The chase for the "great Australian Musical" has been one of the great quests of Australian theatre, but Casey Bennetto's 2005 musical "Keating" probably has come the closet to getting genuine widespread public acclaim. From humble beginnings as a small Melbourne Comedy festival show to an expanded Belvoir production that toured virtually nonstop from 2006-2008, it's a sensational piece of legend-building spectacle, with a mix of pastiche, satire, and authentic emotional heart-string-pulling material, plus it recognises the power of rap battles as a representation of political debate well before a certain famous American musical of recent vintage (then again, both are pre-dated by the 1980's "Rap Master Ronnie" by Gary Trudeau). Using the popular labour mythology of Keating as a stylish smoothie right out of the 60s Rat Pack (the official publicity image for the Belvoir production was Keating's Rolling Stone cover-shot), it tells a familiar story of struggle, rise to power and dealing with the challenges that happen once in office. There's great choices of matching material to the moment, whether it be Alexander Downer's funky "Freaky", the every-Australian-ad-of-the-80s-sounding "The Mateship", the Elvis comeback special vibe to "Sweet"... it's a major achievement and it's a pity Bennetto has never really been able to duplicate it since.
This production inflates the cast size slightly but still recognises the essential nature of the piece as small and focussed very much on Keating's solo power, and knows when to go big, and as importantly when to keep things small (particularly in the penultimate number, "Light on the Hill"). Sarah Hull's recent work has shown she's got a real skill for 21st-century musicals, between "High Fidelity" and "Wedding Singer", she has a fine contemporary eye and a great sense of how to appropriately scale new work for a local audience. Together with collaborators David Santolin on choreography and Jenna Hinton as musical director she's staged a fine production that gives life to the material in delightful ways.
At the centre is Steven O'Mara as Keating, performing a marathon part with complete focus and charisma. He's got the style, moves, and charisma, as well as a powerful voice that carries him through the show in great style. There's great supporting cameos as well, whether it be Anthony Swadling's ingratiating Hawke, Zachary Izzard's raptastic John Hewson, Andrew Finegan's funky freak of an Alexander Downer, Zyl Hovenga-Wauchope's loomingly beige-suited Gareth Evans, Alissa Pearson's scarlet seductress Cheryl Kernot or Matt Greenwood's creepy gnome John Howard.
Jeannie Norberry's costume design gives style on what presumably is a fairly tight budget, Nick Cossart's sound design makes sure every witty lyric is heard and enjoyed, and Sarah Hull's set design gives the cast plenty of options in creating memorable stage pictures.
This is a classic Australian show given an excellent local production and is deservedly sold out. If you can catch the digital screenings planned for the coming weeks, please do so, this cast and production absolutely deserve your attention. It's an effort that should make Queanbeyan Players very proud.
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