Fame - Limelight Theatre

I saw this production on the closing performance, which was a few weeks ago now, but nonetheless I’d like to provide some written feedback for posterity.

A show like this comes with both reputation and expectation, and along with that come large houses. I was very lucky to score a couple of tickets at the eleventh hour and am most pleased that the opportunity to experience this “famous” show didn’t slip by.

It’s always a treat to see something at the Limelight Theatre. It is certainly one of the better community theatre venues in Perth. Audience members are treated to a spacious foyer/bar area, comfy seats with plenty of arm and leg room, and great acoustics. If you’re seeing a musical though, you may prefer to sit a few rows back from the front if you don’t like to be too close to the orchestra pit.

The set was multi faceted and changes were quick and unobtrusive. The lighting and sound were effective although it would have created a fuller sound if the ensemble could be miked up. As it was, due to a lack of equipment perhaps, only the leads had microphones.

I found the costumes appropriately hilarious. Having been a tween/teen drama queen in the 80s, the colours and styles the cast wore reminded me of how cool it felt to wear thick crumpled socks OVER your jean legs! *Cringe* ;p

The choreography was simple and effective. I know this is meant to be a show about outstanding young people reaching for the stars, who have extraordinary talent in their chosen stream of the arts, but in reality the cast are enthusiastic amateurs of varying ability who are giving it their best shot. Hillary Readings did well to design dance numbers that got the best out of the cast and created atmosphere.

Under the musical direction of Craig Dalton, the band was just right. I barely noticed them, which I think is a good thing because it meant that they weren’t too loud or soft, didn’t make any noticeable errors and supported the soloists and chorus.

Ryan Taffe is certainly not afraid of taking on a show with a big name and has proved successful in the past, most notably winning the Best Musical Finley award for “Cabaret” at Limelight last year. I think he has again lived up to his reputation as a most capable director. 

As far as performances go, I’ll start with the ensemble, which was impressive. They were committed, energetic and talented singers/dancers. They developed characters and maintained their roles throughout the show. Of note, was Tracey Fallows who played “the nerd” with such conviction and consistency that her performance drew my eye on several occasions during group scenes. There were a couple of guys who looked a bit “mature” to be playing 16-18 year old characters, but this is easily forgiven as we all know how difficult it is to cast blokes in musicals – especially at this time of year and with a large cast like this.

It may be worth noting at this point that a musical season at Wanneroo Rep is more demanding than some in Perth community theatre. There are 5 shows a week for 3 weeks, Wed – Fri and two shows on Saturday. Given that I saw the final performance, the trained singers really stood out from others who were either sick or just tired.  Without pointing individuals out I will make the general comment that if they were to take on similarly challenging roles in the future they may want to pack as much vocal training as they can jam into the rehearsal period for the best chance to get all the way through a demanding 3 week season with full voice intact.

The opening number was beautifully sung by a few of the leads on stage and then the chorus filtered in down the sides from the back of the auditorium toward the front.

The multiple sub plots in this show meant that all the leads got their fair share of the spotlight and ample opportunity to demonstrate their skill and build empathy for their character. In my opinion, some performers used this opportunity decidedly better than others.

Some highlights for me included the performance of David Bowyer as Jose in “Can’t keep it down”. He maintained a frantic energy that was natural to his character and established an electric “vibe”. The accent he chose was appropriate and sustained well throughout. He did struggle with some of the high notes and I am guessing that it was more due to singing a very strenuous song with a tired voice, than lack of range. Regardless, he handled the problems with character and confidence.

Lauchlain Bain played Jack Tyrone and was a standout as far as I could see. He was quite clearly a confident and vivacious dancer and gave a credible acting performance as well. He led the “Dancing on the Sidewalk” routine with brilliant energy and his rendition of “Pas de Deux” with Iris was particularly touching.

Although it was a small part, the actor (Rodney Worth) who played Schlomo gave the most natural performance by far. He was just so easy to watch and believable on every level. Playing the violin live on stage (and the keyboard too if I remember correctly) he is evidently a talented musician and has a great singing voice as well. The full trifecta - what a find! Although he did extremely well as Schlomo, I wonder if he may have made a convincing Nick (romantic lead) instead.

The show-stopping bombshell was Tina Jackson who played Mabel. In a little blonde package is the voice of a Diva. This girl can belt. Wow! And her character was so endearing - the dancer who just wants to eat but fears getting fat so switches to acting. Tina played Mabel with such attitude and feisty spirit; her moments in the spotlight were enthralling. A humourous moment was in the background of one scene when the teachers were confiscating all the lollies she’d stashed in her costume.

While we’re on the point of the teachers I will note that I am usually quite dubious when I see that members of the direction team have cast themselves in the show. I am of the opinion that it’s out of the realm of most people’s capability to do equal justice to a direction role and a performance role simultaneously. However, Hillary was cast as the role of the dance teacher which seemed somewhat appropriate in this circumstance given she was the choreographer. Her scenes as Miss Bell in class with the students were quite believable, however during her scenes with Miss Sherman and during the vocal numbers, she seemed a little out of her comfort zone and could have delivered a more confident performance.

Whilst you could not deny the sincerity of Shelley McGinn’s performance as Miss Sherman, the vocal numbers were perhaps a little out of her range. It was a shame to see that she was not able to project the emotion with as much conviction as she obviously intended. Having said that, I really enjoyed “These are my children” partly due to the words and partly due to the blocking. There was a nicely timed flow of students milling about in the background to accentuate the melancholy of the song. Shelley’s acting was more plausible and physically she was just right for the role.

I’m told that Christopher Churchhouse stepped into the role of Mr Sheinkopf at the last moment and again physically looked great as the European music teacher and did well in the small role.

Ryan also stepped in to replace the person who was originally cast as Mr Myers and similarly to Hillary was in the role he was actually playing in the production – the acting teacher. An accomplished and talented performer, Ryan took the small role on and played it with confident authenticity.

Nick and Serena (played by Daniel Burton and Phoebe Jackson) showed great effort and although it was not always the most natural looking performance, they both sang well, Phoebe especially appeared well trained.

I was a little disappointed that there was not an effort made in hair, make-up or costume to make Hollie James, who played Carmen, to look Spanish. However, one can mostly look past that and she performed capably in the role of the main protagonist. I feel her strongest moment came at the end of the second act with the title number.

Following the song, “In LA” as Carmen rushes off stage, the sound of her being hit by the car was a little ambiguous. It’s been a while since I saw the film so I took a minute to compute what had happened. I think the screeching tyres were not a recorded sound effect (I think it was a guitar), followed by her screaming off stage. And, impressive though it was to see a car on stage in the final scene, was it just a tiny bit darkly ironic that Carmen re emerged in one for the curtain call? For all I know it could be in the stage directions, but it seemed a little odd to me.

On the whole, this was a great show and there were some fabulous performances. The energy was infectious and this is the sort of show you go away humming. Well done to all concerned.