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City of Angels
Presented by: PEP Productions
Venue: Mahon Theatre, Aquinas College
Reviewer: Adam Rafferty - TP Editor
Date Reviewed: 28th July 2007
PEP Productions are one of Melbourne’s newest and most ambitious
young musical theatre companies. Earlier this year they produced
Urinetown as their first foray onto the stage and they are now
following that up with the unique, but brilliant, City of Angels.
Set in the late ‘40s, City of Angels actually hit the Broadway stage
at the very end of the 1980s enjoying tremendous success, winning
six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The story spoofs not only
‘film noir’ detective movies of the ‘40s, but also goes one-step
further to profile the life of the screenwriter of the
movie-within-the-play and how his characters actions reflect those
of the people around him.
The plot switches back and forth from the case that ‘movie’ private
eye Stone is cracking and the world of compromises in which
‘real-world’ Stine must write and rewrite his screenplay. Characters
in the real and fictional settings parallel each other. Stone trades
blows and quips with shady gangsters and mysterious heiresses, while
Stine does battle with shallow movie producers, rapacious starlets
and his own conscience as his story is torn to shreds by the studio.
The combination of the two stories, the ‘revisions’ that Stine is
constantly making to the ‘movie’ plot and the fact that the ‘movie’
itself contains a number of flashbacks means that this musical would
have to contain the most convoluted, yet equally interesting script
ever to be performed. It also serves to highlight what a difficult
piece this to produce so that the audience not only understand all
the plot intricacies, but also have an entertaining night out.
Serving to help ensure that happens though, is a score full of
brilliant duets and dazzling numbers making the most of the jazz
riffs, tempos and rhythms of the era, along with wonderfully witty
dialogue.
The production team have done a magnificent job of finding some
bright young talent who really make the most of their opportunity to
perform this rarely produced piece. James Brown smoothly finds the
sophisticated cool of Stone in one of those roles where cliché is
exactly right. He adds an extra dimension to the character when he
‘steps off the page’ that is absolutely perfect. The expected
highlight that is ‘You’re Nothing Without Me’ does not disappoint.
With Marcus Fleming as Stine, both men bring the number home.
Fleming often brings a wacky slapstick to the role of Stine that is
thoroughly entertaining, but it does make him seem a little too much
of a caricature, like his ‘two dimensional’ counterpart. This
contradicts the angst that we see Stine go through as the show
progresses; however, once settled into those more dramatic scenes,
Fleming holds together the intricate tension required for this
difficult piece and leads the cast excellently.
Helena Plazzer’s rendition of ‘With Every Breath I Take’ was better
than I recall either the Broadway or London cast recordings to sound
– flawless and superbly jazzy. Plazzer’s voice fits the score like a
glove and her acting performance in the dual role of Bobbi/Gabby was
equally impressive.
Delightful is the only way to describe her duet with Naomi Elias as
Oolie - ‘What You Don’t Know about Women’, where Stine’s wife Gabby
and Stone’s secretary, Oolie, vocalise about the lack of
understanding they receive from the men in their lives. On the night
of this review, Elias had to work under some particularly difficult
conditions, including performing the majority of her big number ‘You
Can Always Count On Me’ in the dark, but she shone through
irregardless, making the most of the song. She portrayed her
‘mirror’ character Donna with equal fervour, but was perhaps a
little more comfortable on this ‘real life’ side as her more nuanced
performance there served to highlight the lack of sexual tension
between Oolie and Stone on the ‘other side’.
The dual role of Irwin S. Irving and Buddy Fidler was brought to
life by Mario Mohorko who took every opportunity to highlight the
great humour of the role/s. Buddy’s constant mixing of metaphors is
given just the right timing by Mohorko to gain the most laughs,
making his performance consistently entertaining. I do have to take
a small pick at Mario though for not making the effort to cover up
his tattoo with make-up or even an Elastoplast in the masseuse
scene. I’m sure I’m not the only person (in an auditorium full of
theatre people) that could recognise it as the Jesus Christ
Superstar logo! It certainly breaks the illusion as we are brought
joltingly back to seeing Mario, instead of Buddy.
Michelle Crupi displays exceptional acting skills as Buddy’s wife,
Carla, and a lovely singing voice as the ‘movie’ femme fatale but
seems to miss the mark in her characterisation of the unscrupulous
Alaura. As with the character of Stone, film noir femme fatales are
of a clichéd type and it’s that which is expected, however Crupi’s
Alaura was closer to Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot. Playing
Alaura as ditz, clashes with her deviousness, which is a pity
because Crupi’s outstanding performance as Carla went to demonstrate
the pleasing heights of which she’s capable.
There are innumerable roles in this show, so I won’t go so far as to
mention them all, yet it is worth noting: James Antonas’ first-rate
embodiment of the Mexican dual roles of Lt. Munoz and Pancho Vargas;
Jess May’s stunning vocal (and physical!) performance of ‘Lost and
Found’; and gorgeous harmonies of the expanded Angel City Eight
along with Ryan Purdy as Jimmy Powers.
Musical Director Malcolm Fawcett has done a superlative job of
leading the vocalists through those tricky harmonies and difficult
jazz rhythms that make the orchestrations so lush. Further he has
assembled a consummate orchestra who make a meal of Cy Coleman’s
Tony Award winning score.
Co-Directors Julia Roper and Keiran Tracey have done a top job of
translating the extremely complex story of City of Angels to the
moderately sized Mahon Theatre stage. I can’t speak for those who
don’t already know this show, but I for one could understand the
plot absolutely – a task in itself with this piece.
Choreography is credited to Roper, Gemma Purdy and assorted cast
members, which may explain the inconsistency in this area.
‘Everybody’s Gotta Be Somewhere’ is a complete mess of cast
wandering aimlessly on stage which quite ruins the modulated jazz
tempos that run throughout the number. Other numbers are likewise
chaotically laden with literal moves and clunky steps. Even though
this show doesn’t require masses of choreography, as it contains no
real ‘dance’ numbers, a dedicated choreographer to tidy up the
movement of the piece would have been beneficial.
Damien Calvert’s Set Design (assisted by Karla Engdahl) is an
ingenious revolve that can be divided into numerous different
segments allowing not only for scenes to be re-set behind, while the
action is going on out front, but also for two different scenes to
play out beside each other at the same time. A fantastic idea.
Roper and Tracey have used the design in a number of different ways,
by dividing it into halves, quarters and even thinner slices to
create varying locations. Unfortunately, form and function don’t
always align and the cast are often left with doors that won’t open
or swing open wildly – let alone having to open and step through two
sets of doors to make a single entrance. Operation was far from
flawless on this evening’s performance also, as what seemed like two
minutes worth of vamping was ably produced by Fawcett and his
orchestra to cover a scene change where a bed was unwillingly (and
visibly) slid from one side of a scene to another – this all
happening right in the middle of Oolie’s big number.
The original Broadway production simply divided the stage down the
middle with the black and white ‘movie’ world on one side and the
full colour ‘real’ world on the other. While using perhaps a more
‘conceptual’ version of that idea wouldn’t have been as interesting
as the revolve design used here and we would have lost the lovely
scenic paintings on either the side of the stage, I’m sure it would
have helped cut down on the production’s 11.20pm finishing time.
It’s worth noting the excellent standard of all the women’s hair
coiffure on stage, thanks to Hair Coordinator Ingrid Gray. Not a wig
to be seen, but excellent ‘40s styling all round. Meanwhile
costuming was also of a high standard considering obvious budget
constraints. Well done to Ryan Purdy and Laura Ireland.
PEP should be very proud of what they’ve been able to achieve in
just their second time out of the blocks, producing thoroughly
entertaining story telling and performances. From a technical
operation perspective though, they’ve definitely bitten off more
than they can chew. This show is scenically just too complicated for
a company with limited budget, technical expertise (even hands to
the wheel as it were!) to pull off a seamless production that
doesn’t leave its audience, orchestra and cast waiting around in the
dark for the crew to catch up.
I’m hopeful another PEP Production will be just around the corner
that is equally as exciting, but slightly less ambitious, from a
‘degree of difficulty’ perspective. I’m looking forward to what they
do next.
Despite the technical hitches, I highly recommend seeing this seldom
performed and extremely entertaining show. A glorious score,
hilarious script and splendid performances easily help you get over
having a few extended moments to munch on your Maltesers!
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