Fame the Musical. Directed by Jarrad West. Musical director Katrina Tang. Choreography by Michelle Heine. Supa Productions. Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. Until May 26. Bookings: 6285 6290 or theq.net.au.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fame the Musical comes out of the 1980s, a passionately energetic musical about the lives and aspirations of the students at a performing arts high school in New York.
Jarrad West’s production is blessed with a cast that works its heart out to communicate the energies, the tragedies and the joys of those students as they battle their way through the curriculum on their way, hopefully, to performance careers.
One of the strengths of the piece is the way in which it successfully juggles multiple story lines, from the awkward romantic tensions between acting students Nick (Ryan Kitchens) and Serena (Sophie Edwards) and the difficulties dance student Tyrone (Jack Tinga) has with passing the required English course, to the impatience of Carmen (Maddy Betts), the dancer longing to be famous, while musician Schlomo (Pippin Carroll) longs for her.
Classically trained dancer Iris (Heidi Birkby; the Australian accent here is a nice touch) and Tyrone clash over the need for ballet’s disciplines, something dance teacher Miss Bell (Shell Abdoo) certainly briskly reinforces. Another dancer, Mabel (a funny and perceptive performance from Niña Wood) agonises over food and weight and body shape.
The tensions between the need to build good fundamental performance techniques, the pull of popular culture and the desire for success drive the teachers to a mostly restrained distraction. It’s Miss Sherman (Janie Lawson) who, after a run-in with Tyrone about his reading problems, powerfully states her mission in These Are My Children.
Meanwhile, with Serena as a rather awkward Juliet and the groin-obsessed Jose (Patrick Galen-Mules) as a rather challenging Romeo (when Serena would rather have Nick), Shakespeare is bound to lose out. Even patient drama teacher Mr Myers (Chris Baldock) seems inclined to give up.
Michelle Heine’s choreography and Katrina Tang’s musical direction keeps the show moving at a driving pace on a basic but versatile set (designers Chris Zuber, Martin Searles and Jarrad West). Some blue wash might alleviate those moments when there’s a set change going on which is only lit by the uninviting spill from a necessary TV monitor up the back of the theatre. Mostly, however, Philip Goodwin’s lighting is suitably energetic and exciting.
It’s definitely a nostalgia piece for the '80s, complete with what looks like the odd horribly genuine 1980s dress at the final graduation. Those for whom the original film and TV series are the touchstones of their youth will enjoy its exuberance and the siren call of that title song. Fame the Musical is a mixture of the dreams of stardom, the tensions of secondary education and the notion that the young know best.
