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. 

Wicked - Crown Theatre (16 May 2015)

Some thoughts on today's matinee of Wicked at the Crown Theatre, a musical I saw last year in Melbourne:

Jemma Rix is a bonafide star as Elphaba and has a superb voice that is allowed full rein in the first half closer Defying Gravity and was particularly impressive in No Good Deed.

Simon Gallaher was good as the Wizard but this version misses the touch of class Reg Livermore brought to the table over east. Maggie Kirkpatrick was very strong as Madame Morrible though she had to sing-talk her way through songs, thankfully brief and inconsequential. Steve Danielsen is suitably dashing as Fiyero and I very much like Edward Grey as Boq.

The real revelation for me was Suzie Mathers who was excellent as Glinda the Good and on balance I preferred it to Lucy Durack's performance in Melbourne. Mathers held her own vocally, with the duet For Good with Rix being quite touching, and she was very funny. Popular was a standout.

Overall I felt somewhat underwhelmed seeing this for the second time. There is no doubt it is a slick piece of entertainment and looks fantastic with amazing set design, costumes and lighting. The acoustics at Crown though meant it sounded 'thin' to me both in terms of the vocals and orchestra. There's something to those delightful old theatres in Melbourne that seem to allow for a much richer aural experience.

I think the main issue is that when I saw it last year I had no idea what to expect and while the book is quite clever in parts, its mysteries were now known and didn't have the same impact. Without that initial wonder it lost some of its magic. For example, this time I was watching to see how certain things were done instead of being wowed by the effects especially at the end of the first half. 

I also have to say, that while I bought the original cast recording last year, the ratio of truly memorable songs is light on compared to something like Spring Awakening and certainly Les Miserables, the last big musical to occupy the Crown Theatre. 

However, I would definitely recommend Wicked to people who have never seen it before and it undoubtedly remains a popular production that will draw people back to see the story of Glinda the Good and how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West. 

Wicked - The Regent Theatre, Melbourne (21 August 2014)

First up was Wicked, a show that was all kinds of spectacular. The production was just around the corner in the lovely Regent Theatre in Collins Street. I had a third row seat that was deliciously close to the action, only spoiled somewhat by the six foot tall dude who sat in front of me [insert expletive deleted here].

This really was an impressive show. Lucy Durack was excellent as the comic foil, playing Glinda, and gave a really perky performance with a healthy dose of physical comedy. But it was Jemma Rix as Elphaba who was truly outstanding. Steve Danielson was an immensely likeable Fiyero, Anne Wood had a little Hunger Games going on as Madame Morrible, and Emily Cascarino quietly shone as Nessarose. The rest of the supporting cast, including the venerable Reg Livermore as The Wizard, were terrific.

The set was elaborately constructed and moved like clockwork, no surprise given that clock faces and gears were a recurring motif. The lighting was superb and this was a glorious production to look at. The Wizard’s “giant head” prop was something to be seen (and heard) but curiously the mechanical dragon that loomed above it all was used only in the Overture never to be revisited.

The costuming was colourful and inventive, particularly the flying monkeys and the whole thing was slickly produced, sounded great, and was firing on all cylinders.

I particularly liked how clever the writing was, incorporating familiar elements from The Wizard of Oz but shining them through the prism of a classic storytelling ‘what if?’ What if Glinda the Good and The Wicked Witch of the West had once been friends? Memo to George Lucas – THIS is how you do a prequel about a person’s descent to the dark side! 

Wicked has maybe the best end to an Act One ever, certainly that I’ve seen. The staging, lighting, singing and special effects work on Defying Gravity was outstanding and left the audience gasping in appreciation as they broke for Intermission. What a way to kick off my musicals junket!

(Excerpt from Three Musicals and a Blockbuster)

Three Musicals and a Blockbuster (21-23 August 2014)

There was a memorable photo a few weeks ago. The combined casts (in costume) and crews of the four big musicals playing in Melbourne at the time – Wicked, Les Miserables, The King and I, and The Rocky Horror Show – had gathered on the steps of State Parliament House to celebrate what was being coined the East End theatre district. It sowed the seed of an idea, one that came to fruition over the last few days.

I organised time off work, booked flights and a hotel in the heart of the city, and purchased tickets to three of those musicals, Rocky Horror having finished its run.  I decided if I was going to do this that I would get good tickets. I didn’t want to travel to the other side of the country to sit forty rows back. That proved a little expensive but so be it. The other key component of the trip was to see a football game at the famed MCG, a venue I had never been to. Fortuitously, a blockbuster was on the cards, Geelong versus Hawthorn. It was to be a lightning trip – three shows and a football game in three days.

First up was Wicked, a show that was all kinds of spectacular. The production was just around the corner in the lovely Regent Theatre in Collins Street. I had a third row seat that was deliciously close to the action, only spoiled somewhat by the six foot tall dude who sat in front of me [insert expletive deleted here]. This really was an impressive show. Lucy Durack was excellent as the comic foil, playing Glinda, and gave a really perky performance with a healthy dose of physical comedy. But it was Jemma Rix as Elphaba who was truly outstanding. Steve Danielson was an immensely likeable Fiyero, Anne Wood had a little Hunger Games going on as Madame Morrible, and Emily Cascarino quietly shone as Nessarose. The rest of the supporting cast, including the venerable Reg Livermore as The Wizard, were terrific.

The set was elaborately constructed and moved like clockwork, no surprise given that clock faces and gears were a recurring motif. The lighting was superb and this was a glorious production to look at. The Wizard’s “giant head” prop was something to be seen (and heard) but curiously the mechanical dragon that loomed above it all was used only in the Overture never to be revisited. The costuming was colourful and inventive, particularly the flying monkeys and the whole thing was slickly produced, sounded great, and was firing on all cylinders. I particularly liked how clever the writing was, incorporating familiar elements from The Wizard of Oz but shining them through the prism of a classic storytelling ‘what if?’ What if Glinda the Good and The Wicked Witch of the West had once been friends? Memo to George Lucas – THIS is how you do a prequel about a person’s descent to the dark side! 

Wicked has maybe the best end to an Act One ever, certainly that I’ve seen. The staging, lighting, singing and special effects work on Defying Gravity was outstanding and left the audience gasping in appreciation as they broke for Intermission. What a way to kick off my musicals junket!

Speaking of Act One closes, the next production has a pretty decent one as well! Yes, One Day More sung by the massed company from Les Miserables with the orchestra in top form is stirring and memorable. This was a monumental almost three hour show that featured 16 WAAPA graduates including Simon Gleeson as Jean Valjean who gave a fine performance in such a demanding role. His Bring Him Home was a highlight but there were so many here. The orchestra was superb (Musical Director & Conductor, Geoffrey Castles) and the iconic score sounded wonderful in Her Majesty’s Theatre. The stage somehow didn’t seem as big as the Regent’s so this felt quite intimate even seven rows back. And yes, for the second night in a row a tall dude sat right in front of me [insert more expletives deleted]. 

The set was quite simple for the first third featuring mainly backdrops until the wings unfolded when we get to Paris and all sorts of trickery comes into play that was really quite impressive. There was extensive use of smoke and dry ice throughout to diffuse the light but also a lot of shadow and silhouette with characters entering from and receding into darkness that was visually compelling in key dramatic moments. Unfortunately, a side effect of so much smoke was the amount of coughing from the audience that was vaguely preposterous and increasingly annoying in the quieter moments. The use of projections was inventive with a particularly memorable sequence recreating the sewers under Paris. I’m still trying to work out how they did Javert’s death which was utterly filmic in its execution.  

Hayden Tee was a worthy adversary as Javert with Kerrie Anne Greenland excellent as Eponine. Emily Langridge and Euan Dodge worked well together as Cosette and Marius while Lara Mulcahy and Trevor Ashley gave an hilarious comic performance as the Thenardier’s with Master of the House a highlight. The Ensemble was also terrific and this is a show where they get their own moments to shine such as Lovely Ladies and, of course, the work on the Barricades which was nicely designed and executed (pardon the pun). Patrice Tipoki gave a heart-wrenching performance as Fantine with, as ever, I Dreamed A Dream an early highlight. 

Special mentions to the young boy who played Gravoche who was amusingly cocky; and the young girl who gave a lovely rendition of Castle on a Cloud. All in all a rousing production that sounded superb vocally and musically.

The final production of the trip was the newly minted Helpmann Award winning Best Musical for 2014, The King and I. What immediately strikes you is this – Lisa McCune is a star. She gives a commanding performance (pun fully intended) and, I must say, looked stunning in an assortment of costumes befitting the period. McCune sings beautifully, shows a deft touch with the younger cast members, and had good chemistry with Lou Diamond Phillips especially in the more comic sequences. Phillips, while perhaps not that strong a vocalist, gives a charismatic performance and is clearly enjoying himself in the role of the King of Siam. He delighted the audience at final bows, hamming it up a little as the curtains closed. 

The costumes are sumptuous and there is an array of gorgeous drapes that provide backdrops throughout. The set itself is very simple especially when compared to the intricacies involved with Wicked and Les Miserables. I also found it a quite static production which is perhaps as much to do with its construction (it is, after all, 63 years old) rather than the staging – long dialogue passages with many of the set piece songs essentially a featured performer or duets only. It’s not until The Small House of Uncle Thomas in the Second Act that there’s real movement and, of course, Shall We Dance? that soon follows. 

The child cast are charming and each has a featured moment during the introduction to the King’s children. Adrian Li Donni (as Lun Tha) and Vivien Emsworth (who played Tuptim for this performance) had a couple of lovely duets as the illicit lovers in We Kiss In A Shadow and I Have Dreamed while Marty Rhone was suitable stern and officious as The Kralahome. The orchestra was strong and there are well-known tunes and standards here that were done very well with McCune at the forefront (I Whistle A Happy Tune, Getting To Know You, and Shall We Dance?). It was certainly interesting to compare the distinct stylistic differences with its more modern brethren and it’s perhaps appropriate that the show was staged in that grand old dame of a theatre, The Princess.

To round out the trip I changed gears and went to the jewel of the Australian sporting landscape where theatre of a very different kind is played. That place is the MCG and what a stadium it is! It truly is world class and even from the fourth level in the Olympic Stand the view was tremendous. It was a big game too – over 72,000 to see Hawthorn play Geelong in a blockbuster towards the end of the AFL home and away season. Only about 30,000 more people than I’ve ever seen at a football game before! I was sitting in a predominantly Geelong section though my friend is a mad Hawks supporter who found her voice in the second half after Hawthorn stormed back from a 5 goal deficit at half-time to win convincingly.

What did surprise me though was that the atmosphere wasn’t quite as electric as I’d hoped – maybe it’s because I was a neutral observer (my team was playing back in Perth) or the fact that the game itself was actually a little lacklustre. But as a sporting venue it is quite exceptional. I also liked the fact that we walked back into the city with a mass of people and it was all so good-natured on a lovely Saturday evening. In fact, I was lucky with the weather throughout this trip.

Finally, I was fortunate enough to talk with WAAPA graduate Ben Hall (ensemble, Marius understudy) after Les Miserables, and Tim Cunniffe (assistant Musical Director and keyboards) after The King and I who were both generous with their time providing interesting insights into their respective shows. It was inspiring to see so many WAAPA graduates in all three musicals, with headliners coming from the acclaimed academy – Lucy Durack (Wicked), Simon Gleeson (Les Miserables), and Lisa McCune (The King and I). 

As I prepare to watch the next round of WAAPA acting and musical theatre productions in the coming week it is a timely reminder of the sheer amount of talent being trained right in our own backyard to be the next generation of Australian theatre stars.

It proved to be a wonderful trip and an inspired decision to go.