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Jesus Christ Superstar
Presented by: SPX Waterdale Players
Venue: Rivergum Theatre at Parade College, Bundoora
Reviewer: Emmalee Bell
Date Reviewed: 15th March 2008
SPX
Waterdale Players’ production of Jesus Christ Superstar, was
a wonderful example of the good things that can come from a young,
emerging company. The young artistic team cleverly drew inspiration
from things of their generation to make this sexed-up Jesus
Christ Superstar refreshingly unique. I have seen numerous
productions of this Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical account of
Jesus in his final days, but this is the first to incorporate
Cirque de Soleil style make-up, florescent Supre clothing, zany punk
meets hippy hairstyles and a Jesus resembling Justin Timberlake!
Director, Louis
Rivera (assisted by Producer, Shane Sanfilippo) had clearly spent
time studying the piece and making considered directorial choices.
Despite having a large cast with a number of inexperienced
performers, everyone on stage was focussed and seemed to know their
purpose on stage. Sam Boon (Music Director) and Laura Perini (Vocal
Coach) should also be commended for the support they provided this
production. In the interest of assisting the development of young
artists, I should point out that there was a couple of songs where
the tempo of the music dragged constraining the singers and also
there was times when the ensemble singing lacked a bit of oomph.
The choreography by
Felicity Bender left me feeling a little conflicted. I initially
felt the dance routines incorporated too many different styles,
however on reflection I wondered if it was a choreographic choice
and I was mistaking fusion for confusion. Regardless, Felicity did a
wonderful job of catering to the varying dancing abilities in the
cast with simple, effective mass movement and featured dancers for
more complicated routines.
I hate to play
favourites, but the stand-out performance for me was definitely that
of Diana Perini (Mary Magdalene) who is a poster-girl for the triple
threat performer. Her strong singing, dancing and acting ability
combined to create a unique and truly moving portrayal of the
character. Julian Compobasso as Jesus gave a compelling rendition of
Gethsemane,
a song that can so easily be a torturous 5 minutes in the hands of a
lesser performer. Completing the trio of leading roles was David
Barclay, whose husky pub-rocker voice suited the character of the
traitor, Judas.
Jesus Christ
Superstar is a fantastic show choice
for young companies, as there are so many opportunities for cast
members to shine in supporting roles. There were a number of people
that used this opportunity to their advantage including James
Phillips as Caiaphas and his bevy of his power-women priests (think
Channel Nine’s Cashmere Mafia), Angie Bedford, Rachel Collins
and Kim Rosenberg. Stuart Ford was also very entertaining as King
Herod with his psychopathic showman portrayal reminiscent of the
Simpson’s character Sideshow Bob. The set consisting of 3 towers of
scaffolding and a few boxes was simple and effective, allowing the
bright costumes (by Emily Hall) and striking hair and make-up (by
Anita Posterino & Claudia Miller) to really stand out. The lighting
by Doug Donaldson also helped to set the mood, however at times it
was a little too dark, leaving the actors’ faces were obscured.
SFX Waterdale
Players really have achieved a lot in a short period of time.
According to the President’s note, the last 12 months have seen the
company move from performing in a primary school gym to a “real”
theatre. With increasing experience as a company and growing support
from the theatre community, I am looking forward to what SFX
Waterdale Players have in store for us next.
Emmalee’s
passion for musical theatre developed in Warrnambool where she was
in 18 productions before her 21st birthday. After moving
to Perth to complete an Arts Management degree at WAPPA, she
performed in Les Miserables and the King and I at the Regent
Theatre. Since moving to Melbourne in 2005, Emmalee performed in a
concert production of Ragtime with Monash University Choral Society,
played the Bakers Wife in Into the Woods (MD Productions), played
Maria in The Sound of Music (Altona City Theatre), went incognito as
a pit singer in Cats (CLOC), played Frauline Kost in Cabaret (ARC)
and was in The Producers (Whitehorse Musical Theatre). Emmalee is
currently taking a break from performing to concentrate on her day
job as Development Manager at the Malthouse Theatre.
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