"Bare The Musical", StageArt, Chapel Off Chapel, Saturday April 7th 2018
"Bare The Musical" was presented by StageArt at Chapel Off Chapel on Saturday April 7th 2018
For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre. I buy my own tickets. So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights. Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases. I write for my memories of what I have seen, and is more of a stream of consciousness.
John Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo wrote the book for "Bare The Musical". Originally called "Bare: A Pop Opera" with music by Damon Intrabartolo and lyrics by John Hartmere, "Bare The Musical" was directed by Dean Drieberg for StageArt who worked magic with some repetitive material.
Director, Dean Drieberg brought out so much from each of the fine performers, though I wanted more emotional connection between the characters. I should have been in tears a few times and was not moved as I should have been.
Set Design, also by Dean Drieberg helped cement the fluidity and transitions between scenes. The use of the church's ornate stained glass window prominently provided atmospheric honesty. The looming fluorescent cross gave an instant exorcist's foreboding warning upon entry to the theatre. We were to witness the souls being bared and hopefully cleansed. Brilliant set design.
Lighting Design by Maddy Seach and Jason Bovaird supported the production by defining locations and enhancing atmospheres. Sadly, some of the execution of the lighting plot was clunky and disturbed the flow and the vision of the production.
The staging was mostly effective with the simple use of chairs, two sets of lockers on trucks, and a single bed. The use of the chairs was extremely effective when creating different locations or set pieces. I wanted more of this and was spoiled when it was used. The use of chairs reminded me of the inventive standards set in "The Three Lives of Lucy Cabrole" by Complicite.
The confessional trio was brilliantly simple with the two set of lockers on trucks creating the division of space. This was simple and most effective in the writing and more of this intertwining could have been updated in the book, as many of the songs sounded similar.
Masking and blocking issues occurred on five occasions, where the blocked action was upstage centre. We sat in the second row and could not see the main character/action on five occasions as our view was blocked by the grouping of the ensemble. Others in the audience also craned their necks to try to espy a look at which person was singing and what was happening.
Choreography by Kirra Sibel was evocative, and provided support to the story without upstaging the material. Some of the gestural choreography was brilliant as it highlighted the challenges of decision making and choices. The hand and face turning suggesting the "no" head movement and the searching for choices and direction. The choreography was powerful and simple, and oh-so-slick in execution by the fine cast. Four ensemble members arrive wearing lead-light window costumes and created not only a set, but more importantly developed an ecclesiastical atmosphere. I want to follow the choreographic career of Kirra Sibel. If she can do this with limited resources, imagine what she could do with more resources. Kirra Sibel can be proud of the cast as they executed her choreography with accuracy, honesty and resisted hamming up. What was even more special was the cast moved with ease, in character and not with attitude.
Sound Design by Marcello Lo Ricco was balanced in Act One, and sadly in Act Two the balance was jarring for a few microphones. Sound levels seemed to be corrected after one or two songs in Act Two. The diction was still not clear at times for some performers. My partner found it hard to understand the lyrics most of the time, and he has great hearing!
The best part of the production was the characters were well developed individually. More attention to the relationships would have heightened the emotional experience for the audience.
The singing was flat at times with some performers, while one performer screamed, rather than projected her voice. The best singing was when the whole ensemble created beautiful harmonies.
Claire played by Mandi Lodge created the most warmth and depth to her character with her complex emotional responses.
Peter and Jason played respectively by Adam Di Martino and by Finn Alexander made solid performances with their respective emotional journeys. They sang and acted well though the gait of Jason was not sports-jock enough for credibility. Adam Di Martino's Peter showed us distance and longing and desire for Finn Alexander's Jason.
The cast were consistently good working with some better-than-ordinary, and repetitive material.
Overall "Bare The Musical" obtained a 7/10.
Director, Dean Drieberg brought out so much from each of the fine performers, though I wanted more emotional connection between the characters. I should have been in tears a few times and was not moved as I should have been.
Set Design, also by Dean Drieberg helped cement the fluidity and transitions between scenes. The use of the church's ornate stained glass window prominently provided atmospheric honesty. The looming fluorescent cross gave an instant exorcist's foreboding warning upon entry to the theatre. We were to witness the souls being bared and hopefully cleansed. Brilliant set design.
Lighting Design by Maddy Seach and Jason Bovaird supported the production by defining locations and enhancing atmospheres. Sadly, some of the execution of the lighting plot was clunky and disturbed the flow and the vision of the production.
The staging was mostly effective with the simple use of chairs, two sets of lockers on trucks, and a single bed. The use of the chairs was extremely effective when creating different locations or set pieces. I wanted more of this and was spoiled when it was used. The use of chairs reminded me of the inventive standards set in "The Three Lives of Lucy Cabrole" by Complicite.
The confessional trio was brilliantly simple with the two set of lockers on trucks creating the division of space. This was simple and most effective in the writing and more of this intertwining could have been updated in the book, as many of the songs sounded similar.
Masking and blocking issues occurred on five occasions, where the blocked action was upstage centre. We sat in the second row and could not see the main character/action on five occasions as our view was blocked by the grouping of the ensemble. Others in the audience also craned their necks to try to espy a look at which person was singing and what was happening.
Choreography by Kirra Sibel was evocative, and provided support to the story without upstaging the material. Some of the gestural choreography was brilliant as it highlighted the challenges of decision making and choices. The hand and face turning suggesting the "no" head movement and the searching for choices and direction. The choreography was powerful and simple, and oh-so-slick in execution by the fine cast. Four ensemble members arrive wearing lead-light window costumes and created not only a set, but more importantly developed an ecclesiastical atmosphere. I want to follow the choreographic career of Kirra Sibel. If she can do this with limited resources, imagine what she could do with more resources. Kirra Sibel can be proud of the cast as they executed her choreography with accuracy, honesty and resisted hamming up. What was even more special was the cast moved with ease, in character and not with attitude.
Sound Design by Marcello Lo Ricco was balanced in Act One, and sadly in Act Two the balance was jarring for a few microphones. Sound levels seemed to be corrected after one or two songs in Act Two. The diction was still not clear at times for some performers. My partner found it hard to understand the lyrics most of the time, and he has great hearing!
The best part of the production was the characters were well developed individually. More attention to the relationships would have heightened the emotional experience for the audience.
The singing was flat at times with some performers, while one performer screamed, rather than projected her voice. The best singing was when the whole ensemble created beautiful harmonies.
Claire played by Mandi Lodge created the most warmth and depth to her character with her complex emotional responses.
Peter and Jason played respectively by Adam Di Martino and by Finn Alexander made solid performances with their respective emotional journeys. They sang and acted well though the gait of Jason was not sports-jock enough for credibility. Adam Di Martino's Peter showed us distance and longing and desire for Finn Alexander's Jason.
The cast were consistently good working with some better-than-ordinary, and repetitive material.
Overall "Bare The Musical" obtained a 7/10.
