[2015057] [title of show]
Irregular Productions @ Bakehouse Theatre – Main Stage
3:00pm, Sat 21 Feb 2015
There’s been a fair bit of “meta-” around the place in recent years: meta-comedy and (especially) meta-theatre have been enjoying a lot of stage time. But [title of show] is the first time I can recall seeing a musical about the production of a musical… and, initially, it seems like an absolute winner.
Jeff and Hunter decide to write a musical to enter into the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival, enlisting the help of Larry (on keys) and Susan & Heidi (on vocals). Struggling to come up with an idea for their project, they decide to write a musical about writing a musical; the (surprise) success of the work leads to an off-Broadway run, Tony nominations, and the inevitable – painful – demise of The Dream.
Much of the time is spent with Jeff and Hunter chewing over the creation process, and this is really interesting (and occasionally introspective) stuff; when the entire ensemble come together, songs tend to be a bit more pointed and humorous. There’s a fair bit of insider knowledge and references to other musicals – the provided glossary (or “[tos]sary”) is very handy – but the enthusiasm in both the script and the cast get any obscure points across well. The cast are uniformly excellent, with bold acting and strong voices, and the script (based on the true story of writing a show about writing a show) is well-weighted, funny, and touching. It’s an incredibly entertaining hour of musical theatre.
The only problem is that the show goes for ninety minutes.
The final third of [title of show] attempts to tie an unnecessary bow on the narrative with the explosive success of the work becoming a (somewhat predictable) millstone… and the plot becomes completely limp as a result. The songs lack the humour and punch seen earlier, and performances become less assured; it really felt like the show fell off the rails. And that’s a shame, because two-thirds of the show were simply brilliant… the final third, however, left me with an unsavoury taste in my mouth.
(57) [title of show]: Fabulous voices&songs that lose their presence in the final third. Until then, tho, it's brilliant. #ff2015 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) February 21, 2015