Risky Lunar Love - review
Wed, 4 Sept 2002, 02:17 amcrgwllms3 posts in thread
Risky Lunar Love - review
Wed, 4 Sept 2002, 02:17 amRISKY LUNAR LOVE
Risky Lunar Love, playing at the Rechabites Hall, Perth.
written & directed by Luke Milton
music by Brent Hill
choreographed by Claire Hooper
Risky Lunar Love is a kind of sci-fi, rock n'roll, B-movie parody, comedy musical spoof that has echoes of The Rocky Horror Show, Return To The Forbidden Planet, Little Shop of Horrors, and a bit of Austen Powers thrown in....but really it's none of these, and it can rest on it's own laurels.
The story is complex, silly, risque and clever - in about equal amounts; there are many really good lines that had the audience in fits of laughter, and the twelve major characters were all interesting and had something to contribute to the story. I also liked the way it actually found a plausible ending...well, no more plausible than the insane collection of characters and situations...tying up the loose ends without resorting to stereotypical romantic endings.
The show is quite long - over two & a half hours. I'm not really sure where it could be tightened, because it was all quite enjoyable, but it's something to consider if you're already tired, as I was, and need to work in the morning.
There was a great sense of the production sending itself up, which allowed the actors to take the characters by the horns and just run amok, to hilarious effect.
Gibson Nolte's hopeless addict, Mark Storen's evil swinger, Melissa Cantwell's manic insomniac, and Oliver Wenn's hapless author stood out as clear, comic character portrayals, but Mike Frencham probably stole the show with his hilarious and outrageous blind queen...does Mike EVER keep his trousers up for a whole show?
Claire Hooper's choreography was terrific, and the large crowd scenes (20 in the cast) were handled really well; the support cast were very focussed and demonstrated great characters without upstaging the action. Costumes, set design, dance routines, lighting and direction all meshed together beautifully.
Where it fell down a bit was in the sound clarity. Not the band - the four piece group led by Brent Hill was excellent, and were well incorporated into the action. (Although I wondered why they just sat there as the audience came in, seemed a bit strange to not be playing).
But the amplified band tended to drown out some of the non-amplified singers, particularly in chorus numbers. I thought the music was terrific, and many of the lyrics are absolute gems, so it was a shame not to be able to always hear everything. I know the Rechabites is a cavernous venue, so it must be difficult; it was a good idea to use the front of stage mics. They didn't solve the problem but they certainly helped a bit. But such a shame for the four cabaret singers to be sharing only one unidirectonal mic..!
Even with the handhelds, a few untrained voices wavered a bit, and perhaps the key of some songs was low even for the capable singers...but these were minor grievances compared to missing lyrics in the vocal mix.
But the whole team ought to be congratulated for what comes across as quite a spectacular, sexy & funny large-cast production, which had the audience thoroughly entertained.
Not a show to take your Grandma to (unless she regularly visits Barbarellas, or at least saw the Vagina Monologues). There's lot of gratuitous language, but most of it's very funny and a lot of it is highly creative!
Oh yes, and I loved the publicity trading cards...great images and they really suit the style of the show. Great idea.
Cheers,
Craig
Risky Lunar Love, playing at the Rechabites Hall, Perth.
written & directed by Luke Milton
music by Brent Hill
choreographed by Claire Hooper
Risky Lunar Love is a kind of sci-fi, rock n'roll, B-movie parody, comedy musical spoof that has echoes of The Rocky Horror Show, Return To The Forbidden Planet, Little Shop of Horrors, and a bit of Austen Powers thrown in....but really it's none of these, and it can rest on it's own laurels.
The story is complex, silly, risque and clever - in about equal amounts; there are many really good lines that had the audience in fits of laughter, and the twelve major characters were all interesting and had something to contribute to the story. I also liked the way it actually found a plausible ending...well, no more plausible than the insane collection of characters and situations...tying up the loose ends without resorting to stereotypical romantic endings.
The show is quite long - over two & a half hours. I'm not really sure where it could be tightened, because it was all quite enjoyable, but it's something to consider if you're already tired, as I was, and need to work in the morning.
There was a great sense of the production sending itself up, which allowed the actors to take the characters by the horns and just run amok, to hilarious effect.
Gibson Nolte's hopeless addict, Mark Storen's evil swinger, Melissa Cantwell's manic insomniac, and Oliver Wenn's hapless author stood out as clear, comic character portrayals, but Mike Frencham probably stole the show with his hilarious and outrageous blind queen...does Mike EVER keep his trousers up for a whole show?
Claire Hooper's choreography was terrific, and the large crowd scenes (20 in the cast) were handled really well; the support cast were very focussed and demonstrated great characters without upstaging the action. Costumes, set design, dance routines, lighting and direction all meshed together beautifully.
Where it fell down a bit was in the sound clarity. Not the band - the four piece group led by Brent Hill was excellent, and were well incorporated into the action. (Although I wondered why they just sat there as the audience came in, seemed a bit strange to not be playing).
But the amplified band tended to drown out some of the non-amplified singers, particularly in chorus numbers. I thought the music was terrific, and many of the lyrics are absolute gems, so it was a shame not to be able to always hear everything. I know the Rechabites is a cavernous venue, so it must be difficult; it was a good idea to use the front of stage mics. They didn't solve the problem but they certainly helped a bit. But such a shame for the four cabaret singers to be sharing only one unidirectonal mic..!
Even with the handhelds, a few untrained voices wavered a bit, and perhaps the key of some songs was low even for the capable singers...but these were minor grievances compared to missing lyrics in the vocal mix.
But the whole team ought to be congratulated for what comes across as quite a spectacular, sexy & funny large-cast production, which had the audience thoroughly entertained.
Not a show to take your Grandma to (unless she regularly visits Barbarellas, or at least saw the Vagina Monologues). There's lot of gratuitous language, but most of it's very funny and a lot of it is highly creative!
Oh yes, and I loved the publicity trading cards...great images and they really suit the style of the show. Great idea.
Cheers,
Craig