Above : Jack Francis West performs with ensemble and feathers. Featured image: The cast of ‘Isn’t it Queer?’. Photo credit – Junior Jin.
The recently late and always great Stephen Sondheim is one hero amongst many in Little Triangle’s latest slick musical theatre pastiche, Isn’t It Queer?. This show is housed to retro perfection at the PACT Theatre, Erskineville.
Sondheim as musical theatre superstar was forever a master of the rhyming lyric, the sardonic song and an angular, stretched melodic line. He was hell bent on constantly creating deceptively innocent, sweet sounding music that gave a sucker punch to the commitment-striving society about him. This society from decades past with its urgent mores deserves this show’s current queer update to the featured couples. The current queer diversity brings a brimming non-binary confidence to the selected music.
Director Alexander Andrews’ concept piece for the elegant and fresh farceurs on stage tugs deeper than playfully at your heartstrings whilst introducing its queer allocation of changed up traditional boy-girl characters. The exciting queer talent assembled explores love as wise non-binary exponents of each carefully selected Sondheim song. The composer’s signature slap in the face subtlety is delightfully intact.
Above: Gavin Brown. Photo credit: junior Jin
In this morphed medley of stage favourites, of rarely heard musical numbers and of incisive numbers cut from well-known shows, the cast identities identify boldly with the comments. They strut the stage and assassinate doubt or feeling with rapid-fire lyrics and mood changes. These are vocally gifted, loaded comics with an emotional tessitura to make and break moments and hearts.
The fluid, fiesty group relentlessly express the need for love and for a connection for all, coaxing us and dragging us over some challenging emotional ground indeed.
This show, now with gender and sexuality reassignment and musical trajectories which are always so solidly realised is one that consistently kicks theatrical goals. The new and familiar classic songs tell tales in easily juxtaposed queerer narrative than when originally written. The show delights with its catalogue of queer talent telling the newly nuanced stories.
Above: Andy Freeborn and Jahla Black perform ‘My Husband the Pig/Every Day A Little Death’ . Photo Credit Junior Jin.
The songs and mix of performers flow effortlessly across the set with antique theatre seating with a general theme of navigating adult happiness and finding a home in the world despite individual and larger community domestic restraints.
Visual gags, elastic expressions, formidable comic timing and musical edginess guarantee very successful communication of the newer, queerer attachments. Even greater visual and lyrical effect is now possible within the clever commentary of the queer composer’s acerbic wit from Sondheim’s straighter theatrical yesteryear.
Songs of sport, lust, marriage, meets, need, companionship and more rocket along courtesy of the super-svelte ensemble flow. There is solid musical direction from Alec Steedman, and the duo of piano and violin provides a stable musical mattress for the banter or laments.
The opening, with characters parading their individuality in public includes a transformed Another Hundred People’(Company) saluting diversity and the presence of queer culture or non binary accent in our dense, diverse modern crowds.
Above; ‘The Wedding Is Off with Phoebe Clark and ensemble. Photo credit: Junior Jin
Rewarding spot solos with dynamic ensemble support blast apart the traditional musical theatre pathways here. These include moments such as The Best Thing That Ever Happened (from Roadshow) performed by the dynamic duo of sultry voice and movement that is Marisa Saroca (she/they) and Addy Robertson (she/they).
Phoebe Clark (she/her) gives an adroit interpretation of Multitudes of Amys (a song cut from Company. ) This is a compelling anthem in its now more than traditional guise. It is poignant in this theatre space with larger than life lettering on set spelling ‘Q-U-E-E-R’ lurking behind the superbly created and sung vignette.
Clark and the ensemble create a delicious romp through The Wedding is Off (another song cut from Company). The powerhouse mash-up of My Husband The Pig with Every Day A Little Death, (from A Little Night Music) featuring Andy Freeborn (they/them) and Jahla Black (they/them) is an impressive bitter and brooding firecracker of anger, vulnerability and hope for future contentment.
Above: Addy Robertson and Marissa Saroca. Photo credit: Junior Jin.
Likewise, the mash up of a heartfelt Losing My Mind (a favourite from Follies) with Not A Day Goes By (from Merrily We Roll Along) performed with fine emotional and vocal intensity by Gavin Brown (he/him) with ensemble near the end of the cabaret is as immensely clever as it will always be enthusiastically received. Several other songs making the cut or the cutting room floor of Sondheim classic musicals reach us with fresh intensity and vibrance throughout.
It is the music of Stephen Sondheim working equally well for the queer characters in this version which is forever a superstar in this unique and relevant offering. The discussion on inclusive, modern love and affection is dynamically performed by the troupe assembled.
The pace and quality of this cast’s delivery, the swift switch between scenarios and the quick-change emotional contrasts will touch you deeply. Here the cumulative effect and powerful mix of seriousness and comedy juxtaposed in this concept’s songlist reaches the audience via an effective, inventive arch that amuses, provokes thought on human attachment and always entertains.
Isn’t It Queer? plays at PACT Theatre until April 23.