{"id":164312,"date":"2025-02-27T11:20:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T01:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=164312"},"modified":"2025-02-27T11:44:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T01:44:35","slug":"fresno-chapel-off-chapel-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/fresno-chapel-off-chapel-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno (Chapel Off Chapel) – theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here we have a new Australian musical that I wanted to embrace, but I struggled with. Most of it is set in a traditional Irish\/American bar, called Flannigan\u2019s, in Fresno, California. It is operated by Sam (Douglas Rintoul), who took it over from his dad. His only employee appears to be his best mate, JJ (Jackson Cross), who is drinking far too much after a shattering break up with his girlfriend less than a month ago.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photos by Shane Palmer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pub regulars encourage JJ to \u201cget back on the horse\u201d. That ends up happening by accident when a patron who left her purse at the bar comes to collect it. Her name is Amy (Naomi Leigh). She is a budding singer\/songwriter who has lost all confidence after a scathing newspaper review, which questioned her talent.<\/p>\n

Amy works in a caf\u00e9, where she is perpetually late, but her friend Skye (Cassidy Capraro) implores her to ignore the journalist\u2019s opinion and follow her passion. When JJ and Amy get together, everything is looking up for both. But then a new, ruthless player moves into the same neighbourhood as Flannigan\u2019s and eats heavily into the Irish\/American bar\u2019s clientele. That is when relationships are put to the test and the result is far from pretty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

First up, I thought that Fresno\u2019s plot line lacked enough substance. In short, it was wafer thin, simplistic and obvious. As a result, the production \u2013 two hours, including interval \u2013 felt stretched. Mind you, I did enjoy several of the more melodious songs.<\/p>\n

While generally the 11-strong cast displayed a great deal of enthusiasm, the musical and acting talent on display was patchy. (Plaudits though for both musicality and acting to Douglas Rintoul and for her singing to Naomi Leigh.) There were a number of performers who pushed far too hard and that quickly became difficult to watch. Then there were others that took it too easily. I felt they were subjugated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There is also one offensive line in the script that needs to be removed. It may have been planted as a joke by writers Josh Connell*, Jeremy Harland* and James Greaves (I presume it was), but it goes down like a lead balloon. It is delivered by a character painted as loud and inappropriate among the bar patrons and directed at JJ before he latches onto Amy.<\/p>\n

The comment is in relation to JJ\u2019s next choice of girlfriend. The line reads: \u201cMake sure she is not a vegan or a Jew.\u201d Put simply, you can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t reference any religion that way. And it is followed up by another line from the same character who tries to justify the remark by saying that his aunt is Jewish. I am afraid that doesn\u2019t make the initial barb any more acceptable, now or ever. And that is not even taking into consideration the fact that antisemitism is running rife at present.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Onto other matters: Not all the transitions between scenes worked as seamlessly as would have been desirable. Further, in the scene following the opening \u2013 which sets out the rules of Flannigan\u2019s \u2013 there were too many pregnant pauses in the interaction between Sam and JJ. A couple of highlights included a quick tap-dancing routine and an unexpected and very clever puppetry piece.<\/p>\n

The choreography by Sophie Graham-Jones around the few dance numbers was sound enough, as was the endeavour of the three-piece band. To summarise then, Fresno has potential to improve once it beds in, but it still needs much more work to be considered more than lightweight, throwaway fare. It is playing at Chapel Off Chapel until 2nd March, 2025.<\/p>\n

* Josh Connell is also co-director and musical director, while Jeremy Harland is also co-director.<\/p>\n

Alex First<\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here we have a new Australian musical that I wanted to embrace, but I struggled with. Most of it is set in a traditional Irish\/American bar, called Flannigan\u2019s, in Fresno, California. It is operated by Sam (Douglas Rintoul), who took it over from his dad. His only employee appears to be his best mate, JJ…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":164317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[804,801],"tags":[263,10976,10975,10977,124,10978,38],"class_list":["post-164312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-theatre","tag-chapel-off-chapel","tag-douglas-rintoul","tag-fresno","tag-jackson-cross","tag-musical","tag-naomi-leigh","tag-theatre"],"yoast_head":"\nFresno (Chapel Off Chapel) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/fresno-chapel-off-chapel-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fresno (Chapel Off Chapel) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here we have a new Australian musical that I wanted to embrace, but I struggled with. 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Their connection is music and the title refers to a once in a lifetime encounter, complete with magnetism, vulnerability and healing. 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An Adults Only Panto (Chapel Off Chapel) – musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"April 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Drag star Trevor Ashley et al slay it in a riotously funny show that derives its conceit from Baz Luhrmann\u2019s jukebox musical Moulin Rouge! The setting has moved from the Parisian cabaret club to the Moulin Beige in Kings Cross, run by Astrid Zeneca (with legendary Carlotta in the role).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/rsz_lowres_moulinscrooge_seymourmarch25-0u2a7387.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/rsz_lowres_moulinscrooge_seymourmarch25-0u2a7387.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/rsz_lowres_moulinscrooge_seymourmarch25-0u2a7387.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/rsz_lowres_moulinscrooge_seymourmarch25-0u2a7387.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":151456,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/dogfight-chapel-off-chapel-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":164312,"position":2},"title":"Dogfight (Chapel Off Chapel) – musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"November 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"More than ever, in 2023 the theme has an ick factor. It made my skin crawl.\u00a0Today, cyberbullying is unfortunately rife, with physical appearance being a common reason why.\u00a0Dogfight, in the context of this musical, refers to the practice among Marines of placing bets on ugly women. This is the story\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rsz_dogfight_-_credit_nicole_cleary_04.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rsz_dogfight_-_credit_nicole_cleary_04.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rsz_dogfight_-_credit_nicole_cleary_04.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rsz_dogfight_-_credit_nicole_cleary_04.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141998,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/shawry-chapel-off-chapel-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":164312,"position":3},"title":"Shawry (Chapel Off Chapel) – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"July 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"For the VFL\/AFL club that has finished runner up more than any other, the continued pain of losing Grand Finals and wasted seasons (when the result was far worse) was piling up.\u00a0From working class roots, Tony Shaw tried his hand as basketball, but lack of height saw him turn his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_shawry-051.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_shawry-051.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_shawry-051.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_shawry-051.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":143321,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/urinetown-the-musical-chapel-off-chapel-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":164312,"position":4},"title":"Urinetown: The Musical (Chapel Off Chapel) – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"October 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A 20-year drought has led to blatant exploitation of the underprivileged.\u00a0That is the basis of the satirical musical comedy Urinetown.\u00a0The narrator who sets the scene is also the town\u2019s crooked cop Officer Lockstock (Dom Hennequin), as he is joined by street urchin Little Sally (Chloe Halley).\u00a0The terrible water shortage has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rsz_urinetown-230.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rsz_urinetown-230.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rsz_urinetown-230.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rsz_urinetown-230.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":168023,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-haunting-of-spook-mansion-by-ghosts-at-chapel-off-chapel-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":164312,"position":5},"title":"The Haunting of Spook Mansion (By Ghosts), at Chapel Off Chapel – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"November 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you believe in ghosts? Noted sceptic and author Professor Adrian Chambers (Peter Houghton) most certainly does not? The 62-year-old has written 14 books on the subject. At a very poorly attended new book reading and signing, he is waylaid by the only person who turns up, librarian Beth Jackson\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rsz_the_haunting_of_spook_mansion_by_ghosts_darren_gill-0160_actor_peter_houghton.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rsz_the_haunting_of_spook_mansion_by_ghosts_darren_gill-0160_actor_peter_houghton.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rsz_the_haunting_of_spook_mansion_by_ghosts_darren_gill-0160_actor_peter_houghton.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rsz_the_haunting_of_spook_mansion_by_ghosts_darren_gill-0160_actor_peter_houghton.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}