The Beautiful Game, Manilla Street Productions, Chapel Off Chapel, Wednesday September 25th 2019

The Beautiful Game, Manilla Street Productions, Chapel Off Chapel, Wednesday September 25th 2019

"The Beautiful Game" was presented by Manilla Street Productions at Chapel Off Chapel, and we saw a performance on Wednesday September 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.

"The Beautiful Game" with a Book by Ben Elton, and Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber was presented by Manilla Street Productions at Chapel Off Chapel, and we saw a performance on Wednesday September 25th 2019.

I had seen Manilla Street Productions of “Pacific Overtures” that I overall preferred to the original Broadway production. The Manilla Street Productions version should have toured more extensively and warranted supporting this company to see what they would do with “The Beautiful Game”. Even though I had not seen "The Beautiful Game", I knew the music and story from the cd.

Programmes costing $10.00 are a bit steep, but at least the year 2019 was stated on the inside cover!  So many programmes and theatre posters do not have the year of production and it is my pet hate from a theatre history perspective for this oversight. So thank you for including the year for history.  The programme also has the songs listed. Why did they not state it was the Australian premiere on page three rather than just a premiere? Why are all the cast not photographed for the programme? This contrasts to the block of headshot photos announcing the cast in a pre-show email. I was disappointed that these photos were not duplicated in the programme.

Up front, I do not like the show, but this cast did a great job with very average material. I can now understand why this show never surfaced professionally after its London premiere. Yes, some of Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is good, but the dialogue is very average. The jokes in act two barely worked due mainly to the writing and then next to the setup, delivery and timing.

Congratulations to Manilla Street Productions for making a pre-show announcement. This is such a rare event at Chapel Off Chapel that special thanks needs to be made, as we paid $89 for our tickets and do not expect to be disturbed by “Twankers”.

A woman sitting in C4 took a photo and then kept texting during Act One. I spoke to her at the end of Act One. She then had the audacity to confront me in the foyer protesting “I only took one photo!”  I said “Didn’t you hear the announcement?” “No”, she said, and then continued “I have a sick child”. I thought but did not say “Why aren’t you with the child? If they can text you they .......”  I kept thinking "Where have you been?  Have you ever attended the theatre before?"

I was impressed at interval the two ladies at the programme stall asked me to talk to the director about my interaction with our mobile-phone-lady from C4. I explained the situation to them and they supported what I said. Impressive follow up as they took the time to determine disruptions to their show, and to ensure all patrons received value for money as a respectful audience.

The staging was simple and congratulations as they did not play right up to the front row of the audience.  A bank of lights about 1.5 metres from the front row that allowed for a demarcation point to end the downstage area and allow for a better view of the entire stage. Brilliant as this is only the second show at Chapel Off Chapel to not play right up to the front row. By doing so the audience cannot see the action downstage. So a hearty thank you as I do pay to be able to see the action.

The sound quality for the singing was good. The quality of sound for the dialogue was awful with a breathy, rasping annoying volume level that was way too loud. At least I could understand all of the dialogue, but I did not need the breathing.

The simple staging used cyclone and corrugated fences trucked in to become cells, walls, and other supporting structures. The two fence styles also subliminally represented the two sides of the fence with the Catholics and the Protestants.  When the different Catholic and Protestant characters stood either side of the cyclone fence this highlighted the geographical divide. 

The opening scene set the contract with the audience of what to expect in the simple staging. The opening was strong as the cast were watching a game of soccer.

Lighting Design by Jason Bovaird created many distinct locations. The use of the four banks of angled lighting replicated the atmosphere of a major football stadium. The dual scenes were clearly defined with different qualities to represent the distinct locations.  The divide of the Catholics and Protestants was emphasised by the red and green colours.  The lighting through the windows and the textured floor lighting gave this show a more professional quality than many shows I have seen at Chapel Off Chapel. Some of the lighting from the sides occasionally appeared out of synchronisation with what had just happened, as if the lighting cue was missed. Congratulations Jason Bovaird for producing some of the best lighting design I have seen at Chapel Off Chapel in a long time.  

Choreography by Sue-Ellen Shook captured the mood of the show, in particular the ball game sequence. The pub scene with dancing did not appear authentic 1969, but was a stylised version of the era also referencing Irish traditional dancing. The men had individual choreography that worked to create a united ball game. Some impressive male pas de deluxe included back rolls.

Musical Direction by Daniele Buatti produced some fine choral and rich harmonies. The occasional individual struggled with some notes but more importantly captured the emotion and drama.

Vocally, a stand out moment included the duet between Ginger (Gregory) and Bernadette at The Party (played respectively by Samuel Skuthorp and Nicola Bowman). Their innocent reticence and youthful anxiety was captured with sincerity and honesty to build our warmth to their characters for the drama that lay ahead.

Singing varied in quality with some rough or flat notes at times. Occasionally, screaming rather than projecting the emotion through the singing pushed the quality of vocal production. Sometimes the notes were pinched on the word “you”.

Bernadette was played brilliantly by Nicola Bowman with her depth of emotional connection to the music and lyrics. This was no solo as she created an honest relationship with Ginger (Gregory) played brilliantly by Samuel Skuthorp. I loved their developing relationship as if we were a fly-on-the-wall observing them.

Mary played admirably by Stephanie Wall sang with a deep burning passion during her a cappella “Is This What We’re Fighting For”. Her conviction was timeless.

The final scene told us what happened to the main players. This scene was well staged to clearly differentiate body movements for the individual characters by turning, exiting downstage for a death or exiting upstage as they left for personal reasons.

Stephen Mahy did a good job playing John, though I felt he was too old for the role to give it credibility. He has a good voice but occasionally screamed the emotion rather than allowed the emotion to sing through.

Oscar Tollofsen as Daniel played the role with impish and loutish gusto.  He did not play for laughs but for his next opportunity to score.

David Meadows played Father O’Donnell with good timing and commanding assurance.

Sam Ward as Del built a rebellious and believable relationship with Ellie Nunan as Christine. They performed their roles with youthful, sexual chemistry.

The Protestant Girl played by Sophie Loughran sang magnificent harmonies with Mary played by Stephanie Wall during the duet “God’s Own Country”. This duet emphasised the religious and political divide, and the sexist divide between the Irish men and women of 1969.

The Book by Ben Elton needs some work as it blocks the flow of the story. I understand the need for the music to aid in the scene changes but it felt so laboured at times and clogged the flow of the story.

The accents were strong for the opening but gradually declined in consistency for a few characters thereafter. Overall, the accents were quite consistent.

Atmospheres varied appropriately for many scenes. Some were more successful than others due to the training of the cast who understand their role in creating different atmospheres. The ensemble worked to create the moods for the crowd, the football game, the locker room, the pub, the bedroom etc. This atmosphere building was lacking in the duo scenes, except for the wedding night scene where there was an atmosphere of trepidation, fear and excitement.

One of my favourite scenes was the staging and acting for the announcement that Ginger (Gregory) had died. The mood was palpable as the characters tried to allow this news to sink in. When Bernadette (Nicola Bowman) announces “His name was Gregory”, I had my first and only tear well up in my eyes. This scene is where Ellie Nunan as Christine excelled in her thoughtfulness to create a compelling atmosphere. Ellie Nunan did not do much in this scene, but it was the quality of her and other performers that supported the scene holistically.

The farewell scene between John (Stephen Mahy) and Mary ( Stephanie Wall) did not weigh enough on the stakes for either character. It may have been rushed a bit as the atmosphere was lacking. We should have been in tears with the situation for one of, or both of the characters.

The knee-capping scene was well staged and had the requisite shock value, though the trio’s entrance lacked atmosphere of an invasion of privacy and security.

The confrontational scene between John (Stephen Mahy) and Thomas (Des Flanagan) built the tension with the scripted material. More work could have built the tension to a more uncomfortable level for the audience by working on the atmospheres.

Costumes and Set Design by Karen Jemison mainly worked with the constraints at working in this venue with the limited room for storage backstage. Some of the costumes did not fit the era - as I remember clearly the fashions.

The scene changes were completed with promptness, thankfully with the distraction of the tedious Andrew Lloyd Webber music. The bedroom scene set up and bump out was slick except for the mattress. A roll-up mattress would have been less clumsy and awkward for the scene set up and bump out. Maybe a roll-up mattress could have been stored on the side with the benches rather than lumbering awkwardly down the side aisle.

It is easy in hindsight to see these things. I do not understand all of the limitations of the production but this is what I felt after seeing the show. It is well worth the time and effort to to try different versions in rehearsals in order to maximise the best product.

Finally special congratulations to Nicola Bowman as I have watched her grow as a performer and I look forward to seeing her next work.

Director, Karen Jemison, cast and crew with Manilla Street Productions are to be congratulated for producing a good show from an average script.

The story is better than the Book by Ben Elton.  The book of the show by Ben Elton  itself only warrants a 5/10. While the music and lyrics are worth about 6/10.  This story deserves better.

Overall, congratulations on a 7/10 for the performances of a very average show.

Cross Roads, Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 21st 2016

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.

Act One had a terrific fun ensemble number "The Difference Between" set in an art gallery.  Rosalie played by Bianca Baykara was flamboyant and demonstrative.

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.)