Adelaide Fringe. Star Theatre 1. 6 Mar 2013
I was very excited to see this show and have been looking forward to its opening ever since I heard that director, David Gauci, was putting together a group of Adelaide’s finest young community performers to mount the premiere of Altar Boyz in SA.
Unfortunately, I must be honest and say that I was disappointed. I found myself really struggling to enjoy the show at all. This production presented with so much potential; in its casting and its production team; and much of that potential was onstage the night I reviewed the show. But all of it was squandered and spoiled by a few, very key, mistakes.
All that being said, I’d like to start by pointing out what was great: Brady Lloyd – boy can that man dance – and dance he did, with enough conviction and energy to power a small country town. Lloyd has a lot of stage presence and he really shines. Lindsay Prodea sang his heart out and smashed all of his solo parts – I was blown away by how well Prodea overcame many of the obstacles placed in front of him. Dominic Hodges nailed his accent and mannerisms - so much so I was convinced he was actually Spanish for much of the show. Brody Green creamed the top notes at the end of his solo in ‘Epiphany’ and Gareth Wilkes maintained his character and did not falter from lights up to curtain down. The band, led by musical director Emma Knights, also played a very strong show.
So now you must be thinking, why didn’t he like it? I’ll start with the sound; this production sounded like it was being sung out of a tin can in a hurricane – and instead of getting better as the show progressed it got worse! By the end of the production what had started as a tinny, echoing, breathy sound also had popping, crackling and missing queues. I was so disappointed to see so much work wasted on the stage; the show didn’t even make it into the auditorium – I missed 75% of the lyrics and dialogue.
This musical is a spoof and as such is lyrically funny, but the audience has to be on their game and paying attention, or a lot of the jokes will get by them. It is also the responsibility of the performers, the director and the choreographer to communicate the intricate layers of the dialogue to the audience; and it is here that I see an opportunity lost - particularly with regards to the dancing. Choreographer Shenayde Wilkinson-Sarti has created a flashy looking, complicated set of routines for the show which are simply lost on the lyric. There was no visual connection between what was being sung and danced. This lack of connection was highlighted during numbers like ‘Epiphany’, where key jokes about sneaking into church through the “back door” and getting down on your “knees” to pray were completely lost on the audience and didn’t even rouse a chuckle.
The lighting and set design was simple and served the show well. Aside from the sound issues the boys individually sang a great show. Harmonisations were not always great however, and although it was difficult to tell whether this was a sound mixing issue or just off key singing it certainly needed to be addressed. The sound, lighting and set design is uncredited in the program – but these key features can really make or break a show. It just goes to show that it often doesn’t matter how strong the performers or the production team are – the end result will suffer if all of the elements aren’t working together.
Paul Rodda
When: 5 to 8 Mar
Where: Star Theatres – Sir Donald Bradman Drive
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
