Critical Responses to Season 2011
Peter Burch, The Australian
The Production Company’s wise choices of shows, stage and music directors, choreographers, costumer, set, lighting and sound designers and generally flawless casting, with fantastic accompaniment by our indispensible Orchestra Victoria, guarantee that its performances enchant Melbourne’s audiences. Launching this year’s season, the Production Company revived Col Porter’s brash, evergreen Anything Goes, last staged by it a decade ago. The Anything Goes dream cast, led by Amanda Harrison, Alex Rathgeber, Todd McKenny, Christie Whelan and Wayne Scott Kermond, brought all of this together in a joyous, life-affirming staging of Porter’s enduring musical confection that thrilled its capacity audience and warmed Melbourne’s winter.
Cameron Woodhead, The Age
Porter’s musical needs no interpretation, of course, and The Production Company has assembled a luxurious cast to bring this madcap, effervescent musical to life.
Alex Rathgeber is the kind of pristine leading man they don’t mint any more. He’s a natural choice for lovelorn stockbroker Billy. Handsome and fleet-footed, Rathgeber is easily the most impressive vocalist, with a strong upper register that vaults towards high notes.
Wayne Scott Kermond was born to play hapless gangster Moonface Martin, combining vaudevillian slapstick (at one point, he stuffs a dog into his knickers) with the exuberant silliness of Porter’s ditties. Todd McKenny lets the gypsy out of Lord Evelyn with ridiculous zest, and Christie Whelan’s Erma shimmers with ditzy sex appeal.
Kate Herbert, Herald Sun
Anything Goes, with music and lyrics by the inimitable Cole Porter, is an irresistible, fizzy drink with a dash of hard liquor.
The story is set aboard an ocean liner, but Dean Bryant and Andrew Hallsworth’s production moves at the pace of a speedboat. Gags come thick and fast, the dialogue is racy and Porter’s genius for toe-tapping melodies is evident in the array of hit numbers played by the vivacious Orchestra Victoria, led by Peter Casey.
Amanda Harrison plays nightclub singer Reno and her thrilling voice makes I Get A Kick Out of You, Anything Goes and Blow Gabriel zing.
Critical Responses to Season 2010
The Age
Cameron Woodhead
July 16, 2010
With The King and I, (The Production Company) has produced an engaging spectacle enlivened by powerful performances. It's a production that long-time fans and newcomers alike will enjoy.
The Australian
Peter Burch
July 16, 2010
Regular Production Company director Terence O'Connell has returned for his seventh show and The King and I is representative of his best work. It's the sixth show for conductor Peter Casey, directing a 23-piece ensemble of Orchestra Victoria musicians. Alana Scanlan choreographed her seventh Production Company staging. Kathryn Sproul's set design took advantage of the State Theatre's large stage, while Kim Bishop's costumes captured the romantic fantasy of 19th-century Siam.
Chelsea Gibb .. sang her songs with enormous charm. .. Juan Jackson was a powerful physical and vocal presence as the king. The gloriously voiced Silvie Paladino had little opportunity to shine in the one-song role of Lady Thiang, the king's first wife, but her Something Wonderful was just that.
The juvenile leads, Emily Xiao Wang as Tuptim and Adrian Li Donni as Lun Tha, did justice to their enchanting duets, We Kiss in a Shadow and I Have Dreamed. Making up a cast of more than 40 were deckhands, slaves, guards, priests, peasants, royal wives and princes and princesses.
The King and I is a big show with a big heart and deserves to sell out.
Theatre People
Simon Parris
17 July 2010
It’s good to see the King!
TPC has begun 2010 in a blaze of glory with a lovingly staged production of one of the great timeless classics, The King & I. Each creative element comes together in perfect synergy to reveal all over again why the world loves Rodgers and Hammerstein.
The artistic achievements of this current staging of The King & I are such an embarrassment of riches that is difficult to know where to lavish praise first. Possibly the most striking element is the extravagant costume design, which sees the stage filled with red, gold and vivid jewel tones. Ornamental headwear and footwear add to the striking effect.
Set pieces have been carefully chosen to allow the action to flow without pause and to represent the grandeur of the palace without trying to recreate it. A large central raked platform serves as boat, schoolroom and royal court, with the action framed by upstage and downstage sets of decorative hanging panels.
The Age
Martin Ball
August 21, 2010
PETER Allen is back in town: Todd McKenney shimmying and shaking his maracas as The Boy from Oz.
It's 12 years since McKenney first played the role and he still has the legs and voice to carry the part. He high-kicks with poise and precision, is pitch perfect and leaps on and off the grand piano with all the gusto of an AFL draft hopeful.
Shrugging off the edge he has demonstrated on Dancing with the Stars, the dominant mood is sentimental and the banter is welcoming and inclusive, and not risqué.
This show is more Broadway than Hugh Jackman's version of Oz from four years ago, with greater focus on the narrative and the ensemble. Christine O'Leary is sensational as Judy Garland, and the musical highlight of the night is her exquisite version of All I Wanted Was the Dream. Fem Belling looks and sounds convincing as Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli, and Robyn Arthur brings good characterisation to Allen's mother Marion Woolnough.
The dancing of the ensemble is disciplined and eye-catching, and the patriotic strains of I Still Call Australia Home get a wry treatment as the cast impersonate the children's choirs from the ubiquitous Qantas ad.
Stage Whispers
Geoffrey Williams
…on Wednesday night, as we filed out of the State Theatre having witnessed the opening night performance of the Production Company’s The Boy From Oz, I overheard someone say “just perfect” … and how right they were. Great performances of theatre sometimes appear to take place inches above the stage, not on it – such is the unquestionable dynamic certain ensembles of performers bring to the presentation of their craft.
Some performers are simply perfect for a particular role – and Todd McKenney brings Peter Allen to life as though they share every piece of one another’s DNA. McKenney’s is a must-see performance of music theatre fire, passion, artistry, flair and great intelligence. Quite apart from the fact that he rarely leaves the stage (and only then to change into another of Mr Allen’s signature outlandish shirts), Mr McKenney reads every beat to perfection and is so alive to every nuance of his character’s journey through this thoughtfully structured show, that at times, it becomes quite overwhelming. When the archival footage of Mr Allen playing the piano and singing Tenterfield Saddler is projected onto a large screen that descends from the fly tower, Mr McKenney sits on a step and watches him with such admiration and understanding that it becomes an incredibly powerful moment of pure pathos – the kind that is only possible in the theatre when ‘theatre people’ are doing what they do best. And it’s hard to imagine a better example of it than this.
Theatre People
Simon Parris
Everything old is new again in The Production Company’s joyous revival of The Boy from Oz. Sold out before it even opened, it is very pleasing to report that the good faith of ticket buyers has been well placed. Lovingly staged, the combination of quality material and stellar talent proved to be a heady mix that brought the opening night audience to their feet in a rousing ovation.
Looking perhaps closer in age and appearance to the way Peter Allen is remembered, Todd McKenney triumphed in his return to the role, reclaiming it as his own. Resplendent in some of the original costumes, McKenney had the audience in the palm of his hand, his timing with the throwaway gushy gags minted to perfection. Plaintively sung, the 11 o’clock number Tenterfield Saddler was a heartfelt highlight. And the limber, athletic dance moves are all still there too.
The show-within-a-concert conceit of The Boy from Oz is possibly the best match for TPC’s presentation style to date. Scenes ebb and flow with ease, with the action clearly focused despite the seemingly stadium-sized open stage of the State Theatre.
The Age
Cameron Woodhead
1 Oct 2010
Christie Whelan is perfect for the ditzy title role, oozing the sex appeal of Marilyn Monroe. She's matched for physical exuberance, comic flair and vocal ability by Mitchell Butel, making the Jack Lemmon part his own.
Matt Hetherington's accent might wobble, but he's at his best opposite Butel.
Melissa Langton's pipes will blow you away and Peter Lowrey as the mob boss leads a troupe of tap-dancing gangsters that enlivens the show. They're all outshone by Dennis Olsen, who combines physical grace with consummate comic poise as the ageing, smitten millionaire.
Sugar has its problems, but you can't lay much blame at the feet of this production. Diverting, well-paced, often wildly funny - the supremely talented cast bakes it as hot as it's likely to get.
Theatre People
Simon Parris
A spoonful of Christie helps the musical go down, in the most delightful way.
The type of charming, old-fashioned musical comedy that we would never see professionally if not for The Production Company, Sugar is a deliciously sweet treat. An extremely talented, well-cast company bring the colourful characters to life, having as much fun as the audience in the process.
Sugar has a hilarious book, and Director Adam Cook lands every joke, creating plenty of visual comedy as well. Choreography is a highlight of the show, with witty moves, entertaining routines and tight formations. The tap dancing gangsters, lead by Peter Lowrey, were an absolute hoot. TPC should immediately sign up Christopher Horsey to choreograph again next year.
Mitchell Butel and Matt Hetherington were in sensational form, revelling in the comedy of errors and singing strongly. Chameleon Butel loses himself in another distinctive comic portrayal, balancing Jerry’s macho bluster with Daphne’s delicate twinkle. His bathing suit entrance, in pink turban and tyre tube, was priceless. Hetherington again demonstrates his unique blend of leading man looks and character actor skills. His 11 o’clock number It’s Always Love was outstanding.
Ever gorgeous Christie Whelan proves herself well and truly deserving of the title of leading lady. Adopting a breathless baby doll voice, she still conveys a full range of expression where lesser actresses would just be trying to maintain the voice. She also adapts the voice perfectly for singing and overall brings humanity to a role that could have been a cartoon character in lesser hands.
Dennis Olsen is all class as besotted millionaire Sir Osgood Fielding III. Melissa Langton is a force to be reckoned with as Sue, especially when she has the chance to belt out a number.
Critical Responses to Season 2009
Launching this year's Production Company three-show season, Crazy for You was a resounding audience success. The opening night crowd cheered with delight and was never happier than during the succession of big tap-dancing production numbers.
Musical theatre asks the audience to accept that the performers will, at sometimes seemingly random moments in the storyline, break into song. It is a rather unnatural phenomenon and perhaps because of this, the musical is not everyone’s cup of tea. That said, The Production Company is producing shows that are creatively and financially accessible to its Melbourne audiences. Their latest show, Crazy For You, directed by Terence O’Connell, offers a great night out, full of the fun, glitter, dance and catchy songs that make musical comedy so unique and, in this instance, such a refreshing change from the darker works which are so often performed on our stages.
AUSTRALIAN STAGE Penelope Broadbent
The Production Company’s staging of The Boy Friend is a triumph. This popular British musical, with book, music and lyrics all from the skilful hand of Sandy Wilson, has a breezy, nonchalant air and a tuneful inventive score that succeeded at its premiere, and it has lost none of its appeal. Breezy, melodious light entertainment, produced and performed by people who know exactly what they are doing, doesn’t come along every day. I wouldn’t wait if I were you, catch it on its remaining three nights.
AUSTRALIAN STAGE Darryl Emmerson
To avoid being a complete museum piece, The Boy Friend needs all the glamour it can get. The Production Company provides, assembling an all-star cast and mounting a more lavishly dressed show than usual.
The melodies aren't that catchy, the drollery relies on cultural assumptions that have gone the way of the dodo, and the storyline is positively idiotic. The Boy Friend abounds in opportunities for charlestons, tap routines and ballroom dancing, and Andrew Hallsworth's choreography makes the most of them.
The comic performances are as impressive as the dancing, aiming for gentle silliness rather than outlandish camp. The class-crossed lovers, played with restraint by Esther Hannaford and Alex Rathgeber, are suitably wide-eyed. Rhonda Burchmore adopts a sultry vibrato as the incurably romantic headmistress; Kellie Rode brings effervescent physical comedy to her role as a French maid; Robyn Arthur makes a wonderfully imposing Lady Brockhurst; and Christie Whelan's Maisie channels the rebellious soul of the flapper.
THE AGE Cameron Woodhead
The Production Company’s Australian premiere of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a delightfully dirty, not at all rotten, night at the theatre.
Australian Stage
The Production Company gambles and Melbourne is the lucky winner. For only the second time in 11 years, TPC has presented an Australian premiere, and what an inspired choice it is. ….Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a laugh-a-minute riot that is every bit as hilarious as the 1988 film.
Theatre People
Deliciously entertaining. Huge laughs…It’s a very funny night.
Herald Sun
The show…has an infectious sense of fun. The physical comedy is raw and risky; (Hetherington’s) Freddy, as Prince Ruprecht, is repulsive and hilarious – a show stealer. Brown is as distinguished as his character; a perfect lothario.
The cast are bold, the dialogue witty and risqué, giving us what we want. Sunday Herald SunCritical Responses to Season 2008
“Decade of dazzling encores”
Bryce Hallett, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 March 2009
Follies
“Sheer folly to miss this production... Follies is a glittering achievement that will be hard to toss as outstanding musical of 2008.”
Jim Murphy, The Age, 18 July 2008
Damn Yankees
“Damn fine Yankees... Damn Yankees is a damned good show. Director Terence O’Connell, with choreographer Alana Scanlan, musical director Vanessa Scammell and Orchestra Victoria, creates a polished and charming production with a talented cast”
Kate Herbert, Herald Sun, 22 August 2008
Mame
“The Production Company’s contribution to Melbourne’s musical theatre life is incalculable... This year, TPC has celebrated its first decade with a thrilling Stephen Sondheim Follies, a wonderfully energetic Damn Yankees and now, reviving the show that launched it, Jerry Herman’s irresistible Mame. This Mame delivered the goods every bit as successfully as the JCW original. Burchmore is in her prime.”
Peter Burch, The Australian, 5 October 2008
