Presented by: The Lot Theatre
Reviewed: 28 June, 2023
Jon is a New York composer who is just about to turn 30 years old. He is trying to workshop his new musical, hoping to get it picked up and staged by a Broadway producer. The old ‘show about a show’ thing. That this show is written by the late Jonathan Larson, famed for Rent, adds piquancy to the tale. (Larson died of an aortic aneurysm in early 1996, aged 35, the day after his show Rent had its final dress rehearsal with New York Theatre Workshop.). Larson’s vision was to shift music theatre into rock idioms, contemporary characters and current themes.
This production by The Lot Theatre is not the homage Larson deserves. Despite the charm of the venue, the splendid stage design, the thoughtful and intelligent lighting design, the well-managed sound quality and an excellent four-piece band, I had to fight the urge to leave the theatre after the third song.
I enjoyed the neatly themed pre-show music – an ominous-sounding “tick”. Benjamin Maio Mckay, playing Jon, is the first actor to enter. At the start of the show Jon explains that this tick is “the sound of one man’s mounting anxiety”. We are suitably warned. No wonder he is anxious. Mckay’s voice is simply not up to the demands of this score. Their low range does not handle the requirements of songs such as Sugar and Sunday. Their high notes are largely flat, and unfortunately delivered with shut eyes and a tipped-back head. Why didn’t the director warn them about how this cuts them off from his audience and interrupts the emotional flow of the piece? Because not only is this busy performer playing the lead role in the show, they are also the director. This level of multitasking might have worked for Charlie Chaplin, but it leaves McKay and their two hard-working fellow-actors high and dry. Mackay, in both directing and performing in the show, has bitten off more than he can comfortably chew.
Mackay seems most at home when sitting alone on the point of the elevated stage, talking directly to the audience. A sequence sitting at an upright piano and singing Why, back to the audience, also appears easier for them than interacting with the two other actors.
Liam Edwards, in the character of Michael (as well as multiple other tiny roles) has a balanced vocal tone, good breath management, excellent articulatory clarity, the ability to work with his fellow actors and good physical facility. He shone, especially in No More and Real Life.
As the dancer Susan, composer Jon’s girlfriend, Tate Simpson has the best voice on stage. She speaks and sings with clarity and accuracy and acts well. Her character voices are well observed and articulated. Her solo party piece, Come To Your Senses, is very well delivered, despite her habit of adding little melisma notes throughout. She gets closest to the vocal quality of music theatre rock voice.
A director would have warned Mackay about sight lines; Mackay frequently masks their face with arms or hands. A vocal coach would have sorted out his articulatory problems: spoken text is gabbled and sung text is yodelled. This may be the result of the work they have put into doing a New York American accent… but it does poor service to Larson’s writing.
Choreography by Nina Richards breathes merciful life into the show; she uses small spaces with great canniness. Production design, set design and lighting design are all the preserve of Matt Ralph. They have done an excellent job, providing an atmospheric set enhanced by appropriate lighting moods. Sound design is also very well managed by Mosaic, with both band and vocal balances carefully calibrated for the venue. The four-piece band, set upstage right, was excellent. Led by Musical Director Kellie-Anne Kimber (conductor/keyboard), with Jason Ellbourn (guitar), Matthew Rumley (bass) and Jack Barton (drums), they provided a fine reading of Larson’s score, and deserve applause. It wasn’t their fault.
You simply can’t blame any of these good people for the sorry outcome of this production.
Reviewed by Pat. H. Wilson
Photo credit: supplied
Venue: Queen’s Theatre
Season: ended
Duration: 90 minutes
