Wicked - Stray Cats Theatre Company & Mandurah Performing Arts Centre (21 May 2016)

It was interesting to watch the response to the announcement last year that the amateur rights to Wicked had been made available. In many quarters there was much excitement that a beloved show was now able to be performed by community theatre groups around the country. This was matched by a healthy scepticism that it could be given justice with all the technical and vocal demands. A professional production had also been recently staged in Perth at the Crown Theatre with the incomparable Jemma Rix as Elphaba and Suzie Mathers as Glinda (who has now joined the West End cast). A tough act to follow.

It was not surprising that Stray Cats Theatre Company was to be the first to mount the production in WA. Director Karen Francis had access to a suitable venue – the Boardwalk Theatre in Mandurah – and had demonstrated the ability to consistently mount large scale, crowd pleasing musicals. Still, having seen the show in Melbourne in 2014 and last year in Perth, I was intrigued how Francis was going to tackle any number of challenges with the staging of such a dizzifyingly complex production.

Any doubts I had were soon put to rest as I walked into the theatre. There was indeed a dragon perched above the stage which came to life as the opening notes were played. The familiar cogs and clock design was apparent in the wings and along the railing to the orchestra pit. The map of Oz was projected onto a scrim. 

As the show progressed there was clever use of scrims, various backdrops, and lighting to facilitate scene transitions. The Bubble Galinda descends on during the opening scene was well rendered and the Wizard’s big talking head was impressively done. Most satisfying was that the first act showstopper, Defying Gravity, where Elphaba rises above Ozians and the audience alike was effectively recreated. Sure, there wasn’t the whizzbangery of its professional forebear but proficient and clever stagecraft and design made for a most credible substitute. My immediate impression was that a lot of time, thought, skill and resources had gone into the construction of the show. That was most appreciated.

This was reinforced by the attention to detail in other elements – the trademark Stray Cats large ensemble was beautifully costumed with a wide range of colourful and quirky outfits; the lighting design took full advantage of the rig at MPAC that no other community theatre venue would be able to match; and the 19 piece orchestra, again of a scale and composition most would fail to accommodate, was excellent under conductor David Hicks. The sound balance was good, and the clarity of the lead vocals was especially strong. There was a little bit of microphone crackle on the odd occasion from secondary characters in movement but the sound design and execution was otherwise very good.

Of course, Wicked relies on the performance of its two leads and in Kimberley Harris (Elphaba) and Lisa Taylor (Glinda) the show had a winning combination that not only sang well but gave strong acting performances. Taylor played the annoyingly bubbly and over confident Glinda with deft comic timing and infectious enthusiasm. Her rendition of Popular was a highlight. Harris brought great acting chops to the ultimate outsider in Elphaba and belted out Defying Gravity in terrific style while being wistful in the softer I’m Not That Girl. They worked well together – Harris’s intensity bouncing off Taylor’s comic shtick – but it’s in the quieter moments where the rivalry turns to friendship that they are most convincing.

The male leads didn’t fare quite as well. Joshua Towns was a lanky and handsome Fiyero but Dancing Through Life lacked flair and felt more mechanical than anything. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see the complete transition from shallow rebel to committed ally of Elphaba. The storm that ravaged Perth caused a showstopper of its own as the power went out halfway through the second act. Erik Bunch played Dr. Dillamond for laughs and was prone to telegraphing every phrase with grandiose hand gestures. This undercut any sense of pathos for the character. The Wizard himself, Peter Sydney-Smith, also had a tendency to overplay to the audience especially during Wonderful which jarred next to the focus displayed by Harris in that sequence.

Of the other characters, Alyssa Burton, played the larger-than-life Madame Morrible with style while Cassandra Power came into her own as Nessarose at the start of the second act as her now Governess goes through a raft of emotions from being able to walk to reconnecting with Boq to ultimately losing him due to her own impulsiveness. It teetered on being overwrought but ultimately was a strong emotional sequence. Boq himself, played by Braeden Geuer, was a likable presence though the estrangement from Nessarose caught me a little by surprise this time round.

Mother Nature unfortunately had the last word as it proved more powerful than any stage magic. The power outage caused a premature end to the matinee and led to the evening show being cancelled. In response, an extra show was announced for 10am on Sunday for those ticket holders who missed the full show or evening performance.

While I wasn’t able to avail myself of this opportunity what I saw and heard up until that point was a good production of the mega-hit musical. It handled the technical challenges in style and featured two strong performances in the lead roles. It played to Francis’ strengths – big set-pieces with a large ensemble; and was well played by the orchestra. It was refreshing to see the skill on display across all departments to bring such a production to life which is testament to the talent pool in Perth. 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Stray Cats Theatre Company & Mandurah Performing Arts Centre (17 October 2015)

It’s a familiar scene - parents and children milling around performers fresh from their final bows asking for autographs and posing for photos. Not only the stars mind you but members of the ensemble are there as well to greet family, friends and audience members. It’s an impressive sight. The children all excited as they clutch the programme with a whole back page devoted for autographs. The cast are still in costume and makeup, no doubt amped with adrenaline immediately after the matinee performance. There’s a real buzz in the air.

Stray Cats Theatre Company and the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre sure know how to put on a crowd pleasing, family friendly spectacle. This is the third in what I’ll refer to as Stray Cats’ Classic English Family Musical Trilogy that commenced with last year’s Oliver!, continued with Mary Poppins earlier this year and ended with a punctuation mark as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang took flight.

If one of the roles of community theatre is to engage with and entertain its local residents then these productions are among the finest examples we have in the state. Usually a run will only be four to five shows over one weekend but they are always well attended and sit comfortably in the spacious Performing Arts Centre. The local community support is excellent and the venue is a jewel only an hour south of Perth. That support is rewarded with outstanding entertainment.

As I was sitting upstairs in the front row of the dress circle looking down on the opening scene it struck me that these shows are the only time I see upwards of 60 performers on stage. It simply doesn’t happen anywhere else. Laudable is how many are young children. Even more remarkable is the attention to detail for the costuming of every single person on stage from the youngest to the oldest. There’s no scrimping here. They all have a role and they all look the part.

Director Karen Francis always dares to be ambitious in the scale of her productions; from the large casts to the impressive sets and lighting design to the choice of musical itself. Visually they are a feast. This was full of wonderfully colourful backdrops and the transition between scenes was slick as set components were dropped in behind a temporarily lowered screen as the orchestra played on. The centrepiece though was the car itself. Beautifully recreated and functional it drew appropriate applause when it lifted, tilted and ‘sprouted wings’ with the Potts family and Truly on-board. 

An occasional criticism I have had in the past is that the orchestras for these productions can be variable in quality. Any fear of this was quickly dispelled in the Overture. Under the baton of assistant musical director Vanitha Hart they played very well; the best musical accompaniment since 2012’s Hairspray for mine.

To the performances and a few of the headliners from Mary Poppins featured again. Jon Lambert played Caractacus Potts, another father with two precocious children and, dare I say it, using the exact same accent as his Mister Banks. This was only a minor complaint, quickly forgotten, as he gives yet another charming performance. Lambert’s solo number Hushabye Mountain was his standout vocal moment and a highlight of the show.

Kristie Gray’s run of memorable characters continues moving from Mary Poppins to Truly Scrumptious with aplomb. Gray has a beautiful singing voice with excellent clarity and power; the featured solo Lovely, Lonely Man a highpoint as was her Doll On A Music Box. In terms of singing ability she was closely followed by Kim Moore as Baroness Bomburst who featured in flamboyant number The Bombie Samba and worked well with Joshua Towns (as the Baron) in Chu-Chi Face.

Further Mary Poppins alums, Daniel Nixon and Nicholas Gaynor, provided great humour as the bumbling Vulgarian spies tasked to acquire the flying car. Scott Hansen added some vaudeville style menace as the Child Catcher while Rory Ellis was solid as the Toy Maker. Then there were the Potts children played with great flair by Sebastian Cruse and Marissa Pereira.

There was plenty of colour and movement epitomised by another highlight - Me Ol’ Bamboo - and the aforementioned The Bombie Samba. In many ways it’s a silly story with plenty of farce but darker moments as well as we discover the children banished to the sewers. It all has a happy ending with the audience clapping along to the title number as the family fly safely home.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is fabulous family entertainment and I felt quite invigorated as I left the venue. It comes as no surprise to me then that Francis has acquired the amateur rights to the blockbuster Wicked, the definition of a big, crowd pleasing musical. Given her track record it will be fascinating to see how she tackles the technical requirements to make that show literally fly as well. On the evidence of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang it will be something to see!

Originally written by Ian Fleming with the script adapted by Ray Roderick from the MGM Motion Picture of the same name; Music by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman; Directed by Karen Francis with Choreography by Ashleigh Riley and Megan Doohan, Musical Direction by David Hicks and Vocal Direction by Kristie Gray; and starring Jon Lambert, Kristie Gray, Sebastian Cruse, Marissa Pereira, Peter Sydney-Smith, Nicholas Gaynor, Daniel R Nixon, Kim Moore and Joshua Towns.  

Mary Poppins: The Broadway Musical - Stray Cats Theatre Company & Mandurah Performing Arts Centre (24 May 2015)

The evening before the Sunday matinee I was walking along the Mandurah Boardwalk and there was a group of young teenage girls in front of me all singing Chim Chim Chere-ee. “This is an encouraging sign”, I thought to myself. So it proved with the final outing of a five show run packing out the spacious Mandurah Performing Arts Centre with a high proportion of children in attendance. The cacophony at intermission was quite something as was the excitement after the show with many of the cast still in costume including Mary Poppins herself emerging to pose for photos and sign autographs. Fair to say the children loved it with more than a smile of remembered childhood from their parents.

There is no doubt this is a glorious production to look at – from the colourful costuming of the massed cast to the detailed backdrops to the multilevel set itself depicting the Banks household – there was an audible gasp when the stage curtains first opened. Director Karen Francis certainly likes to put on a spectacle and the scope and ambition of her big, crowd pleasing musicals is both a joy and proven formula to attract a crowd. More power to her for the ongoing results, creatively and one would hope, financially to sustain the run of productions other independent theatre companies simply don’t have the resources to mount on this scale.

In Kristie Gray she has a performer who shines in the eponymous role made most famous by Julie Andrews in the Disney movie. Gray has a wonderful voice that did more than justice to the cavalcade of beloved songs. An accomplished singer, she also provided the vocal direction for the some 50-60 cast members. What was equally as impressive was her commanding stage presence – there was a confidence here that really galvanised the whole show. Her work with the Banks children played by Sebastian Coe and Maren Cosby was particularly excellent.

Daniel R Nixon portrayed the chimney sweet Bert with real cockiness and flair while Helen Kerr was a standout as Winifred Banks, the wife and mother who struggles to find her own identity next to husband George (Jon Lambert) and within his social circle. Both have fine singing voices as well; Nixon bringing the Cockney, Kerr the sweetness in their feature songs, Chim Chim Cher-ee and Being Mrs. Banks respectively. 

Lambert has perhaps the unenviable task of playing the distant Mister Banks whose emotional detachment is at the core of most of the obstacles the family face. He does so with a certain gruffness and exasperation that is likeable in its own way. The character’s preoccupation with events at the bank where he works is paid off nicely with a funny burst of manic energy as Lambert lets Banks finally loosen up.

Coe and Cosby were suitably wide-eyed or precocious as required and there was a set of colourful characters Mary Poppins and her charges encounter along the way, foremost among these being Bronwyn White’s Miss Andrews who is the closest thing to being the villain of the piece in an over-the-top portrayal that was amusing and eardrum threatening! Jeanette Southall’s featured song as the Bird Woman was cruelled by her microphone cutting out halfway through Feed The Birds so I was pleased when she was able to be heard in a brief reprise in the second half. Jo Bickford and Nicholas Gaynor added physical comedy as the hired help and Brad Tudor high camp as Mrs Corry.

The scene transitions were very slick and Francis likes to fill the stage with a big ensemble full of colour and movement (Choreography by Andrea Beissel) for the main set pieces. The highlight undeniably is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious where the massed cast found an entirely new gear and really attacked the lyrics and choreography with relish. This is later reprised at the end of the musical and it was an energy level that I would have liked to have seen a little more of throughout. The other major highlight for me was Step In Time with Bert and the other chimney sweeps singing on a well depicted rooftop. Beautifully lit and performed it was quite an evocative moment. 

Finally, the 12 piece Orchestra under the baton of Conductor David Hicks generally played well though occasionally the brass section felt a little out of sync for mine.

The star, however, is Gray as the flying nanny and indeed she does, albeit briefly, with the aid of a harness. The children loved it along with the flying kites, the movable statues and the brief appearances of a real life dog that, if I’m not mistaken, once belonged to a certain Dorothy Gale in another time and on another stage! 

This was a fun production of an enduring family classic that was enthusiastically applauded as the cast took well deserved final bows.   

Oliver! - Mandurah Performing Arts Centre (7 June 2014)

There was a moment during the first act of Oliver! that I caught myself grinning like a loon. On stage over sixty cast members including some forty children were performing a standout number that was simply joyous. 

When musical theatre gets it right, when everything is firing on all cylinders – the performances, the vocals, the orchestra, set, costume, lighting, everything – it is a sight and sound to behold. The joy is evident in those on stage (and implicit in the music pit) and is reciprocated by the audience in spades. It’s what makes musical theatre so magical - that joy and sheer optimism is infectious and a counterpoint to the anti-heroes and cynicism that populate much of the small and big screen these days.

This is the third production I have seen at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre directed by Karen Francis after Hairspray (2012) and The Phantom of the Opera (2013). Francis picks crowd-pleasers that pull eager audiences and are big in scope and ambition. In Oliver! she has outdone herself - a huge cast of well over sixty that features forty children; a twenty piece orchestra that was in top form; and what I’ve come to expect from all of her productions, impressive set design that takes advantage of the spacious MPAC stage and attention to detail in the costuming. What especially stands out with this production is the lighting – it’s a beautiful looking show with copious use of smoke to enhance the lighting design.

Then there are the songs. Oliver! is littered with memorable numbers – Consider Yourself, You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket, Oom-Pah-Pah, As Long As He Needs Me and so on. It was during Consider Yourself that I was smiling away happily but every number is so well staged and sung. It is foot-tapping, rousing material that is thoroughly entertaining.

To the story - Oliver (Ryan White) is an orphan in a workhouse who has the audacity to ask for more food from Mister Bumble (Scott Hansen). For his trouble he is sold to undertaker Mister Sowerberry (Rory Ellis) to be his apprentice. Oliver promptly runs away and ends up meeting the Artful Dodger (Bailey Bridgman-Peters) in London who takes him to Fagin (Jon Lambert), the leader of a band of pickpockets. Oliver’s first attempt as thievery doesn’t go well, however, he ends up with the wealthy Mister Brownlow (Peter Sydney-Smith) who could be the provider of a better life. This doesn’t sit well with Fagin’s notorious associate Bill Sikes (Tom Hennessy) who abducts Oliver over the protests of his put upon girlfriend Nancy (Sky Ogier). Events come to a head with a tragic end for Nancy, the demise of Sikes, and Oliver’s rescue. Fagin remains as he ever was… or will he seek an honest living as he disappears off stage laughing?

That brief summary hardly does justice to a story populated by so many other memorable characters. It also bears some resemblance to that other ‘orphan’ musical, the one from across the Atlantic – Annie – that was on at Koorliny Arts Centre recently. Oliver! is much darker in places but both are preoccupied with the quest to (find and) better yourself and interestingly the involvement of a wealthy benefactor to assist you in doing so (Brownlow, Warbucks).

Like Annie, the title role here is critical though it could be argued that Oliver is quite a passive character mainly reacting to events that swirl around him. White is solid as the eponymous character and has a couple of lovely vocal moments, especially with Where Is Love. Hennessy is a suitably menacing Sikes and his showpiece number My Name is very well done. Sky Ogier is a standout as Nancy with a wonderful rendition of As Long As He Needs Me and a raucous Oom-Pah-Pah. Hansen has enormous fun as Mister Bumble and Jon Lambert is excellent as a charismatic Fagin. To think Lambert was the lumbering monster in Young Frankenstein earlier in the year and the contrast is astonishing. Bridgman-Peters is a cheeky Artful Dodger with the rest of the supporting cast all good. Then there is the huge ensemble mainly comprised of children which is a delight especially when the whole company is on stage.

There are so many highlights but three that immediately stand out are: the jaunty Consider Yourself is superb; As Long As He Needs Me strips away the multitudes to shine a spotlight solely on Ogier and she excels; and the extended Who Will Buy features members of the ensemble in fine voice, including Samantha Ferguson, in what is quite a moving sequence. I should also mention the on-stage violin work of William Huxtable who I initially thought was mimicking before realising, no, he actually is playing and is very good!

This really is an impressive production and I apologise to all those people I haven’t mentioned. When it finished a woman turned to me and exclaimed, “Wasn’t that brilliant?” It’s hard to argue otherwise and there was certainly a buzz as the audience was leaving the full matinee session.

Oliver! is directed by Karen Francis with Musical Director David Hicks, Choreographer Andre Beissel and Vocal Director Kristie Gray. There is only one performance remaining, Sunday at 6.30pm which, according to the MPAC website, is deservedly sold out.