Lazarus, The Production Company, The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, Saturday May 25th 2019
"Lazarus" was presented by The Production Company at The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, on Saturday May 25th 2019.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.
"Lazarus" by David Bowie and Enda Walsh was presented as the opening show for The Production Company's 2019 season, at The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, Saturday May 25th 2019.
"Lazarus" has been presented in London and Off-Broadway.
In a word - "awful!"
In two words: "don't bother!"
Yes, David Bowie fans may think this is sacrilege. But it was such a confusing production. The four pages brief David Bowie had presented to the original writer Enda Walsh was certainly not realised in this production.
The staging was cumbersome, awkward and lacked focus.
The video and lighting designs covered up the confusion. Some consolation at least was the video played homage to David Bowie.
Set and Costume Design by Anna Cordingley had flashed of eccentricity and again paid homage to David Bowie. The set reminded me of "Bye Bye Birdie" with seven screens wide and two high to create fourteen oblong shapes that would expose performers behind. These fourteen screens were used for the videos and also to reveal action behind.
Lighting Design by Paul Jackson created some highlights, but more distractions from the awful production. It was a saving grace at times.
The show dragged for want of some decent singing and story line.
The sound of the orchestra was thin.
Vocally the singing was uninspiring and at time grating.
Choreography by Stephanie Lake showcased how she struggled to move from contemporary dance to commercial theatre. The staging and choreography was much like a ballet school concert. Yes, I have seen enough contemporary dance used effectively in Broadway productions of "Spring Awakening" and "American Idiot". (Not the Australian productions!)
The choreography was executed with random hap-hazard coordination.
Direction by Michael Kantor was like his rising as if Lazarus. This production lacked focus and was like one long (very long) video music clip.
Some decent singing came from Emily Milledge as the Girl and Chris Ryan as Newton. Iota, was Iota and paraded in his beautiful outfits that again tried to detract from an awful production.
Emily Milledge was terrific as the Girl, though she was much better in "Carrie the musical" and other shows.
Chris Ryan has a good voice and did a reasonable job with an awful script, role and direction.
The production was enigmatic and confusing. The staging was clunky at times. No, often!
The finale had Chris Ryan singing "Heroes" with about 67 disco balls, and only one that spun.
I noticed that eleven people left during the first hour, and only three returned from breaks. So, that was eight people in the stalls left that I saw and counted. It was more interesting to watch the reactions of The Production Company subscribers leaving, and those that stayed, rather than watching the show.
The best part in the show was a young man called Josh Gates who played Ben and Dirty Boy. His singing was the best in the show. His dancing was sublime. He was worth spending $105 a ticket to see. I look forward to seeing him more in the future.
The finale image of David Bowie after the curtain calls was a comfort that he did not live to see this production.
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