Silver
lining in home-grown Rain DES PARTRIDGE
Ocean's
Rain breaks drought
CARMEL AUDSLEY
Ambition
fulfilled
ERIC SCOTT
Silver
lining in home-grown Rain
DES
PARTRIDGE
It's
quite a challenge taking the most famous MGM movie musical of them all,
and then staging it as an amateur theatrical production.
It's
a challenge that everyone involved in this staging for the Ocean Theatre
Company, founded in 1996, has met with a truly professional treatment
that provides a thoroughly delightful evening.
To
call this an amateur production is an undeserved slight.
The
verve of the Gene Elysian Don en musical, with its witty spoof of the
end of the silent era and enduring songs is gloriously mirrored by this
technically accomplished home-grown production.
Based
on the adaptation staged in London's West End with Tommy Steele in the
Kelly role, the treatment called for a high degree of technical efficiency.
There
are filmed scenes that are a vital part of the story of the impact of
the talkies on Hollywood, and, of course, the famous title number which
closes the first act has to be sung and dances in the rain.
The
talented director Andrew Miller had his backstage team demonstrated
a high degree of professionalism in handling these situations in a smoothly
flowing production that deserves big audiences during its limited season.
Meticulous
care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the famous musical,
with the director and his colleagues clearly having tremendous feeling
for their responsibilities, and talent to meet them.
The
chorus work in particular is captivating - the finale from the whole
company, in which most of the famous songs are reprised, is musical
magic - and the large pit orchestra working under Mr Woolf alone make
the show worth hearing.
Michael
Priest and Alison Kerr, who has a pure vocal talent, are delightful
as start Don Lockwood and "serious" actor Kathy Selden, which
the comic possibilities of their roles are thoroughly explored by a
pair of gifted performers - Mark Conaghan as Lockwood's pal Cosmo, and
Julie Cotterell as the strident-voiced silent start Lina Lamont.
Ms
Cotterell's solo, What's Wrong with Me, proves stand-out among
the richly presented musical numbers which include an energetic
Make 'em Laugh solo for Mr Conaghan that Donald O'Connor surely
would admire.
Good
Morning,
sung and danced with admirable energy by Priest, Conaghan and Ms Kerr,
is another show-stopper.
Ronan
Lock and Jack Chambers, playing the young Cosmo and Don Lockwood in
the Fit as a Fiddle number, get the show off to an invigorating
start, and the energy and laugh levels don't slacken over the next 2
1/2 hours.
Not
a foot is set wrong by Ocean Theatre's enthusiastic troupe, with the
stage work matched by the contributions from the backstage crew. As
we wait for our State-funded theatre company to get back to work, this
is an admirable reminder of the contribution pro-am theatre can provide
to the community.
Ocean's
Rain breaks drought
By
CARMEL AUDSLEY
While
opening night revellers dodged the puddles outside the Conservatorium
Theatre at South Bank last month, the rain was falling gently inside
the theatre, breaking a 50 year drought for Brisbane audiences.
According
to director Andrew Miller, Singin' in the Rain has never been
performed professionally or as an amateur production in Brisbane. Making
it rain on stage is no mean feat, but the technical wizardry supplied
by the team at the QPAT Set Construction Workshop ensured that the famous
Gene Kelly dancing in the rain scene was possible. The lighting on opening
night didn't allow full effect of the falling rain to be seen clearly,
but it was effective enough to have people moving towards the stage
at interval to see if the rain was real.
Miller
gathered together a cast of 31 local pro/am performers playing 78 roles.
Michael Priest was well cast as silent screen start Don Lockwood. Julie
Cotterell was delightful as the ditzy Lina Lamont whose voice didn't
make the transition from silent films to talkies. To maintain the public
persona that Monumental Pictures publicity department had so carefully
crafted for Lina, chorus girl Kathy Selden's (Alison Kerr) sweet vocals
were superimposed over the sound - a clever plan until Lina got too
big for stilettos and Kathy was revealed as the real star of the show.
The
performer who drew the most applause (and rightly so) was Lockwood's
sidekick Cosmo Brown, brilliantly played by Mark Conaghan who could
sing, dance, act, fall, trip and clown with the energy and enthusiasm
that made Donald O'Connor a star.
The
scenes which called for the use of a cinema screen were hilarious and
well directed. Singin' in the Rain moves Ocean Theatre Company
and its producer/director Andrew Miller further up the ladder of success
and achievement.
Ambition
fulfilled
By
ERIC SCOTT
The
Ocean Theatre Company is three years old, and for an amateur company
it has high hopes and ambitions.
Not
for them small shows in little theatres. They go for huge productions
in big venues.
The
company's latest show is Singin' in the Rain, a modern adaptation
of the famous MGM musical at the Conservatorium Theatre on Brisbane's
South Bank.
The
company has made use of the full stage facilities with sets rising and
falling from the roof - and a full scale rainstorm for the ever popular
title sequence.
The
play follows the story faithfully, with a pair of silent movie stars
trying to make the transition to talking pictures, and carries songs
like Good Morning, Make 'em Laugh, All I do is
Dream of You and Broadway Melody.
The
first act runs about 90 minutes, ending with the song Singin' in
the Rain. The second is much short - and has a lot more verve and
excitement which leads to a great finale.
The
show was slow to take off, but it quickly picked up pace and those 90
minutes didn't pall.
Michael
Priest played Don Lockwood, the Gene Kelly role. Following in such a
great dancer's footsteps was going to be a difficult task - and Lockwood
cleverly didn't even try to step into them.
His
dance routines were simple and well executed and he was nicely laid
back in his performances.
Alison
Kerr played Kathy Selden, the young singer who mimes the voice of superstar
Lina Lamont.
I've
seen her in several shows some good, some not so good, but under the
direction of Andrew Miller she was excellent. But
the real stars of the show were Julie Cotterell as Lina Lamont and Mark
Conaghan as Lockwood's offsider Cosmo Brown.
Julie
Cotterell played the raspy-voiced Lina perfectly and brought the house
down with her rendering of What's Wrong with Me. It takes a
great singer to sound like a bad one and Julie was perfect. She hit
the notes and slid nicely off them to give the impression of a monumental
bad singer. She is a multi-talented lady.
Mark
Conaghan was the knockabout Cosmo and he recreated the Donald O'Connor
role with great effect and brought high energy to the stage every time
he appeared. He was great with the Make 'em Laugh and Good
Morning routine.
The
four principals gelled into an excellent team once the show settled
down.
There
were a few problems - particularly in the tango number Temptation
- but the cast of 32 in general worked well together - and the orchestra,
under the Direction of Rodney Wolff, was worth listening to for its
own sake. It was terrific.
It
is an ambitious project and for most the ambitions were fulfilled.
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