On The Town, VCA Music Theatre and Production, Studio 28, Friday September 20th 2019

On The Town, VCA Music Theatre and Production, Studio 28, Friday September 20th 2019

"On The Town" was presented by VCA Music Theatre and Production at Space 28 in Southbank. We attended the Friday September 20th 2019 performance.

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.

"On The Town" with Music by Leonard Bernstein, and Book and Lyric by Betty Comden and Adolph Green was presented by VCA Music Theatre and Production at Space 28 in Southbank.

Programmes were handed out as you entered the theatre’s foyer with a welcome. I was impressed that the programme had the year 2019 on the front cover. Gold marks for this as so many programmes have a year hidden within the depths of the content.

I would prefer a programme in the style of Playbill with all songs and scenes listed.  Even if not in the Playbill style, then at least list the songs.

The original Broadway version of "On The Town" had a an enormous cast with all roles listed. “On The Town” 2014-15 revival cast had a smaller cast with every actor listed with multiple roles. Why could they not do that in the VCA programme? This would give the students and audience members a souvenir to remember their performances.  Plus these performances are meant to be a showcase for agents, casting directors and potential employees, and as such they should be able to quickly recognise and reference the talent.

The Space 28 is more of a black box style theatre, and it is such a shame that the VCA does not have a fully functional theatre with fly towers for such performances. These students who pay mega dollars to train deserve better than this venue.

One of the best aspects of the production was that they did not play so close to the front row of the audience.  So many productions play way too close to the front and block the view for the audience beyond B row.  Director, Adam Mitchell should be congratulated for heeding Hal Prince's experience.  Hal Prince would ensure and respect that every audience member could see the stage action from every seat.

Given the limitations of the space, the direction and scene changes in conjunction with the design elements let the show down by dragging the action unnecessarily.

The other thing that really dragged down the performances was the sound levels were not activated in anticipation of the performers' lines. During the first act the microphones would be activated mid sentence and sometimes at the end of the actor’s first line. This was not a dress rehearsal and was at least the seventh performance. Thankfully, the sound improved for act two with less jolted switches of the microphones.

Direction by Adam Mitchell worked better in some scenes than others from staging and performance perspectives. The scene changes in act one in particular were very clunky and needed more distraction techniques to create seamless transitions. The best scene change/segue occurred when the two men (wearing shorts) were stage left as the crew changed the set centre stage.  The lighting also focused on these two men.

Lighting Design by Lachlan Maclean provided some clear locations by focusing the lights to create the subway train etc. More could have been done with the lighting to achieve varied locations and atmospheres.

Set Design by Freya Allen was limited by the confines of Space 28 and did an admirable job in the simplicity and versatility of the main set. Trucking set pieces may have reduced the noise backstage and the hauling of the sofa. The use of the cut-outs of the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty were simple and effective to evoke the locations.

Costume Designs by Abby Reeves-Williams did an admirable job with obvious budgetary restraints. Some of the shoes needed to be polished for the era, and some of the work clothes needed some grime for authenticity. I assume Abby Reeves-Williams would have been responsible for the hair and makeup. The women generally were more in the war time era of the show than the men. Long hair for some of the guys was not appropriate and wigs could have been used. Some of the men looked slick with their period appropriate hairstyles. Some of the police costumes looked as if they were from a high school production. The shoes should match the costume for the character’s style - not cream coloured heels for a policeman’s uniform!

Musical Director, Geoffrey Castles did an admirable job, though the finale was when I heard the potential of the rich ensemble realised.  I have seen versions of this show before and was disappointed that the richness of the ensemble only occurred at the finale.

Singing by individuals varied in quality. Accents sometimes changed within lines, but were generally much better than when I saw “Flora, the Red Menace”.

Characterisation was more consistent than in “Flora, the Red Menace”. There were some fantastic cameo characters that were consistently maintained. In particular the man as the drunk, Christopher Burgess trying to gatecrash the three sailors at the nightclub was magical in timing which was supported by the ensemble all creating an atmosphere. (See Michael Chekhov for atmospheres!)

Sound Design by Nathan Santamaria may not have been fully realised and delivered by the technicians. See my earlier note. Rehearse, review, revise and rehearse, review, revise until it is slick. This should have been corrected during technical runs.

Choreography by Kirsten King utilised the strengths of a cast of varying dance talents. I was impressed with the acrobatics during the Coney Island scene, as it would have been appropriate. See the history of the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893 that testifies to the use of speciality acts. The ladies dancing in the red, white and blue at the start of act two was slick and professional with energy and enthusiasm that I expected more of in act one. Finally I saw what the cast could be capable of, as the dancing was a bit laboured and cautious in act one.

The sailors' routine showed the men could all move in unison. Choreographically the men's ensemble routine should have been more exciting and dynamic as this is a dance show. The leads need to be sensational dancers and not be shown up by the ensemble. That is not to say the three lead men were not good, they did an adequate job, but lacked the breathtaking charisma for the dances.

Well done Kirsten King for choreographing to the ability of the cast.

Erica Wild as Hildy maintained a consistent character and has a lovely singing voice. I enjoyed her interaction with Chip, played by Joseph Howe. I felt the stakes were higher for Hildy than for Chip with his 24 hour sojourn in NYC.

Tom Kantor as Gabey has a lovely voice and danced well with the choreography. The Gabey role deserves choreography that wows the audience.

Claire played by Jessica Barton and her character varied in consistency during the drinking sequence.   She seemed to suddenly sober up.  She sang quite well but I wanted more relationship building with Ozzie played by Noah Jansen. I felt sometimes they rushed through rather than playing the stakes/weight of their 24 hour relationship.

The boxing ring dance sequence was well danced by Tom Kantor and Erica Wild.  He needs some coaching to fully support in the pas de deux as some of the anticipation meant he did not fully prepare in some lifts.  I wonder if they have pas de deux for the three years of the course!? This was the best duo for creating story through dance in this show.

Staging and interaction with the conductor created some very funny moments, including taking the conductor’s baton. The moment that caught the audience off-guard was the gargling scene that received requisite recognition of laughter and shock.

Ivy played by Darcy Eagle, sang well and danced at the minimum level that I expect for the main female leads for “On The Town”. Her lines were clean with fluid port de bras and strong extensions.

Finally, Lachlan Bartlett gathered more confidence and assurance as Pitkin with his stylised characterisation that showed a clear journey for his character.

Energy levels of the ensemble varied and needed more atmosphere work.  See Michael Chekhov books and training for more information about atmospheres.  Some listening did not occur as some reactions occurred before a line was completed.

I would recommend that the cast should have watched two documentaries Ken Burns' "The War" to really immerse themselves in the atmospheres of World War 2 era.  Plus, I would recommend Ric Burns' "Coney Island".   Did the cast all ride the Scenic Railway at Luna Park?  If they did not, then they need to do their research to understand the connection to Coney Island and Luna Park.  All of these final comments relate to an obvious need to develop their ensemble atmospheres so that the audience feels as if they are there rather than just watching a show.

Overall, “On The Town” obtained a 6.5/10.

LINKS:

https://finearts-music.unimelb.edu.au/showcase/production-2019

PS:

If any students are reading this - demand of your lecturers and mentors to develop your skills holistically with some of my observations.  I want you all to succeed in such a tenuous business and you all need to be fully prepared.