I have this friend who has lived in Melbourne for 10 years and never seen a musical here. The last musical he saw was one I was in in Wollongong many years ago. Looking for something fun and easy to drag him along to, we chose XANADU and popped off to Half Tix to get some cheap tickets.
To say I was looking forward to this Show-In-A-Tent experience was not exactly true; My last experience seeing a show in a tent (GREASE) led to me being slapped in the face by a boozed up woman enthusiastically doing the famous Grease Lightning choreography. This time the 2000-seat tent was down in Docklands, and it took a muddy walk in the rain to get there. “Going to the bathroom in a converted shipping container is not usually part of the theatre experience,” I told my friend.
As we piled into the large dome, our row, presumably all half-tix, filled quickly. An usher eventually told us to spread out as the rest of the seating in our section was almost empty. We were very grateful, as I was already having flashbacks to the cramped conditions that led to that aforementioned audience participation injury.
The small band of about 5 fired up with the most terrible sound mix I’ve heard in a long time. Perhaps it was the fact that the tent was half empty (I can’t imagine it’s easy to design sound for the inside of a rubber ball), but it clearly affected the cast, some of whom were singing the opening number flat. The screeching, flat, reverb-to-the-max, over-amplified vocals frightened the heck of me, which wasn’t helped by the fact that all we could hear from the band was the drum kit. Even my non-theatre-going friend noticed, and looked over with a grimace. It’s amazing what 14 seasons of Idol teaches someone.
Things on the sound front slowly improved, but I began to think it was a strategic decision. When I could finally understand the dialogue being pumped from the speakers, I realised that there was no need to hurry and fix the problems after all. The first scene is overly-expositional to the point that it’s almost a joke. I suspect that was the intention.
Luckily, it turned fun rather quickly. Once Christie Whelan (playing the Olivia Newton-John character) donned the skates and mightily belted out a few numbers, things looked up. While the story is about as deep as the puddles surrounding the tent (something concocted out of “muses” conveniently having a ton a rules), the script provides plenty of opportunities for the ensemble to do funny little bit parts, which the director Christopher Ashley (who also directed the Broadway production) gives plenty of space for.
The set is not extravagant, but it doesn’t need much to cover the one-act, 90 minute duration. Keeping things simple helped focus on the show’s easy gags, solid performances and the fun spirit that inhabited the show. I was glad to see the show get back on track after the shaky start, and by the time the conclusion raced around, all was forgiven (even the makeshift toilets).
Without a doubt, Christie Whelan is a big drawcard for this show. After a string of successes after her Britney Spears cabaret and appearing in SUGAR and THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, following her career will be fun. Seeing her comic chops in this show is worth the ticket price alone (provided you’re getting , and it feels better when you consider all the other fun and fluff around her is just a bonus.
The show now has a question mark above it’s future. It’s closing early in Melbourne raising only a tenth of the money expected towards the Olivia Newton John Cancer and Wellness Centre. If it tours, it will leave the tent behind (which is a very good thing). With such a compact production, it seems it might succeed with a string of short runs in regional (and smaller) venues rather than try to fill larger venue for an extended period.
When did you see the show ??
Hi Danny – we saw the Wed 9th March performance.
Oh, they still have the shipping containers down there?