

It's easy to see why A Chorus Line was the longest running show on Broadway until toppled by a bunch of spandex clad felines getting all jellicle about, um, jellicle things. It's a brilliantly written and constructed piece of theatre that won a truckload of Tony Awards and a rare Pulitzer Prize. It's also, surprisingly and delightfully, a fully blown character study... of some 17 characters! Those characters are dancers auditioning for a director to be in, you guessed it, the chorus of an upcoming Broadway production. 

This adds a whole other 'behind-the-scenes' layer that theatre lovers will recognise and appreciate. I felt like I just happened to be in that 'room' sitting in on the auditions. I'll admit, especially in the latter stages, that discussions in song and dialogue about being an artist, needing a gig, handling rejection, worrying about what happens next all hit hard based on my own recent and ongoing experiences as a screenwriter. There's a truth here will resonate with anyone undertaking a creative endeavour. It's a potent cocktail.

The show starts before you really kind of realise it as performers slowly make their way to the stage and do warmups. The thing that immediately struck me was the camaraderie on display. Then G Madison IV makes his entrance as the director Zach with a commanding voice that had a lady sitting near me exclaim "Oh!" and sit bolt upright. That voice and his physical presence are immediately captivating. I believe he is the demanding director who will brook no argument and I witness the cast believe it too. Madison spends a large portion of the show behind us in the top deck of the theatre somewhere so the power of his voice is critical to hold us and the cast in thrall.   

It's here that I should mention the sound design and quality. It is impeccable. Every lyric, every line of dialogue is crisp and easily discerned. The balance with the backing music is spot on; both vocals and score in perfect harmony. Kudos to Jordan Gibbs (Audio Design/Operator), Josh Mills (Audio Operator) and Music Supervisor Joe Louis Robinson. 

We quickly get to the character study of it all as the director asks each character to tell him/us something about themselves. The creative way this is handled in the writing, the staging by actual director Drew Anthony, in costuming choices (Dani Paxton), and by the performers is quite glorious. Based on real life interviews with performers as the show was being conceived there is, again, a ring of authenticity about these tales, from childhood memories to adult musings. They're funny, shocking, tragic, poignant, and in many ways, totally relatable. This is enhanced by how they're delivered - in song, in dance, in dialogue, or a mix of all three. Each character is sharply drawn and delineated and we get to know them quickly which is no mean feat in such a big cast. 

Highlights, in a show full of them, include Ethan Churchill dancing up a storm as his Mike describes how he first became involved with dance (I Can Do That); the trio of Elethea Sartorelli (Sheila), Emma Haines (Maggie), and Ciara Taylor (Bebe) giving a powerful vocal rendition of At The Ballet; Rosemary Spelman (Kristine) and Jamie Papanicolaou (Al) showcasing exquisite timing in the very clever Sing!; Will Basson (Mark) bringing the funny with Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love; and Lucy Goodrick, all swagger and attitude as her Val recounts a transformation from afterthought to success with a not so little enhancement in Dance: Ten; Looks: Three.

The show then does something really interesting as it narrows its focus to the major dramatic conflict of the piece between Zach and Cassie (Morgan Cowling) who attempt to work through their differences before Cowling launches into dance and song with another highlight, The Music and The Mirror. The acting is impressive by both, indeed this is a true triple threat show. The singing is excellent across the board (Glenn Hogue, Vocal Director) and the dance numbers are nicely calibrated from the 'learning' phase to rehearsing to full blown, slick production number at the finale. There's everything from tap to classic Broadway chutzpah, hats and all, which is always fun to watch with a massed cast onstage. Terrific work by Choreographer Jessica Ashton and Assistant Elysha Atwell. 

Which gets us to our first piece of magic. The audacity to stop and deliver a long, affecting monologue by youngster Zak Bresland as Paul. Earlier I had silently wished the spot operator would shine a little light my way so I could check the program to work out who was playing Paul after I thought to myself "Who the hell is that!" after an impressive piece of singing. He may be too young, ideally, to be playing the role but he nails a harrowing tale that slowly builds to an emotional outburst and holds the stage, alone, for several minutes. That's no small feat. I also liked the softening of Zach's character in response and at a later incident regarding Paul.    

The second piece of magic is kicked off by Sophie Psaila-Savona whose feisty Diana tackles perhaps the most well-known song from A Chorus Line, What I Did For Love. It's what happens next that I didn't expect (and won't spoil here) that is one of the reasons I love going to the theatre. When I twigged to how Anthony was staging this showpiece number I literally did grin from ear to ear. A fitting high point for the production and all involved. All that's left is to bring out the glitz and glamour as the cast take their bows to the reprise of that other famous number, One.  

The set design is simple - bare stage and a projected back screen to denote the space - which keeps the focus, rightfully, on the performers. Lighting Design by Luke Scatchard highlights the ensemble and picks out individuals as appropriate before dazzling with the finale. 

There are so many small details that I loved - the "non-hat work" of Allen Blachford (Bobby), himself an award winning choreographer; his by-play with Sartorelli which is imbued with a history of many performances together; the subtle digs and blocking between characters as unstated rivalries play out; and so on. It is a true ensemble piece so mention must be given to the work of Jamie Rolton (Don), Greg Jarema (Greg), Lana Freeman (Judy), and Gemma Hanh (Connie) who added so much texture and life to their characters. 

This production has no interval which apparently surprised some but it flew by for me. I was in my comfort zone and they had me from the get go. A Chorus Line is on until 20 August at the Royale Theatre in Northbridge and is recommended for anyone who loves brilliantly written, staged and performed theatre.