Dusty opening night

[Sally]

Simply the best night of theatre I've had since Sep 11th last year (which wasn't even a night, it was a matinee ;D) - the atmosphere in the audience was INCREDIBLE. And the show is now perfection. I don't know what's been changed since Tuesday and what I just didn't recognise/remember, but I enjoyed it so much more. The one bit that I wasn't too keen on had disappeared/been trimmed, which made me very happy And everything was just so nice and tight and flowed so perfectly.

Mitchell Butel's wig medley was still a definite highlight. And the act 1 finale packed SO much more of a punch.

Definitely a show to see at least...oh, three or four more times Well done to everyone involved!

One thing that, to me, was really awesome, was seeing Tamsin and Deni Hines singing 'I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself'...because I always actually knew that as a Marcia Hines song. So hearing Deni sing it? WHOA.

[Talissa]

Hey guys! I'm back home from New Zealand as of yesterday, and first thing I do when I get into the country? See a musical, of course So here's my opening night review of Dusty, and I'll go on posting a couple of things that have built up while I was away.


Though unmistakably a jukebox musical, for a biomusical, Dusty is very well done. The entire show was well-integrated and the story ran smoothly and coherently through the whirlwind of Dusty Springfield’s rises and falls, and the plot device of the young Mary O’Brien was used well to illustrate where Dusty stood in relation to who she had set out to be and to who she really was.

Stephen Murphy’s orchestrations were extremely well done, with a gorgeously written overture and beautifully smooth use of counterpoint and blending throughout the show, and lovely harmony where it was needed, especially for the funeral scene which sounded beautiful.

The design of the show was just as strong, with set changes smooth and sets exactly what they needed to be. There was some clever cleaning up done after themselves by the cast, who managed to avoid making it obvious that was what they were doing, which tends to distract from a show, and for a show with that much set, every transition was smooth. Also, good use was made of the space at hand, with frequent use of aisles and balcony, which always helps add interest and audience connection to a show. Costumes were also impressive, reproducing every stage of fashion from Dusty’s childhood to her death in turn. Particularly clever, though, were the curtain call costumes, which, for the leads at least (I wasn’t quite able to be sure for the ensemble), were reproductions of costumes they’d worn earlier in the show but in orange and pink, making the closing picture like a living version of the Dusty logo. It was a show with a huge number of costume changes, but again, it worked smoothly, and places where things had been added or rearranged to allow for a quick change weren’t noticeable, contributing to the overall smoothness of the show.

As for the cast itself? Excellent. They obviously had a lot to learn, and they managed it with flying colours. Every member of the ensemble added his or her personality to the show, and the leads left little to be desired. Especially, of course, the title actress herself, Tamsin Carroll in the role of Dusty Springfield. She was exactly what could be hoped for in the role, and showed exactly just what a star she is, moving the audience with her strong, expressive voice, and proving her success by the instant, unanimous standing ovation the moment she walked onto the stage in curtain calls. By the time this show is over, anyone who didn’t already know her name will be talking about her, and she deserves it.

Also shining as always was Mitchell Butel, who added comedy to his role of Rodney without detracting from the show, and really got a chance to show just what he could do in the second act, though was brilliant all the way through. Kaye Tuckerman was also good as Peg, but I felt the role didn’t really show her full potential. She’s an excellent character actress, and this didn’t really show it, but what she had, she did well.

A new star was Alexis Fishman, who played young Mary O’Brien. Such a voice! I hope to see plenty more of this one. She was a perfect choice for the role, acting Mary’s youth and determination well and blending beautifully vocally with Tamsin. Yet another young WAAPA graduate with wonderful potential here. And of course, Deni Hines as Reno was excellent, and her voice complemented Tamsin’s voice excellently though her voice in places was nearly lost beside Tamsin’s.

Also worth mentioning was the rest of the O’Brien family, Trisha Noble, Glenn Butcher and Nathan Pinnell, who played the family scene at the start brilliantly.

I’d love to keep picking out scenes and songs that shone, but there were too many, especially in such a full score. I’ll name just two more, though, which were particularly well-performed; ‘The Look of Love’ and ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’.

[jackjackjack]

tamsinann said:

the show is now perfection. I don't know what's been changed since Tuesday and what I just didn't recognise/remember

Oh yeah sure! You just want to make sure anybody who saw it in previews has to go back to see what's changed. Anybody'd think you had shares!

James