Seussical the Musical

I feel stupid now. I started writing this this morning and then had to go to work, now I see I'm just re-iterrating what other people felt, but hey seems it was a general consensus in this case. As a fan of Dr Seuss, I was a bit wary of seeing the musical. But I have to say, the first impression I got from walking into the theatre was "Wow". Martin Shaw has designed and created a set that is taken straight out of the good Dr's works. The colours are many but muted as is Seuss's style and in this production, it means it doesn't steal the attention from the performances. Instead, it creates a perfect world for the actors to play in. The multi-levelled design was ambitious, however I must say performers on the upper level were hard to see unless they crouched down. But the use of mobile stairs was well co-ordinated and utilised. Staying on technical aspects, The costumes were fantastic. From what appear to be simple Monkey and Elephant suits to the circus performers, the co-ordinated Whos and the multitude of fish, birds and other creatures, a lot of work and thought has gone into producing the colour of the characters' exteriors. So much detail in some of them it did, at times, did draw your attention from the performances, such as in the song about McElligot's Pool. All the bubbles, the octopi, the fish and the hoop wearing creatures, it was hard not to be distracted. However, the costumes were all suited to the characters and worked well within the production. The lighting. Now I know this is a sore point at the moment for Playlovers, yet, despite the technical problems, the show was definitely moved to a higher level through the lighting and the lighting effects. It was perhaps a tad ambitious, thus the problem they were having with the power requirements, but all the same, it was effective and only at times did I find the outages a problem (Mainly Stage left) but most of the actors coped by trying to find the light. Now to the performances. Firstly, the band. Caroline Badnall is exceptional. I've worked with her in the past and have tried to enlist her talents for productions with my own company because she is a fantastic performer and a wonderful Musical Director. And the same could be said here. Her band worked well together and I didn't notice any mistakes within the show (Not surprising) They kept the show moving and created a fantastic musical backdrop for the show. As for sound levels, they were good, so no need to worry:) One thing about the band was it's positioning. In utilising it as a part of the show, as The Cat in the Hat did, it would have been nice to have seen the band. I know in previous shows the band has been placed on the floor of the hall to the side of the stage, but in this case, it would have been nice to have them integrated in the set. The stage is small, I know, but having them placed up the back underneath the upper level and on the side of the tunnel behind some gausse(as someone suggested to me) would have brought the audience closer to the show, rather than moving us back and made them a part of the performance on stage. Choreography. I would tend to disagree about the complexity of the choreography. Most performers in Community theatre have not had formal dance classes and, especially in the case of males, are not used to solid dance numbers. I feel that Claire French was being over ambitious with her work. The stage isn't large enough to cope with some of the numbers she was working with and in some numbers the lines could have been halved to allow for cleaner work. There also seemed to be too much going on at times, once again taking the attention away from the singers and their work. In numbers such as Havin' a Hunch, I don't understand why there was so much leg work if they weren't wearing white socks to see it all. The hands were effective, but got lost with the rest of the movement in some moments. The main thing that stood out with the dance was who had had training and who hadn't. No offense to those that hadn't, but it stood out considerably against the more precise technical work of the experienced dancers. Perhaps Claire should have been more selective and given the more complex routines to the more experienced and saved some box steps (Joke, but there are more simple moves to utilise) for the others. But the visual aspect of the dancing was diverse and well suited to Seussical. Ok, the performers. Drew Elliot's Cat in the Hat was wacky and wonderful. From his news casters to his beachside Hombre, his characterisations were fast, funny and well executed. The audience seemed to enjoy him as the MC of the night and he was suitably mysterious or rambunctious when he needed to be. Alex McLennon is a man of many talents. One of the stronger voices in the show, he is also one of the stronger actors. His characterisation of Horton the Elephant was endearing and spot on. It's nice to see him back on stage after his stints as director as he is always refreshing and entertaining with his portrayals. You felt sorry for this lonely little fellow and he never stopped acting on stage (and he was on stage a lot whether staring at a clover [Thistle] or sitting in a nest). As JoJo, Madeleine Shaw was entertaining to watch and has a voice that is developing well. For a ten year old, she maintained the energy required for the show the whole way admirably. Little Madeleine had a bit of trouble getting around some of the words at times, making it hard to understand but really shone in songs like Alone in the Universe. But she did a commendable job and I look forward to seeing how she develops as a Performer in the future. Breeahn Jones was a vocal powerhouse as the Sour Kangaroo. Her character’s bitchiness made her one of the most ferocious villains in the show. Her little offsider, Stephanie Shaw, was adorably cute as her Joey, giving Sour a much needed air of humanity for the children in the audience. Conversely, Vicki Kirkman’s demure portrayal of Gertrude McFuzz, the bird with one feather for a tail, was as likeable as Alex’s Horton. Her sweet voice was added proof she was perfectly cast as the shy neighbour who wanted Horton to like her. Kira Morsley as Mayzie La Bird had the spirit behind her character and a good voice to back it up. I felt her introduction to Gertrude could have been a tad more “tits and Arse” from Chorus Line, but felt that toward the end of the show, she brought Mayzie to a nice conclusion for her storyline. The two trios in the show, the Bird Girls and the Wickersham Brothers (Monkeys) were well assembled. The girls’ back up vocals had me thinking of the three ladies in Little Shop and they harmonised well. Whilst the Brothers did their best to contend with the physicality of their roles. Again, I feel the choreo could have been doctored to help the lads out. As an ex dancer myself, I thought only Clint Strindberg was really up to the necessary level and did stand out in the group vocally, physically and in characterisation. The gigantic Peter Knol was suitably larger than life, though his physicality needed a bit of work, his comical General Schmitz kept the audience laughing. And finally, for individual mentions, Ron Seymour and Kristen Tynam-Perkins were fantastic as Mayor and Mrs Mayor of The smallest planet. They worked well together and had suitably developed their characters. The children of the chorus were tremendous. Their enthusiasm was obviously contagious as when they worked, the adult cast members seemed to be re-invigorated. Special note to Miranda Macpherson who’s performance skills made her, like Alex, a joy to watch the whole way through her scenes and the young lad with curly hair doing the somersaults. He put his all into everything he did and in the finale, it was hard not to notice his vibrant dancing as he really got into the joy of the show. The adult ensemble that made up the rest of the show put the lid on the ice-cream. They really seemed to be enjoying themselves, which is what community theatre is about. They showed respect for each other as they performed, not upstaging the other performers but creating a suitable range of Whoville people, jungle animals and the like to help finish off Kimberley Shaw’s vision of Dr Seuss’ world. As a chorus, the songs were marvellous to listen to, the show was captivating to watch. Of the performances, one thing I couldn’t understand was the Accents. Everyone had adopted an American Accent. This really didn’t make sense to me. The world of Seussical should be somewhat ambivalent and though it makes mention of Palm Beach and New York, I don’t see why natural accents weren’t used or even a variety of different ones. It rings a little of people listening to cast recordings and learning the songs from them. Another point was diction. I will get onto the microphones later, but diction was a huge drawback in the show. Seuss is renowned for his made up words and worlds. People want to hear them, it’s part of the magic. Unfortunately, a lot of the words were lost to the audience. Part of this was due to the tempo of the musical itself, but in many cases, it was just a lack of clear diction. Notably so in McElligot’s Pool and Havin’ a Hunch. But it happened throughout. I didn’t even know what jungle the musical was set in until much later in the second act as it was the first time it was mentioned with clarity. Now, the Microphones. As I said, Alex was one of the stronger singers, yet his mic seemed to have a little trouble. In act one, he sounded hollow and distant, as did Kira. Several of the mics faultered in the opening number contributing to the loss of words. And as the Cat interviewed the audience, their answers were lost to everyone but the people sitting nearby. By second act, they had improved a fair bit on stage, however. Overall, the show was refreshing to watch, very entertaining and a fantastic piece of escapism. It is tremendous to see Playlover’s standard shooting upward and onward. And I truly hope to see them keep moving that way and get the support they deserve. Kimberley has created a world of Seuss that is respectful of his works, and in many ways so much more. And if what I hear is true, I hope the people of Perth get to see this show at a bigger venue once again. (Which seems to be a growing trend *wink wink*) So get your butts into gear, get over your trepidation and go see this wonderful show that truly is fun for the whole family. Have fun, Go Well with everything everyone and see you all in December.