Above (l-r): Tisha Kelemen as Lucia and ensemble member Sean Sinclair as 80s-fitness-icon/taxi-driver. Featured image (l-r) Mel Russo as Paulina and Amy Hack as Pepa. Photo credit: Daniel Boud.
Ever had one of those chaotic days when you think you are on the verge of a breakdown? Where it feels like you are entering a hurricane? When all your friends or lovers are tangled up around you like a living nightmare?
Then toss your moonshine gazpacho to the frenzied, fetid city wind and grab the first taxi to the top of town to take in the latest musical by Pinwheel Productions. It will resonate, titillate and communicate in a familiar and entertaining blast.
In the hands of this production’s creatives and an uber-talented cast, this post-Almodóvar-film musical from Jeffrey Lane (of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels fame) and composer David Yazbek (composer for the musicals Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty and Tootsie) leaps off the stage in one madcap moment to the next. The pace is accentuated by high octane energy with songs to match and precision movement takes place about the busy, multi-location set.
Director Alexander Berlage has harnessed the chaos well, ensuring a keen visual comedy element prevails.
This occurs in the phone booths, taxis, apartments, offices, and the streets as the interlocking lives, loves and sanities of five women chase each other about the Hayes Theatre stage.
There are deeper moments where the nicely placed Yazbek ballads and comment seriously on crises du corazon various. The incisive Jeffrey Lane commentary on heartbreak and emotional fatigue echo with tender humanity.
There are very decent songs to be heard here in moments of mellow excellence amidst the tight tapestry of this musical and production’s structuring.
This show’s well-cast ensemble, most taking multiple roles, work with infectious stamina and nuanced humour to create an hilarious but lovely view of 80’s Madrid.
Their artistry depicts lovers on the verge of breakup or breakdown as well
as neighbours, friends, terrorists, accidental sedative users and protagonists in pained paramour-plus predicaments.
Above: (l-r) Amy Hack as Pepa, Grace Driscoll as Candela and Tomáš Kantor as Carlos. Photo credit Daniel Boud.
The show’s fifteen musical numbers, especially Pepa’s penetrating laments (the lead here played at a riveting pace by Amy Hack) are in safe hands with this cast.
Dylan Pollard’s svelte musical direction and fine preparation is obvious from the opening intonation of ‘Madrid’ (from the sing -to-me-again – please taxi driver/acordeonista (the impressive Aaron Robuck with spot-on period coiffe) through Lucia’s heartbreak courtroom anthem ‘Invisible’ (from Tisha Kelemen’s layered performance as Lucia, to the quintet of recovering stressed-out women losing in love but gaining in strength by the tender, beautiful vocal finale.
Commendable performances come from the experience of Grace Driscoll in the hysterical and changeable role of Pepa’s friend, Candela. Her spot show on the analogue phone, ‘Model Behaviour’, totally rocks, as does her fluid and funny contribution to ensemble moments.
Nina Carcione’s voice contributed well to the group, and her dancing, dreaming, dating character of Marisa had good, contrasted chemistry with the laid back Carlos, son-of-a destructive, womanising Iván.
Many of the women’s angst in this story can be inked to the womanising of Iván-with loose morals and a savage-smooth operator on an answering-machine. His crooning caricature is played with ease and finesse by Andrew Cutcliffe.
Cutcliffe is joined in fellow support or aggravation of the five women by four other men of this cast. A fine portrait of his confused son Carlos is given by Tomáš Kantor, whose initial youthful quirkiness is augmented later in the show with excellent singing. As with all other male cast members, quick changes to a variety of local characters flesh out the internal and external scenes.
Sean Sinclair’s chameleon presence in the cast- whether as a contemporary to the women, a terrorist, a policeman with gold earring, a heavyweight of the courtroom or film studio, his characterisations are complete gems.
Bringing all these strands together of friends, lovers, city professionals and criminals in successful unison rich song and dance numbers in the intersection of environments, mess, kitchens, offices, phone booths, with disembodied reaching through the set’s streamered boundaries is the effective work of choreographer Chiara Assetta.
This is a sexy, chic, comedy-centric use of the cast’s talents and the Hayes Theatre space, with some clever moments of seriousness or relaxation allowed in too.
Above: Amy Hack as Pepa and Aaron Robuck in an atmospheric taxi-trip moment. Photo credit: Daniel Boud.
Paige Walker’s dialect coaching has worked a treat across the cast, with singing and speaking in Spanish accent variations to suit the range of characters being very secure here.
The crowning, laced gazpacho-toast worthy work in this show is from the set and costume designers. They bring us 80s shapes sentiment and hectic Spanish verve in bucketloads.
Hailley Hunt’s composite set is brimming with recognisable artefacts from this inimitable decade in history. Witty surtitles announcing lightning-fast scene changes add to the mayhem and comedy element and props come and are interacted with in arriba exchange at all ends of the stage racetrack.
NIDA graduate Sam Hernández’ contribution to costuming displays significant and promising duende.
His stellar outfit makes and sourcing clothe this sitcom with appropriate cabbie shirts, shapely maternal courtroom black, torqued toreador tailoring, vintage cyclist stretch or fiancee and clever public or private state-of-deshabille dishevelled-ness. His work excels in the placement of colour, contrast and a rich flow of textures.
This musical is well worth the taxi trip or ride through your city to see. It will have you reaching for your chilled soup recipes and quacking for joy. And there is a delicious, bull-red, show-themed cocktail on offer that is not to be missed. It will do wonders for your stress levels in this lovely modern life- as does this show. Felicitaciones to all involved.
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown plays until June 8 at Hayes Theatre, Greenknowe St Potts Point.
