Theatregoing Year in Review - 2024 (Part One - Productions)

One of the perks of having your own theatre reviews blog is that you can set your own rules. Or break a few as the case may be. Normally I would despise ties, for example. Or Top Tens that aren't. I saw 49 productions this year, formally reviewing 28 of them. Not enough to have separate top ten lists for plays and musicals; too many to only feature ten shows. Therefore, I've decided to untether myself from self-imposed rigid guidelines and highlight productions that met one of two categories: Exceptional in some way; and Excellent. There were also plenty of very good shows hovering outside this list which made for some difficult decisions. 

But enough with the preamble. Here are the productions that I thought were exceptional:

She Loves Me: The Classic Broadway Musical In Concert - Western Sky Projects

Sheer class from top to bottom in only three performances at the Liberty Theatre. Will not soon be forgotten by those people who were privileged to see it.

"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."

Come From Away - Koorliny Arts Centre

Community theatre at its finest. I went on opening night to review the production. Bought a ticket to watch it again at the closing day matinee. Superb. 

"Directors Katherine Freind and Allen Blachford have crafted a marvellous production in all facets. It's the best community theatre musical I've seen since 2015's A Man of No Importance. A must see."

The World Goes Round/Head Over Heels/Legally Blonde - WAAPA 

This year's graduating music theatre cohort delivered on all the promise of last year's Godspell and then some in a stellar year. They devoured each challenge with a cohesion and flair that was irresistible.  

"You sense (Crispin) Taylor knew he'd been handed the keys to the Ferrari and he's let it rip in a fabulous show that is enormous fun and a great way for this graduating class to end their year." (Legally Blonde)

Same Time Next Week - Presented by Nick Pages-Oliver & Scott McArdle

A confluence of all of multi-talented Scott McArdle's interests and abilities with an exceptional cast and team of creatives highlighting the high regard he is held in. An ambitious and outrageously inventive show.

"A DND puppet musical no less about friendship and facing adversity which sees McArdle at the height of his powers."

Nora: A Doll's House - WAAPA 

The graduating acting cohort closed out their year with a show of such thematic potency and intricacy of movement that it demanded my attention from the get-go. 

"Thematic potency. A powerful force when a production has something on its mind and every aspect is crafted to support that vision with crystal clear intent."

The Murmuration of Lost Birds - WAAPA 

The show that made me cry. Beautifully conceived and executed by the graduating performance makers, this is the second production to feature puppets on this list. 

"The Up-style sequence gutted me. The expert use of so many elements - puppetry, movement, music, surtitles, shadow work, to name a few - to serve such thematically cohesive storytelling floored me." 

Which brings us to the shows that were Excellent: 

Hairspray - HAMA Productions

Big cast, big wigs, big energy, and lots of fun in one of my favourite musicals. 

The Drowsy Chaperone - Stirling Players

Going in I desperately needed a laugh and this delivered in spades. 

(Also the best aftershow conversation I had all year when the fearlessness of youth came at me like a freight train over a disagreement about ALW of all people!)

Top Girls - GRADS 

Flat out my favourite moment in a theatre all year when my brain clicked into gear after the reveal which comes deep into the play and instantly the meaning of the much lauded and obtuse opening scene became crystal clear. 

Pinocchio: A Traditional Christmas Pantomime - Zealous Productions

Silliness of this magnitude only comes with a commitment to excellence in all aspects. Oh yes it does!

Girl Asleep/Beautiful Burnout - WAAPA

A double bill by the graduating actors that showcased a fantastical element in the opener that I immediately adored; and a physicality in the second production that was visceral in the tight confines of the black box space. 

Carrie: The Musical - WAAPA

If anyone was going to convince me this could even remotely work as a musical it was director Tyler Jacob Jones who brought the atmosphere and the tragedy to the second year MT's appropriately unsettling production.

Young Frankenstein The Musical - Darlington Theatre Players

"It's fair to say that the Darlington Theatre Players have pulled out all the stops with this impressive production of Mel Brooks' musical adaptation of his movie Young Frankenstein... This will undoubtedly feature heavily at the Finley Awards nomination night at the end of the year across multiple categories."

Looks like I was spot on with that call!

God of Carnage - Melville Theatre Company

This one really tickled my fancy as the actors rose to a quality of writing that was deliciously sly and mischievous.  

Special Mention:

Femoid - WAAPA

This short piece within the TILT 2 program at the Blue Room about the impact of Incel culture on young women was very well written and performed. I'm looking forward to the hourlong version at Summer Nights 2025. 

Up next, Part Two (Practitioners), right after this short nap from our sponsors... 

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.