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.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Canberra Rep, Theatre 3

 I'll be honest upfront, this is not my favourite Tennessee Williams play. In the context of his works it lands around the point where his plays start to become semi-self-parodies, a mixture of southern sterotypes yelling around a grand mansion in a "who's going to inherit the estate" story that plays like a thinner version of Lillian Hellman's "The Little Foxes", also slightly distorted by Williams deciding that the first two acts should largely take the form of two of the most dynamic characters, Maggie and Big Daddy, having a conversation with the sullen, moody, undemonstrative Brick, with the third act carrying the weight of the actual plotting (and being the part of the play most likely to get rewritten, with about four different versions of Act 3 in circulation). 

Rep's production does reasonably solidly by the material, due to some strong casting decisions and a gorgeous Cate Clelland set design. Victoria Tyrell Dixon's Maggie is compelling, mercurial, rageful and able to handle the vast amounts of material Act one gives her, consistently fascinating and attention-drawing. Michael Sparks carries most of Act two on his back as the irritable patriarch, only slightly aware how little he's really connecting to his son as he continues to impart his opinions. Teig Saldana plays Brick as he is written, irate and compelled more by the desire for alcohol and his lost memories of greatness than anything he's actually in the room with, but he manages to handle the shifts in act three better than most versions I've seen, and keeps a character who I've found irritating in the past from completely losing me. Lanie Hart's Mae has a wig that does a lot of the performing for her, a contained, conniving bob that shows her small-town avaricious self, in a pristine white dress with a maternity bump, constantly assured she's the one who knows best. Ryan Erlandsen as her husband-and-partner-in-crime, the odious Gooper, has all the self-important pride the character needs. Liz St Clair Long as the hyper-emotional Big Mama rolls with every insult that Sparks throws her way, convinced her smothering-kind-of-love is secretly welcomed by everybody.

It's inherent in the writing here, but it never quite feels sensible that all these people would be rushing into the bedroom of Brick and Maggie to lay out cunning plots and schemes, but there's a strong blocking sense around the space giving characters space to do their manouvres without losing the connections between them. Cate Clelland's set gives us a gorgeous mansion bedroom, dominated at centre by the liquor cabinet where Brick is constantly drawn to just one more drink. 

In short, while this isn't a play I love, it's quite a solid production of it, showing it off to good advantage with a solid cast.

Wolf Lullaby, Echo Theatre, The Q

 Hilary Bell's 1996 play is probably still her masterpiece, a provocative confrontation about a 9 year old girl in a small town in Tasmania who's implicated in a murder investigation, and the effects this has on her parents and the cop investigating. Trapping the audience in with the cast of 4, we're forced to confront the disturbing nature of childhood games, the fears of parenting and the implications of justice, over a tight 90 minutes. 

Jordan Best last directed this play back in 2006 in a tightly controlled Street 2 production, and returns to the play with enthusiasm, letting her new cast find their own moments and emphases as the four find themselves sinking further and further into the darkness - the investigating cop whose professional manner starts to fall apart as he realises the implications of what he's finding, the mother who just wants to do the right thing, despite not quite knowing what that thing might be, the distant father who decides to double down on his distance, and the little girl whose night terrors may give indications of something else entirely None seek to play for sympathy - Rachel Pengilly's transformation into a 9 year old is astonishingly real as Lizzie is by turns inquisitive, playful, terrified and devious. Natasha Vickery's Angela takes over the weight of the second half of the play with strength as it becomes harder for her to balance her roles as a responsible person and a mother. Craig Alexander gives his cop an anchor of inherited authority only to lay out the cruellest moment in the last minutes of the play as he pushes Angela's buttons hard. Joel Harwood never plays for sympathy as the father whose disengagement becomes only more obvious as the story plays out, desperate to ignore what is in front of him. 

The other production elements - Chris Zuber's simple junkyard set, Jacob Aquilina's stark lighting, and Matthew Webster's chilling design - all add to the tension and draw us in further. 

A great provocative chiller on a February night, this is theatre that should not be missed - something to disturb the mind and the heart.

Beautiful Thing, New Theatre

 Johnathan Harvey's 1993 comedy does feel like it's every gay directors first play - or at least it's shown up on a lot of gay directors resumes since then. It's a gentle love story between two 15 year old boys on a South London housing estate, and given the gentle sense of humour and the working class background it plays slightly as a queer Willy Russell play. At the time it premiered it was already one of the gentler queer plays around - Angels in America was being put together in the same period, and Mark Ravenhill's far more confrontational "Shopping and F**king" was two years away, and at the time I admit I was looking for more of the raw rough-edged stuff rather than something this gentle.

But nearly 30 years on, it's time for me to catch up with a play I've missed from my canon. It's funny and sweet, a little messy here and there (it almost feels like Harvey isn't quite sure what to do with two of the straight characters, as he sends one off on a drug-fuelled trip and exiles another offstage), and it's clearly pushing the rougher edges of the love story offstage (the homophobic dad of Ste is only ever a voice offstage), but where it counts - the gentle arrival of a romance into the lives of two boys who weren't expecting it, and the impact on the people around them - it plays true and honest. 

In this production it gets a solid presentation - Will Manton as non-sporty Jamie and Bayley Prendergast as the more rough-and-tumble Ste have a natural chemistry and it's a delight to see them edging their way together in act one and working out what their relationship means in act two. Julia Kennedy Scott as Jamie's mum is a rough-edged delight, blunt and direct but with the heart in the right place. Hannah Zaslawski suffers a bit from the script's lack of clarity on why Leah's in the story - her function appears to be so that Jamie has someone to talk to before Ste comes along, but her goofy climactic appearance doesn't really work and feels more like a lot of dramatic noise covering up a lack of character development rather than a set of personality quirks. Caspar Hardaker has a character where the script isn't sure whether he should be mocked or taken seriously, and his performance falls on the side of mocking in ways that feel weird and make him a bit more superfluous than he should be. 

Some clever design decisions in David Marshall-Martin's set mean that scenes flow easily into one another, and the and the production feels coherent and sweet all round.

In short this is a reasonable production of a nice but not-entirely-essential play.