Rosie and Summer Rain 31/08

[Sally]

They're both eternally tied together in my mind now - interval of SR I somehow got a Rosie song (The Things You See in a Big City) stuck in my head. This will just be a quick review, a 2x oh-my-goodness-GO-SEE-BOTH review - they were both wonderful!! I caught the matinee of Rosie first and it was just the most charming, gorgeous show Geraldine was FANTASTIC - born to play the role! I don't have my programme on me and am also functioning on 4 1/2 hours' sleep but the guy who was 'Gloria' was also a treat, as was the gorgeous young Rosie - and just the whole cast! They all worked together seamlessly and the whole atmosphere of the show was just incredibly fun. And did I mention how much I enjoyed Geraldine Turner's performance? I loved the way the show was done too, with her narrating back as everything was being acted out. And good use of lighting when it changed to older Rose but her also narrating.

Summer Rain in the evening and...what can I say? Beautiful. Simple and unassuming, a really cosy sort of feel, so iconically Australian And, they made it rain!!!! That rather excited me They made it rain LOTS and it was so nice. Loved the set - the dusty, golden earth and simple pieces with such smooth transitions. A really wonderful showcase for an ensemble cast as well, and they all worked together perfectly. Rachael Beck was, as usual, glorious and I also absolutely adored Blazey Best who I'd only seen once before, at Hats Off earlier this year. Nancye Hayes was hilarious too And the whole story was just...well, I can't think of a better word - just lovely. And some of the most gorgeous songs! I knew nothing about Summer Rain prior to seeing it, and was most definitely pleasantly surprised.

All up, either one would have been worth the trip - both together was a treat! And the weather in Sydney was also much nicer than the weather I left behind in Melbourne

[Hannah]

On Summer Rain: I liked it overall, but I had a couple of problems with it:
1. It went far too long (just like a good Nick Enright musical does...). Every scene had a song, which was lovely, but after 3hrs of the "will-they-won't-they" I got over it).
2. Belinda Wollaston (the child): I've seen her in Onstage and as Fantine in Les Mis and she really impressed. But in this her character was just all wrong! Call it bad direction, whatever: she played a 15yr old girl as though she was actually about 5-7yrs old. It was totally wrong. Especially when her voice suddenly changed to a mature 20-something for the songs.

[Sally]

Agreed a bit on the length of Summer Rain - especially since I'd been up since 6 and was dead tired, and also not wanting to miss my train or anything. But there was not a song I didn't enjoy, even after hearing most of them reprised a dozen times. Really gorgeous score!

[nadine]

I went to the final preview of SR and was sitting next in front of the technical director and the sound people - makes me chuckle when I think of their reaction when they forgot to press the rain button

I swear I don't remember it being 3 hours long... it was shorter than 3 hours.. granted I remember I got home like 4 hrs after the 8pm show but nevertheless that's what happens when you stop for Maccas.

The standout for me in the show was Christopher Parker - he was in one of the previous productions of the musical and was fantastic in it. Well that and the fact that Terry Serio has been hiding that singing voice all these years!

[boneym]

I saw them both on Saturday - the final show of 'Summer Rain', and the matinee of 'Rosie'.

Been looking forward to SR as I'd heard good things. It really is a beautiful show, and given a very loving and heartfelt production. Wonderful design, in particular the lighting.

Gerry Connolly really can't sing (although he did a lot better in 'Urinetown' than this), and he's not a good enough actor to get away with it. He looked pertrified in his ballads, and fluffed a few lyrics too. He did the comedy well, but is there any other plus-45 actor/singer/comedian around?

I haven't seen Rachael Beck in anything for a while, and was impressed by her acting. She also sang well - the title song that ends Act 1 was a stand-out. Nice to see Jodie Gillies performing too.

I didn't have a problem with the Belinda Wollaston - she's a 15 year-old in 1946 in a small country town, not a kid from the city today.

Why doesn't Ross Coleman get more credit? - he really is without a doubt the best musical theatre choreographer in Australia. Every show I've seen his work on demonstrates his intimate knowledge of how movement contributes to both understanding character and getting narrative across. Top work.

Quite a few people gave it a standing ovation - including Toby Allen who I think was the first person to jump up. Big applause. Hope MTC picks it up and gives it a Melbourne season in 2006. Pity there isn't a cast recording like there was for 'The Republic of Myopia' and a few other STC shows.

I was pleasantly surprised at 'Rosie', which I thought was going to be a little bit crap. But it's a robust and enjoyable musical comedy, given a stylish prodution.

The Independent Theatre is a pretty terrible venue for plays or musicals. But they did a good job to get over its limitations, particularly in the set design which makes the most use of a small space.

I enjoyed the 2nd Act more than the 1st. Not sure why - I think there's something odd about the first 20 minutes of the show that makes the story-telling really awkward. Maybe we're just not given enough time to understand the flashback/short scene convention Or maybe it's just because the focus only really turns to Geraldine Turner near the end of Act 1. Or maybe because it has less 'production number' chory which is pretty badly conceived. But I think it's probably that the 2nd act is a little less cheesy and has some nice emotional moments. (The end of Act 1 is a bit contrived in trying to give a dramatic hook that comes out of nowhere and doesn't really work - without spoling the plot, do we see mainstream society's reaction to Rosie at any other time before this?)

The cast all are very busy in multiple roles throughout the show. I remember Sharon Millerchip was originally announced for this show, presumably in the young Rosie role. Pretty weird then that they hired an actor who's an absolute lookalike for Millerchip, but not quite as good. But she works well with Geraldine, who has great energy and star power even if she has trouble with some of the higher singing.

Peter Stannard's score is traditional but interesting - and it makes you wonder where he's been since 'Lola Montez' in the 50s and today - and what Australian musicals missed out on. The lyrics are serviceable and occassionally witty - although pretty generic.

The gain was turned up really high on the area microphones, and the feedback was really annoying, particularly in the softer book scenes where it was most noticable.

But all the oldies in the audience loved it - particularly all the camp scenes. Nothing like a bloke in a frock to make the grandmas smile. This show could very much have a life in amateur productions.

Signs in the foyer said 'Rosie' closed last night too, so that's a bit disappointing as it was scheduled to run until October.

[Hannah]

boneym said:

I didn't have a problem with the Belinda Wollaston - she's a 15 year-old in 1946 in a small country town, not a kid from the city today.

Which makes it even more odd, because a 15 year old in that time would be coming up to her age of marriage in a few years...
It was just wrong. I know she was supposed to act a bit younger than her age (being the bub of the family), but she seriously acted as though she was 5, 6 or 7. No 15 year old acts like that, and I doubt they would have in that time either (especially considering today's kids are mollycoddled so much).

I guess I just found it a bit condescending. So many adults do that. "Damn, we've got an obviously mature woman playing a girl. What do we do? Play her like she's 2 so the audience will get the message!" It's like we won't get it if she plays the actual age, or that all children act the same.

[boz]

You have to look at the character to realise that she's playing. Country town, 1946, yes, but she is playing somebody who has been over-protected by her father and has never been shown the adult world. Her father treats her like a child and perhaps this is why she acts like one.

[Hannah]

Yes of course - that's why I said I can understand her playing her younger than she is. But she was playing a 5-7 year old. A 15 year old doing that just doesn't happen. I just found it really grating and codesending to teenagers. Especially when she broke out into her 20-something matured singing voice...

I guess we've just got to agree to disagree.