Bright , bold and colourful WONDERFUL TOWN is rarely performed these days in comparison with other Bernstein musicals.
This production represents the second collaboration between Squabbalogic and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs following on from the Of Thee I Sing concert held. The show is a semi-staged version.
The large orchestra, almost fifty in number, under the enthusiastic baton of Brett Weymark is on stage in a style similar to that of a swing band. And maestro Weymark participates in the plot at times.
Written in the 1950’s and set in the 1930’s it is redolent of its time. The musical is based on Fields and Chodorov’s play My Sister Eileen, and tells the story of two sisters who arrive in 1935 New York from Ohio.
Ruth and Eileen are determined to succeed in the big city as confident, strong women. Very pretty Eileen ( Georgina Walker) wants to be on stage and she has men falling at her feet. Her smart sister Ruth ( Virginia Gay ) is sharp tongued, suffers from attacks of insecurity, and seeks to be a writer.
We follow their adventures in hip Greenwich Village. The witty, clever lyrics are by Comden and Green who also gave us another great musical, Singing in The Rain.
The minimalist staging by Jason Langley worked to great effect.
Bernstein’s glorious music captivates, as ever, and features some glorious lyrical sections. His score has hints of other musicals such as Gypsy, Sweet Charity, is, at times, operatic in style and also includes jazz and swing music- as well as an exuberant conga! Oh, and that’s not to forget the splendid Irish reels section (My Darlin’ Eileen) which included a hilarious Riverdance tribute that brought the house down.
The expansive Sydney Philharmonia Choir, dressed in assorted period costumes and trimmings, performed tightly precise choreography and sang exuberantly.
The main cast of eight worked extremely hard with most of them playing several roles each.
Virginia Gay was brilliant as Ruth, highlighting her sarcasm, wit and intelligence yet also displaying her vulnerability. Gay displayed excellent comic timing.
Delicious highlights in her performance were her rendition of 100 Easy Ways To Lose A Man, her revelry in the Conga too, and her portrayal of a hepcat in Swing.
Georgina Walker as darker, lustrous Eileen ends up dazzling after a somewhat slow start. At first she seems whiny and narcissistic with little sisterly affection. However, from the police station scene onward, where despite having been arrested she has the Irish policemen answering her phone and delivering parcels to her cell, she charms and conquers with a delightful bright soprano in songs such as My Darlin’ Eileen.
Scott Irwin has great fun as the girls’ landlord Mr Appopolous, somewhat of a caricature of ‘Modernist’ painter. Irwin is also brilliant as Robert Baker, the assistant editor who falls in love with Ruth.
Irwin displays an enchanting light baritone voice put to great use in ballads such as What A Waste, It’s Love and the show stopping A Quiet Girl.
The supporting cast of five each impress. Scott Morris develops his role of the drugstore manager Frank Lippencott and shows off his lyric tenor in Darlin’ Eileen.
Chick Clark, sleazy and lecherous was terrifically played by Nicolas Starte.
Tall gangly Dean Vince goes to town with his role as Wreck, an out of season football pro, who exuberantly stops the show with Pass The Football.
Megan Wilding’s performance as Helen kind of works but sometimes feels a bit too down-town for her mother, Mrs Wade, who is is played in a scintillating fashion by Beth Daly.
WONDERFUL TOWN only had a very brief season at the Sydney Opera House, playing the Concert Hall over two nights, on the 7th and 8th May.