American Song is another quality offering added to the list of quality independent productions from Flying Penguin
Presented by: Flying Penguin Productions in Associationwith the Goodwood Theatre and Studios
Reviewed: 25 October 2025
Parenting is hard. Seemingly, even more of a nightmare in America. As director David Mealor notes, “What are the forces that shape and form our children?… What sort of world is my child growing up in…” For Australian audiences, our perspective of America and its challenges both currently and in the recent past can sometimes feel like a piece of fiction in itself. Joanna Murray-Smith’s one-man play explores this and more in American Song along similar themes to Lionel Shriver’s novel We Need to Talk About Kevin.
The audience surrounds a setting of a rugged, idyllic country pasture with worn grass, mounds of dirt and sandstone rock wall creeping onto the centre of the stage. The auditorium of the Goodwood Theatre is hidden by a massive scrim used for projections, creating an intimacy between audience and performer and a tactile realism to Kathryn Sproul’s beautiful set design.
Renato Musolino performs as a “typical” middle American dad, beginning his story with the somewhat rose-tinted nostalgia of first love, family and the American dream. He is jovial and caring as he works on the rock wall in need of repair with his own hands and strength. As with any one-hander, the energy, emotion and sheer stamina needed is very safe in Musolino’s hands. He strikes an excellent tone throughout, even as emotions shift and elements of Murray-Smith’s script could become “preachy” there is a nuance and a realism to his delivery that keeps us engaged and caring about this one man. He is not shy to speak directly to individuals or to the group as a whole as a way to connect and draw us in.
Working primarily in the round, the partnership between Musolino and Mealor is strong, not only hitting story beats with care, but equally working in the round with precision to ensure every audience member is a part of the conversation and connects with the story being told. These emotions are supported well by Nic Mollison’s subtle, but very effective lighting and projection design.
Any theatre-goer will appreciate the performance and technical achievements of this piece, and it tells an important story that is particularly relevant to our time. However, it is interesting to note that Murray-Smith is an outsider telling this quintessentially American story, bringing her perspective to prevalent themes. As an Australian audience, it begs the question as to how the climax of the story and the visceral response of Musolino’s father/husband character would be perceived by Americans? So much of what is addressed about the challenges of parenting in this environment may seem obvious to us (and even easily fixed). But we do not guard a second amendment right, nor does our patriotism underpin the education environment of our children to quite the same degree. Perhaps American Song can help us appreciate that, while on the other side of the world it would be defended much more fervently and received with less dismay.
Congratulations to Flying Penguin productions for the 20 year history of producing quality independent productions in South Australia – American Songis another quality offering added to the list.
Reviewed by Hayley Horton
Photo credit: Nic Mollison
Venue: Goodwood Theatre
Season: 24 Oct – 2 Nov 2025
Duration: 80 minutes (no interval)
Tickets: $34 – $54
Bookings: https://statetheatrecompany.com.au/shows/american-song/
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