One thing that Matt Byrne can't be faulted on over the years is his ability to find obscure shows and put them on. In fact the current trend in Adelaide theatre to staging new shows is thanks in no small part to his willingness to give these shows a run for better or for worse.
A musical featuring a healthy serve of Elvis classics (and not-so classics) is almost guaranteed to get the crowds in and the vocal crowd at the start of the second week of shows at The Arts Theatre was testament to that. Early reviews indicated a number of technical glitches that dogged opening week. It's a credit to the technical crew that a lot of that has now been resolved. There are still a small number of incredibly slow scene changes and some bizarre lighting cues that spoil a couple of numbers and the chorus still struggles to be heard over the loud band and miked principals.
But another thing Matt Byrne always delivers is a dedicated cast, and this one is a beauty. Gavin Cianci struggles vocally against the might of The King and his pitching is an issue in places when singing (and he is not the only one), but his overall performance as roustabout Chad is a delight- full of swagger and cool (helped by his handsome looks and remarkable head of hair).
Melanie Smith is the pick of the singers- backing up her star turn in last years' "Hot Shoe Shuffle"- playing the role of lovelorn mechanic Natalie who becomes Ed- a male roustabout- in order to spend more time with Chad.
Dominic Hodges and Rebecca Plummer make cute couple as a pair of star-crossed young lovers whilst Gareth Wilkes takes the comedy trophy with his turn as nerdy Dennis. Heidi-Rae Abbey is wonderfully sexy as cougar Miss Sandra and Chris Bussey has a grand old time (and a helluva wedding dress) as Mayor Melinda.
But the absolute winners from this cast are Maggie Wood and Russell Ford as Sylvia and Jim. Wood gives us one of the best performances I've ever seen her in, full of sass, and full of heart with a wonderful act two solo whilst Ford times his role perfectly with the right amount of comic timing and tenderness.
Director Matt Byrne does his best to keep his mouth shut as Sheriff Earle but we all know that you can't fight fate....
The chorus are generally good although the male dancing is still very rough as guts in places. Sue Pole has done a great job yet again although some of the later routines lack the polish that the earlier ones do.
Mike Pitman's band has some balance issues with guitar and piano almost being drowned out by the brass section. Quite why Byrne decided they should be onstage is a puzzlement to me. They would be much better served in the pit where the singers can see the conductor and hear the band properly.
All in all though this is a fun night out with many wonderful tunes and some genuinely funny moments (although it must be said that writer Joe DiPetrio's script really gets bogged down in act two). The show could have probably stood to lose a couple of the act two ballads and some dialogue trimmed to make this an really exciting two and a half hour show instead of the almost three hours running time (not a fault of the production but more the original writers).
At a time when a lot of theatre is very dark and depressing it's always good to remember what theatre does best- makes us forget our troubles. This is one show that will do just that.
Author note: Full disclosure- I worked on this rehearsals of this show for approximately six weeks. This review was based wholly and soley on the performance given on the 13th of July at The Arts Theatre.
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