Top Ten Theatre Productions in 2016 - Musicals & Cabaret

It was an oddly muted year for musicals in 2016. The top end was spectacular as always with WAAPA’s exceptional The Drowsy Chaperone only pipped for top honours by the unstoppable La Soiree road train.

The Academy features in this category as it does every year joined by local independent powerhouse Holland St Productions. Rachael Beck returns after last year’s Next to Normal and Fringe proved to be a reliable source of musical theatre flavoured entertainment.

1. La Soiree – La Soiree Australia

“In a show of jaw dropping brilliance there was one unmistakeable conclusion – not only is this troupe comprised of superb entertainers but they also count among their number world class athletes.”

2. The Drowsy Chaperone - WAAPA

“The show ticks all the boxes – gorgeous production values, a witty script, fabulous performances across the board, a fun score, and above all it is consistently laugh out loud funny. At a brisk 100 minutes with no interval it is utterly infectious and a complete triumph.”

3. Bring It On - WAAPA

“This was a pulsating show that matched the energy of its performers, was a visual feast, and sounded great. In many ways all these elements elevated what is really a paper thin plot and made it compelling.”

4. Rent - WAAPA

“Standout performances by Kelsi Boyden, David Cuny, Tom New, Finn Alexander and Mackenzie Dunn with the band in cracking form under MD Timothy How, especially guitarist Jack Maher and excellent use of my favourite venue in Perth, The Roundhouse Theatre by director Adam Mitchell.”

5. This Girl – Rachael Beck

“Bringing star power and more than a touch of class Downstairs At The Maj, Beck sings beautifully, looks stunning, and exhibits a wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humour and playfulness.”

6. Gutenberg the Musical! – Holland St Productions

“… this is a must-see for everybody who has a dream, loves the written word, and enjoys a smart parody of the musical theatre form. Plus hats. If you love hats you'll LOVE this!”

7. Dr. Felicity Rickshaw’s Celebrity Sex Party – Holland St Productions

“One signature aspect of any Holland St Productions show is how film literate the driving creative forces, Tyler Jacob Jones and Robert Woods are. It’s tantalising then that a musical comedy is packed with allusions to well-known recent and not-so-recent movies with ‘cameo appearances’ by many a celebrity, most notably Keanu Reeves (Jones), Madonna (Taylor) and a pitch perfect Meryl Streep (Hutchinson).”

8: Impromptunes: The Completely Improvised Musical - Impromptunes

“One of the beauties of Impromptunes is that no two shows will ever be alike. It’s the genius of the premise that sees a completely self-contained one hour musical performed every night. Not even the cast know what’s going to happen or even what the topic is going to be.”

9: Best Bits - WAAPA

“Two immediate thoughts after having a wonderful time this afternoon with this iteration - The Drowsy Chaperone has to be remounted by WAAPA IMMEDIATELY! and the 2016 MT class give the best critique of The Beautiful Game, bar none. Impressive perception amongst the hilarity.”

10. Sincerely Yours, A New Musical – Stray Cats Theatre Company & Mad Cats Theatre Company

“… this was a mature and accomplished piece of musical theatre with an excellent score and well delivered songs that had some great moments of genuinely affecting dramatic acting.”

Male Performer of the Year - Ashley Roussety

Immediately set the tone as Man in Chair during the opening sequence of The Drowsy Chaperone and gave an immensely warm and entertaining portrayal that powered the show. Amusingly reprised the role narrating Best Bits.

Female Performer of the Year - Lisa Adam

A standout in the wildly uneven Clinton the Musical with a funky and energetic portrayal of the former First Lady. Displayed excellent comedic chops though the last laugh may end up being on us all given recent events.

Special Mentions:

Andre Drysdale (Sincerely Yours, A New Musical and The Beautiful Game)

Stefanie Caccamo (The Drowsy Chaperone and Bring It On)

Stephanie Wall (The Drowsy Chaperone)

Hannah Burridge (Bring It On)

Rachael Beck (This Girl)

Scott Hansen (Footloose)

Kelsi Boyden (Rent)

Thank you and good night!

Richard Hyde

Sincerely Yours... A New Musical - Fringe World 2016 (18 February 2016)

How often are we given a second chance? Do we recognise it when we’re presented with that opportunity? Do we have the courage to pursue it or are there things, or perhaps more crucially, people from the past that stop us from moving forward?

That’s the premise of Sincerely Yours, an original new musical written by and starring current and recently graduated WAAPA students. Interestingly, for a show created by Australian twenty somethings, it is set in America during the early to mid-70s with the Vietnam War providing a significant backdrop.

In its musical style and structure it reminded me of The Last Five Years in that there are two timelines at play, one in the present of what I took to be 1975 and three years earlier when James (Andre Drysdale) and Sarah (Megan Kozak) first meet. These timelines are intercut as we move back and forth, the focal point being Sarah’s emotional state. Unlike the Jason Robert Brown musical, however, this is a three hander where Sean (Jason Arrow) becomes a surrogate for James in the ‘present day’ scenes as Sarah deals with the aftermath of her earlier relationship.

The story starts with Sarah, a talented painter, who is struggling to finish a portrait. A letter is slipped under the doorway to her apartment. She hopes it was James, who she hasn’t seen in some time, at the door.  Flashback three years and we have the ‘cute meet’ as the two children of army personnel meet one New Year’s Eve. James has experienced tragedy in his immediate family and this influences his decisions, notably in regard to Vietnam. The two fall in love but the war and James’ sense of duty to his family eventually comes between them. Three years later and Sarah is still coming to terms with what happened and why, assisted by Sean who encourages her to move on.

This is the third show I’ve seen Megan Kozak in at Fringe. I know her as a fine singer with a real flair for playing comic or quirky characters, particularly in her graduating year at WAAPA with standout performances in the musicals Urinetown and Legally Blonde. What was terrific to see here was Kozak sinking her teeth into a dramatic role where there was real heartache and loss. She acquitted herself admirably which bodes well for an already bright future. There’s no doubting her vocal talent but well rounded acting chops add another dimension.

Jason Arrow, who wrote the Book and Lyrics, has the trickiest role as the third wheel to the central relationship. His character flirts with being unlikeable as Sean takes matters into his own hands at one point. We wonder what the character’s true motives are. It’s a non-singing role so Arrow has to rely solely on his acting skills which, apart from being a little busy with hand gestures at times, is effective as his Sean nudges and gently cajoles Sarah into seeing her second chance.

The revelation though is Andre Drysdale who is superb as James. Not only does he have an exquisite voice that was showcased to great effect in several songs, his acting was first rate. This is helped by being given a clearly defined arc that initially maximised a sense of nice guy charm that he handled effortlessly that then crumbles into recrimination and misplaced anger. It is an impressive launching pad into his third year at WAAPA and I’m keen to see how he does in their upcoming musicals.

The music by Kohan van Sambeeck and Arrow was very good indeed. Predominantly piano and cello driven it heightened the emotional nature of the production and was very well played by Joshua James Webb (piano and conductor), Krista Low (cello), Campbell Ellis (guitar), Samuel Gibson (bass) and Ben Cremer on drums. The only thing I would say is that even with Kozak and Drysdale mic’d up, the more drum heavy elements tended to drown them out in the relatively small space. This meant that some of the lyrics were lost especially in the early going as the story was being set up. 

There were a couple of technical hitches - Kozak’s microphone was giving noticeable echo and times when a performer was left in darkness with the lighting design. Some adjustments to get the sound clean and balance right would enhance what was a lovely score and character driven songs.

I did have some issues with the Book. The phrase ‘a second chance’ was overtly referred to far too many times. That’s the theme and would be better utilised as subtext. The overuse as text ultimately watered down its impact. There was a reference that the war was going to start but of course America (and Australia) had long been in Vietnam before the decade started. I didn’t believe that Sarah could possibly be the bearer of bad news at one point given how such things would be handled by the military. They’re minor things but tended to wrench me out of the story. There was also a critical scene between Sean and Sarah where the former takes something from the latter and ruins it. While I understood the intent it’s a tricky sequence that didn’t quite work and flirts with damaging Sean as a character.

Those things aside this was a mature and accomplished piece of musical theatre with an excellent score and well delivered songs that had some great moments of genuinely affecting dramatic acting. It’s a pity that the song titles weren’t included in the otherwise nicely presented programme. 

Sincerely Yours by Stray Cats Theatre Company and Mad Cats Theatre Company is on at Studio 411 (formerly the Drama Workshop) at Murdoch University for only two more performances, 7pm Friday and Saturday.