Review: Gypsy

Gypsy
The Production Company
10 July 2013
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
to 14 July
theproductioncompany.com.au

Caroline O'Connor stars as Rose in Gypsy. Is there anything else you need to know! If you've seen Connor perform, you know you have to see her; if you haven't seen her, you've probably been told that you have to see her; if you have no idea who she is, have a google and you'll know you have to see her.

Caroline O'Connor is an old-style, belt it out with heart and guts super star and the State Theatre erupted for her last night.

Gypsy is the story of stage mother Rose, whose life is managing and creating the vaudeville act performed by her daughters Baby June and Louise. Abandoned by her own mother and three husbands, Rose holds on to what she loves most, refusing to marry the man who adores her (Herbie) and not noticing how much June wants to leave. When June abandons her family, Rose focuses on the less-talented Louise, finally convincing her to perform in a burlesque show. It's loosely based on the memoir of the 30s famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee (called Louise).

Gypsy (Jule Styne, music; Arthur Laurents, book; Stephen Sondheim, lyrics) was first seen on Broadway from 1959 to 1961 with Ethel Merman as Rose. It was nominated for a pile of Tonys, but didn't win any. Revivals made up for this. Other famous Roses include Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone, and not to forget Rosalind Russell and Bette Midler in screen versions. Rose is the role that women of a certain age look forward to playing, written in a time when women of a certain age were loved and adored and written for.

O'Connor might have her name above the title, but the rest of the cast as just as super and starry. Matt Hetherington nearly grounds Rose as sensible and love-struck Herbie, Gemma-Ashley Kaplan brings guts to Baby June and Christina Tan transforms from downtrodden Louise to powerful Gypsy. And not to forget the scene-stealing cast of young performers, and Chloe Dallimore, Nicki Wendt and Ann Wood as the three strippers who show Louise that you gotta have a gimmick.

And the design team of Adam Gardnir (set), Tim Chappel (costume) and, Paul Jackson and Robert Cuddon (lights) create a stage that feels and looks as great as a multi-billion dollar show with a background of twinkling stars for the nostalgia-inspired back drops and the gorgeous, extra fun era-inspired costumes.

Now in their 15th year, The Production Company continue to produce the musicals that we'd never see from commercial or professional companies. With limited resources and rehearsal time, they give us the old-style shows we've only ever seen on film or ones that haven't been produced in Australia. They are more than concert versions, but less than a full production, but always made with a love of the work that makes them soar.

This was on AussieTheatre.com.

Photo by Belinda Strodder

Review: The Hatpin

The Hatpin

Magnormos

20 May 2011
Theatreworks

Like all the best musicals, The Hatpin is heartbreaking and miserable and reminds us why this form of storytelling is so compelling and important. Forget the likes of Priscilla; this is what Australian musical theatre is really about.

Based on the 1893 Sydney case of baby Horace Murray, The Hatpin is the story of the baby's teenage mother and the women who helped her. Filled with dilemma and unthinkable choices, Peter Rutherford (music) and James Millar (book and lyrics) have taken a piece of Australian legal history and created a universally resonating story about maternal love.

First produced in Sydney in 2008, The Hatpin went to the 2008 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). Since 2004, this festival has become the largest program of its kind and lives by its motto "Changing the world, 30 musicals at a time". Next to Normal (currently at the MTC) was still called Feeling Electric at the 2005 festival and [title of show] (Magnormos 2010) was created to enter the NYMF. Since New York, The Hatpin had been acclaimed whenever its been seen, especially the Riverside Lyric Ensemble's production, and Magnormos gives Melbourne our first look.

Thank the theatre gods for Magnormos. Formed in 2002, this small company does everything they can to support and produce new Australian works and to bring us productions of the boutique or forgotten musicals that rarely, if ever, get an Australian production. (And thank the same gods for Theatreworks's continuing support of Magnormos.)

Gemma-Ashley Kaplan (Amber) and Samantha Morley (Harriet) lead the strong cast. Gemma-Ashley (yet another glorious WAAPA graduate) created the role of Clara in the original and New York productions and let's hope we see her as Harriet and finally Agatha over the next 30 or so years. Emma Jones is our young Clara and her Act II climax song proves that we'll also be seeing much more her on our stages.

Shaun Kingma's solid direction creates mood and melancholy, but sometimes let melodrama get in the way of the drama, and played the end from the start. I didn't know the story, but knew from the beginning what the outcome was. I'd love to see it break our hearts even more by offering more hope.

The Hatpin will continue to develop with each production and it shouldn't be too long until a main-stage company grabs it (MTC, I'm looking at you). It's not quite perfect yet, but no show can be until it's had more wonderful productions like this. (My concern is the title; no matter how well it suits, it answers too many narrative questions. And Horace doesn't have the same ring...)

But don't wait for a commercial production, see the The Hatpin while it's still so intimate that you feel like you're freezing on the cobbled streets with Amber and her baby, and if we keep supporting Magnormos, their OzMade program could become the southern version of the NYMF and we'll see more beautiful and powerful musicals like this created in Australia.

This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com