Margaret Fulton: The Musical, Jally Entertainment, The Q

 This production is a touring version of a show that's been bouncing around various fringe festivals and smaller venues for about a decade, originally as "Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert" back in 2012 with a cast of three - I honestly think keeping a title like that would have given better hints at the level of sophistication this show is going for, covering about 50 years of the life of Australia's queen of cookbooks in 80 odd minutes, with songs dedicated to things like Pressure Cookers, Jam and Bobby Limb as the plot rolls through her rise to success while surviving various husband's misdemenours, with advice from her mum and an old friend along the way. Writer Doug Macleod has a history largely in TV Sketch comedy like "The Comedy Company", "Fast Forward" and "Full Frontal" and composer Yuri Worontshak  has similarly been providing music for movies and TV shows associated with those teams for a while, and this is pretty much right in their field - not-too-demanding, not-too challenging, material which rises or falls on the strength of its performers, being elevated by a Magda Szubanski, a Gina Riley, a Jane Turner or a Marg Downey. 

Judy Hainsworth is a solid lead as Margaret, suitably natty in various conservative outfits with a powerful singing voice and a firm no-nonsense demeanour. Zoe Harlen as freewheeling friend Bea really doesn't get quite enough of an arc but manages to impress every time she shows up with her breezy manner, and Jessica Kate Ryan provides wide sage advice as Margaret's mum, mostly in ghostly form. The other three supporting cast roar through various roles as supporters, backupdancers, husbands, swinging Londoners and interlopers with speed and charm.

This is really middling material done by a reasonable cast, and honestly the reason I was seeing this is because I needed a fourth show in a subscription. But I've seen worse bonus-shows-to-fill-up-a-subscription at the Q before and this is a reasonably appealing undemanding night out.

Jersey Boys, Canberra Philharmonic, Erindale Theatre

 "Jersey Boys" is one of the better "jukebox" musicals, taking the song catalog of a famous band and wrapping a plot based on the history of the band around it. In this case, the plot's drawn from the previously not-very-well known story of how "The Four Seasons" rose to fame and combatted internal tensions, their own egos, family and money problems on their way to fame, fortune and glory Using a narrative structure that splits the telling into four, each section told by a different member of the group,  the original production benefitted from some propulsive staging from Des McAnuff as the story roars through around 30 years of personal history between the four band members, frequently not letting the audience break for applause after songs as the story keeps on roaring along. 

Philo's production captures a lot of the power of this, particularly through the performances of the lead four men, though it loses a bit on the propulsive staging - it's a little too indulgent of audience applause during the opening half which means you lose the magical explosion when the band finally hits the spotlight and the audience gets to let go of all that building tension immediately after "Sherry", and there's a couple of gaps between scenes which should be rolling into one another. The slower pace mean that it's possible to spot a few cheats in the storytelling - all three other band members manage to narrate story elements that really only relate to Frankie alone, describing things they shouldn't really know.

But all 4 leading men claim the stage with their various skills - Dave Smith is ingratiatingly sleazy as the self-proclaimed organiser Tommy DeVito,  Jonathan Rush goofily charming as songwriting genius Bob Gaudio, Zach Johnson lends a solid dependability to the harmonically skilled Nick Massi, and Jared Newell is miracle casting as the perfectly voiced, multi-octaved  Frankie Valli. There's also great support in the rest of the cast, between Bradley McDowell's flamboyant Bob Crewe, John Whinfield's energetic Joey, Jason McKenzie's intimidating Gyp DeCarlo, Nicole Wetselar, Kellee-Rose-Hand and Jessica Coote as three very different women in Frankie's life,  and elsewhere. 

Musically, this is a wonderful retro feast, with Caleb Campbell's orchestra sounding wonderful throughout, the harmonics of the four leads (plus 5 credited backup vocals) sounding clear and gorgeous. There's fine retro-performance moves in Madelyn White's choreography, some lovely costume choices from Jill McMullen and Chelsea DeRooy (in particular Bob Crewe's lounging pyjamas), a clear and smooth set from Ian Croker. It's a pretty solid presentation, I just wish it could have been a little bit tighter to achieve full impact.

Young Frankenstein, Hayes Theatre

 "Young Frankenstein: The Musical" is one of those shows that suffers somewhat from being a follow-up show to a huge success - in this case, it's the show Mel Brooks did after "The Producers". The original production hit Broadway in a giant-sized theatre and with then-record-high ticket prices, running a little over a year after uneven reviews. A recent London revision was trimmed down and drew better reviews but ran about as long. Now, slightly COVID Delayed, it hits the Hayes in a trim and ridiculously fun production inspired by equal parts Mel Brooks, High Fashion, surrealism and anything-for-a-laugh nonsense. 

The Hayes is a tiny theatre, and I've mentioned before one of the best way to work with that tinyness is, weirdly, to make it tinier by blocking bits of the theatre off. Isabel Hudson's set is a maze of twisty-turny escher-esque staircases, with plenty of hidden hideyholes for sudden appearances and disappearances. Despite the curtain adding a literal fourth wall, the performers never treat that too seriously, throwing in jokes referencing everything from star Matthew Backer's recent appearances on Play School, the obviously reduced cast of eight's inability to be a large angry mob when only two of the actors aren't occupied playing other roles, the ropey nature of some of the Transylvanian accents and the meandering plot. 

Matthew Backer gives the lead a nicely gormless innocence together with a fair amount of likability and intelligence, dealing with the shenanigans with exasperation and occasionally blinding rage. Ben Gerrard crossdresses gorgeously as blonde bombshell Inga, providing breathy lab assistance while looking good in a corset and filmy dress. Lucia Mastrantone as Frau Blucher has a great time looming, harranguing, and giving a great Marlena Dietrich in her solo. Shannon Dooley as madcap fiance Elizabeth is suitably ridiculous, glamorous and immaculate. Luke Leong-Tay's Igor is a a nonsensical sidekick with a good line in running gags; Amy Hack's Insector Kemp gives desperate inspiration to a character trying to find revenge and justice; Nick Eynaud's monster does a good job of not being upstaged by his spectacular costumes, either in his principal role or as the horse; and Olivia Chamralambous plays various and sundry roles with enthusiasm and vigour. 

There's continuous invention in Alexander Berlarge's staging (even when he has to invent reasons for characters to move beyond the curtain to allow scene changes), down to the spectacular deployment of ladles during "Roll in the Hay" and the clever uses of the many tiny exits. Andrew Warboys makes a 6 piece band sound rich, glorious and spooky, and Yvette Lee comes up with comic choreography that looks stylish and ridiculous. 

For all the skill deployed, there is still something where this is middling material being pushed as hard as possible - Brooks's score and script do feel like it's a tacked on and expanded version of the movie script without a lot of new interesting things added - everything interesting about the additions tends to be an invention of Berlage and his cast. And the delightfulness of the show feels like the kind of thing that works up close and personal in the Hayes and would disappear in a bigger theatre should this end up touring. But I think I can still say this is a damn good time and a delight to see.

Lamb, Red Stitch and Critical Stages, The Q

 First you get the wolf, then you get the sheep.... at least, that's how the Q appears to be programming. This three hander marks some familiar territory - three siblings are reunited after the death of their mother in a remote country town, dealing with the implications of their common history and planning the next steps of their lives. Played on Greg Clarke's simple but effective set (a kitchen on one side, a pub on the other and a horizon and cyclorama in the middle), Jane Bodie's script employs a series of flashbacks to take us from post-funeral departures back to the events of the days before, unpacking the issues lingering between the siblings, big and small, and providing a few mysteries to be resolved. Mark Seymour's folkish songs fit in naturally, not making this a full-blown musical but very much in that "play with songs" territory where characters have a musical background and will occasionally sing at one another in a shared language.

It's a nice, meat and potatoes piece of drama - a familiar but well-made play setting up, exploring and resolving tensions with style and economy touchingly and movingly. The three performers carry their roles well - hitting all the tense and tender notes the piece requires.

I don't want to go on too long describing this show as a lot of the pleasure is in seeing how the story unwraps itself, in its small beautiful way finding gentle truths and making small personal discoveries, but I will say this is a perfectly polished gem with a gentle heart and a whole lotta soul.