State Opera South Australia. Her Majesty’s Theatre. 11 Nov 2022
What a great idea! “Bright lights and big dreams” is the siren song for theatrical types in the never never that urges them to migrate to the big smoke to make their talent bright and big. In this review of songs from major American musicals, State Opera South Australia’s Artistic Director and director of this production, Stuart Maunder AM, pays homage to Stephen Sondheim and his mentors Leonard Bernstein and Oscar Hammerstein II by choosing songs exclusively from their canon. This was a project Maunder wanted for Sondheim’s 90th birthday in 2020, but you-know-what cancelled anything good that year.
The performers had only the length of Her Majesty’s apron to move on; the rest of the stage was taken by the ever-spot-on Adelaide Symphony Orchestra – the men in comfortable open shirts - under the commanding baton of Anthony Hunt. The starring pairing was of Ben Mingay and Antoinette Halloran. Halloran is all lioness sensuality and bearing. When opposite baritone Ben Mingay, well, [insert lion roar here]. Halloran excels throughout the selections from Sweeny Todd, but it is their duet of A Little Priest that is scintillating. Bravo! Mind you, they have form in reprising their roles from State Opera’s 2021 retelling of the murderous musical. Complementing the razor-sharp performances were their costumes retrieved from Wardrobe; you could drift away into last year’s production.
Alas, this was a missing element of the production. The opening gambit of Comedy Tonight from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum has an over-formal air in tuxedoes. Perhaps a toga or two? Contextualising costumes or at least accoutrements would have been a big help to the imagination. In the West Side Story offering, the Jets and the Sharks look like they took time out from a wedding reception for a little street fighting. Sailor caps in South Pacific? Something? And if tux is the go, make sure it fits. Director Stuart Maunder missed out on a lot of fun by eschewing the thematic dress-ups. Yet the women’s frequent changes into fetching evening frocks is eye candy. Antoinette Halloran is wearing stunning sparkling starlight in one song.
Of course, cossies aren’t the main game and the main game went very well indeed. Love is in the air in the numerous star-crossed lover duets, eg; Jessica Dean and Mat Verevis in West Side Story’s One Hand, One Heart. This was followed and counterpoised with the street gang braggadocio to thrilling effect in Tonight. Bravo! Desiree Frahn in Carousel’s If I Loved You delivers an awesome transition from insouciance to love-struck that melted the lights. And again from Sweeny Todd, Nothin’s Gonna Harm You between Mat Verevis and Antoinette Halloran is full of warmth and love undercut by menacing innuendo. This was where Mat’s underplayed vocals hit the right level.
Rosie Hosking, Rachel McCall, Jessica Mills, Mark Oates, Nicholas Cannon, James Nicholson and Jeremy Tatchell all have star-turns and/or fulsome featured numbers, and they mug and move and sing marvelously in chorus work. Jessica Mills, one of the younger cast members, certainly deserves more airtime to air her voice and watchable gestures. Mark Oates is a dependable tenor in musical theatre and always draws attention. Perhaps you saw him in Adelaide Festival’s world premiere production of Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan in which he sensitively played both Ian Duncan and Don Dunstan.
The whole shebang ended with a bang with a corny and rousing Oklahoma, followed by an encore – the famous You’ll Never Walk Alone from 1945’s Carousel. You leave the theatre with goosebumps.
Unfortunately, the online program contained no biographies of the performers or creatives so despite the bright lights, the punter is in the dark about the big dreams of these talented Australians.
Director Stuart Maunder’s love letter to Sondheim and his progenitors is a delightful night out of songs from some of America’s best last-century musicals performed by outstanding Australian talent. A shame it’s only on for two nights. Bravo!
David Grybowski
When: 11 and 12 Nov
Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Bookings: Closed
