Presented
SMA Productions
The
Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre 13th – 15th October.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
“Boys in the
Band” is a slick, fully choreographed cabaret show, performed by four
good-looking young men, backed by a tight four-piece live band. The show pays
homage to famous boy bands, stringing together medleys of hit songs associated
with such groups as Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons, The Beatles, The
Jackson Five, The Beach Boys and The Bee Gees. The excellent vocal and musical
arrangements successfully reproduce the unique sound of each of the groups
represented, and the often complex choreography provides visual interest.
Produced by
SMA Productions, the show features several casts. An excellent version performed in the Canberra
Playhouse last year featured Hugh Barrington, Tom Sharrah, Leigh Sleightholme
and Tom Struik, in an impeccable performance, memorable for the slickness and
precision of presentation, which set high expectations for this sold-out season
in the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre.
The cast
performing at The Q again includes Tom Struik, but this time with Mat Verevis,
Simon McLachlan, and Nana Matapule, which, while not as vocally accomplished as
the other cast, sang well and executed the choreography competently. However,
on their opening night in Queanbeyan, they appeared to be running on automatic,
and their overall performance lacked the enthusiasm, attack and polish which previously
made this show so outstanding.
The
performance commenced unpromisingly with a poor sound mix and a dull lighting
plot. The singers seemed content to sing at the audience, rather than to them. There
were intonation problems with harmonies, and carelessness with details. Small
details like a jacket unbuttoned when
the other three are buttoned, and a singer having his hands clasped in front
while the other three have their hands at their sides, are important in a show
which has obviously strived to obtain a slick and polished finish. Unsightly
water-bottles scattered around the stage don’t enhance it either.
The show is
scripted, so interpolations like “Are ya havin’ a good time?” when the show had
barely began, or “C’mon, get up and dance”, when it’s impossible to comply in
raked theatre seating, along with constant false exits followed by “D’ya want
more”, are more annoying than endearing.
The
retention of the time wasting segment early in the show, involving hauling an
unfortunate audience member on to the stage for some embarrassingly juvenile
participation, also puzzles because it destroys the promised pretext that the
show is a serious exploration of the success of boy bands.
Hopefully
these aberrations will be corrected for future performances, because, at its
best, “Boys in the Band” is among the slickest and most entertaining presentations
of its type on the circuit.
This review also appear in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au
