This wrap of shows around Melbourne includes one of the most bankable musicals of all time, a dazzling show where the past and present collide, a jukebox musical filled with joie de vivre, and an eagerly anticipated fixture in Victoria’s arts calendar.
MUSICAL THEATRE
Grease ★★★★
Her Majesty’s Theatre, until March 10
How to explain the enduring popularity of Grease? The musical has a stupidly catchy soundtrack, yes, but that doesn’t quite account for it. I’d argue Grease became a runaway success for the same reasons Stranger Things is a global pop culture phenomenon: they’re both loving tributes to the growing pains (and popular music) of a bygone era, with deliberate intergenerational appeal.
Grease doesn’t simply trade on 1950s sentimentality, any more than Stranger Things only speaks to Generation X.
Grease has opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre.Credit: Jeff Busby
Instead, these retro celebrations leave an almost unavoidable slick of vicarious adolescent nostalgia for succeeding generations. They look back across decades of radical cultural and social transformation – Grease to a time before second-wave feminism, civil rights, the sexual revolution and ’60s counterculture; Stranger Things to the last generation to grow up without the internet – and reassure us that a teenager is always a teenager.
Every decade or so, Grease experiences a major Australian revival. The 1978 film and soundtrack saw a massive resurgence in popularity in the early ’90s (I certainly can’t remember a suburban teen party without the Grease megamix being played). Celebrity arena spectaculars toured the country in 1998 and 2005, featuring the likes of John Farnham, Dannii Minogue and Craig McLachlan, and the last production I saw in 2013, with Rob Mills and Gretel Scarlett, also guest-starred the late Bert Newton.
It’s hard to imagine a Grease fan leaving this production disappointed.Credit: Jeff Busby
In a piece of showbiz serendipity, his widow Patti Newton has a comic cameo this time as Miss Lynch, and provides memorable moments in a production not short on them.
The leads have their work cut out. Performances don’t get much more iconic than those of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the movie. Joseph Spanti and Annelise Hall as Danny and Sandy carve out a charming mix of teen insecurity and passionate puppy love that comes into its own in the second half, their cool kid/straight-edge chemistry finally effervescing into an infectious rendition of the upbeat duet, You’re The One That I Want.
But Grease is such an ensemble musical that every teen character makes their mark. Mackenzie Dunn is beautifully cast as the cynical, streetwise Rizzo, spitting venom in Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee, summoning an arrestingly poignant defiance for There Are Worse Things I Could Do. Keanu Gonzalez’s Kenickie has leather-clad machismo and a quiff stiff enough for Greased Lightning, and Caitlin Spears and Andy Seymour bring oddball romantic comedy as another moon-struck young couple.
Marcia Hines’ Teen Angel commands the stage, complete with a funky musical outro to Beauty School Dropout; Jay Laga’aia is an avuncular presence as a radio host and school prom emcee.
Marcia Hines’ Teen Angel commands the stage.Credit: Jeff Busby
Luke Joslin’s direction mightn’t always join the magic moments together to make the show as slick as it should be. There are minor sound issues; the revolving set and energetic choreography don’t always complement each other, sometimes cluttering or leaching focus from the stage picture. Still, the production continues to gather momentum, the many highlights keep the rock rolling, and by the time the cast breaks into its own megamix at curtain call, it’s hard to imagine a Grease fan leaving disappointed.
The revival is familiar fun for the initiated, and a good introduction, should you somehow happen to be a Grease virgin, to one of the most bankable musicals of all time.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead
CIRCUS
Circus 1903 ★★★★
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, until January 14
Circus 1903 is billed as a theatrical homage to American-style big top circuses of the late 19th century – those travelling canvas extravaganzas with their oddball acrobats, caged animals, sideshow barkers and reputation for attracting runaways.
Of course, that’s just the packaging. This show makes only a cursory attempt to evoke the so-called golden age of American circus. In fact, it’s a well-put-together bit of international-style new circus, with a program of first-class acts from Europe and Africa.
There are big thrills right from the start. First, we get the Daring Desafios from Sweden with a high-flying teeterboard act. They’re followed by the Remarkable Risleys from Ethiopia, with an outrageously difficult acrobalance routine. Gravity just works differently for these guys.
The Daring Desafios kick things off with some remarkable acrobatics. Credit: Chris Hopkins
The show then shifts down a few gears with David Schnabel’s bicycle ballet, Mekdes Kebede’s spine-crunching contortions and an artistic trapeze routine with Yoann Benhamou and Emiline Goavec. Meanwhile, juggler Francois Borie dazzles with his half dozen silver clubs.
The ringmaster is magician and comedian David Williamson, or Willy Whipsnade as he styles himself. Williamson is laid back and a little sarcastic, but he knows his way around a good piece of prestidigitation. He also has a winning way with the kids in the audience.
Gravity works differently for The Remarkable Risleys.Credit: Chris Hopkins
The show’s main attractions are the two elephant puppets – mother Queenie and calf Peanut. They’re designed by the same crew that created the War Horse puppets. These life-sized creations somehow capture the essence of elephant-ness and are a joy to behold.
In 2019, Circus 1903 was absorbed into the Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. It fills a slightly different niche to Cirque du Soleil, with less narrative, but has the same glossy production style. The lighting is high-powered and the soundtrack is very Hans Zimmer-esque.
The program for this Australian tour is not quite the same as the program for the recent season at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, but there’s no shortage of wow moments: many provided by strongmen Bulgarian Yani Stoyanov and Valeri Tsvetkov.
The old-timey big-top circuses and carnivals that followed the railway lines and toured the country back lots have all but disappeared, but the myth of sawdust and tinsel lives on in movies and musicals.
The show’s main attractions are the two elephant puppets – mother Queenie and calf Peanut.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Circus 1903 doesn’t take this myth too seriously. You won’t learn anything about Barnum and his three-ringed spectaculars.
But it doesn’t matter because this is a show of super-charged sensations, packed with remarkable stunts, artistic puppetry and much comic byplay.
Reviewed by Andrew Fuhrmann
MUSICAL
The Choir of Man ★★★★
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, until February 11
You’ll be kicking yourself if you buy a drink before settling into your seat at The Choir of Man.
Joie de vivre is central to the appeal of jukebox musical The Choir of Man.Credit: Danysha Harriott
The simplicity of the set belies the fact that the stage bar, backdropped by a mosaic of colourful tiles, is a working bar. Audience members are invited onstage before the show to have a pint with the cast, and drinks are handed out willy-nilly throughout, as are branded coasters and packets of crisps.
This joie de vivre is central to the appeal of jukebox musical The Choir of Man. Audience interaction is a feature, but it takes on a gentler guise than most – audience members are either serenaded, led on simple dances, or subsumed into the narrative from afar.
The Poet (played affably by core cast member Alistair Higgins) is the focal point of the show, as he introduces each member of the nine-person choir and the band perched aloft the stage.
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It’s he who waxes lyrical about the function of a bar – a place for communing with your mates, enjoying the easy passage of time, escaping the travails of modern life – and it’s through him that we learn the specificities of each character, their backstories always anchored in where in the British Isles they call home.
The humour is hammy, while the musical renditions cover a breadth of popular classic and contemporary songs, showcasing the range of the choir’s individual voices – particularly Nathaniel Morrison and Rob Godfrey, whose falsettos rival the full-bodied lowness their voices can descend to.
A raucous cover of Guns N’ Roses Welcome to the Jungle – showcasing the bar, The Jungle, in all its glory – segues into a gentler rendering of Eagle Eye Cherry’s Save Tonight, before bounding across the likes of Paul Simon, Katy Perry, Adele, and, for the home crowd, John Farnham.
Highlights are the beautiful harmonising in Sia’s Chandelier; the highly spirited I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) which builds to a crescendo in a rendition that could’ve very well ended the show, and Escape (better known as The Pina Colada Song), which sees the choir cavorting, gyrating, grinding, sashaying and Single Ladies-style dancing.
The Handyman (Ethan Vijn) is a highlight as the tap dancer of the troupe, jumping from bar to table to floor in frenzied sequences of foot tapping. The choir isn’t confined to merely singing either, picking up the melodica, accordion, banjo and ukulele at different junctures.
The musical renditions cover a breadth of popular classic and contemporary songs.Credit: Danysha Harriott
Traditional pubs can be inherently masculine spaces and while The Jungle is no different, there’s a renewed focus on vulnerability, an awareness of the pitfalls of binge drinking, and an easy camaraderie among all nine men that underlines the beauty of close male friendships.
The Choir of Man will have you tapping your feet, singing along and bringing your hands together in rapturous applause – it’s an uplifting night of song, dance and community.
Reviewed by Sonia Nair
MUSIC
Peninsula Summer Music Festival ★★★★
Various venues, January 5-7
Set amidst the breathtaking vistas of the Mornington Peninsula, the Peninsula Summer Music Festival continues to present an inviting range of musical experiences expertly curated by co-directors oboist Ben Opie and flautist Melissa Doecke.
Burrundi Dance Theatre at the Peninsula Hot Springs.
Amongst the offerings on the final weekend, Inventi Ensemble joined the captivating Wiradjuri dancers and musicians of Burrundi Theatre at Peninsula Hot Springs for a reflective, hope-filled encounter with First Nations culture.
Australian-American harpist Emily Granger also offered a meditative program of works by living American and Australian composers that included her own arrangement of Elena Kats Chernin’s quietly moving Blue Silence as well as evocative scores by Ross Edwards, Libby Larsen and Tristan Coelho.
Concerts in the appealing intimacy of St John’s Flinders celebrated fine, emerging talent. In a program that also included works by Mozart and Sutherland, violinist Liam Freisberg, a finalist in the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Great Romantics competition, revealed a questing musical personality in the lush impressionistic landscape of Debussy’s Violin Sonata where he was sympathetically partnered by pianist Laurence Matheson. Ysaye’s pyrotechnical, occasionally whimsical Sonata for Violin Solo No.6 confirmed Freisberg as a talent to watch.
Revelling in their shared love of romantic chamber music, the young members of the SPELL Quintet delighted a capacity audience with charismatic accounts of piano quintets by Schumann and Amy Beach. Violinists Lachlan MacLaren, Emma Amery, violist Patrick Shannon, cellist Sarah Wang and pianist Lily Begg brought plenty of ardour to the Schumann, preserving their equilibrium as they negotiated the tricky ensemble issues of second and third movements, while bringing the work to an upbeat close. An unjustly neglected gem, the Beach quintet with its heady romanticism also found eager yet eloquent advocacy in this hugely talented group.
Lee Abrahmsen and Adrian Tamburini anchored an enjoyable evening Opera Gala.Credit: Campbell Opie
Well known singers soprano Lee Abrahmsen and bass-baritone Adrian Tamburini anchored an enjoyable evening Opera Gala, accompanied by a Festival Orchestra well led by Matthew Hassall. Highlights included the concluding tragic duet from Massenet’s Thais, Tamburini’s playful take on the Catalogue Aria from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Ambrahmsen’s plangent account of Vissi d’arte from Puccini’s Tosca as well as songs by Wagner and Bizet. A full-blooded revenge duet from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana set a memorable seal on this amiable but engaging operatic experience.
An impressive breadth of community engagement matched by a depth of fine music-making confirms the Peninsula Summer Music Festival as an eagerly anticipated fixture in Victoria’s arts calendar. Roll on next year’s festival!
Reviewed by Tony Way
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