Paramour - Original Broadway Cast Recording Review

Source: Amazon.com

Why is it so hard for Cirque du Soleil to engage an experienced musical composer from Broadway to lead their New York based shows?

It's the troupe's third attempt at breaking into the market, and each time has been a sadly disappointing offering. Paramour is the closest Cirque has come to creating a traditional musical, but as always, the composition doesn't fall to a well known composer or team of creatives, but to those they know best, composers Bob et Bill (Guy Dubuc & Marc Lessard), who have scored a jaw-dropping nine original scores for the company. Perplexingly joined by Andreas Carlsson, it was a missed opportunity to let this team write the score for a big scale musical in the Big Apple. Wanting to conquer the New York theatre scene without engaging composers who have ever worked there before - will Cirque ever have the courage of their ambition?

The premise in Paramour is a sticky love triangle set to the backdrop of a movie being made, which spans multiple different genres. It actually wasn't so long ago that we were presented with a musical score of a similar premise - Carter Burwell's score from Hail, Caesar! also had the composer going through different ages, times and styles to the premise of the audience visiting various 'movies'. It was extremely theatrical and probably would have been smarter framework than the flimsy love-story here. To their credit, the team manage to evoke these movie genres extremely well, with all the textures and instrumentation you'd expect in hackneyed spaghetti Western ('Help a Girl to Choose'), biblical epic ('Cleopatra') and mobster crime noir (NYC Rooftops) films. Other songs make interesting homages to old school musicals and Hollywood - 'Everything' sounds like a blend of 'Maybe' from Miss Saigon crossed with some more irritating material from Sunset Boulevard, such as 'Too Much In Love to Care'.

On the other hand, there's the usual Bob et Bill percussion-noise driven filler crap ('Revenge Fantasies', 'NYC Rooftops' - does anyone ever listen to these tracks after the first listen?), but also extremely satisfying moments, such as the highlight 'Egyptian Gift', an instrumental moment both clandestine and exotic, with booming drums and an arresting violin peppered across which sounds like magic. 'The Hollywood Wiz' is exactly the kind of opener a big-scale show needs - a grand, vaudeville feeling show-man tune with a strong contribution from the ensemble and a big voice. Maddeningly, unlike any well structured musical with themes and leitmotifs for characters, each 2-3 minute song in Paramour tries to make a new melody which is dead and buried before it even takes off. There are two brief reprises of songs, but nothing sophisticated or clever . . . maybe there are more, but I don't care to listen to it again to find out.

Who are the key players in Paramour? Ruby Lewis makes her debut with the role of Indigo, Ryan Vona plays composer Joey and Jeremy Kushnier plays AJ. They've all got awesome, powerful and vibrant voices, a belting hybrid of classical musical theatre and pop, with a bit of rough and raw power. It's just too bad that their material ranges from average to awkwardly bad.

The lyrics suck. There are too many instances where the most cringy, predictable rhymes you hope won't happen do happen, so there's really no point identifying examples. Honestly, what were we expecting from Andreas Carlsson, a man who writes lyrics for the likes of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC? This is Broadway, where the story is sometimes as important as the music - frankly it's not good enough and really lets the whole production down (chuck on 'Ginger Top' and 'Love Triangle' for a laugh, as they are worst offenders).

All in all, a passable but disappointing offering from Cirque du Soleil in their attempt at global domination. Talented cast members can't make up for unforgivable lyrics, and the music is not sophisticated or up to scratch to rank with the best shows on Broadway. Maybe one day, Cirque du Soleil will dare to work with some new composers, but until the day comes, there won't be a stand out performance from them on Broadway.

'Cirque du Soleil Paramour - Original Broadway Cast Recording' by Cirque du Soleil is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com, and is also available on Spotify & physical CD.

Toruk - The First Flight is an unexpected delight

Toruk - The First Flight by Cirque du Soleil 
[Source: Amazon.com]

Where to even begin describing this unexpected delight?

After a lukewarm performance on Joya, I didn’t have high expectations for Toruk. If I were asked to pick a favourite Cirque du Soleil soundtrack, the scores of Bob et Bill (Guy Dubuc and Marc Lessard) would never have been among my choices. Now, I would consider Toruk ranking among some of the most listenable, and ranking among one of the best.

Toruk succeeds where Avatar didn’t - it distinguishes itself beyond the broad genre of ‘tribal’ music.  The late James Horner wrote a surprisingly unremarkable score for Avatar; for a film with such acclaimed in its visuals and imagery, it certainly lacked distinction in its musical style. I would never be able to tell you what influences have been picked and make up the DNA of Toruk. It absolutely has a tribal feel and basis, but draws on electronic beats, complex percussive patterns and a huge variety of voices and instruments. Bob & Bill seem to hit their stride when it comes to creating a more cinematic and immersive feel for a soundscape.

Typical of the pair’s work with Cirque, there is no big ballad or grand use of themes and motifs. There are fragments of both but instead, the compositions seem to progress through many movements within a single track. The only caveat is that some phrases seem under-developed, but the variety is refreshing and the result is a collection of tunes that manage to cover a lot of ground. The music feels like a fusion of works from Deep Forest albums, Tan Dun operas and Damon Albarn's scores for stage. As a little side-note for big Cirque Musique fans, this record has a few cameos from superstars including Julie McInnes, Isabelle Corradi and Christian Laveau contributing vocals - it’s really cute that they contribute here.

On a whole the album is extremely unified and very listenable – there are a few brilliant tracks that distinguish themselves. ‘Lu Aw Navi’ is quintessential Cirque, a multi-layered percussive-electronic fusion that builds climactically through layering and caries the central theme of the album, and ‘Direhorses’ is an absolute revelation – a jaunty and celebratory string arrangement that is extremely emotive and elating. The new singers to the Cirque catalogue including Cumie Dunio and Elsieanne Caplette have excellent voices that blend and transcend around the music, and I hope these talented ladies end up on more Cirque recordings.

I will be interested in listening to the duo’s score for Paramour, Cirque’s ‘first’ (read: third) attempt to break into the New York theatre scene – as it’s going to require them to bring out some serious melodies and ballads that I wish were included here. However, on a whole the album is dynamic, rhythmic and enjoyable, and a terrific offering for Cirque to have in their catalogue.

Finally, we have another Cirque du Soleil soundtrack that lifts us up and takes us to another world.

'Toruk - The First Flight' by Cirque du Soleil is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com, and is also available on Spotify & physical CD.

The Baroness Redecorates - Absolute Perfection

The Baroness Redecorates (Source: Amazon)

The Baroness Redecorates is perfection. I can count the number of records I consider 'perfect' on one hand, and this is always the one that I name first. I remember when I ordered this EP from Canada, the disclaimer on Maple Music said it would arrive in 10 weeks. 9 weeks and 6 days later I received it in the mail - and it did not disappoint. Every track on this album is perfect.

The Baroness Redecorates marked a (celebratory?) parting of ways from Sarah Slean's record label. While my appreciation of The Baroness grows with each listen, I found it to be the slowest of Slean's catalogue. The Baroness Redecorates couldn't be a further departure, and it's jaw-dropping that this outstanding collection of tracks were considered B-Sides. The result, however, is a brilliant 30 minute EP which literally never leaves my collection.

The album is beautifully meditative and reflective at times, and wild and upbeat in the remainder. The coquettish 'Parasol' is a tango with a habanera flavoured rhythm paired with hysterical musings, and in a similar vein 'Compatriots' is a frantic number of bristling city life. The slower numbers are beautiful - 'The Lonely Side of the Moon' and 'Modern Man I & II' are wistful and evoke a feeling of longing and wanderlust. The best track of the album (which shifts to any given track on any given listen) might be 'The Rose'. This remarkable piece is at once sorrowful and celebratory, an ineffably beautiful reflection about how all life in the world must end.

The lyrics are scintillating, sparkling with wit and originality. A lot of this comes from the fact that these songs are not constricted to the theme of love - they're refreshingly abstract themes such as life, environment and trust.

Instrumentation is almost entirely piano and strings, with the strings in particular - all of which are written, arranged and conducted by Slean - being superb. They circumnavigate the melodies to embellish them, but when needed they suddenly descend into passages which are heavenly, dramatic or even becoming a piece in themselves. The album includes Slean's first string quartet, a 6 minute movement called 'The "Disarm" Suite' which concludes the album as the perfect encapsulation of what we've experienced.

TL;DR - this is the best album I've ever heard and owned. An absolutely outstanding record created by a vastly under-rated and unappreciated artist.

'The Baroness Redecorates' by Sarah Slean is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com, and is also available on Spotify & physical CD.

The bewitching bells of Notre Dame

(Source: Amazon.com)

Sometimes it just doesn't seem feasible to create a product like this - a whole orchestra, brilliant core cast and a choir of 30, assembled for a complete recording of a musical that will probably never make it to Broadway. Therefore, I believe we need to chalk this recording of The Hunchback of Notre Dame up for the sheer sake of artistry.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the vastly under-rated scores of the Disney cannon. After missing out on the Oscar in 1996 it (along with the movie) disappeared into this void. Which is disappointing, considering the influences it draws upon and the complexity of its composition. This is also a score and film that doesn't shy away from complex themes and issues - the uncomfortable nature of sexuality, death, racism and [exclusion] all rear their glorious, ugly heads here encapsulated in this music. Originally the show was made in German to great acclaim in 1999, before making its long awaited English premiere in 2014. Now, it finally comes to a recording, and it couldn't be more perfect.

The cinematic feel of this recording is absolutely spine-tingling. No corners have been cut - this isn't a typical Disney musical soundtrack where you can hear a piano clomping around in the middle of the music holding it all together. The instrumentation and orchestrations behind the singers are absolute world class quality and pulls out all the stops - it potentially rivals the movie's original soundtrack. This music is powerful, oozing with grandeur and sparkling with brilliance. 'The Bells of Notre Dame' and is repeated motifs are breath-taking, as is 'God Help the Outcasts' and 'Heaven's Light'. And of course, one of the highlights is the brooding and dark twisted cry 'Hellfire'.

This feels like the only Alan Manken musical where the additional material fits into the same world, and feels like it's actually adding something to the story. 'Flight to Egypt', 'Thai Mol Piyas', 'In a Place of Miracles' and 'Made of Stone' are terrific additions, and the excellent 'Someday' which was cut from the original movie is re-purposed here (as a side note, 'Flight in Egypt' replacing 'A Guy Like You' is one of the best choices that Disney has ever made - it totally transforms the mood). A longer score has also allowed him to really flesh out brilliant themes. Stephen Shwartz might not have the same light and silly touch as the late Howard Ashman, but Schwartz manages to craft lyrics that aren't dumbed down to children. They speak esoterically and abstractly, and as such makes the material suitably feel more epic and suited to a musical.

You couldn't find another cast that would reach this level of confluence. The supporting cast are uniformly excellent, and absolutely rock their musical theatre ensemble feel and also . The remainder of the core cast include Ciara Renee's crystaline Esmerelda, Patrick Page's dark and authoratative Frollo, and Erik Liberman's flashing cheek and humour Clopain. The star of the show is Michael Arden, who brings an incredible flavour to Quasimodo. While Tom Hulcet's Quasi is quiet, refined and well spoken, Arden acts the role with a slight . But when he belts - and it's done fairly frequently - it's breathtaking and sounds like he can flatten mountains. 'Out There' made my eyes water from his emotion. Absolutely awesome.

You can tell that this soundtrack is the result of many hours of labor and passion of the collaborators - and for a measly $15 you'll get a slice this brilliance forever, along with a beautiful glossy 32 page book along with lyrics, pictures, and a forward from the creators. Please buy this soundtrack to support these gutsy, incredible artistic gambles. Everyone wins when the product is as great as this!!

'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', composed by Alan Menken with lyrics Stephen Shwartzr, is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com, and is also available on Spotify & physical CD.

Into the Heart of the Jungle

Heart of Thorns soundtrack cover (Source: Games-OST.com)

After completing the score of Guild Wars 2, original composer Jeremy Soule signed a contract where he was to exclusively write music for the Everquest series. With Soule refined to his tiny MMO cage, we now have the pleasure of Maclaine Diemer and Lena Chappelle (featuring a bit of Stan Le Pard) creating the music behind this absolutely spine tingling addition to the Guild Wars musical canon.

The music couldn't be a further departure from Soule's style. Whereas Soule's work is fantastical, this team know how to capture that fantasy sound but also create atmosphere. The score is lyrical, blending amazing orchestration (brass, strings and percussion being the strongest featured) and the traditional fantasy soundtrack with inspiration of indigenous voices and Eastern tonalities. The results are gorgeous, forlorn, and overall, exceptionally powerful.

There are no throw away tracks in this score. The thunderous 'Heart of Thorns Theme' is brilliant - a brooding, dark overture which pulsates with a rhythm driven by powerful percussion, strings, and brass. It's nothing short of awesome. Other picks are the mysterious and serene 'Quaggan Command' (dat name tho), the escalating 'Maguuma Overture', the exquisite candor of 'Tarir, the Forgotten City' and the ethnic and jaunty 'Jaka Itzel' (which along with 'Faren's Flier' provides some nice light relief to the otherwise serious score). There is also this beautiful discourse of intoxicating mystery which comes across in tracks like 'Rata Novus', 'Dangerous Beauty' and 'Taming the Jungle'. The score closes with 'Mordremoth', a final ode to the treaterous jungle which encapsulates the whole score with lightning strings, intricate rhythms and percussion and alien languages and ritualistic chanting.

There's also a very impressive preservation of themes previously appearing in the series - Soule's Guild Wars motif echoes throughout, featuring prominently on 'Leaving Tarir', and Crystal Oasis (all the way back from the original Guild Wars: Prophecies) features on 'An Exalted Lullaby'. However, the team integrates them only as brief fragments before they evolve to take on a life of their own. And I won't go into great detail on excellent battle tracks like 'Attack on Tarir' or 'Mouth of Mordremoth' - all you need to know is that they feature far more melody and structure as Soule's work, but unlike Soule, manages to actually make something enjoyable.

The recording of the orchestra isn't the highest possibly quality, but that's what makes it such a refreshing listen to after hearing so much of Soule's scores. You hear little scuffs, pages shuffle and people taking breaths, and at one point you can even hear someone's muffled cough in the background. These don't detract from the music - on the contry, it gives it a magical, living and breathing feeling. I understand there is a certain amount of instrumental patches used, but I couldn't be happier that there's a real orchestra in use to some capacity, and I hope it carries on for the next Guild Wars expansions.

I can't comment on how appropriate this music is within the game's instances, but the quality of music and melody here is extremely strong, and easily stands alone as an excellent soundtrack. My jaw dropped from the moment I hit play on a sample up until the final note had settled on the finale. I hope Diemer & Chappelle stay with ArenaNet for a long time, and I'm eagerly going to await their foray into Cantha, Elona, and beyond.

''Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Original Soundtrack' by ArenaNet, composed by Maclaine Diemer, Lena Chappelle & Stan Le Pardl is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com. Available for pre-order on physical vinyl. I wish it was available on CD, but who actually buys them anymore?

Joyá-rible

The latest soundtrack by Cirque du Soleil (Source: Spotify)

I guess that Cirque du Soleil is past the point of caring about creating exquisite melodies and transportive works. Joyá is a clumsy and bombastic half-hour of music that we could've all done without, and will go in one ear and out the other whether you want it to or not.

This Spanglish (read: what white people think Mexican music sounds like) product is brought to you from the dinner show which performs at the Riviera Maya Resort in Mexico. From what I gather, the performance itself takes a backseat from the food - and it sounds like the music is an after-thought to even the background. 

The composition is very slap dash, nothing special and certainly doesn't 'feel' like a Cirque du Soleil score. There have been competitors knocking off Cirque for years with foreign sounding lyrics and 'zany' compositions, but it seems we've reached a full cycle where Cirque du Soleil is now imitating that exact style. There isn't really anything in terms of lyrics, and while there is a use of 'motifs' they are so basic it's like listening to a nursery rhyme on repeat.

One of the lines is 'Ai yi yi yi yi'. Guys, we get it, we're in Mexico.

The mix of instruments just doesn't work. The core instruments are guitar, keyboards/percussion and trumpet, with a female and sometimes male voice joining them. Even when the score tries to be upbeat, it sounds cheesy and low energy. The mixing of the CD is really bizarre too (instruments surge and pan between ears, weird effects on instruments), and there's also an unfortunately gross sounding synthesised strings plug-in that features prominently (and when it does it sounds ridiculous). The whole recording feels very lifeless.

If 'Comedy of Errors' had been in another show as a clown act, I would've commended the composers for finally making a cute, goofy and interesting cue. But it's not for a clown act - it's literally the only stand-out in the score for simply not being derivative, and even then it's not something you could listen to for an extended period of time. Nothing here is going to endure over time or become a proud hallmark of the company's musical catalog.

Even if you've been to the show, I can't think of a single reason why you'd want to listen to this boring mess. If you're a diehard Cirque fan and you need to own it, be prepared to go through some annoying lengths as the physical record is only available at the show. It's cheesy clichés galore and it sounds like hackneyed background noise at a family friendly themed restaurant - oh wait, that's *exactly* what the pitch is.

'Joyá' by Cirque du Soleil is available digitally on iTunes, Amazon.com and Spotify. Available on physical CD at Joya's Official Boutique onsite. .

Thoughts on I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS [*]

How do you wipe tears away when your eyes are dry? I Want to Know What Love Is by The Goodroom is such a celebratory piece about romantic love there’s no reason to cry during it, despite running the gamut on everything known humanly possible when it comes to love. It has its ups and downs in terms of mood, and the many weird phases that love has, but if anyone that chalks it up to be a mere ‘hour of entertainment’ they're wrong. Unless you have no emotions, but then I'm also not sure you'd call it entertainment.

Can we start by immediately establishing how accessible the piece is? How great is it that everyone is going to look at this show through a different view? Some people having been in love for a long time, some just starting out, some ending. Work like this is essential because it's accessible for everyone. Everyone, not just the usual 40something crowd that come to theatre with their dinner jackets and their diamond monicals. Literally everyone - love is like a universal desire, and the fact that it's been jammed into a 60 minute theatre piece is a feat in itself. 

Look, me writing is pretty personal and more of a reason to vent than reflect on what a terrific show this is. The last time I saw this production was during the original incarnation during Brisbane Festival 2014. I was with my ex-boyfriend at the time, and unknown to me, we were on the cusp of breaking up. He broke it to me pretty soon after that he just wasn't feeling it so we had about two months later. We got back together but the same problem of not wanting to be tied down reared its head again, so this time I around I saw it without him, but he was in the same room seeing it with someone else. So, this time it's going through my first big breakup and I'm far more compelled to write about it now. Just a disclaimer. And also an update, if you used to read this blog for the personal updates (which I have since REMOVED). 

The structure of the show itself mirrors an ending relationship. There is actually the finale at the start - an, exuberant ineffable joy and declaration that live is alive and real. It is then yanked off stage by lost, moving through grief, coping, acceptance and then the unknown future. The four actors are just terrific and are extremely versatile, moving between vignettes and moments of over 800 real-life submissions on what people perceive what love is. It seems so simple but it's utterly genius. How has this not been done before (*prior to 2014) and how has the world not seen this show yet? Hopefully it will.

Right now, when I think about my ex my blood boils to the point where if you slit my throat open, you would be thrown on your back and your flesh would burn off (I think I'm in the coping faze?). It’s amusing to be reminded that pain, joy and sorrow felt while you’re in ‘love’ (and post) aren’t unique. You’re not special or particularly interesting, and what I really like about this show is that the reassurance that seems to echo everyone's life. We all go through your friends/parents/colleagues saying “We all hated him/her”, “You can do better”, “I’m hotter anyway”. Then also the promises you make in the ENDLESS conversations that you're obliged to have about it with everyone. "I'm fine" "I've got space for me" "Everything is going okay". I've never seen a show packed with so much emotional truth within the text because these are ACTUAL human reactions. I can't comment on the actors experience with love but some seem to grasp it a little better than others - but that's not even a flaw, since the nature of the piece is that perceptions of love are organic and change over time. Lovely.

I suppose I'll be pretty much the only one to point out the design of the show is just gorgeous. Kieran Swan has created this luscious Garden of Eden battle arena where thousands of petals descend the stage admits a forest of pull-down banners of posters which echo different sentiments of love. Lawrence English is an absolute revelation and is too good for Brisbane'd sound design community for theatre - probably why we only get to see works from him like one a year. The music of appropriately thunderous or soft whenever it's needed and it really assists in helping out where you stand on a certain viewpoint of love. I've said it like a thousand times for all the thousands of shows that Jason Glenright has lit, but you couldn't ask for more appropriate and seamless lighting. Chumps will cluck their tongues and complain about lighting states being reused all over the place, but there's only so many types of lights in one rig. It's a marvellous marriage of elements and nothing could've been done better. 

The piece is really important since its smoulders with truth and such emotional honesty. The feeling of community that you feel watching the piece - the comfort that people have been where you are, or have been, or even where you're going to be. It's at once therapeutic, exciting and sad, but overwhelmingly celebratory.

I really wanted to buy a ticket and just throw it into the wilderness so someone could enjoy that but for some fucking reason I went to CANBERRA - THE CITY OF DREAMS last weekend so I literally don't have enough to buy one. So, in my failure of that, I'd recommend make the effort to clear your calendar (probably don’t set someone up and dump them within the same sentence - that would make you a massive cunt - also, what is the point?), and try to get along to see I Want to Know What Love Is. It finishes this Saturday and then who knows when you'll be able to catch it next? When you're next in LOVE? HAHAHAHAHAHA. 

Tickets for The Good Room's I Want to Know What Love Is are $33 - $39 (not including Booking Fee), and is showing at Brisbane Powerhouse until 19 December. Duration of approximately 1 hour. Book by visiting Brisbane Powerhouse's website.

Zarkana by Cirque du Soleil - All Types of Crazy

Zarkana cover art (Source: Amazon.com)

Cirque's annual music offering for 2013 is Zarkana, an attempt at a rock-opera/psychadelic/world/pop/whatever recording. There are so many things wrong with this recording and there are so many different types of crazy to be discovered.

Zarkana is poorly composed and extremely over-produced. Songs amble around with no discernible melody or development, and many that do have those elements have been extremely compromised in losing their dramatic intensity and vibrancy during the transfer from live production to this recording. Too many songs develop a fine structure then have elements added seemingly from random, from improvisations of instruments disrupting the flow to elecronica breakdowns. It's frustrating since several of their live counterparts are impeccable - here they are awkward, jarring, and nothing special. Like previous Cirque recordings that have aimed to be considered heavy rock, Zarkana's instrumentation lacks the edge and rawness that so many great rock albums have - it's too dreamy and synth heavy, and too psychedelic to be taken seriously. The concept of this recording isn't really realised, and majority of the content isn't anything interesting.

Still, it's dependable on a Cirque du Soleil record that there is always at least a handful of interesting songs. 'Zarwaq' is a unique splice of tribal chanting and percussive beats, with unfortunate interjections of synthesisers, whereas 'Asteraw' feels diluted from an array of twinkly effects and random interjections, but has a vibrant and memorable melody. The mystique of 'Rae' is ruined by a bizarre spoken word interval and omission of the stunning bugle horn, but otherwise is an entrancing amalgam of voice and piano. The jewel of the album is 'Eridanus', which has an infectious chorus, and unlike most of the record has amazing mixing with exceptional clarity. It's an excellent song and shows that Cirque du Soleil's repertoire is still expanding and conquering new genres.

The remainder of the album variates between remarkably beige ('Tourago/Guiram', 'Gienah'), to embarrassingly weird ('Tarienter/The Archer', 'Crysococca') to horrifyingly bad ('Caph', 'Jarseate'). It's a painful reminder that Cirque kicked artistic excellence out of it's view long ago and are primarily interested in settling for the average.

Seeing as Zarkana was originally conceived as a rock opera on Broadway, this is probably the one time where it would have been acceptable for a release with English lyrics. Instead, we are left with imaginary lyrics that seem to be an after-thought of a scrambled attempt to change Zarkana's image. The result is a horrible mishmash of sloppy pseudo-English vowels with no apparent rhyme or structure, sometimes with an odd English lyric thrown in. The record is sprinkled with unpronounceable and upsettingly random titles that are all kinds of crazy ('Caph', 'Crysococca', 'Zawraq').

The recording of Zarkana isn't great. The mixing and production is fairly poor, the majority of the songs are unappealing, and . There are some likeable tracks, but the majority of the album isn't worth a recommendation. Overall I'd recommend just purchasing 'Eridanus' on iTunes and giving the rest of the album a miss.

Cirque du Soleil 'Zarkana' is available from their online boutqiue and on Amazon.com. Available on physical CD and digital download. Preview the entire album for free on Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana official website.

Pokemon Live! by Temple Theatre Company

Pokémon Live! is Temple Theatre Company's debut production, and it's awesome just how this unsavoury and crusty execution managed to entertain the audience. I couldn't control my excitement for seeing the show - I grew up with the songs, I knew all the characters and the storyline, and I understood all the intertexual humour. And because of all those reasons, I was willing to forgive almost every disastrous aspect of the show and appreciate it in its horrifying glory.

Ash (Adwan Dickson) and his friends Misty (Rhiannon Moushall) and Brock (Thomas Pitiris) are on their latest adventure, which is to win the new Diamond Badge from a new gym leader. Unknown to them, the Diamond Badge is a ruse concocted by Giovanni (Zane Weber) and his minions Team Rocket (John Vizcay-Wilson, Xanthe Jones, Phoebe Ballard). Team Rocket have captured Ash's mum Delia (Georgina Purdie) and Professor Oak (Patrick Aiken), and plan on capturing Pikachu (Elizabeth Witt) so that the new super Pokémon MechaMew2 can learn all the known battle moves, and allow Giovanni to take over the world.

Pitiris as Brock, Dickson as Ash and
Moushall as Misty (Source: Facebook).

For a show that was conceived as a multi-million dollar spectacle, the production value is seriously lacking and in some areas hilariously bad. The music, lyrics and book are puerile and banal while the directing is shambolic, however with material like this, it's very difficult to not make that entertaining - the fact that the team admitted they set out of make something that veered on 'so bad it's good' certainly prevails as a victory. My friend next to me's mouth hung open in sheer horror while I wailed with laughter. There are backouts that have no function, in some instances where NOTHING on stage even changes and the audience are just left in the dark listening to random instrumental reprises. There are pointless dance breakdowns where the story doesn't progress and there is no insight given to character. The lighting rarely does anything emotive and seem to serve as a homage to schizophrenia, and the sound is poorly mixed, usually being too soft but occasionally achingly loud.

All of those elements fed directly into the enjoyment of piece and to top it off there are several great aspects of the production too - the actual performers made the most of their ridiculous material and were clearly having a fantastic time, and the cast was sprinkled with veterans of Brisbane musical theatre with all being apt singers and several members pretty good dancers. Comedic timing was excellent and scenes flavoured with random elements, such as entering on scooters or 'falling' into holes, were glorious. It felt like, seeing as the show was noted suitable for audience under 15, there could have been more tounge-in-cheek comments, and the fact that Pikachu was scantily dressed set itself up for some jokes that just never happened. Regardless, references to the games were fantastic - stepping into the eyesight of trainers, the music, but in particular the voice over at the start is one of the most ingenious introductions and executions of house etiquette I've ever heard. Certain songs were just stellar - 'Misty's Song' was hilariously inappropriate, 'PokéRap' a brilliant opener, and the ridiculously flamboyant 'Double Trouble' were glorious.

I'm amused that I enjoyed Pokémon Live! for the same reasons I didn't enjoy Next to Normal. Pokémon Live! is probably one of the stupidest things I've ever seen, but Temple Theatre Company has completely embraced this puerile work and transformed it into a glorious trainwreck which was hilarious and completely enthralling for 90 minutes. Hopefully this ambition has paid off and the troupe can now afford some real props, costumes and material to perform. But for what it was - wow. My childhood came to life, albeit a little more sexy than what it was.

Temple Theatre Company's Pokemon Live! played at Brisbane Arts Theatre from April 23rd - April 27th.

Oscar Theatre Company's Next to Normal [*]

Next to Normal artwork (Source: Facebook). 

Oscar Theatre Company effectively brings Off-Broadway to Brisbane. When they announced in May last year that they were bringing Next to Normal to QPAC for its Queensland Premier, a lot of people were really excited for it. There's a lot of things I don't actually like about the text itself - the content of the text is sincere but its delivery in the storyline comes across as a bit pandering, and the score isn't great. But beyond all of that, Oscar's Next to Normal is a fairly good vision of the original text, with a good cast that only narrowly miss the punch of the roles.

Next to Normal is about a dysfunctional family where the mother, Diane Goodman (Alice Barbery), is suffering from an intense strand of schizophrenia which causes her to imagine her dead son Gabrielle Goodman (Matt Crowley) is still alive. Her husband (Chris Kellet) desperately tries to save their family by taking her to various doctors, hoping that a newly recommended Dr. Madden (James Gauci) holds the answer they're looking for. Meanwhile, her brilliant but neglected daughter Natalie (Siobhan Kranz) begins a self-destructive relationship with loveable stoner Henry (Tom Oliver) to distract her from her family's unusual situation.

While the cast are fair at acting and have good voices, only a few of them are exceptional in their roles. For the most part the punch is a bit lacking due to their vocal demands - Alice Barbery and Chris Kellet are great but both lack the power and energy to hit the powerhouse mark that their roles provide, and although they're both fine most of the time they often waft into using their head voices and the score looses a lot of drive and its blistering ferocity. They are better actors than singers, although the reverse can be said for Matt Crowley, who is fine in the role vocal wise but occasionally looks frigid and sort of kills the momentum at crucial moments by looking a little ridiculous so immobile. James Gauci is excellent for his combined total of 20 minutes on stage, but Tom Oliver and Siobhan Kranz are easily the standouts. Oliver becomes the most adorable character on stage, and the only thing that really detracts from Kranz's interpretation is how insufferable her character is - it's not edgy saying 'fuck' anymore, it's just irritating (and sometimes laughable). Their final scene was the only moment in the entire piece that really moved me.

I hadn't heard the score of the show before viewing it because I'm not a fan of rock musicals - while Next to Normal isn't an exception, it's still reasonably interesting. Tom Kitt's score is loud and toe-tapping but the drums come across as kitschy in a vain attempt to be edgy, and the small ensemble usually doesn't manage to have enough variation (also, apparently the violinist didn't tune their instrument before beginning the show either). I can remember one song, Super Boy and the Invisible Girl, because my friend yodelled it in the car last week. Some of Brian Yorkey's lyrics are a bit insipid, although there are a few gems and occasionally the dialogue is quite profound, which would probably are enough to warrant it's Pulitzer win. The story didn't really speak to me, and how the whole subject was handled felt a bit pandering, trying to be relevant and edgy but failing by introducing an optimistic ending which cheapened the whole experience.

The Goodman Family (Crowley, Barbery, Kellet and Kranz)
(Source: Facebook).

Timothy Wallace's set is frustrating since while it has an interesting concept its execution is a bit clumsy and much of what happens on the upper level is lost on the lower audience and the only view is of disembodied heads moving around (though I anticipate it would look better from the balcony). There is no exact definition of space either, with characters entering the house from about eighty thousand different entrances. The Cremorne Theatre is ideal for its intimacy but the small space seemed restrictive for creating and maintaing an authentic dramatic universe. The sound design was fine, some characters a little to quiet in some scenes but nothing much to complain about. As usual, Jason Glenwright's solid lighting compliments the action perfectly, occasionally being more emotive than any other aspect on stage.

A lot of people have blubbered about how they cried multiple times during Oscar Theatre Company's Next to Normal, and although I can appreciate why they love the show it's just not my thing. There is a lot to admire in this very ambitious staging of Next to Normal but absence of energy combined with my dislike of the score rendered the show a bit unremarkable for me. What is remarkable is the effort from the cast that really give it their best and only a few narrowly don't deliver. If you're a fan of the score and the show, then the majority of my criticism is irrelevant - it's an enjoyable evening and musical passionates and even casual fans will enjoy seeing this piece presented for the first time in Queensland.

Tickets for Oscar Theatre Company's Next to Normal are $39 - $58, and is showing at QPAC's Cremorne Theatre until May 4th. Duration of approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 20 minute intermission. Book by visiting QPAC's website.