Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street A Musical Thriller, TEG Life Like Company, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sunday April 23rd 2019

Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street A Musical Thriller, TEG Life Like Company, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sunday June 23rd 2019

"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" A Musical Thriller" was presented by TEG Life Like Company, at  Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne on Sunday June 23rd 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.

"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" A Musical Thriller" was presented by TEG Life Like Company, at  Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne on Sunday June 23rd 2019

I will outline the good things before I discuss what I did not like about the show.

I have seen about six versions of this show.  Some multiple times, so I have seen a version of "Sweeney Todd"  at least ten times in total.

Vocally - the choral harmonies were fabulous.  Nearly, the best I have heard of this score.

The orchestra led by Vanessa Scammell was sensational.

I loved Anthony Warlow in the titular role of Sweeney Todd.  With better direction he would have been brilliant.

Gina Riley as Mrs Lovett gave an adequate or fair job with her in-your-face performance.  She lacked the finesse and pernicious natures of the role by every other actress I have seen do this role.  She was not menacing and conniving enough.  Part of this I put down to the lack of rehearsals and lack of solid direction.

Tobias Ragg played sensitively by Jonathon Hickey.  Though with better direction, staging, and relationship development with Pirelli and Mrs Lovett, he has the potential to be the best Tobias I have seen.  Sadly, the direction let him down.

Anthony Hope was played well by statuesque Owen McCredie.  His rich tone was heavenly, though he did hit a few bung notes.

Daniel Sumegi played Judge Turpin with vocal authority but needed more physical commanding presence.  His acting was very wooden.  We were fortunate to witness Daniel Sumegi sing when he won the Sun Aria.  It was so good to see how much he has developed.

Anton Berezin as Beadle Bamford gave a solid performance, but was hampered with inadequate and clumsy staging and direction.

Jonas Fogg, I am sorry to say played by Matt Heyward was nearly forgettable as the direction let him down.  Matt Heyward was a great ensemble cast member who assisted in creating different atmospheres for various scenes.

The bass voice in the ensemble was magnificent, pure and rich in tone and diction.

I did not like Joanna as she was played with distance by Genevieve Kingsford. She had a pinched and shrill tone that lacked any warmth.  I did not care for Joanna to be saved.  Every other version I have seen, I felt desperate for her safety.  This time, I wanted Anthony Hope to run!  (Now, I loved her in "The Light In The Piazza" and have seen three versions of that show.)

The Beggar Woman/Lucy role played by Debra Byrne required clearer diction.  Her entrances and exits lacked purpose and direction.  Sorry, she was awful and I like Debra Byrne usually.

Set Design by Charlotte Lane had good points but was very clunky in the execution by the cast in the staging of many numbers.  The set with walkways around the orchestra on stage left reminded me of the walkway from the original "Pacific Overtures".  The use of the mirror, window and portraits reminded me of Anthony Warlow in "The Secret Garden".

Lighting Design by Tom Willis was reasonable to create different atmospheres and locations, though the execution at times was a bit clunky.

Costume Design by Kim Bishop was generally serviceable but the brocade looked as if there were dusty patches on many of the costumes.  The gentlemen at the seance looked resplendent in their tails.

I liked the idea of the seance concept by director Theresa Borg, but it became piece-meal by ensuring the head of the seance - madam was returned to the table.  The concept needs work to be fully realised as it highlighted how under-rehearsed and under-developed (under-cooked - excuse the pun!).

The staging with the round table distracted our attention from other action.  I realised I had missed a few important moments happening elsewhere as the table turning and positioning up-staged the other action.

The staging with the red curtains was used for Pirelli's entrance, the dividing curtain to Mrs Lovett's parlour and also the gate to the asylum.  I can cope with a set piece being used for multiple purposes, but it became very confusing with the asylum scene.

I could cope with the concept of the zombie-like exits after each character had their throat slit.  What I did not like was the difference in execution - as some would stand in the doorway a moment and wander off, another would rush off, while another would walk with a zombie like gait.  Maybe have arms out to keep some consistency.  Plus a lighting effect may have added to the moment.

The chute being wheeled on was very amateurish.  This took away from the drama of the reveals of bodies in the chute.  Sadly, the worst version I have ever seen of this scene.

Choreography by Jo-Anne Robinson was wasted as it appeared that time had been spent rehearsing the opening number to create a dance of gestures.  Oh yes there was the Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett waltz to the oven.   Oh yes and a girl danced on the table!

The timing of some interactions was totally off beat.  The relationships between characters at times were incongruent and lacked the sensitivity to honour the score and the subtle humour.

Miming occurred one moment, then not another, which was totally bizarre.  They mimed the oven door in one scene, and then another time they used the gates of the oven door.  Miming pies in another moment and then have pie (props) was totally ludicrous.  The worst bit was when there was not even a stuffed bird in the bird cage, and was mimed having its head twisted.  You can buy these stuffed birds at $2.00 shops.

The duet "A Little Priest" lacked so much humour.  The funniest moment was when Anthony Warlow walked towards the violin section of the orchestra for the "stringy" line.

The "God, That's Good" and "more pies" scene that opened act two was absolutely a mess.  The scene screamed "ridiculous" as the singers were singing "more pies" while a plate full of pies was centre on the table.  Some of the performers were trying to make something of this and you could see the futility and resignation on their faces.

There was an in-joke where the chandelier rose and fell that paid homage to "The Phantom of the Opera" that Anthony Warlow had starred in during the late 1980's.

I was disappointed that I missed Sweeney Todd's final entrance onto the table, as other action distracted my focus.  I knew his entrance was coming and was thrown momentarily.

I have seen at least two amateur productions that had better timing and staging than this production.  I was certainly had spine tingling reactions at every other performance.  Sadly, I did not have these reactions at this production.

At $163 a ticket - it was worth seeing Anthony Warlow perform this role.

Overall - messy!  It was like a work in progress.

"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street - A Musical Thriller" only obtained a 7/10.

Muriel's Wedding The Musical, Global Creatures and STC, Her Majesty's Theatre, Thursday April 25th 2019

Muriel's Wedding The Musical, Global Creatures and STC, Her Majesty's Theatre, Thursday April 25th 2019

"Muriel's Wedding The Musical"  was presented by Global Creatures and Sydney Theatre Company at  Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne on Thursday April 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.

"Muriel's Wedding The Musical" is based on the iconic movie "Muriel's Wedding" which has an emotional depth to the humour and the story.  The emotional depth and humour was sadly lacking in this production.  

Why?

I will outline the good things before I discuss what I did not like about the show.

Do not get me wrong, I liked the show, but we, as an audience should have been loved it and singing as we left the theatre.  We bumped into friends before the show began.  At interval, they said they could have left.  At the end of the show we left with our friends, and noticed no audience member was raving or singing any of the songs. To say the least we were all disappointed and we see a lot of theatre!

What I liked:

Updating the story of the film by P.J. Hogan to include references to social media, and the use of modern technology with smart phones, Facebook and Twitter and Instagram was a smart move to ensure modern day relevance.

Updating Muriels' job in the video store in Sydney to a photographic booth with life-size celebrity cut-outs was fun; as some of the younger audience members would not know what a video store was, let alone a VHS or Beta tape!  So this became a double joke for the older generation.  Mind you, no one laughed out loud at this change of location.

I loved the use of ABBA as Muriel's inner voice.

Music and Lyrics by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttal were good with reservations.  My favourite song was when Joanie, Perry and Malcolm sat on the couch with the monosyllabic grunts and reactions.  I loved the integration of ABBA's lyrics and tunes into other songs, that I found to flow better than in "Mamma Mia" where they were contrived and opportunistic. Here,  Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttal maximised the opportunities to get inside Muriel's thoughts without prostituting the songs.  This was done with homage and respect to ABBA.  See below for why I did not like this production element.

Costume Designs and Projection Design by Gabriela Tylesova.  In particular the "Sydney" costumes were fun.  The bridal outfits were beautiful.  Muriel's daggy costumes highlighted and differentiated the status anxiety of her school group.  The ABBA costumes were terrific in capturing the mid 1970's spirit.

Set Design also by Gabriela Tylesova had some elements that I loved and others that I liked. The best part was the proscenium arch that was decorated with mobile phones and leaves.   The mobile phones would display different themes for some scenes, including menus, selfie photos etc. 

The set comprised of many sliding walls and fly in curtains to create different locations.  This scenic design idea has been used numerous times.  I liked the idea of much of the set, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

The set also include two revolves centre stage, and there were two tracks running from upstage to downstage.

Some of the Choreography by Andrew Hallsworth worked better than other sections.  In particular, I loved the bridal mannequins moving in a music-box-dancer style, juxtaposed by the more natural dance moves of the other characters.  I loved the gestural dance of the evil girls swiping their smart phones and flicking their hair back, as they paid homage to "Kath and Kim".  


The acting displayed adequate characterisations of each role without capturing the heart and essence and soul.  Yes, the actors created iconic moments from the film and created larger than life characters; but the performances were wooden and pedestrian to say the least. 

Emotionally, Pippa Grandison as Muriel's mother, Betty Heslop stole the show for me. Her first solo was cut short by others to emphasise her status in the family unit.  This was the first emotional high for me in act one. In act two, her death scene talking to ABBA was the only magical moment in the show.  The way the scene was staged could have been a drug-trip, and paid homage to suicide victims' plight.  It was if Betty was going to heaven.

Jarrod Griffiths as Brice Nobes, the parking inspector captured the essence of Muriel's plight.  He did not upstage Muriel; he just gave a solid performance with more heart.  Sadly, though I think his role needs to be trimmed as his journey overshadows the main plot of Muriel's story.

Muriel's father, Bill Heslop played by David James with the right amount of gruffness.  When he arrived home and entered through a door that was later used for Muriel's exit to her bedroom belied credibility.  In hindsight, Muriels' exit highlighted that the staging gave the scene a creepy feel as if Muriel's father had just entered the scene from her bedroom!  I appreciate artistic license of using sets for multiple uses and locations, but I did not like this staging at all.  No door would have been better had he entered one way, and Muriel exited the other.  Or use two doors.  Simple! 


What I did not like"

It was not as much fun as the movie!

Programme design needs to include locations of scenes as in many Playbill programmes.  I found it disrespectful to the lead actors that they were relegated to the back of the programme.

The opening announcement could have been so much more theatrical to create a wonderful sense of occasion and anticipation.  Creating atmosphere and acknowledging the rules of attending the theatre was done so well by David Atkins' production of "Hairspray" with their opening announcement..  Sadly, the producers did not use this moment to set the sense of occasion.  Maybe they could have introduced with "Don't be "You're Terrible Muriel" and spoil the show for others.  Turn off, that means off your phones"!

Below us, sitting in the stalls, mobile phones were being used to text during the opening number with not an usher in sight.  I mean these women were holding up their phones texting for half of the opening number.  The light shone in our eyes so badly we could not see the stage properly.  Plus the distraction meant it put me in not a good head space.  I do not pay $155.00 per ticket to be distracted by such Bogans.  Don't worry, I complained at interval and the ushers were onto the perpetrators in the stalls area.

"Muriel's Wedding" is a magical film that transports you emotionally, and this did not happen with the musical.  The audience should have been laughing uproariously at one moment, and then in tears at other times.  Sadly, this was not to be.

Direction by Simon Phillips was reliable and adequate but missed so many emotional connections between the characters.   This show was not up to his slick production values as in "Dream Lover" or "Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical" as the staging was messy at times with poor co-ordination of the set, lighting and stage hands.

The show lacked pace and highlighted holes in the awkward pauses between set changes and scenes.  Segues were messy, and were not helped by the stark lighting.  No attempt at really transitioning occurred.  Our focus was drawn sometimes to areas on the stage by poor coordination of lighting and set changes.  We were distracted by extra and inappropriate action at times that drew our focus from the main thrust of some scenes.

Music and Lyrics by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttal were ruined by the location of the orchestra and the sound quality.  The film is rich in sound, while here it sounded distant, retarded and cheap.  The orchestra sounded if it was a small band for the local school production, using professional musicians and with a limited budget.   Wrong!  If Global Creatures want to take this show further, it needs a richer and fuller Broadway sound to the orchestrations.

The songs were not presented in their best way.  The songs and music were grating as we, including our friends said because we could not understand the lyrics as the diction was so poor on many occasions.  The songs would have been better had we had better orchestrations and lyrics that we could understand.  Thankfully the cast were not out of tune.

Sound Design by Michael Waters needs a lot of work with balance and execution of the coordination of turning on-and-off the microphones.  The clunkiness and sound quality was jarring.

The orchestra sounds tinny, thin and amateurish.  Orchestrations by Isaac Hayward need developing for a richer sound.  This is unforgivable when you are paying $155.00 per ticket.

Set Designs by Gabriela Tylesova were executed by stage technicians that were too clunky at times and disrupted the flow.  The screens and fly-in-curtains sometimes did not coordinate well. Some of the screens that slid in from the wings did not appear wide enough for Her Majesty's Theatre as they revealed entrances and exits in corners of the stage that took away the magic of theatre.

Set Design also by Gabriela Tylesova had some elements that I loved, and others that I liked.  In particular the proscenium arch was decorated with mobile phones and leaves.  The mobile phones would display different themes for some scenes.  I liked the idea of much of the set, but the execution by stage hands and technicians left a lot to be desired with clunky and jerky scene changes.  Exposed areas were revealed to show holes in the set design, and thus diminished what should have been magical theatre.  The stage crew should have been wearing blacks or other attire so as not to stand out as they tried to sneak and hide as they moved sets on and off the stage.  It was very tired and amateurish stage management.

Did I say - the magic was lost?

Lighting Design by Trent Suidest did not maximise the differences in location when the stage was split with two locations.    When ABBA appeared there should have been a private lighting change to emphasise we were entering Muriel's head.  The lighting seemed to be either on or off!

Choreography by Andrew Hallsworth does not highlight each character's quality as in other shows he has choreographed.  The group formations are safe, and have a good ballet school production quality, rather than slick Broadway style choreography.

The Act One scene in the Chinese Restaurant needs refining.  It became messy with ballet school like choreography and staging.  Though, the best aspect was the set as it brought back memories of the Chinese Restaurant and "Small World" scene from "Gypsy".

The reveal and entrances of Deidre Chambers played by Chelsea Plumley lost any surprise element.   She stood upstage centre, posing with her back to the audience.  There was no attempt at disguising her entrance, so the fun was lost.  It was too staged, and had an amateurish quality for her showgirl entrances.  Mind you, Chelsea Plumley had the best voice in the show!  She is too pretty and not haggard enough as she does not have the requisite wrinkles and face cream for the role.

The swimming sequence went on way too long.  Yes, double the length of time that the audience could tolerate.  Cull please.

Jarrod Griffiths as Brice Nobes, the parking inspector, sadly, though I think his role needs to be trimmed as the show is too long.  We could have done without the ten minutes of the "Never Stick Your Neck Out". 

Muriel Heslop played by Natalie Abbott was adequate but did not capture my heart.  Yes, she did the right moves and said the right lines, but lacked charisma.

When Rhonda Epinstall played by Stefanie Jones dropped her lighter, the average smoker would rescue their vital possession quickly.  She made no attempt to pick it up and could have done so and kept the dialogue happening naturally.  The more she ignored it, the more palpable the lighter on the stage became.  It was retrieved by a gentlemen and placed on the table later as he slid it under his left hand and then across with his right to where it should have been located.  Wow, this meant more to us than what else was happening.  This was an example of our audience focus being pulled away from the main action. Go with the flow and that is why actors study improvisation.  This highlighted that these performers were not in the moment, and gave pedestrian performances.

The following scenes could be reduced in length and tightened:  Life Is A Competition and S.O.S numbers, and the wedding-dress-store scenes.

The language could have been curtailed and use of "Fuck" once to emphasise the moment.  The other times made it feel like "I would have preferred to watch the dvd again".

The bows at the end were very ho-hum and the reprise of "Sydney" was appropriate, but the audience wanted an ABBA song to sing as they left the theatre!  The audience felt cheated as no one was singing as they left the theatre.  It is a musical, AND they should have been at least humming a song from the show! It was just too long!  Way, way too long.  The audience were exhausted after nearly three hours.  It became a chore, and audience members could at least tick off another "bucket-list" show to see. 

Now remember: the audience barely laughed at this performance.

"Muriel's Wedding" the movie is one hour and forty six minutes long.  It snaps along, while the musical just dragged on for nearly three hours.

Snap and slick will keep the show moving, as it dragged in both acts.

Revise, cull and shorten.  The script and production numbers need pruning.   Ensure the audience is begging for more!

Broadway:

"Muriel's Wedding The Musical" would be ideally suited to The Palace Theater on Broadway (where "Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical" played) but needs some work if it is to proceed to Broadway.

A friend, who attended the same performance, summed up the show and said "You're awful, "Muriel's Wedding The Musical"".

The show lacked the warmth of the film, and was a cold rendition lacking the emotional heart of Muriel.

"Muriel's Wedding The Musical" obtained a 7/10 while my partner gave it a 6/10.

Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical, Her Majesty's Theatre, Saturday January 2nd 2016

Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical, Her Majesty's Theatre, Saturday January 2nd 2016

We saw "Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical" at Her Majesty's Theatre on Saturday January 2nd 2016 and it is such a good show.  I have never seen so many people emotionally affected by a musical for years. This cast had the audience in the "palm of their hands" especially with the Sidney Myer Music Bowl sequence. People were swaying and humming along with the songs. It is a terrific juke box musical.  The four leads took me back to the mid 1960s as they look and sound terrific.   Congratulations as this took the audience on the known story of  The Seekers with a roller coaster of emotions.

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.

Congratulations to the generation of civilised audience members who had the decency to turn off their mobile phones and not destroy the show.  The quality of the pre show announcements is much better than the Arts Centre Melbourne.

Oh yes and the show started promptly at 8.00 pm which is unheard of at some other theatres.  The staff at Her Majesty's are excellent, though an additional bar attendant in the Dress Circle bar was required at 7.30 pm as the queue for drinks grew.

After entering the theatre the set with the piano sitting centre stage reminded me of the opening set from "Beautiful"  (the Carol King musical).

The emotional connection to the story was very strong with audience members weeping or sobbing or gasping.  And these reactions were to a well known and published sequence of events!   "Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical" captured the 1960s era with stylised aplomb as I was transported back to the mid sixties which I fondly and vividly remember.

The singing by the entire cast is terrific.  More so, the sound by the four leads was scary as they sounded so much like The Seekers.

The book by Patrick Edgeworth is pretty tight.  Patrick Edgeworth has not only told the story of The Seekers but more importantly captured the soul and emotion of their relationship to the world. Here Patrick Edgeworth uses less words to create some very funny lines, especially the jokes about Paul Simon.

The direction by Gary Young captures the essence of the 1960s and The Seekers' internal struggles with sincerity and heart.  The greatest compliment is the emotional connection relayed from the book via the direction of the fine actors.

The staging and direction is slick.  There are two minor holes in Act One with transitions between scenes that could be tightened up with lighting, music or staging. Act Two has four minor holes that were laboured and need tightening.  They require the same treatment to make the transitions slicker and more polished.  I am not complaining as this show is less than two weeks old and is in far better shape than many which have been running for years.

Set Design by Shaun Gurton reminded me of "Memphis" and "Beautiful" and "Motown" and co-incidentally they all had recording sessions scenes.   The use of the television cameras has been used in so many of the above mentioned musicals. "Hairspray" and "Dusty - The Original Pop Diva" also had television scenes where the actors would play to the cameras.  In "Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical" the cameras captured the spirit of the wholesomeness of "The Seekers" with their minimalist movements. Shaun Gurton has created a functional set with sliding screen doors and regular doors.  The split level set and the multiple entrances provide opportunities to direct the audience's focus.

The choreography by Michael Ralph had good staging and groupings, though the actual choreography was not authentic 1960s enough for me.  I preferred Ross Coleman's choreography in  "Dusty - The Original Pop Diva" which used so many historically accurate moves.  "Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical" needed more than flashes of the 1960s moves as many audience members were of that generation.

A fun highlight was The Seeker's arrival in London with the parade of business men sporting bowler hats and the policeman (bobby) contrasted the emerging groovy moves.  With more research and some minor alterations Michael Ralph could improve his choreography and take it to a new level.   I look forward to seeing Michael Ralph's career progression.

The Oscars sequence for a song nomination "Georgy Girl" was well done though not a reproduction of the original choreography.  Mitzi Gaynor and the backing dancers had the requisite over-the-top smiles and cheesy grins.

The Act Two opening paid homage to Tom Jones and the use of "Momma's Got the Blues" moved the story along without me spoiling how this was done.

The scene between the two sisters, Beverly and Judith was one of my highlights due to their sisterly love and connection.  Beverly was played by Sophie Carter and sang magnificently.  Yes it was me who hooted you on your curtain calls as you, yes you Sophie Carter were sensational capturing sisterly support and maternal instincts with a hint of spoon playing hill-billy.  Sophie Carter played this with sincerity and honesty.

Act Two felt a bit clunky at times.  Though the narrator Ron Edgeworth played by Adam Murphy did explain that they could not tell everything about The Seekers' story.

The reunion scene between Judith Durham and the men was touching and well written.  More so it was directed and played with sincerity and the pause was palpable.  The audience were on the edge of their seats awaiting one response.  I hope they keep this moment fresh and honest as it was magical.
You could hear people's breathing stop and the heart beats in the audience.  As I type this, my eyes well with tears recalling this moment.  Great theatre to move us so honestly.

The wedding scene is simple.  Listen carefully to hear the underscoring of a Seeker's song mixed in with the orchestration.  Well done to the Musical Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Stephen Amos as the music is beautifully played without the deafening volumes of some musicals.  Stephen Amos has created the sound of The Seekers with the terrific band.

Lighting Design by Trudy Dalgleish created transitions between time and space.  Using her expertise there are opportunities to tighten and polish four transitions in Act Two.  I especially liked Trudy Dalgleish's use of the expanding lit area to create a sense of perspective and location.  The venetian-blind lighting effect reminded me of "Ghost -the musical" (and that the lighting was the best part of that show!)

With the semi-transparent set we could see the hospital bed being wheeled into place well before the entrance of bed ridden Judith.  A lighting change or a timing change could reduce this distraction and provide the requisite surprise element.

Projections provided a backdrop in the upper half of the stage.  There are wallpapers for living rooms, posters for a theatrical manager's office, Union Jack for UK, Big Ben for London, Vietnam jungle, psychedelic patterns etc.  Each projection provided a sense of time, space and occasion.  The most significant projection was the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and this created a new level of silence from the audience.  I was curious if any of the  audience members may have been at that famous concert.  Nearly fifty years on and I too could have been a child at that concert.  It was like yesterday and I had heart thumping memories.

My favourite moments included the "Myra" song as it flooded back so many memories of the 1960s. The truth versus fantasy sequences of "Morningtown Ride" captured the essence of this beautiful song and used as a lullaby.  The audience were swaying and singing quietly along.  Normally this would be annoying but it is a real sing-a-long type show.  Then, the audience were jolted to reality with the twists of the scene, and relished being taken on this subliminal train ride.

One of the most gut wrenching moments will mean naught to others.  I share it as it was so poignant and I hope that they do not cut this scene.  An Australian soldier is in Vietnam and writes a fan letter to Judith Durham.  As the Vietnam War was the first war to be screened live into living rooms each night on the news (rather than the newsreels of WW11) as a child these memories are strong.  I was in Grade Four and had written to a soldier in Vietnam who subsequently was killed.  How is this relevant?  I sat there thinking "I wonder if Judith Durham  ever received that specific letter?"  I am sure she received many letters from Vietnam and this scene was representative of an era.  But if this scene touched me so deeply, I am sure it will touch others for their personal reasons.

The finale with the magnificent anthem "I Am Australian" shows how stirring this song is to lift the spirits and be proud to be Australian.  Juxtaposed was the tragedy that Judith Durham's private suffering.  It was like being knifed in the back twice with contrasting emotions - gut wrenching and uplifting.  It was like the release of Ron Edgeworth to the heavens.  We, as an audience could also let go emotionally.

The whole cast are terrific and play as a true ensemble cast.  There is not a weak link in this cast.
I enjoyed Ian Stenlake as John Ashby with his smooth manners and his rich voice.  Stephen Wheat plays the manager with his reliable credibility.  Cameron MacDonald as Graham Kennedy has next to no time to create a short cameo role and does so with his reliable characterisation.

The four leads playing The Seekers  are superb.  As I closed my eyes occasionally these four performers transported me back 50 years and to simpler times.  Pippa Grandison  paid homage honoured our memory of Judith Durham.  She did not mimic Judith Durham  but allowed her character to live within and channel her.  Glaston Toft as Athol Guy, Mike McLeish as Bruce Woodley and Phillip Lowe as Keith Potger also honoured the real male characters and allowed their spirit to overcome their characterisations.  I cannot praise these four enough for their honest and sincere performance and hope that they continue to trust their instincts.

I cannot extol my praises enough as they sounded so much like The Seekers  and,  more so, they channelled their characters.

The merchandise stalls display their wares with flare and the prices are reasonable except for the t- shirts which I felt were a tad expensive at $40.00.

I listened to the CD twice on Sunday January 3rd 2016 to relive the memories.  It is not the Original Cast Album with lyrics and notes but a recording of songs by some of the cast before the premiere of the show.  It is a fine recording and I hope they do a full Original Cast Album in the future.

I could see this show again and not feel as if my memories would be tainted.  Where as other shows I do not want to see them again as I have been disappointed.

Overall my partner scored this a 7/10 and I gave it a 7.5/10.

Les Miserables, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, Thursday 29th October 2014

Les Miserables, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, Thursday 29th October 2014

The newly imagined version of "Les Miserables" directed by  Laurence Connor and James Powell played at Her Majesty's Theatre.

For those new to my blog I do not retell the story and write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre.

I was so impressed with the Dress Circle usher who reminded patrons that no photography was permitted as they entered the theatre.

One of my favourite actors, Simon Gleeson was not appearing as Jean Valjean.  I was disappointed but I had heard only but praise for his understudy, Daniel Belle.  The role of  Jean Valjean is iconic to modern musical theatre and Daniel Belle did not disappoint.  He has a rich and powerful voice with terrific diction.  He brought sincere passion to the role and I felt he made a lovely connection to the role and to other characters.

Daniel Belle aged physically and vocally with his portrayal of Jean Valjean.  In his final scene I had tears welling up in my eyes with his relationship to the memory of Fantine, Cossette and Marius.  This was the emotional connection that I longed for with other characters.

Hayden Tee was menacing and powerful in his portrayal of Javert.  I loved how he took ownership of his space and radiated his evil intentions.  At times I thought he pushed his voice and pressed down for volume.  I also liked his emotional connection with other characters.

Fantine was played by Patrice Tipoki with a warmth and vulnerability.  I liked her emotional connection to the role and her relationship with Daniel Belle  as Jean Valjean.  Her final entrance needed some alternative lighting such as a ghostly lighting or a tunnel of light to create an atmosphere of ascension to heaven.

Lara Mulcahy as Madame Thernadier and Trevor Ashley as Thernadier relished in their roles and the audience adored them.  They added depth and various emotional levels to their wicked characters.  I did prefer the original staging of "Master of the House" compared to this updated staging, as focus was pulled by other characters with over-staging the number.  I thoroughly enjoyed their characterisations.

Eponine was played by Kerrie Anne Greenland and I was mesmerised by her performance.  I enjoyed her emotional connection and then towards the end of "On My Own" it was if she was yelling rather than belting in "On My Own."  It sounded so forced that I lost my emotional attachment to her characterisation.

Gavroche played by Daniel Stow had the audience in the palm of his hand. Daniel Stow has a good sense of comedic timing as the feisty street urchin.  He showed up some of the minor principals with his command of the stage and keeping his character's accent.  He did not force his portrayal and allowed his character's cheekiness to come through.

The sets and image design by Matt Kinley were very effective and I did not miss the original revolve for the barricade as I know others have.  I liked the use of the film and video projections to provide depth and a more realistic time frame.  I did not like the lack of continuity with a recurring scene.  I understand about logistics with moving staging and did not like it when the bench was removed near Jean Valjean's gate when we returned to this set.

I particularly liked the use of the walkway stage right and the proscenium set construction as it was used effectively and brought the audience closer into the action.

The lighting design by Paule Constable was terrific and created lots of atmospheric changes for each scene.  Though I was disappointed in the final scene as there was not a ghostly quality to highlight Fantine as in heaven.  I prefer this new staging of final sequence.

The costume design by Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowland honoured the period but it worried me that some of the shoes were not dirty or tatty enough for some of the poorer characters.

The wigs and make up for Jean Valjean were particularly impressive. They did not look like wigs as in some versions of this show that I have seen.

The music conducted by Geoffery Castles was crisp, fresh and clean, while the sound design by Mick Potter was impressive.  The gunshot by Jean Valjean towards Javert (stage right) had the sound effect over our shoulder on stage left and lost the realism for that moment.  Otherwise the gun shot sound effects in the audience were terrific.

I loved the projections by Fifty-Nine Productions, particularly Jean Valjean carrying Marius through the sewers.  This created a new depth to the scene.

The musical staging by  Michael Ashcroft and Geoffrey Garratt  was very effective except for  "Master of the House" as sometimes the focus was lost from the central characters by the upstaging of minor characters.  The famous marching sequence did not work for me due to the stop/start nature of the choreography.  If the video had the same stop/start timing then it may have appeared differently and been more effective.  I liked the concept and have seen it done very effectively in shows like "Young Frankenstein" with the "Roll in the Hay" song.  Here, with the cross-overs in the choreography and forward marching it did not match the video footage.

When most of 28/30 cast were on stage they gave depth and filled the stage with their individual characters.  This was unlike the main opening scene in "Brigadoon" at the Goodman Theater in Chicago that had an empty stage with a cast of 28.

The Javert suicide "Soliloquy" was brilliant and his final fall into the vortex was so effective and unexpected.  Comparing it to the original I thought, they may stage it in a similar fashion.  Not to be - as it was very clever and created an emotional push back by the audience as we were jolted into our seats and staring into Javert's black void.

I loved the "Turning" sequence with the candles as a great segue to the ghosts of the dead appearing for "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables."  Some terrific staging that created more of an emotional impact than the singing.

I loved the ensemble singing for its rich harmonies, but, sometimes a minor character was a bit off key and/or there was some scooping onto notes.

I am not going to compare performances from the other versions of "Les Miserables" that I have seen.  I was concerned at the number of times I saw performers checking their marks on the stage to ensure they were correctly placed.  This gave it a real "colour in by numbers" feel to some performances.  With the younger female performers this needs to be corrected.

Some of the minor principals were too concerned about the beautiful singing and came across as emotionally detached from their roles.  I thought some of the casting of these roles jarred in that there did not appear to be an emotional truth with their circumstances.

My partner has also seen "Les Miserable" at least five times and thought that this was the clearest version of the story.  I agree though some of the diction of the minor characters was thrown away.

I would highly recommend seeing this new version of "Les Miserables" again.

Overall this production gets a 8/10.