Moulin Rouge Melbourne, Global Creatures & others, The Regent Theatre, Thursday April 7th 2022

Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Global Creatures and others, Melbourne, The Regent Theatre, Thursday April 7th 2022

We had seen “Moulin Rouge” two weeks after the official opening on Broadway in August 2019.  I will compare my experience in Melbourne.

The link to my 2019 review is at the end of this review.

In my review from 2019 I had given the Broadway version an 8.5/10.  In Melbourne for the Thursday April 7th performance they receive a 7/10.

Entering The Regent Theatre’s foyer I was in awe of the architecture of the building.  The foyer lacked the decorated atmosphere of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway.

Upon entering the Dress Circle I was eager to see the renovations to compare the sight lines.  I was impressed with the seamless renovations that reduce the proximity to the stage and enhance the sense of inclusion to the performers.

I was disappointed with the prologue as on Broadway I remember counting at least fifteen performers seducing and teasing the audience with the pre-show entertainment.  In Melbourne, the maximum of nine performers paraded performing their stylised improvised or choreographed moves.  It lacked the atmosphere of engaging the audience to seduce us and draw us in for an experience.  I remember the taunts and squeals of delight from the audience on Broadway as the performers focused on selling their wares.  At The Regent Theatre, the performers looked disengaged and dismissive bar a few odd moments.  They missed a huge opportunity to create the exciting prologue as occurred on Broadway.

The view from our A 30-31 seats in the Dress Circle were basically the same seats that we had at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway.  As I wrote in my original review I knew the set would look better at The Regent Theatre, and I was correct in my judgement.  We did not have to stand (or half stand) to see the catwalk at the front of the stage.

I tested standing to see what I could see comparing it to the 2019 experience.  Here at The Regent Theatre I could see the first ten rows of the Stalls with the same effort required for viewing the catwalk on Broadway.  Hence the Melbourne experience is much better viewing than at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway.  I also tested this at interval and at the end of the show, with the views much better value for audience members seated further back in the Dress Circle.  Heaven forbid what the Dress Circle audiences could see behind the A row at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway!

Overall, this presents better value for money in Melbourne than on Broadway.

The opening number was flat!  There was no excitement, no fire, nor any electricity.  The dancing in the opening number was very laboured, pedestrian and “marked” at times.  The reason I can say this is when you see one performer who is working the choreography and showing definition and clarity of lines, steps, and movements; and they stand out when another person is “marking” or “going through the basic movements”.

A classic example is the hip-roll-walk.  Well, with some dancers/performers you were lucky to see a hip raised or a roll!

That was the dancing!  The singing was ordinary too!

AND THIS WAS THE OPENING NUMBER!!!!

There were four cast changes for our performance.  

Alinta Chidzey played Satine as I predicted in my 2019 review of the Original Broadway Cast.  I was so pleased to see her and she had more passion than Satine on Broadway, though sadly she cracked on a few notes.  Her relationship with Christian had more passion than those on a Broadway viewing.  She was as good as the Satine on our Broadway experience when you balance the positives and negatives of both performers.

Christian was played by the Principal Cover, Maxwell Simon who struggled with his upper-register notes.  His deep notes were richer, melodic and without any scooping.  His acting performance had more passion than the performer on Broadway, but his singing was overall not to the same standard.

Special mention must go to the understudies who played The Duke (James Bryers) and Toulouse-Lautrec (Jarrod Draper).  Both of these men gave performances with solid characterisations as good as the original Broadway leads.

Joe Donovan filled in for the parts by Jarrod Draper.

Overall I thought the men danced better than the women with more consistent definition of steps, and with the quality and texture of moves and phrases.  Sadly, a lot of the partnering work was not secure enough with the men not getting their centre of gravity prepared sufficiently to support their female partner.  Some of the timing of lifts and partnering was awkward.  I felt there was too much effort being shown in much of the pas de deux/partnering work.

The difference in quality and standard by the female dancers was more glaringly obvious.  For example, a hip-role-walk was executed with definition and precision by a few dancers, while the others varied from a “marked” version to something that was totally unidentifiable!  No, let me be more specific - some of the defined hip-role-walk choreography was hard to detect on a few dancers!  And this was only one step!  Overall the dancing was sloppy and laboured, and needed to be showing less effort.

I can give many other examples as the snap, precision and definition of the whole choreography was lacking.  

The dancing in “El Tango De Roxanne” in the second act finally provided the standard closer (but not close enough) to what I had witnessed on Broadway in August 2019.

The accents varied.  I would barely have known the show was set in Paris from the accents!  One blond female had a strong Australian strine and lacked the “bitchiness” or the characterisation of the Broadway performer.

On three occasions the dialogue was “rote” and not "in the moment" (attentive and listening to their fellow performers).  For example, a performer acknowledged the entrance of another character prior to their appearance (as their back was turned!) Another two example had the performer react prior to the other character saying a line, or doing anything to affect a response.

The best singing was when most of the cast were singing together, though the harmonies were not as rich as our Broadway experience.

Simon Burke played Harold Ziegler nearly as good as Danny Burstein.  The main difference in performances was the supressed desperation for survival of the Moulin Rouge and the future of the cast and artists if they do not acquire funding from The Duke.  Many of the other performers need to have Simon Burke’s energy and polish. 

Each ensemble member on Broadway had defined characters for every entrance and exit.  This was lacking for most of the performers here in Melbourne.

Overall the show lacked fire, electricity and seduction.  This performance lacked the excitement of my 2019 experience.  (Note I have seen some shows multiple times where the better performance was on the second viewing!)

The best part was the superior view from our seats at The Regent Theatre.  Plus, this Melbourne performance had more passion than the performance we saw on Broadway in August 2019.  The sets and costumes looked more sensational on the larger stage at The Regent Theatre particularly with the revolving set-piece.

A side note regarding the revolving bus for “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” looked better at The Regent Theatre compared to the cramped stage of the Palace Theatre on Broadway.  The spaciousness at The Regent Theatre created the sense of isolation in the desert, while on Broadway the bus looked as if it were doing a three-point-turn in the suburbs.  The spaciousness with the “Moulin Rouge” revolving central set-piece at The Regent Theatre created a greater sweeping sense of passion, and swept me away with the Parisian landscape.

Overall, the show needs refining and tightening.

I gave it a 7/10 whereas we gave the Broadway performance of “Moulin Rouge” an 8.5/10.

Below are some of my notes and feedback from 2019:

MINI REVIEW OF MOULIN ROUGE ON BROADWAY:

Spectacular sets and costumes and the story telling was clearer than the movie.  Though the show is about so much passion and love, the show felt dead of emotion.  It is a great show with lots of laughs and spectacle, but the show lacks any emotional  drama and connection with the audience.  I felt a slight of slight emotion once during the show, unlike “Fiddler on the Roof” or “The Prom” where my tears flowed.

Thoroughly worth seeing for the spectacle.

We both gave it 8.5/10.

Survey notes form 2021-08-23

We had front row tickets in the Mezzanine and we could not see stage right below nor could we see the front of the catwalk.  CHECK the sight lines as Hal Prince would do from every seat.  At $299US a ticket this is not good enough.  Also for a show about passion and love, it felt dead and lacked emotion.  I felt one twang during the last 20 minutes.  I cry easily and get very emotional during shows and here I felt dead.  We loved the show, but the music sounded too electronic and needed a richer sound.  Please ensure that the renovations of the Regent Theatre Melbourne allow viewers to see the top of the stage for Santine’s entrances.  Make sure they get the sight lines right.  I have already shared this on Facebook.

Congratulations as we did not like the movie and this show is better than the movie.  We felt the same about Beetlejuice and Alex Timbers is a genius.

The show will look great in the current Regent Theatre.  We hope they do not destroy the theatre seats and sight lines.

Here is my link to my review on Broadway:

https://raymondstheatrereviews.blogspot.com/2019/09/moulin-rouge-musical-global-creatures.html

Curtains, The Production Company, The State Theatre, Friday August 26th 2016

Curtains, The Production Company,  The State Theatre, Friday August 26th 2016

"Curtains" was presented by The Production Company,  The State Theatre, Friday August 26th 2016.  

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.

"Curtains" is the last musical written by John Kander and Fred Ebb and has a book by Rupert Holmes.

The Production Company have presented "Curtains" with minimalist sets and simple staging.  "Curtains" is about 15 minutes too long and would do well with pruning some songs.

The best aspect of this production is the superb performances of Simon Gleeson as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi.  Simon Gleeson channelled Maxwell Smart from "Get Smart" with his dialogue delivery.  He is also a terrific singer and projects so much emotion into his characterisation.

Alinta Chidzey as Niki Harris was also superb with her clean dancing and beautiful singing voice,  

Melissa Langton as Carmen Bernstein provided the stage mother antics and belted her numbers in her usual powerful voice.

Zoe Coppinger played Bambi Bernet with impeccable comedic timing.  She had the audience roaring with laughter at her physical and vocal antics.

Simon Maiden gave a solid performance as Johnny Harmon while some others seemed to coast in their roles without much to differentiate their characters from each other.

Colin Lane as Christopher Belling had a weird accent and wavered between English, Australian and American .  He had too many continents to be trans-Atlantic!

The sets, costumes and staging was very basic.  The costumes in particular looked like something out of a school concert.

The notable exception was the choreography by Dana Jolly that was easily the outstanding production feature of "Curtains".  Dana Jolly has paid homage to many backstage musicals including "Gypsy" and movie musicals with the simple but highly effective staircase sequence.  Dana Jolly had Simon Gleeson and Alinta Chidzey paying homage to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  These two fine performers really captured the romantic essence of the movie musical film genre. 

Version three of "Wide Open Spaces" was terrific.  The three versions of this sequence grew into a fun joke.'

Musical direction by John Foreman provided the delicious singing harmonies.  The band played well and it was fun to have them on stage as in the old movie musicals.  Some individual singers strained their voices to sing their songs or duets.

It was fun to hear a few bars from "Cabaret" or "That's amore" in the orchestrations.

The complimentary programmes are a welcome addition and remind me of the free Broadway Playbills.  The programme is one of the best available with quality photographs and detailed information.

"Curtains" reminds me of "Murder For Two" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" which also has a book by Rupert Holmes.  Both of these musicals are superior to "Curtains" and I am glad to have been able to finally see it on stage.

Overall "Curtains" received a 7/10.

Cross Roads, Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 21st 2016

CROSSxROADS, Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 21st 2016

"CROSSxROADS", Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 21st 2016

For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre.  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 also mainly write for my memories of what I have seen.

Buying the tickets via the Chapel Off Chapel website is not as easy and fluid as other ticket agency websites.  The sequencing in the website needs to corrected.

Thursday April 21st 2016 was a very wet night and an umbrella stand had been placed near the main door.  There is no verandah to the venue and consequently it is hard to shake your umbrella of excess water before entering the foyer.

A programme stall was set up near the theatre with a lady providing customer service before the half hour.  Whew this a good change from the last show we saw at Chapel Off Chapel!

Reading the $5.00 programme frustrated me as the cast have their lovely biographies but does not state who plays which role. There are photos of the Creative Team that do not state their creative role succinctly.

It would make it quick and easy to see the name of the Peter Fitzpatrick - Book, Anthony Costanzo - was he the composer?  It actually does not say in the programme.   Though he is credited as an Orchestrator alongside David Wisken.  In fact who was the composer? Anthony is also credited on page three as collaborator.  But you have to go back to the cover to see this is the only place that Music and Lyrics are credited to the very talented Anthony Costanzo.

To find out the Creative Team's functions you must go to page 13.  For example  Michael Ralph is the choreographer and Kim Bishop the costume designer.  The list on page 13 is incomplete as it is missing the book, and, music and lyrics credits (as mentioned above).  Yes I sound picky but I want to remember these fine performances and later try to recall "was it Bronte Florian who played Amy?"  This could be alleviated by putting the names of the characters next to their photo and name.

Oh yes the date of the production was April 16-30.  Which year?  I would love to remember this show was produced in 2016.  But as we age and want to cross our legs trying to not wet ourselves. We will piss ourselves laughing when we remember it was 2016 - only because we can refer to the tickets if we kept them and inserted them inside the programme!                        

We knew something was wrong as the doors did not open to the theatre at 7.25pm for a 7.30pm start. Front of House Management could have made an announcement as it is not rocket science to provide notice to audience members that the show is delayed.  Yes the book writer Peter Fitzpatrick finally made an announcement as he weaved his way near the bar to apologise for the delay.  This could have been done 15 minutes earlier and people would have been more empathetic to the delay.  It also would have shown more respect to the audience members.    Remember some elderly people like to time their toilet breaks in accordance with approximate Act One or Act Two timings.  Yes laugh!  You too could age!   Sorry - YOU TOO WILL AGE!

An announcement made just before the start of the show to turn off phones etc.  How rude of people to be playing with their phones right up until the first entrance. Off means off.

I have been to amateur shows that show more respect to their audiences in preparing an audience for a special occasion.  John Truscott was famous for making sure audience members enjoyed the holistic experience of attending the theatre.  That means from the moment you see an advertisement to a show,  to buying the tickets, arriving at the theatre, buying a programme, using the toilets and to buying a drink and to leaving after the show.

I have not even started the review for the show!

If the seats were more comfortable and I did not feel as if I were falling forward in my seat I could have enjoyed this show more.  In fact I enjoyed this show more than the slick and over produced  "If/Then" which we saw with the original cast on Broadway.  That show is so convoluted and complex in its staging and storyline.  It dragged on and on and on - and was way too long.

"CROSSxROADS"  has a simpler story with some very pleasant tunes and terrific performances and simple staging.  It does not pretend to be clever and thus emphasises the fragility of human decision making with our numerous opportunities and choices in life.

Stand out performances by Alinta Chidzey as Amy with her strong and expressive voice.  Alinta Chidzey is one of Australia's finest musical theatre performers for her pure voice and honest performance. Her voice did not crack or break during any of the songs.   Stephen Mahy played Scotch College educated Rick consistently well until he had a few strained top notes in "Yellow Brick Road" solo.

The setting was simple and very effective with eight sheer white curtains that created screens and tabs similar to sliding doors.  The staging varied with the use of the simple curtains to change locations. Upstage was a low raised rostrum.

Projections onto the white screens were sometimes clear and other times were very blurry which had more to do with the quality of the images.  Most scenes and/or locations and/or times were projected onto the screens.  A different actor would announce each new scene like a vaudeville Ziegfeld Follies which seemed incongruent with the show.   These announcements heightened the inconsistency of the projections as I wondered why they scripted specific locations or times in some scenes and not in others.  The announcements and projections became annoying.  I wanted the projections to be succinct to contain all the information rather than the inconsistent duplication or elaboration by an actor.  In one scene no slide announced the location or time.

The choreography by Michael Ralph created the sexual tension to a scene.  I actually liked his sequences which were well danced by Ryan Gonzalez  and Bianca Baykara.  In one way the main dance duet was distracting as the contract had not been made with the audience in the early stages of the show that this device would be used.  It seemed out of keeping with the rest of the show.

The opening scene reminded me of "Merrily We Roll Along" with the graduation gowns.

The opening scene created a clear contract with the audience of what we were to expect by enacting optional versions and perspectives of the same scene.  (It would be fun to choose your A,B or C version of what happened - which would be a more complex version of the finale from "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" .)  I really liked the three or sometimes four options in different scenes.

Clarity in staging was established early with the audience to differentiate between phone calls, text messages or face to face interactions.

"That's My Shit" duet between Amy and Rick provides us with their personal introductions, and provides a very unusual song of seduction.

Act One had a terrific fun ensemble number "The Difference Between" set in an art gallery.  Rosalie played by Bianca Baykara was flamboyant and demonstrative.

The Club singer played by Bronte Florian sang "Paint The Town Red" well.  The theme of red and green, or, stop and go  - continued throughout the musical.  The colours red and green provided us with the moral compass of decision making.

I remember thinking that I would have been satisfied had  "CROSSxROADS"  ended with "The Emails song" in Act One.  I remember feeling very satisfied that this created a natural conclusion to the options in Amy and Rick's lives.  After this, I hoped substance would be added to their stories.

Barrel is played convincingly by Joe Kozky with a blokey larrakin nature that we witness from the opening scene. Barrel's buck's turn has four options of what could have transpired.  I am sure other audience members had their preferred version of what they would like to be Amy or Rick's reality.  The doorbell ringing as Rick and Barrel party on has both fun and poignant moments.

The song "Floating on Cloud Nine" is a lovely duet between Stephen Mahy and Joe Kosky.  Both blokey and poignant at the same time.  It is their bromance!

The opening of Act Two "Be My Wings" has a good twist of locations and emotional context.  This scene created a depth to the relationships and friendships. Fem Belling is an engaging performer and showed us a depth to her character Hannah.  Her emotional journey matures and is underpinned by Hannah's fun and zany nature.

Amy and Hannah sing "M.E.N" which is traditional female duet to fill in gaps to the story.

Act Two felt more laboured than Act One.

The "What If" song created a sense of possibilities.  Ryan Gonzalez as Paul provided the uncomfortable atmosphere requisite in a new partner meeting Rick.  Does he destroy the hopes of Rick?

The song "Eyeful of the Eiffel" provided different versions of what could have happened meeting under the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  The staging of this song lacked subtlety.  Though the stalking was overdone, with each subsequent variation of the scene, the stalking heightened the menacing atmosphere.

Some of the ensemble did not differentiate enough between each of their characters.

Overall as an audience member you can decide what transpires.  The ending supplies both the neat ending to keep some people happy.  More so, I like the ending as it cleverly gives us the possible endings without being conclusive.  These optional endings were more satisfying than "If/Then".

The final look between Edward Grey and Bronte Florian tells us that this can happen again to another person.  It does not spoil it as we all know that we are all dealt with options and choices every day.   This final look only personifies what we already know.

In some ways it is unfair to compare this to "If/Then" but I will because I saw a performance where some of the singing was off pitch and grating.  Whereas, in "CROSSxROADS"  the singing was terrific except for one strained section. The other bonus was "CROSSxROADS" did not drag on and on as I felt in "If/Then"  (Read my review from 2014).

"CROSSxROADS" is a much simpler version that highlights our journey of navigating our personal, routes, chances and opportunities.

"CROSSxROADS"  needs tightening and some holes filled in.  Some of the music can be a bit repetitious at times but with pruning this can be alleviated.

I thought one musical phrase paid homage to a tune from "For Good" from "Wicked"  with the lyric and tune of "If I knew you" reminding me of "Because I knew you" "Wicked"..  In any love or friendship story you are bound to get a snatch of similar sounds or lyrics.

The costumes by Kim Bishop were well suited to each of the characters plus the passage of time.

Tyran Parke has directed a fine ensemble of performers and should be proud of their inaugural season. without the benefit of 29 previews!  I have seen other new shows that have not stood up as well as "CROSSxROADS".

David Wisken as Musical Director and Arrangements led the small band who played well.

The Set and Lighting Design by  Rob Sowinksi and Bryn Cullen provided an effective set of eight sliding curtains.  The lighting plot was basic and could have made more of the options as if we the viewers were experiencing deju vu.  A simple flickering of lights could have heightened the fun of each of the different alternative scenes.  I appreciate the limitations of the Chapel Off Chapel theatre, but I could visualise side lighting to heighten the sensation of the sliding doors.

Sound Design by Marcello Lo Ricco  provided a better quality of sound than other recent shows.  The sound levels seemed to be much more comfortable than I have encountered in recent years.

This show would have been more suited to the more comfortable Alex Theatre in St Kilda but sadly was not available. This show should tour to other states to gain a larger following in an intimate venue.

My perspective would have changed slightly had the show started on time, been about ten minutes shorter, and if the seats were more comfortable.

Overall I preferred "CROSSxROADS"  to "If/Then".

I gave "CROSSxROADS"  a 7/10 and my partner gave it a 6/10.

(Note:  do not worry that I gave "If/Then" a 7.5/10 as it had millions pumped into it with 29 previews.  So 7/10 is a very good score comparing it to the flashiness and over produced staging.)