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All The New Stuff
Presented by: Phoenix Theatre Company
Venue: Koonung Secondary College, Mont Albert North
Reviewer: Gerard Schneider
Date Reviewed: 10th November, 2007
On the evening of the 10th of November I was exceedingly
scared. I was to review a cabaret featuring material from
contemporary musical theatre. Being somewhat of an opera buff,
this was a daunting proposition! I was, however, greatly surprised
at the quality of the material as well as the focus and energy of
the cast!
All the New Stuff, proudly presented by Phoenix Theatre
Company, brought together segmented excerpts from musicals written
in the last ten years. One of the definite highlights included the
crazy female ensembles’ Legally Blonde segment.
Others highlights included Tyler Hess’ performance of The Rain
Keeps Falling Down from Elegies, Tayla Currie’s
performance of Alone in the Universe and It’s possible
from Suessical, and just about anything performed by Lauren Doutch,
whether it be her hilarious performance of Climbing Uphill
from The Last Five Years, BA in English from Avenue Q, or
Privilege to Pee from Urinetown, The Musical.
The real star of the show was Katie Packer, the musical director,
for not only drawing together a great band but performing along with
the cast! Her performance of Spamalot’s Diva’ lament, as well
as her spirited and rather raunchy performance of Life with
Harold, from The Full Monty were absolutely fantastic!
Honourable mentions must also be made of Alexandra Valmorbida, Emily
Hall, Natalie Silsbury and Kate Warner and the ensemble in Find
your Grail from Spamalot, Privilege to Pee from Urinetown,
and Trash in the Camp from Tarzan.
The show was unfortunately performed from the theatre at Koonung
Secondary College, which boasts an awkward seating plan, a
proscenium arch stage decked out with polished floorboards and a
minimalist lighting plot. The lack of quality in the LFX cues, as
well as the poor spotlight work meant that often the performers were
inadequately lit by the seemingly constant yellow, green or red
washes which, in turn, made the numbers become increasingly
unexciting and dull.
Due to the polished floorboards on stage, the choreographed numbers,
of which there were many, seemed to be performed rather carefully. I
also couldn’t help but feel there were way too many people on stage
in some of the numbers as well as some poor staging choices. I
constantly found myself watching performers stand in one place and
gesticulate or fail to sing out to the audience. Sadly, the only set
change in the entire production was in the penultimate number with a
rectangular box being moved on stage.
The choice of material for some performers was ridiculously
ambitious and brought constant attention to the weaknesses of many
performers rather than their strengths. I personally don’t want to
see prepubescent girls performing Mama I’m a big girl now,
even if they can sing it well!
Some good choices were made, however. The costuming was effective;
the use of stage blacks for the entire cast accentuated with a
patterned tie, a strip of material, or shirt in a matching design
really helped bring the segments together. Other first-rate choices
included projecting the musical segments title and main motif onto a
projection screen as well as having the band positioned onstage with
the cast.
All the New Stuff
was a great night out that has done great credit to my opinion of
contemporary theatre! So next time Phoenix produce a cabaret,
make sure you are either a part of the cast or a part of the
audience!
Gerard
Schneider has been involved in theatre some time. He studied at both
John Curtin, College of the Arts and WAAPA, before moving to
Melbourne last year. His credits include Danny in Grease (JC: COTA),
Jean Valjean in the student production of Les Miserables, Mark in A
Chorus Line (NOVA), Action in Westside Story (WTC), Hot Blades Harry
in Urinetown, the Musical (PEP) and The Defendant in Trial by Jury (BABIRRA
MT). He has recently resigned from the Westpac banking Corporation
and taken up some work with Alpha Theatrical Productions.
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