Change of life never looked as good as it does on stage in the hilarious musical Menopause. It mashes four strong artistes, delivering power packed vocals on familiar, up-tempo tunes, cleverly reworded, with slick choreography. Add in colourful lighting, striking sound, easy to navigate staging with smooth transitions between scenes and evocative costuming and you…
The drama. The pathos. Melbourne Opera’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore sizzles and crackles with feeling. With an empty stage, save for a simple wooden platform, it is left to the performers, with the aid of the odd prop, to do the heavy lifting and they do so with distinction. It is an emotion…
Julia Roberts received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Shelby Eatenton in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias. Written by American Robert Harling, the heartfelt story was based on his 1987 stage play, being a tribute to his sister, who tragically died. Now, a highly talented cast has done a…
A glorious spoken and sung hoot, this is an audacious retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Just what would author Jane Austen have thought of it? I dare say she would be figuratively rolling around the aisles, just like the rest of us. Scottish playwright Isobel McArthur simply goes “bang” and wows us, time and again…
Mozart’s delicious tale of skulduggery from inveterate womaniser Don Giovanni is given life anew by Melbourne Opera. This is a man who can’t help himself when it comes to the fairer sex. Large or small, pretty or plain, attached or single, from noble stock or otherwise, with the help of his hapless servant Leporello he…
He’s rude, crude, remarkably observant and lightning quick with one liners. In short, a force of nature. I speak of the indomitable Reuben Kaye, who wears his heart on his sleeve and totally owns his audience like few others I have come across. His stage presence is remarkable. He walks, talks and warbles like an…
Anne Frank’s story is a tragic but inspiring one and it is played out in dramatic fashion on stage. As Jews, when her Dutch family was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust, she was gifted a diary, which she wrote in religiously. It contained her innermost thoughts about those she was with and…
The dark storyline in Saturday Night Fever is a sharp contrast to the detail and stunning clarity in the video design and lighting, which are mainstays of this production. Based on the 1977 film starring John Travolta and featuring the Bee Gee’s soundtrack, the jukebox musical set in Brooklyn concerns youth and ambition. It was…
Given the state of the world, the anti-war message carried by the tribal, love, rock musical Hair is as relevant today as when it exploded onto the stage in 1967. With a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, and music by Galt MacDermot, it began off-Broadway that year. It started its Broadway…
If you are into slapstick humour, you are going to have a ball. This riotous theatrical disaster is stumbling its way around Australia and has just opened in Melbourne. The premise is straight forward enough, but its execution something else entirely. The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is attempting to stage a 1920s Agatha Christie-style murder…
