The Helpmann Award Winners were announced this week. Television news coverage of the event was, of course, limited, but what did manage to make the 6pm reports was the winner of Best Musical. A Chorus Line.
My first thought was – really?
To give some context, I saw this show with my ‘theatre group’. The group is made up of my partner’s mother, sister, sister’s best friend, and aunt, so it is really a family affair and I wouldn’t necessarily call us the most discerning, critical group of theatre goers (and ‘theatre’ generally translates just to musical theatre). However, when I saw that A Chorus Line was coming to Sydney I couldn’t wait to pitch it to the group as our next outing.
Why was I so excited? Well for one, I’d never seen the show performed live. I had also sung a few numbers during my period of regular singing lessons (Dance 10 anyone?) and knew that it was musically very entertaining. Plus, as a fan of dance I had high expectations for a show taking its name from one of the most well-known dance ‘moves’ ever.
We booked our tickets months in advance, such was my enthusiasm, and when the day finally rolled around I was so enthusiastic I arrived an hour early (but I bought some killer heels while I was killing time so it all worked out for the best). Program in hand, and safely ensconced in our stall seats, I braced myself for the leotards, chorus shoes and kick lines I’d been dreaming about.
Admittedly we did see a matinee, and it was very early on in the season, but I left feeling very disappointed.
A case of too much anticipation getting in the way of objectivity? No, I don’t think so. Here’s my critique (such as it is being several months after the event)…
- The Director’s voice-overs were terrible. He sounded flat, bored, and for the first part of the show I actually thought they’d been pre-recorded. There was no engagement in the dialogue, and it sounded as though he could care less about the answers to the questions he was asking. I guess maybe he was cast for his dancing ability and not his acting.
- The choreography was dated and formulaic. I realise that the choreographer was one of the original A Chorus Line performers and she was drawing on history but in this day and age I thought a dance show could have benefited from some new ideas and fresher moves.
- The Music and the Mirror dance number was below average. The song is all about how great a dancer Cassie is – so you expect a dynamic, captivating performance. I thought instead that the performer was holding back (perhaps like me she has difficulty keeping balance in chorus shoes and didn’t want to slip over). I wanted a Catherine-Zeta-Jones-In-Chicago-like effort, and I got marking it.
- Finally, the much anticipated Dance 10, Looks 3 – more like Dance 7, Looks 5, Singing 2. This is meant to be a sassy belt and sounded more like a whimper. And I didn’t think the actress looked like she’d had work done or understood why anyone would.
Sigh.
Okay, it wasn't all bad. Paul's monologue was beautifully delivered, the costumes were gorgeous and exactly what I expected, and the staging was minimal but utilised mirrors wonderfully.
So does all this ranting have a point? Yes. When I heard that this same production had won a prestigious Helpmann I was gobsmacked. But then I looked at the list of nominees:
- An Officer and a Gentleman – probably one of the biggest flops in Australian-premiered musical history
- Rock of Ages – which did so badly in Melbourne it didn’t even make it to Sydney
- Grey Gardens – never even heard of it.
Right, so perhaps it was a case of the best of a bad bunch. I can’t say that any of the others were better as I didn’t see them (because An Officer and a Gentleman had such bad reviews and because Rock of Ages didn’t make it to Sydney and because I’d never heard of Grey Gardens), but I felt saddened that this was the selection this year’s judges had to choose from.
Fingers crossed that the 2012-13 crop of musical theatre brings more choice, not just for the judges but also for my theatre group.
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