Above: Rhiannon Lidbury as Olive and Danika Rojas as Pearce. Featured image: Key creative Megan Robinson in the role of Callie. Photo credit: Jesse Jay.
A new Australian musical, complete with local frankness, a complex story told with fearless nuance and complete with fine acting plus local accent in its clever, forward-looking soundtrack is always needed and so exciting. The recent premiere of Penpals- a compelling twenty-first century glance at younger love was brilliantly housed at Qtopia’s Loading Dock Theatre’s equally excellent and fearless new, busy space in the former Darlinghurst Police Station.
As the characters in Megan Robinson’s intimate and powerhouse unravelling of a long distance relationship back in Australia Post’s heyday reach into our hearts and into the complex stratosphere of fracturing family and friendship dynamics.
It leaves the mere beautiful retelling of real affection and support fuelled by good old letter writing in the dust for a slick, dual-location local love story that embraces us with the power of hope and heartache. All on the fledgeling wings of very special songs that hit the mark and hit out at homophobia and confusion or coyness.
A musical offering a coming out story in 1997 between two girls who are polar opposites and situated on opposite coasts of the country who fall into quality love via the intensity of a family therapy penpal match up may seem a bit twee or schmaltzy for our big bad dating-app-littered now.
Above: Toby Rowe as Levi with Megan Robinson as Callie. Photo credit: Jesse Jay.
Think again. This is just the tale with challenged innocence and pointed purity, set in a fin-de siecle restlessness for the emerging queer consciousness, that we hunger for right now.
Qtopia’s well-appointed, renovated police loading dock is of course the perfect place in which to present this well-crafted piece of musical theatre, potpourri of brilliantly drawn characters and roller coaster of emotions and essential strengths.
Watching this endearing split-stage set of detailed Year-12 bedrooms from the lush, jam-packed seating of the Loading Dock, there were hoots, hollers, tears, laughs, nods, sighs, cheers and pride in overflowing broke bucketload as this crowd watched Callie (played on opening night with infectious energy by composer Megan Robinson herself) and Pearce (the svelte, effervescent Danika Rojas) pierce our hearts and securely each others’ with twenty-first titanium arrows that leave Cupid for dead.
Perfectly cast leads never work alone to tell the twists and turns of any decent story. The pace and intricate hues of this well directed storyline (big bravos to director Sarah Campbell for harnessing this huge, spinning world in the space).
Effective songs burst forth from the lush sets with intersecting meridiens of playgrounds, schoolrooms, footpath post box points and uni scholarship interview waiting rooms. From these emotion-swamped endroits a gifted ensemble of four equally excellently cast with pre-year 2000 velvety-verved personalities and voices to lose yourself in work expertly as they swirl in and out in breathtaking kaleidoscopic support.
Above (l-r): Danika Rojas as Pearce with Damien Noyce in the role of English teacher Mr J. Photo credit: Jesse Jay.
The songs are achingly relevant and entertaining in their well-chiselled cheering along of predicament needing a proud purpose. A soundtrack streamed, available is much needed. I was craving a re-listen very shortly after my first hearing of this gritty, glistening show’s first outing. Robinson and Hansley tackled the close harmonies and varied shapes with expert blend and delicacy. There are no cliche musical theatre contours within the melodies written for this piece’s ballads, banter and bold schoolgirl pen-in-hand soliloquising.
The ensemble brought a selection of heightened group numbers to absolute life- with nice use of the shallow stage depth, coursing across it in infinity-symbol effectiveness. The later reveal of introspection and stunning voices from opening night’s Mr J the English teacher (Damien Noyce) plus Callie’s burdened big brother in shy survival panic mode (delivered it all in a chilling portrayal betraying at all times the huge potential of the actor and singer Toby Rowe).
I was also on the edge of my quality Loading Dock black velvet seat when watching the energies, lithely-blend voices plus bigger-than schoolkid sentiments of best- friend characters Olive (Rhiannon Lidbury), and the dynamic, reality-biting duo of Rory (Danielle Lorzano) and chilled sidekick Jai (Nicolas Zielinski). All this expression was accompanied very effectively in fitting, sparse and very clear -tone colour shifts in this intimate score, capably produced in this space by Musical Director Hazel Alexander.
See this show’s bittersweet, symphonic-sized summary of challenge, a variety of families, the school of life, coming out in the midst of everything and singing the hell out of hardship. I had flashbacks to the in-tune honesty of non-queer-identifying local musicals such as Muriel’s Wedding- The Musical and wish this production team a grant or scholarship to present hardship so successfully in more seasons in the future.
‘Penpals’-A New Queer Musical’ writes its name across your heart until November 9.
