Buddy- Arts Theatre, Marie Clark Musical Theatre Company

Marie Clark has a tough act to follow after its astounding production of "Miss Saigon" earlier in the year. It's fair to say that this little company has worked hard, very hard, to try and punch above its own weight for a number of years now. "Buddy" has some great positives and a few negatives.

The cast give it their absolute best. The show has many wonderful performances, headlined by the brilliant Dominic Hodges as the iconic rocker Buddy Holly. Hodges looks the part and does a pretty good impression of the man's unique voice. His accent is consistent and his charisma on the stage is pretty good as well. He may be lacking the absolute final polish on his concert persona but for the most part it is an outstanding performance.

The rest of the cast ably back him. Sophie Hamilton absolutely shines as Holly's wife, Maria Elena. Blessed with gorgeous looks and charisma, she makes a joy out of, what is, a fairly minor role in the show. Sadly, we are only granted a small hint at her amazing vocal skills. Brendon Liley does a brilliant job recapturing the vibe of The Big Bopper whilst Travis Rae delivers two solid performances as both producer Norman Petty and Ritchie Valens. Cara Brown, Jessica Knights, Kristin Stefanoff, Shay Aitken and Angus Smith all provide memorable highlights in their various roles throughout the night.

Victoria Beal has provided some catchy choreography while Emma Knights has an amazing little ensemble at her command (including Brody Green and Milush Piochaud who double as The Crickets extremely well). Greg Donhardt directs the show admirably for his first outing as director.

The biggest let down of this show is the show itself. One of the first jukebox musicals, it suffers from a lack of plot, poor dialogue and small scenes that mean a lot of blackouts and scene changes, especially in act one. It ruins the momentum that the actors develop and as a consequence drags the show to about 15 minutes longer than it needs to be. Also the creators felt that the only way to present Holly's songs onstage was to either show him recording them or performing them in concert. In a way it's more realistic, but it also limits where and when these wonderful songs can be heard. It's also true that the stage crew were a little slow with their changes which doesn't help things either. It's really the only thing that brings the evening down.

If you are a fan of Holly, or of 50's music in general (as most of the audience were on the night I was there) then you'll enjoy this retelling immensely.

The World Goes 'Round, Arts Theatre, Marie Clark Musical Theatre

Marie Clark have gone a strange path for their second musical of the year. Instead of a traditional musical they have opted for a celebration of the wonderful body of work from collaborators John Kander and Fred Ebb. Kander and Ebb gave us some amazing shows like "Cabaret", "Chicago" and "Kiss Of The Spider Woman" amongst many others. Whilst these shows are represented, it's the other numbers in the show from their lesser known works that make this an entertaining evening.

Director Ben Saunders (who also designed the wonderfully versatile set) has assembled a cohesive and dedicated cast of performers who deliver many a wonderful performance. Musical director Gordon Combes has picked his soloists very carefully making sure the right people sing the right songs. Jenny Scarce-Tolley sings up a storm several times but never more so in the duet "The Grass Is Always Greener" (paired with the equally wonderful Maxine Morales). Nikki Gaertner-Eaton nearly manages to upstage her husband Chris Eaton (never an easy feat) in "Ring Them Bells" but the real standout is Omkar Nagesh who not only shows his serious side in "I Don't Remember You" but his humorous side in "Sara Lee".

Kylie Pedler's choreography works well for the most part even if the execution of the ensemble isn't as polished as it could be.

The band suffers from bad audio (always a problem when onstage). The drums couldn't be heard and there was practically no bass, whilst the acoustic instruments had intermittent tuning issues throughout the night. One suspects that with a few more performances under their belt, these problems will iron themselves out.

The sound mix was a little hit and miss on opening night and few lazy follow spots need to be tightened up. However, once these small issues are resolved this will be a very entertaining evening.

Honk!- Marie Clarke Theatre Company- Arts Theatre

When Marie Clark do the right show it's a really good thing to watch. "Honk!" is such a show. This musical retelling of the ugly duckling fable is full of life, colour and pizazz. But what it also has is a big, big heart.

Director Megan Dansie has got the best out of her ensemble making sure the action or interest never waivers. Scene changes are smooth and, by and large, unobtrusive. Rachel Dow has done some remarkable choreography- especially in Act Two. Ben Morton's set design makes the most out of a limited budget and a small stage. Renee Brice has done an outstanding job on the costumes.

Headlining the cast is a beautiful, touching and totally believable performance by newcomer Scott Reynolds. This guy is one to watch. He never breaks character and has a wonderful singing voice to boot. Kate Brooker as his mother, Ida, also is a highlight of this production, even if her vocals are not quite as strong as they could be. Daniel Salmon's Bullfrog threatens to upstage just about anyone and anything not nailed down whilst Jethro Pidd- with a rather bizarre accent- puts on a great turn as the nasty Cat. Eleanor Stankiewicz also puts in a great performance as a cat in heat.

The ensemble is full of lively characters, young and old, and musically they are very, very tight. Musical directors Kate White and Joanna Patrick have done a great job with them, although the same can't entirely be said about the rather hit and miss ensemble in the pit which sounds like it needs a couple more rehearsals under its belt. However, both groups make do with what is a largely rather unremarkable score.

Nevertheless, these minor quibbles aside (and few technical glitches with the sound towards the end of the show) it is a wonderful show for both young and old audiences. Gosh it would be great to see a show such as this get recognised by the ATG in their curtain call awards. It deserves to sit alongside some of the best this state's local groups have done in the last year.