theatre - Whats The Show

Put Some ‘DO RE MI’ Into Your Life!

17 November 202416 November 2024 Katherine De Vere

The Sound of Music – Melville Theatre Company Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

The Sound of Music at the Melville Theatre Company revisits the famous story of a novice sent to work for a widowed naval captain and his seven children. It is set against the backdrop of the Austrian ‘Anschluss’ during World War II.

Director and musical theatre devotee, Neroli Sweetman has accomplished a grand feat, in wrangling a sizeable cast and crew to bring this ambitious production to fruition.

As might be expected, there’s a plethora of singing postulants—read: nuns. The four-hander between Sisters Bertha (Lily Wakeling), Margaretta (Ebony MacFarlane), Sophia (Parish Findlay), and the Mother Abbess is particularly charming, All four of these actors bring genuine nuance to their characters.

Wimples-off to Eilish Marie Blackmore as the Mother Abbess. Though perhaps a tad young for the role, she delivers a soaring rendition of ‘Climb Every Mountain’ that could rival a West End performance.

WAAPA graduate Hannah Charlotte, playing Maria, starts a little nervously but warms to the lead. By the play’s end, her performance is truly endearing—with a touch of the Kate Winslet. And that’s high praise.

The Von Trapp children are utterly delightful from start to finish. Played respectively by Escher Roe, Leon Brand, Aurelia Turley, John Bell, Quin Dally, Halle McDonald, and Jasmine Dally (with doubles Charlotte Theodorsen and Bowie Silvay). As soon as they appeared, the stage-wattage went up and their renditions of “Do Re Mi’ and ‘So Long Farewell’ had the audience enraptured.

The weak link in this production was Captain Von Trapp, stiffly played by Nigel Goodwin. He comments, “I’ve never been called exciting before” and unfortunately, in terms of a lead performance, never a truer word has been spoken. Given that the love story is a central premise to the script, credibility, passion and even ‘Edelweiss’ went south here.

Similarly, Max, played by (Daren Goodison) looked the part but struggled with both timing and showmanship. What might have been witty three-handers between the Baroness, Max and the Captain became about as wooden as anything you’d find at IKEA. It may be that the lovely Baroness (Erin Sirle) struggled to find her form given the incumbent lumber.

Antagonist, Admiral Von Schrieber ( Kieran Smith) doesn’t cut the mustard either, lacking both age and authority. Less gravy and more gravitas? Weaker scenes aside, the costumes were impeccable and deserve special mention, as does the ensemble cast, who were consistently impressive in both character work and harmonies.

Supporting actors Peter Shaw (Franz the Butler), Imogen Porter (Frau Schmidt), and Zac Porter (Herr Zeller), leaned into their Teutonic accents channelling an entertaining ‘Allo ‘Allo vibe. That being said, the he old stage wisdom – either everyone in the cast does accents, or no one does – might have been more effective than a Smith’s Variety Pack approach.

Rolf (David Bell) and Liesl (Escher Roe) both show promise and it will be interesting to watch where these young performers go, as did newcomer, Michael Smith as Baron Elberfield.

The set design suffered from a case of indecision-itus, wavering between realism, minimalism and kitsch; the plastic greenery being a low blow ( or low brow?) On the other hand, the wedding and final scenes were both visual and musical delights.

This is community theatre, and as such, it deserves support and appreciation. It runs on the goodwill and tireless efforts of so many talented contributors. A standout, special ‘Alleluia’ to Nick Navarra and team for their spirited (and spiritual) musical direction – and the choreography. You’ll likely find yourself humming a tune on the car ride home.

Who among us couldn’t use a bit more ‘Do-Re-Mi’ in our lives?

The Sound Of Music runs to November 30th. To book tickets, please visit https://melvilletheatrecompany.au/

Session Dates/Times:-
Performance Dates:
Evening
November 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30

Matinees
November 17, 24
Times: All evening shows at 7.30 pm
Sunday Matinees – November 17, 24 @ 5 pm

Photography: Curtain Call Creatives

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

The 39 Steps – Tugun Theatre

16 November 2024 Amanda Harrison

The 39 Steps – Tugun Theatre Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

The 39 Steps is a comedic and farcical adventure that follows an ordinary man thrown into the throes of a spy action thriller.

The unique thing about The 39 Steps is that it is played by a cast of four plus stage crew who make occasional appearances. Two cast members take on approximately 250 roles between them, as mentioned in the play foreword. This makes it one hell of a ride for cast, crew, and audience alike, and that was before ingenious director Rianna Hartney-Smith added her hilarious touch to it.

Tugun Theatre sees an even more outlandish production of the 39 steps brought to life, giving the audience a guaranteed night of laughs. They use the guise of things going wrong [on purpose] to elevate the humour, with prompts often repeated so set pieces can be rushed out, broken props that play into the comedy and fantastically funny costuming. One amazing example of these additions was when two cast members kept rushing a lamp post on stage every time the other two characters looked out the window. This bit was repeated, leaving the actors increasingly flustered with hats falling off, arms flying everywhere, and the audience laughing.

Some other great choices for staging were using a plunger and a music stand to create a ‘car’. The ridiculousness of the props enhanced the jokes but still made them practical for the actors to use. All of these additions give the overall feeling of a play in a state of mania, in the best possible way.

Special commendations need to be made to Jack Lovett and Neil Watson, who take on the daunting task of having multiple characters. Jack Lovett gives the most energetic and exuberant performance, absolutely nailing the physicality of each of his roles. He should be applauded for his effort and commitment, most notably his cameo as an old man who fell many, many times from his seat and eventually off the stage. Jack absolutely sold this, and I believe he accidentally [or maybe on purpose] copped his own cane to the head multiple times in committing to this gag.

Neil Watson provides an equally entertaining performance, cross dressing multiple times but most notably giving a long and sultry kiss to finish out the play that really showed his dedication to the comedy of his many roles. Jon Turley does a fantastic job as Richard Hannay, playing a consistent and likable do-gooder who is really adept at escaping out windows.

Samantha McClurg also competently traverses the stage and gives us the right amount of hysteria in her roles as Anabella and Pamela. Finally, the dedicated stage crew went the extra mile, donning costume pieces and performing dance numbers during set changes to keep the pacing and laughs flowing.

This production was an absolute delight, and the whole cast and crew were clearly putting their passion into this performance. From using the entire venue and stage, to the elaborate lighting choreography you can feel the respect and hard work put into this play .Tugun Theatre and all involved should be congratulated on a riveting and hilarious production.

Tugun Theatres The 39 Steps runs from November 14th – November 30. To book tickets, please visit https://www.tuguntheatre.org/the-39-steps

Evening Shows:
November 14th – 30th
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – 7:30PM

Matinee Shows:
November 16th & 23rd
Saturday – 2:00PM

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Verona Takes Centre Stage in Shakespeare-In-Between: Romeo & Juliet

16 November 2024 Emelia May

Shakespeare-In-Between: Romeo & Juliet Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

Romeo and Juliet, famously, only had eyes for each other. But what about the rest of poor old Verona? Enter ‘Shakespeare-In-Between: Romeo & Juliet’. In a new play created by Scott Jackson and Sorcha Breen, the townspeople of Verona are plucked straight from the margins of Romeo and Juliet’s romance and into the spotlight, revealing the hidden tensions, messy relationships and unlikely friendships across feuding houses.

As the Bard himself would say, ‘All the world’s a stage,’ and for this show, it couldn’t be truer. Set outdoors among flowering gardens, brisk breezes and the striking silhouette of a Victorian bluestone church, ‘Shakespeare-In-Between: Romeo & Juliet’ offers a little slice of Renaissance Italy in South Melbourne. Nature plays a leading role in fair Verona’s story: golden sunsets bathe star-crossed dallies, giving way to eerie twilight skies and the darkness of nightfall as misfortune and grief take hold. In a town doomed by the narrative, the passing of day only made it all the more inevitable.

Admittedly, my ‘Romeo & Juliet’ knowledge was a bit dusty going in. High school English and a few blockbuster flicks left me with only the broad strokes (boy meets girl, mum and dad disapprove, preventable tragedy ensues). For proper buffs, following along might have been a real ‘Shakespeare in the Park’, but I found myself losing the thread here and there. Perhaps a narration of some sort could have helped us novices stay on track with the plot – though to be fair, it’s one of the most famous plays ever written, so that might be on me.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, even when I couldn’t quite place their original roles. And there were plenty of them too! The small cast of nine took on some thirty parts, juggling a number of personalities at the drop of a velveteen doublet.

Underexplored characters flourished in ‘Shakespeare-In-Between: Romeo & Juliet’: Rosaline (Seon Williams) reclaimed her role with headstrong resolve, while Peter, the bumbling butler (Scott Middleton), provided plenty of comic relief. The Nurse (Helen Hopkins) was delightfully extra, and Paris (Oscar Morphew) hilariously daft.

Meanwhile, familiar figures like Lady Capulet (Renee Palmer), Lord Capulet (Myles Tankle), Tybalt (Jett Chudleigh), Mercutio (William Hassal), and his companion Balthazar (Wolfgang Reed) brought depth and loads of charisma to their roles, commanding attention with every appearance. Together, their portrayals offered a compelling glimpse behind the curtain of the tragic teen tryst – and the destruction left in its wake.

‘Shakespeare-In-Between: Romeo & Juliet’ brings together a versatile cast of actors, comedians, musicians – even swordfighters (seriously, I’m expecting swordfights in every play now). Their talent packed into one cohesive, dynamic ensemble made for a fantastic showcase of Melbourne’s independent theatre scene. Bravo!

Pack thy best picnic blanket and join the good people of Verona for an evening of wit, music and top-notch live theatre. ‘Shakespeare-In-Between: Romeo & Juliet’ is playing at St Kilda South Port Uniting Church until November 23 – to miss it would be a tragedy.

To book tickets, please visit https://events.humanitix.com/shakespeare-in-between-romeo-and-juliet

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Peter And The Starcatcher

15 November 2024 Rebecca Rose

Peter And The Starcatcher Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

Ever wonder how Peter Pan came to be in Neverland? Or how he got his name? Or the exact means by which Captain Hook ‘acquired’ (or perhaps I should more accurately say, ‘required’) his hook? Well, wonder no more, as ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ gives us the prequel to Peter Pan that we never knew we needed to cover all of these questions and more.

Winner of 5 Tony awards, and written by Rick Elise, Peter and the Starcatcher is a feast for all the senses, and a production the whole family can enjoy.

Although the play is a prequel to Peter Pan, you really don’t even have to know anything about Peter Pan (but I think everyone knows the story, whether they want to admit it or not!) to enjoy this production as a stand-alone story. But of course, knowing the story and characters of Peter Pan will make the show much more enjoyable; you’ll simply get so much more out of the very clever writing and humour.

The story begins out at sea, and you’ll be forgiven for taking a bit of time to get up to speed with the characters and story, as you are thrown right into the depths of this fast-paced production from the start. But once you orient yourself with the different characters and how they relate to the well-loved classic, Peter Pan, you can sit back and enjoy the ride.

And what a ride it is! The show is a feast for the senses with beautifully crafted sets, costumes, music, and stunning puppets. There is dancing, singing, live musicians on stage, and oh, the humour and comedy!

The show is marketed for all ages, including kids 8 years and older. But I would question how much the younger kids would actually understand. It is a fast-paced show, especially in the dialogue, which is extremely well written. Almost every line seems to have some sort of joke, pun, or reference linked to it, and with the fast pace of it all, I am sure I missed some of them. So although the kids may not understand it all, there is still so much they can enjoy visually and musically from this production.

Having live music played on stage was lovely, and weaving the musicians in and out of the scenes on the rolling pianos and stages was a nice touch.

The puppets were a beautiful addition to the play, really adding a lovely magical feel. And the actors did a great job in the puppetry on stage, brining to life a variety of animals.

The different sets, lighting, and costumes were a visual smorgasbord and feast for the eyes. Talk about some impressive costumes (keep an eye out for the mermaids!).

The cast were a joy to watch together, with some very strong performances shining though.

Olivia Deeble commanded the stage and really showcased her amazing talents in acting, singing, and dancing. She really is brilliant as the leading young lady, Molly: the character who we learn turns out to be the mother of Wendy in the Peter Pan we are familiar with.

Colin Lane was another standout performance and brilliantly cast as the hilarious ‘Black Stache’, the pirate captain who we know as Captain Hook. Lane stole the show with his witty humour; at times clearly off-book with some jokes, but never allowing it to be out of line with the show or his character.

If you are looking for a show that brings you a lot of joy, magic, and laughter, Peter and the Starcatcher is just what you need. A great production to bring the whole family along to enjoy.

Peter And The Starcatcher is playing now until the 1st December.

To purchase tickets please visit https://peterandthestarcatcher.com.au/

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Connect Online