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.
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.)
