Presented by Balaklava Community Arts
Reviewed 2 April 2016
Nathan Quadrio as Cat In The Hat with Charlie Evans as JoJo
I love Dr Seuss! Seussical is such a fun show with great songs and dialogue by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens: great material to work with, but it needs a great cast! Director Kelly Bickle was extremely fortunate to get the leads that I saw on opening night. Not every performance was stellar, but none were significantly below par. The direction and choreography were very well handled by Ms Bickle and the music (although at times the balance between orchestra and cast was off) was of a high standard. I was particularly impressed by the tight choreography, using all the stage.
As the Cat in the Hat, Nathan Quadrio has found his perfect part. He was bright, funny and energetic, everything the Cat should be. Scott Everett was just right as Horton the Elephant, his rendition of Alone in the Universe with Charlie Evans (Jojo) was beautiful and Everett claimed our sympathy throughout. Evans was well cast as Jojo and interacted with confidence against the exuberant Cat.
Amanda Sharp as Mayzie LaBird & Nathan Quadrio as Cat In The Hat
Rebecca Mason was just beautiful as Gertrude McFuzz, her voice and performance have matured in recent times. She was strongest in the song Notice me Horton, but gave a strong performance in all areas. Amanda Sharp was completely over the top as Mayzie LaBird, just as she should be, as bright as her costume. Tarina Everett definitely had the voice to make the Sour Kangaroo noticed and with Ashley Baker as Baby Roo provided a focal point for the opposition to Horton and his search for the Whos.
As the Grinch, Duncan Crawford is not as intimidating as I would have expected, but as the character does not play much part in this story it did not matter. The Wickersham Brothers worked well together and performed with plenty of energy. Kudos to Braydon Foale-Jacka (no 1), Zeke Scott (no 2) and Bill Robertson (no 3) who danced with Danielle Mudge (Purple Bird), Kameeka Scott (Green Bird) and Claire Whittaker (Blue Bird).
The costumes were excellent, bright and varied, and they made the stage a riot of colour thanks to Stephanie Radowicz. This was aided by the very Seuss set design by David Appleby and Wally Radowicz. Unfortunately the makeup was in many cases overdone, in particular the Whos. The 60’s bright blue eye shadow and bright red lips did not convey the difference they were obviously looking for. I personally found Jojo’s make-up very off-putting and distracting. There are better ways to make a section of the cast stand out.
Overall this was an excellent production, all the more so because we are aware that small companies like this do not have unlimited resources. They do however have immense stores of community spirit – well done!
Reviewed by Fran Edwards
Twitter: @franeds
Disclaimer: Nathan Quadrio is an Arts reviewer for GLAM Adelaide
Venue: Balaklava Town Hall
Season: 2 – 9 Apr 2016
Duration: 2hr 20mins (including interval)
Tickets: Adult $25, Conc $20,
Bookings: www.trybooking.com/159544
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