All the present’s vocalists boast characterful highlights, together with Makan channelling the mischievous maid from A Little Night Music, Simpson-Deeks an ageing lothario from Follies and Rosario’s delicate tenor roving from plucky orphan to one-half of a fortunately ever after.
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Excellent stage, lighting and particularly sound design create a relaxed cocktail lounge environment and in some way remodel the brutal acoustics of Theatre Works right into a mellow and resonant auditorium.
This Sondheim showcase achieves a night of dramatic and musical alchemy. It ought to draw informal admirers and even aficionados right into a renewed appreciation of the composer’s artistry.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead
MUSIC
Playlunch ★★★★
170 Russell, September 19
If you haven’t waved a pool noodle above the gang and screamed about grabbing a “double case of Passiona straight from IGA”, have you ever even lived?
That’s the motto at tonight’s launch of Sex Ed, the second LP in two years from Melbourne’s proudly puerile Playlunch. Led by frontman and producer Liam Bell, the seven-piece “bogan funk” band emerged out of a lockdown mission three years in the past. Now, due to a string of viral movies and Bell’s knack for marrying catchy pop-funk with references to extraordinarily 2000s on-line tradition, they’ve attracted a sold-out crowd of 1000 tonight.
Playlunch drew a sellout crowd of 1000.Credit: Martin Philbey
Billed as “the home band at Australia’s rowdiest yard pool occasion,” Playlunch personal the half, arriving on stage in class shorts, tracksuits, sunscreen and the mirrored sunnies of youngsters hanging across the prepare station. They open with Station Rat – about children hanging across the prepare station. From there, it’s a tightly choreographed whip by a relentlessly enjoyable set of low cost booze-fuelled tunes about Bunnings, boys’ nights, puberty, YoGo and cult ’90s French youngsters’s present Soupe Opera.
If it sounds infantile, it’s. Dotted across the venue are laminated classroom posters for sunscreen, contraception, “Learn French!” and Ancient Civilisations. It’s a intelligent extension of the understanding camaraderie Playlunch have fostered to search out their viewers: a giddy cross-section of youngsters in dress-ups, metallic T-shirts, rainbow flags, and canvas hats bearing the band’s “No Hat? No Play” motto that retains the merch desk ticking over. Playlunch play with the playground wanting again at them.
“Holy shit, that is extra individuals than we’ve ever seen earlier than,” says Bell following a rowdy reception to Pash – a music about ingesting and pashing.
Playlunch unleashed a enjoyable set of low cost booze-fuelled tunes.Credit: Martin Philbey
There is an underbelly right here: for each hilarious colloquialism about getting pissed, bongs, or unhinged neighbours –see the rabidly acquired Keith, full with video that includes former AFL hardman Barry Hall dancing – there’s a whiff of celebrating ugly Aussie behaviour vs skewering it. Songs like Blue Light Disco, Foxtel Girl and Real Estate Apps are objectively humorous, but additionally about class divides and a youthful craving to transcend them. But in tonight’s sweatbox, nobody cares.
“You see, we come so removed from a yr in the past, making fats beats on my MacBook Pro,” sings Bell in Cool Math Games to the pogo-ing room. “Tryna get ticket to the sold-out present, however the Lunch too sizzling (and we’re able to blow).” Playlunch have formally come.
Reviewed by Marcus Teague
MUSIC
Frenzal Rhomb ★★★
The Tote, September 19
Grungy as hell and all concerning the beer, Frenzal Rhomb and the Tote had been made for one another. Singer Jay Whalley is amazed that the 25-year (ish) anniversary of their Oz punk traditional A Man’s Not A Camel brings them right here for the primary time. With tickets offered out effectively prematurely, his concern is that we could also be “too wise” to hitch them.
Guitarist Lindsay McDougall and frontman Jay Whalley. Credit: Richard Clifford
Fat probability. We’re right here, caught shoulder to chin to carpet, for songs like Bucket Bong, Punch In The Face and Let’s Drink A Beer, churned up like chum by guitarist Lindsay McDougall and blithely tossed out by a frontman striding about like he’s spruiking clearance inventory exterior a two-dollar store.
Between the slack manner and quick, buzzing riffage lies the attraction. In 25 years, the wisecracking Sydney skate punks have modified bass gamers (howdy “Dal” Dallinger) however not haircuts or band T-shirts — Hard-Ons, Blink-182 — or that Mad journal mixture of satirical bile and self-deprecation that makes good on the promise of a title like When My Baby Smiles At Me I Go To Rehab.
Whipped in tight by heavy-hitting drummer Gordy Forman, the birthday boys tear by 25 songs in 80 minutes — 28 in case you rely a ropey singalong with Linda Ronstadt, a splash of Pat Benatar and a half-kidding tilt at Mondo Rock’s Come Said the Boy, which signifies that hey, truly, these guys might play something.
The undeniable fact that they’re content material to pinball between the darkish gag strains and the restricted musical vary of Mummy Doesn’t Know You’re A Nazi and Where Drug Dealers Take Their Kids is a giant a part of the attraction. Even if the trademark banter between Whalley and McDougall does sound, at occasions, a very good quarter-century extra cynical.
Jay Whalley. Credit: Richard Clifford
There’s a imprecise feeling, too, that when the gang bellows the opening verse of Never Had So Much Fun that we is likely to be considering extra of 1999 than right here and now, when knees and voices are much less sturdy and hollering about Russell Crowe’s band “being a f—ing load of shit” feels a tiny bit “previous man yells at cloud”.
“We f—n’ did it individuals, we performed the Tote,” Whalley declares, as we make our hasty approach out to beat the Uber surge and relieve the babysitters. It’s been a victory lap for slam-thwack riffs, spiky jokes and nostalgia, even when that feral spirit of Big Days Out previous possibly wants a little bit of a lie down.
Reviewed by Michael Dwyer
MUSICAL
MJ the Musical ★★★★
Her Majesty’s Theatre, till February 1
If jukebox musicals had been judged purely on the recognition of their playlists, MJ the Musical could be broadly considered the best of all time. In phrases of inventive innovation and cultural affect, no one did greater than Michael Jackson to usher in pop music as we all know it immediately.
Ilario Grant stars as Michael Jackson.Credit: Jason South
Generations of followers might be irresistibly drawn to the limitless stream of bangers. For many, me included, Jackson’s music offered a soundtrack to childhood and adolescence, although the issue for a biographical musical is apparent.
What do you do about Jackson’s more and more eccentric, reclusive, troubled later life, when he was dangling his child son from a lodge balcony, battling an dependancy to prescription painkillers and – most notoriously – dealing with youngster intercourse abuse prices (of which he was acquitted) in a sensational trial?The ebook of the musical, written by acclaimed playwright Lynn Nottage, cannily refocuses the lens with out whitewashing something.
It’s set throughout rehearsals for the 1992-1993 Dangerous world tour. MJ (Ilario Grant) is a worldwide phenomenon, and we’re taken behind the scenes right into a world of artistic ferment the place MJ is desperately making an attempt to outdo his final record-breaking success, because the seeds of the longer term are nonetheless being sown, and childhood reminiscences rise to torment him.
In reality, the musical options three Michael Jacksons: little Michael (on opening evening, William Bonner), youngster star of The Jackson 5; Michael as a younger man (Liam Damons), leaving his band of brothers and the world of Motown behind to pursue a solo profession; and early 90s MJ.
Expect to see all of Michael Jackson’s trademark strikes in MJ The Musical.Credit: Daniel Boud
All three are immediately recognisable portrayals of Jackson in varied eras, led by Grant’s incarnation of the unearthly, softly spoken “King of Pop” on the peak of his powers. The final is sensible – a feat of charismatic impersonation equal to Ruva Ngwenya’s efficiency as Tina Turner final yr, although with a weaker arc and a extra various ability set.
A consummate entertainer, Jackson reinvented music movies and in style choreography, in addition to innovating vocally, and dance is a significant drawcard on this manufacturing.
You can anticipate all of the emblems – the moonwalking, the crotch-grabs, the anti-grav leans – and director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has devised thrilling ensemble routines impressed by avenue dancing from the interval … and, after all, the immortal zombie-dancing from the Thriller music video. Dynamic spectacle and pop concert-style numbers are interwoven with sensitively acted drama. The abuse Michael suffered by the hands of his father Joseph (Derrick Davis) is pitilessly rendered, as is the racism which motivated Joseph’s cruelty and the relentlessness of his ambition for his youngsters.
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Pressing the songs into dramatic service isn’t all the time cleanly achieved. Fans will get pleasure from novel preparations, significantly haunting duets between Michael Jacksons at completely different life levels, regardless of a couple of spell-breaking moments in transitions between music and stage motion.
Still, the solid is fabulously proficient, and I don’t see how MJ the Musical might be carried out a lot better. It isn’t fairly on par, artistically, with the best echelon of jukebox musicals – Tina, say, or Jersey Boys – however possibly it doesn’t must be. Not with a music catalogue as legendary as this.
The present is bound to lure anybody who loves Michael Jackson songs, whereas offering perception into the social boundaries he broke down, and an intimate have a look at all he suffered by to launch his iconic profession.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead
THEATRE
Job ★★★★
Red Stitch Theatre, till October 12
The conventional psychologist-patient relationship is upended in Job, an American play by Max Wolf Friedlich that staged on Broadway after a extremely vaunted off-Broadway run. Under Nadia Tass’ path, the play’s hyper-specific setting of Californian tech bros, open entry to weapons, and a society exceedingly polarised alongside racial and sophistication strains involves Red Stitch.
Jessica Clarke as Jane and Darren Gilshenan as Loyd, in Red Stitch’s claustrophobic play, Job. Credit: Sarah Walker
Job instantly catapults us into the center of the motion. Jane is aiming a gun at Loyd, even earlier than the appointment between her (a 20-something affected person) and him (a 60-something psychologist) has began. Through jarring flashes of sunshine, we witness them in varied eventualities till the stage is bathed in a medical, overpowering brightness – we’re about to be taught every little thing that led as much as this second and what transpires in its aftermath.
Jane and Loyd are holding one another hostage in numerous but vital methods – Jane has a gun, whereas Lloyd has the facility to authorise Jane’s return to work after her publicly filmed breakdown precipitated her to be positioned on necessary go away. Under Jacob Battista’s eye, the stage is reconstructed to appear like an anodyne session room, however the energy dynamics are continually shifting as each characters tempo across the stage, assuming various positions of command and give up as they circle each other.
Key data is withheld from us, however we progressively come to be taught extra concerning the circumstances surrounding each characters. Jane works in “person care”, a shorthand for a most horrifying job, and by the tip, we be taught what’s symbolised by David Parker’s masterful strokes of discordant lighting. The play ratchets up right into a dizzying disavowal of every little thing we considered true, both dismantling or reinforcing any beliefs we could have invariably held about each characters – the open-ended decision is open to interpretation.
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Job is an bold play brimming with a mess of concepts. There’s consternation in direction of the psychology career that attributes poor psychological well being to the person as an alternative of a sound response to unprecedented violence. There’s critique of groupthink, on-line performative politics, the aesthetics of progressivism and the concern of cancellation. There’s the grasp for which means and management, and the concomitant thirst to search out it within the darkest recesses of the web.
As commentary on the web – Job is ready in 2020 within the days earlier than Twitter/X disintegrated into the neo-Nazi echo chamber it’s immediately – the play is suitably written with the eye financial system in thoughts. Rapid-fire dialogue bursts forth from each characters at each juncture. There’s barely any silence or room to breathe, however that’s nearly fully the purpose. The oversaturation of contradictory ideas as Jane zigzags from concept to concept within the throes of a downward spiral mimics the fixed churn and unrelenting context collapse of our feeds.
As a claustrophobic two-hander, the success of Job rests nearly fully on its two leads, and Jessica Clarke and Darren Gilshenan each rise to the problem. Literally spitting out invectives with unmatched venom, coupled with hanging moments of lucidity offset by the heady rush of mania, Clarke by no means loses steam. Gilshenan performs the extra delicate character – a person precariously balancing feigned professionalism with overwhelming concern – with aplomb.
Starting as ethical commentary earlier than veering into the territory of a psychological thriller, Job kicks off at an astonishingly excessive pitch and by no means lets up. It’s an exceedingly tense, thrilling and trenchant murals that propels us to look at our personal behaviour as perennially on-line people within the twenty first century, all of the whereas casting its eye outwards in direction of the nefarious gamers each unmasked and guarded by the web.
Reviewed by Sonia Nair
MUSIC
LeAnn Rimes ★★★★
Margaret Court Arena, September 16
The highlight illuminates LeAnn Rimes as she walks on stage barefoot; she’s swish and ethereal, together with her lengthy hair and flowy gown.
LeAnn Rimes at Margaret Court Arena.Credit: Richard Clifford
The crowd cheers her entrance with pleasure – clapping, howling, and whistling. “Hello lovely individuals,” says Rimes, in her southern twang as soon as she takes a seat on the piano. She begins performing solo – a pared again model of nation rock music Remnants – signalling that this night will characteristic a extra intimate reinterpretation of her best hits.
The 43-year-old American singer-songwriter from Mississippi hasn’t toured Australia in 22 years, performing in Sydney and Brisbane earlier than ending her run in Melbourne. Her stint as a decide on TV present The Voice Australia final yr makes her return to the nation really feel well timed. Selling greater than 48 million information thus far globally, the platinum artist achieved success at a younger age, profitable two Grammy Awards as a 14-year-old for her cowl of Billy Mack’s 1958 tune, Blue. To this present day, she stays the youngest performer to ever earn the Best New Artist accolade.
Rimes carried out extra intimate variations of her best hits.Credit: Richard Clifford
Hearing Rimes stay, performing her repertoire of nation and pop hits, transports you to a healthful time within the late ’90s and early noughties when earnest ballads and tunes fuelled by youthful craving typically dominated the charts. She’s an awesome storyteller, sharing background on pivotal profession highlights, together with her mainstream success with the soundtrack for Coyote Ugly, a 2000 movie about an aspiring singer who works in a present bar. “I used to be America’s sweetheart till they put me on a bar,” she jokes, referring to her dancing within the music video for Can’t Fight the Moonlight.
She additionally sings The Right Kind Of Wrong and I Do Love You from the soundtrack, mentioning how the movie and music have garnered a cult following, participating a brand new era.
Early in her profession, she was advised to sing extra “age-appropriate songs”, stating that as she’s aged, the lyrics have grown together with her. She performs round with musical preparations, which brings renewed depth and tone to her music. Can’t Fight the Moonlight is carried out with an up-tempo nation strum, bringing an brisk really feel to Australia’s highest selling-single of 2001. Fast Car evokes her rendition of One-Way Ticket (Because I Can), weaving the refrain of Tracy Chapman’s hit into the ending.
It’s clear Rimes loves performing. She dances alongside to upbeat tracks and maintains stillness in slower songs. It’s refreshing to listen to a singer lean into their pure voice when performing stay, moderately than overly produce the sound for a stadium present. The band, together with bass, electrical and acoustic guitar, drums and keys, by no means overshadows Rimes’ vocals. She mentions that she’s beginning to lose her voice – you couldn’t inform.
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The crowd is timid all through, not fairly assembly Rimes’ vitality, which brings the general vibe of the evening down a notch. She additionally sings a couple of too many covers (three in complete), together with a duet of Coldplay’s Fix You with help act and former Voice contestant from “Team LeAnn”, Reuben de Melo.
Overall, the present successfully reintroduces you to her catalogue of bangers, engaging you to rewatch Coyote Ugly and possibly even dance on a bar prime.
Reviewed by Vyshnavee Wijekumar
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