Jersey Boys

So I recently went to see Jersey Boys, after wanting to see it since before it started in Melbourne. It most certainly did not disappoint. As a jukebox musical, I was skeptical as to the quality of the story. I've seen many jukebox musicals where the music is great, but the story just doesn't make the cut (Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You, Return to the Forbidden Planet). Jersey Boys; however, uses the actual story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to progress the narrative. The reason it works so well, is that their story is an incredibly interesting one. Coming from New Jersey, the members of the Four Seasons were in and out of jail, and either had the choice of joining the army, joining the mob or "becoming a star". Despite the interesting background, the story of how the Four Seasons came to become famous is also of interest, as they did not simply become a breakout hit overnight, it took a number of years something that people often forget. However, the music itself also surprises you, as many of their hits you just don't realise were from the Four Seasons.

The Australian Cast of Jersey Boys (from left to right: Stephen Mahy, Bobby Fox, Glaston Toft, Scott Johnson)

In terms of performances, the cast was stunning. Bobby Fox, who plays Frankie Valli, hit Valli's falsetto spot on every time. He also carried the role with a true sense of Valli's background and values. Scott Johnson, who plays the creator of the band Tommy Devito, maintained a true sense of the Jersey accent, and remained a strong force throughout the show. Stephen Mahy played Bob Gaudio, the star songwriter of the group. Gaudio was a young star, co-writing Short Shorts in 1957 when he was just 15. Mahy manages to accurately depict Gaudio's young innocence as the youngest member of the group. Finally, Glaston Toft, as Nick Massi, provides the comic relief throughout the show, with a number of one liners.

Bobby Fox singing Can't Take My Eyes Off You

The music is spectacular. It is truly surprising how many of the songs you recognise, and how enjoyable the songs you don't recognise are. There were a number of songs where the crowd would continue clapping and cheering, despite being in the middle of the show. It was a real experience with all the positive energy coming from the crowd. Personal highlights are of course the Four Seasons hits like Walk Like a Man, Big Girls' Don't Cry, Sherry and December 1963 (Oh What a Night). Another highlight was Beggin, a song that seamlessly tied in with the story line, while also being a strong piece that makes you want to dance.

Technically, the show was beautiful. A giant metallic set changed locations with ease. Three large screens framed the top of the stage with pop art images and shots from the Four Seasons television appearances. The lighting beautifully framed the whole show. Not only did the lighting reflect the emotion of each scene, it also reflected the natural lighting of the scene, making for a realistic yet artistic lighting design. Sound was also beautifully done, with the music perfectly miked to make the appearance of being at a Four Seasons concert, but without bursting your eardrums (I've been to shows where this almost happened) A large cyclorama at the back of the set, combined with a removable chain link fence also added to the emotion and the progression of the story. Not to mention the beautifully 60's costumes. All the characters looked their best in a number of crafted 60's suits. Similarly, the girls were also dressed impeccably. It was like watching a live episode of Mad Men with music.

The whole Cast in the Finale

All in all, it was a great night's entertainment and will leave you singing the songs for days to come.

Jersey's Boys is on at the Princess theatre until 25 July, definitely try and get a ticket if you can.

Here is a taste of the original broadway cast:

Spring Awakening

So last wednesday I popped up to Sydney for a night to see the smash hit Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" performed by the Sydney Theatre Company. Based on the play by Frank Wedekind, which was banned in many countries, due to its sexual content; Spring Awakening follows a group of teenagers living in Germany at the end of the 19th Century. It considers the difficulties that teens faced at this time due to the lack of information about sex and relationships; leadings the characters in the musical to feel isolated, shameful and betrayed.

Andrew Hazzard as Melchior in 'Totally Fucked'

In 1999, writer Steven Sater approached musician and composer Duncan Sheik to collaborate on reinventing Wedekind's play as a musical. The idea to adapt Wedekind's play was partially born out of issues at the time, such as the Columbine shootings, but was stalled after the September 11 attacks. Numerous workshops, stagings and rewrites would occur over a seven year process before arriving on Broadway. Composer Duncan Sheik found that his main problem with musicals was when characters would sing what they could just as easily say. As a result, Sheik decided that the songs would be inner monologues of the characters, allowing the audience to connect with their inner most thoughts and feelings. The show finally opened on December 10, 2006 and went on to win a total of eight tony awards. The version performed by the Sydney theatre company is the first non-replica production of the show in English. This meant that the STC had complete creative control of sets, lighting, costuming, choreography and even direction, making it a uniquely Australian show.

Melchior and the Ensemble in 'Totally Fucked'

With a cast mostly in their early 20's, the raw emotion of being a teenager was not long forgotten amongst these actors. Director Geordie Brookman searched for raw talent, rather than refined performers when casting Spring Awakening and I found that it allowed the show to have a true teen angst about it. This was particularly true for such high energy songs as The Bitch of Living and Totally Fucked; which were highlights of the night.

Andrew Hazzard and Claire Bowden

Spring Awakening mostly follows the stories of three main characters, Moritz Stiefel (played by Akos Armont), Melchior Gabor (played by Andrew Hazzard) and Wendla Bergman (played by Claire Bowden). Moritz, a boy struggling through school while also being tormented by erotic dreams turns to his good friend Melchior, an incredibly intelligent boy who is an atheist and a rebel, having read about sex from books. Wendla; who asks her mother for the truth about how children are born, only being told that a child is born "when a woman really loves her husband", enters into a relationship with Melchior unaware of the possible outcomes. Andrew Hazzard's Melchior held the right combination between intelligence and sex-crazed teen; while Claire Bowden's Wendla was innocent and yet intrigued by Melchior's views of the world. The pair, although perhaps not classically trained vocally, were well suited as it felt more like a teenager expressing their feelings and emotions, rather than a performing demonstrating their singing abilities. Akos Armont's Moritz was enegertic and angry, allowing the audience to truly feel his frustration with school, family and himself.

Akos Armont as Moritz (Centre) and the Boys in 'The Bitch of Living'

Although there was minimal dance throughout the show, the choreography was well suited to the style and feel of the show. Choreographer Kate Champion tried to use dance as an expression of emotion, rather than a literal expression of the lyrics and this worked well in building the emotional climaxes of the show. The ensemble cast was also impressive, with a mix of classically trained performers and first time performers, I was pleasantly surprised at times when a somewhat unseen character shone through in a brief solo. It was these instances that truly rounded the show nicely, as it did not rely wholly on one or two performers, but rather the whole cast made it what it was. Special mention must be given to the songs "The Dark I Know Well" and "Touch Me", in particular the former where Angela Scundi amazed me as the character of Ilse, a relatively unseen character before this song.

Edward Grey in 'Touch Me'

The most interesting part of the show for me was how the audience reacted. Being a Sydney Theatre Company show, I found that there was a surprisingly large amount of the older generations coming along, no doubt due to season tickets. Considering the content of the show, I knew straight away that they were in for a bit of a shock. With the combination of a masturbation scene, constant talk about sex and the first act ending with a sex scene and partial nudity, it didn't surprise me that many of these audience members left after the first act. What did surprise was how much the middle aged audience enjoyed it, as they clearly looked past the blatant sexual content, and considered the more meaningful issues of the hypocritical nature of this society, as young girls and boys are not taught about sex and as a result fall pregnant, yet they are still ostracised despite having no idea how that was possible. I think the social message of adult oppression overshadows any sexual content if considered properly.

The Boys in 'The Bitch of Living'

Finally the technical aspects of the show, which did not dissapoint in the slightest. The set consisted of a wooden floor, especially built for the show, that had a diagonal section at the front. At the back was a large wooden structure with a rotating middle section, that moved across the stage to create new locations. Various ladders and doors allowed the actors to move to different levels, creating a visually interesting performance. This was emphasised by the wonderful lighting design, which combined standard lights with floor lights, fly in hanging light bulbs and handheld lights. Particularly beautiful and powerful scenes were emphasised by the use of lighting, a highlight for me was the use of handheld lamps during 'Those You've Known', where the people that Melchior has lost haunt him out of the darkness with only these lights to illuminate them, a very powerful scene. However, in other scenes lighting was effective in increasing the energy, such as the use of floor lighting and flashing colours during 'Totally Fucked' and a similar use of lighting during 'The Bitch of Living'.

Akos Armont as Moritz in 'And Then There Were None'

To summarise, this was a great start to the year for me, in terms of theatre. I hope to see more shows by the Sydney Theatre Company this year, including Cate Blanchett in Uncle Vanya later this year and possibly the play August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. Also I'm hoping to finally see Jersey Boys, and to see West Side Story and Mary Poppins later in the year.

Here is an introduction to the male and female ensemble for the show:

Spring Awakening is playing at the Sydney Theatre until 7 March (possibly touring to Melbourne which is exciting)

West Side Story

So I have now been home from my New York trip for almost three months and am finally getting around to writing reviews of the other shows I saw. While in New York I was lucky enough to see the recent revival of the classic musical 'West Side Story'. This musical has been one of, if not my favourite musical for many years now and having only previously seen amateur productions or the fantastic movie version directed by Jerome Robbins, I was looking forward to seeing it done right. It did not disappoint.

The Jets in the 'Prologue'

'West Side Story' is a modern day version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Set in 1950's New York on the Upper West Side, it follows two gangs, the Jets who include the many Italian and Irish American's living in this area at the time, and their rivals the Sharks, the Puerto Rican immigrants trying to live in a new country. Written and Directed by Arthur Laurents, with Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Choreography by Jerome Robbins, the show is a tour de force of incredible talent in all creative outlets. For this production, certain scenes and songs were translated into Spanish by Lin Manuel-Miranda (creative force behind the hit musical 'In the Heights') and although for the performance I saw all songs were performed in English, many scenes were spoken in Spanish. For me personally it made no difference as I new most of the lines word for word regardless, it would be difficult for someone unfamiliar with the show to understand what is going on.

Although we had the understudy for Maria, all the leads were equally as amazing, although special mention must be given to Matt Cavenaugh (Tony) and Karen Olivo (Anita) who were a delight to watch.

Josefina Scaglione and Matt Cavenaugh

I was especially looking forward to seeing Cavenaugh's Tony, as I had previously been a fan of his work in Grey Gardens and in other smaller musical theatre ventures. Cavenaugh's operatic style of singing suited the role impeccably as he was able to hit every note not only with incredible emotion and feeling but he was also able to fill the room with music. As an actor he must be commended for bringing a new dimension to the role of Tony, a usually very wooden and 2D character. As an 18 year old boy, Tony cannot be expected to be able to fully understand love, hence in portraying him slightly more as a boy who has mistaken physical lust for love we understand the notion of 'love' in the teenage context. Cavenaugh's Tony is even somewhat sleazy at points, which although is initially jarring, works as a realistic representation of simple, clueless, love-struck boy. Considering that 'West Side Story' is in fact a modern Romeo and Juliet, it's nice to see more than just a couple of teenagers.

The Shark girls (Karen Olivo Centre) in "America"

Another honourable mention was the work of Karen Olivo as Anita. Olivo brought to the role the necessary sexy and sassy persona needed to be Anita. Paired with an incredible voice and fantastic dancing skills it was no surprise that Olivo won a Tony for her performance. Having previously come to prominence as Vanessa in 'In the Heights' she brought a certain streetwise and knowledgeable quality to the role. On the whole, her performance challenged the normal representations of Anita and gave it a new edge.

Haley Carlucci understudied for Josefina Scaglione as Maria for the performance that we saw, and although I felt she did not quite have the look of Maria, this was surpassed by her impressive skills both vocally and as an actress. Similarly, John Arthur Greene's Riff although perhaps falling short musically on occasion, definitely held that tough demeanour of a boy growing up on New York's Upper West Side in the 1950's. The ensemble cast also did not disappoint with their impressive dancing and singing abilities, an integral part of any West Side Story performance.

The Cast in "Dance at the Gym"

One of the reasons that this musical just works is the combination of Jerome Robbins' groundbreaking and timeless choreography and Leonard Bernstein's music. Having seen Robbins' choreography attempt to be reproduced by amateur productions with unsatisfactory results, it was a real treat to see it done right. Particularly for me the performance of the Dance at the Gym an incredible combination of latin dance along with contemporary tones (still relevant even today). Similarly, the cheeky 'America', sung by the female ensemble, also maintained the necessary comedic sass required of the scene, along with the impressive display of latin dance. Of course, I must mention the famous Prologue, where the two gangs (The Jets and the Sharks) meet on the streets of New York and reveal their anger and frustration at society and the gang mentality that makes them who they are, through dance. A display of flexibility, strength and emotion it sets the scene at the beginning for an incredible night's performance.

The Jets in the 'Prologue'

Lastly, it was a real joy to see the performance with the true dream ballet. Having seen previous attempts at the dream ballet by amateur productions without the use of proper dance, it just does not compare. To clarify what a dream ballet is, it is a sequence within a musical where a character or multiple characters dreams of a life that could be or the possibilities of the future. It is generally performed with new dancers representing the characters and often with the real characters watching on. A good example of this is the dream ballet sequence in Oklahoma. In this case, it was the dream of Tony and Maria's life if they could get away from their life in New York and the troubles they have faced. I could not have asked for a better dream ballet; although, there was an odd addition of the song being sung by a young boy, a character who before this scene seemed very much out of place. I did not think this addition really added to the emotion of the scene, but almost cheapened it.

Here is the performance of the Dance at the Gym from the 2009 Tony Awards

'West Side Story' is playing at the Palace Theatre on Broadway in New York City.