The World Goes ‘Round. Music by
John Kander. Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, David
Thompson. Directed by Jarrad West. Choreographed by Caitlin Schilg. Musical Director.
Alexander Unikowski. Canberra Repertory Society. Theatre 3. May 16 – June 1
2019. Bookings 62571950. www.canberrarepertory.org.au
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
 |
|
The World Goes ‘Round Ensemble. Samantha Marceddo, Joel Hutchings
Louiza Blomfield, Isaac Gordon, Julia Walker
|
Wow.! This show has class. From
the moment that Louiza Blomfield lets rip with the title song, The World Goes ‘Round, Canberra Rep’s
glittering gem of a production gets the goosebumps tingling.. Five workers in a
Downtown bar arrive to find that the bar has been put up for sale. Their haven
of hopes and fears, dreams and desires is about to cast them out and for two
hours they find refuge in the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the
songwriting team that brought us the smash hits
of Chicago and Cabaret but much, much more. Posters on the wall recall
the familiar, the obscure, the unknown and the surprising including musicals, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Zorba, Woman of the
Year,The Rink Girls and Flora The Red
Menace, as well as numbers from Liza Minella’s In Person and Liza with a Z
album.
 |
| Director Jarrad West and the cast of The World Goes 'Round |
One after another, the numbers
roll out, every one a hit from director Jarrad West’s stunning ensemble. There
is simmering sensuality in Samantha Marceddo’s All
That Jazz, comedy in Isaac Gordon’s Sara
Lee with the company, pathos in Joel Hutchings and Gordon’s I Don’t Remember You from The Happy Time and longing in Julia Walker's Only Love from Zorba. Ensemble numbers show a company
of performers in perfect synch, sparklingly choreographed by Caitlin Schilg and
directed with an inventive eye for business and an instinct for emotional truth
by West. Routines, highlighted by a roller-skating sequence by Gordon and
Hutchings are triumphs in timing and imagination in a flawless display of
talent and production values.. West directs with sensitive flair, allowing for
the flavour of the moment to permeate the atmosphere, to feel the solitude of
Gordon’s Mr Cellophane, the comical conquest
of Walker’s Arthur in the Afternoon,
the longing of Blomfield’s Maybe This
Time or the desperation of I Don’t
Remember You. The Bar becomes the world of Kander and Ebb, a revolving
reflection of Life’s trials and tribulations and triumphs. Through it all,
there is hope. The bar may be sold but the world will continue to go round and
the five outcasts will survive.
 |
| On Chris Baldock's set design for The World Goes 'Round |
And through it all, the band
plays on. Under musical director Alexander Unikowski musicians John Yoon,
Hayley Manning, Melissa Fung and Brandon Reed with Unikowski at the keyboard
and other instruments, provide superb support for the singers. Unique
arrangements of certain numbers and surprising harmonies lend the show a fresh
appeal and refreshing variation to numbers like New York New York.
If Canberra were Downtown New
York and Theatre 3 was Off Broadway, this show would run for years. It is a
perfect storm of talent, directed and choreographed with flair and feeling.
Five of Canberra’s finest music theatre artists lend this show a zest and
shining appeal that makes it a stunning
tribute to the music and lyrics of Kander and Ebb and a brilliant evening of
musical entertainment to warm the heart
and dare you not to hum along to the songs that make this world go round. I
predict that The World Goes ‘Round
will be the hit musical of the year!
