Jekyll and Hyde 25th Anniversary Concert, Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, Friday October 25th 2019

Jekyll and Hyde 25th Anniversary Concert, Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, Friday October 25th 2019

"Jekyll and Hyde" was presented by Concertworks at the Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne and we attended the Australian professional premiere on Friday October 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.

"Jekyll and Hyde" was presented by Concertworks at the Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne for the Australian professional premiere. Finally we got to see Anthony Warlow  and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the 25th Anniversary concert of the release of the iconic “Definitive Album” - “The Complete Work Jekyll and Hyde” with Music by Frank Wildhorn and, the Book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse.

The atmosphere at Hamer Hall was electric before the show. I have not felt this much atmosphere at a Melbourne show for years. The last two shows that I saw that had this much pre-show buzz were “The Prom” and “Beetlejuice” on Broadway in August 2019.

Long queues of people waited patiently to purchase the souvenir programme for this professional Australian Premiere event.  The programme sadly did not include the song list. Nor did it discuss the history of some of the changes made from the concept album, to the Broadway runs. Check out Wikipedia for some notes on the changes that have been made along the way.

Anthony Warlow was superb but cracked a few notes during “This Is The Moment”.  My heart swelled as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra played the underscore and introduction to the song. I had tears rolling down my face during this song. To finally hear him sing this in the context of the show live was worth every cent. The ovation and cheering at the end was long and well deserved.

Jemma Rix as Lucy was sensational and did a terrific job of the role. I was saddened that one of my favourite songs has been deleted since the original recording ‘No One Knows Who I Am”.

Lisa played by Amanda Lea LaVergue with pinched notes and forced “you” words. She sang better in Act Two.

The first ensemble number in Act One had an awful sound quality with thumping and scratchy noises. This was not up to scratch for a $130 ticket in C Reserve.

The lighting was very clunky and very haphazard in its approach. Sometimes the lighting created terrific atmospheres and then seemed incongruent for the next scene as the mottled lighting for a ball scene continued. The church wedding lighting was appropriate.  The final duet between himself as both Jekyll and Hyde had lighting that nearly worked. It was more hit and miss and seemed like a technical dress rehearsal. Tomorrow night in Melbourne should be smoother - I hope!

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra led by Vanessa Scammell was brilliant playing the Frank Wildhorn score.

Director, Chris Parker used semi staging in this concert production with a desk, chaise lounge, stairs and a raised walkway. Five chairs and a speaker’s podium were also used. Minimal props were used effectively.

A single Victorian light hovered overhead on stage left near the staircase.

The ensemble singing was terrific though the microphones let down the quality of sound reproduction. In Act Two the sound quality for the ensemble was a lot better, but could still be improved.

There were some terrific performances by Martin Crewes as John Utterson and Peter Coleman-Wright as Sir Danvers Carew in particular.

The duo in Act Two between Lucy and Lisa left me numb as I know how rich this song should sound emotionally. Lucy was better than Lisa in capturing the emotion. I felt it lacked the emotional connection as I have cried many times listening to the recordings.

The deadly tease by Mr Hyde with the conductor, Vanessa Scammel, drew lots of laughs from the audience that added some light relief from the tension.

If you thought it was Anthony Warlow who would star in this production, then his quote on page ten of the souvenir programme reveals what we were in store for:  “I said I’d love for Jemma to play that role. I think she deserves to at least have a go at it.”

Wow - Jemma Rix was amazing as Lucy. Even better than in “Wicked”. She also received lots of cheers and applause.

Mr Hyde lays motionless on the stage. Blackout. The audience rose to a standing ovation, but not a volcanic eruption like “Come From Away” on Broadway, as Anthony Warlow rose centre stage for his well deserved recognition.

Some of the minor characters provided adequate and superficial performances though were vocally secure.

I hope someone offers Anthony Warlow mega-dollars to film his performance with Jemma Rix as Lucy, Martin Crewes as John Utterson and Peter Coleman-Wright as Sir Danvers Carew.  

Jekyll and Hyde obtained an 8.5/10.

Note: We are so fortunate to have seen Anthony Warlow play Sweeney Todd and Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde this year. An interesting note is both roles of Sweeney Todd and Dr Jekyll have a major love interest character named Lucy who gets killed by the titular roles.

It should have been a 10/10 but the lighting and sound microphones let it down.

The Wizard of Oz, Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018

The Wizard of Oz, Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018

Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" was presented at Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018 by John Frost and Suzanne Jones.

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.

There are aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" presented at Regent Theatre that resemble the London Palladium Production.  Then again on page three of the programme states, "This production is closely based on the one seen at The Palladium." But it is not "close" if you use the dictionary definition.  They are stretching the standard deviation of the word "close". 

The movie and even the most awful amateur versions of this iconic musical have had some emotional heart.  The script is foolproof to tug at the heart-strings.  The new additions to the script and extra songs give some back story to some characters but bog the flow of the show.  Yes, we get to see some sensational performers sing these new songs, as the audience ho-hummed in their seats.  The applause was very lukewarm with even the big well known songs.

Choreography was by Arlene Phillips.  The big production numbers were well executed and each of the support performers created defined characterisations.

Sadly, the most famous choreography for the "We're Off To See The Wizard" was so poorly executed and the staging was even worse due to the scenic design.  This alerted me to remembering the staging I had seen of the London Palladium production was significantly robust in the progression of the characters' journey.  I remembered they had a stage revolve or a treadmill in London.  No revolve or treadmill was used here. It looked like they use a hydraulic lift in the centre of the stage in the London production.  Marking out steps on the spot was executed worse than any amateur production I have ever seen.

I recalled seeing Poppies in the video shorts of the London Palladium production.  The 1991 production at the State Theatre, Melbourne made great use of the poppies with a poppy ballet by Leigh Rowles.

The staging most of the time was poor and showed the original staging had been massively compromised to tour the production.  Direction by Jeremy Sams was awkward in both the staging of many numbers and sequences.  Plus the relationships between the characters were so two dimensional.  I have been in tears many times watching far worse staged versions, but they had the essence of the material.  Here, I was very disappointed that I was not flowing with tears at key moments in the show.

The sets were rolled out for the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion while in London they had the massive revolve and substantial movement to discover each of these characters.  This is one of the most important moments in the show.  Well, the audience in Melbourne were not amused.  Yes they clapped and the response was very ho-hum.

I preferred the Munchkins in the 1991 production at the State Theatre, Melbourne.  Here the choreography was well executed, but it did not have the same impact here with the performers stooping down rather than the fun of the performers on their knees in the 1991 production.

Yes, the performers sent themselves up.  Well, camped it up.

The stand out for me was John Xintavelonis as the Lion, who captured the heart of the show.  His performance was consummate in style and honoured the book and movie.

Dorothy played by Samantha Dodemaide was way too old for the role and her voice was not pure enough with the vibrato.  More legato was required in her singing. The inter-relationships with each character needed more connection.

  

Anthony Warlow gave a great performance as the Wizard with his wonderfully versatile voice.  The added song did not add to the show.

Lucy Durack as Glinda the Good was a clever piece of casting as she had appeared in the same role in the Australian production of "Wicked".  I loved how she sent herself up as the ditsy "Legally Blonde" version of Glinda.  Usually this role is so purely performed, and I liked Lucy Durack's touches paying homage to her other roles.

Jemma Rix had also been in the Australian production of "Wicked", and played the same roles as both Miss Bulch and The Wicked Witch of the West.  The new song for her was "Red Shoes Blues" which I felt did add to the story.  Her performance was exceptional and the set looked terrific.  Her melting scene was one of the scenes that was well staged.

When the Wicked Witch of the West melts, one of the Winkie steps forward using a Russian accent, while the other Winkies stepped forward using a range of other accents.  It just lost me.  I cringed as I thought I was watching a High School version. Have them all play the Russian accent, or, any accent; but please use the same accent for the Winkies.

Costume Design by Robert Jones varied in quality.  The green shoes could use a good repaint and clean in the Emerald City number.  The scuffs and varying patch colours detracted from the sharpness of the costumes.  The farm characters' costumes did not have the worn look of working people and looked like costumes.  Yes, I know it is stylised, but ironed clothes for people working in the fields does not ring true - even in a musical.

Set Designs, also by Robert Jones were flashy and cartoon-esque.  The sets jarred at times because we only received half of the production design - by not having the revolve and the added lighting etc.  So therefore some aspects hit you with the wow factor, while others made you question that something was missing and made the staging awkward.

The Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone was also half realised as per the set design.  The lighting was effective at times, while at other times was overwhelming as it did not balance with the set.  Whereas in the London Palladium production, from the videos and promotions looked more balanced and polished.

The Video Design by Jon Driscoll did not work as effectively from the second row, and I suspect would have looked better further back.

Musically, the ensemble numbers with their rich harmonies was a highlight.  The orchestra led by Laura Tipoki was also one of the few highs.

I wrote the following on Facebook after seeing the show:

I was very disappointed in "The Wizard of Oz" as I was expecting it to be the Palladium of London production. The programme notes say "This production is closely based on the one seen at the London Palladium....". Yeah sure. Check out the footage on Youtube and the differences are obvious. It is a very underwhelming production with no revolve etc. I could go into a lot of detail but at $119.90 a ticket for the "New production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Wizard of Oz". - it was not what I had seen of the London production. I have copies of the ads with dates. I would say "it had aspects or inspired by the London production". The production at The State Theatre in about February 1991 left me glowing. This, well......

I would have preferred to buy a dvd of the Palladium production.

This Australian touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" received a very generous 6.5/10.

Wicked Review June 5 2014

Wicked Review June 5 2014

We saw "Wicked" at the Regent Theatre on Thursday June 5 2014 and loved it. Jemma Rix is sensational as Elphaba and Lucy Durack is superb as the ditzy blonde Galinda/Glinda. I thought it was better than when I originally saw it in 2008.

It was also good to hear a few cast members who were flat in other musicals in the last twelve months, were in tune last night. You have to give them credit with eight shows a week they looked fresh.

Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible is pointed and authorative.

Edward Grey plays an admirable Boq without any of the Australian Idol fanfare.  This is in total contrast to his very camp hairdresser from "Legally Blonde."

Reg Livermore played the Wizard with agility of body and with a more aged voice.

Emily Cascarino played Nessarone with a lovely pure voice that brought out her coldness.

Steve Danielsen played Flyero with aplomb but I wanted more stillness in his confidence.  Though the duet "As Long As Your Mine" with Jemma Rix was sublime.

Nathan Carter as Doctor Dillamond was played with the right amount of caper and lovely control of his bleating.

Matt Holly played Chistery with agility and assurance of character. This may appear a thankless role but he played Gregory Maguire's intent magnificently.

The ensemble singing and dancing was confident and assured. 

If you have not read the book then I do recommend reading anything by Gregory Maguire. He is such a wordsmith and I am in awe at his skill. How the creators condensed his book into such a fine musical is beyond me. Congratulations on a good show.