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| Michael Boyd - Prinnie Stevens and the Company of "A Christmas Spectacular. |
Produced and directed by Michael Boyd - Choreographed by Matt Browning.
Costumes designed by Cathie Costello – Stage Management by Journey Malone.
Lighting Design by Alex Fox – Sound Design by Tom Hawker
Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse 9 & 10 December 2024.
Performance on 9th December reviewed by BILL
STEPHENS.
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| Toy Soldiers on parade in "The Christmas Spectacular" |
A master illusionist and canny producer, Michael Boyd has established a loyal Canberra audience for his lavishly staged production shows like Cabaret de Paris and Circus of Illusion.
As good as these shows are, this year’s offering, A
Christmas Spectacular may be his best show yet, attracting capacity houses
for both of its two Canberra performances.
Clearly a devotee of the extravagant Parisian style of
presentational cabaret, Boyd’s productions are notable for the elegance of his
stagings.
The Christmas Spectacular is a superb example of his style.
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| Prinnie Stevens and her boys in "The Christmas Spectacular" |
Vocalist, Prinnie Stevens helmed the production in the dual roles of glamorous feature singer for the production numbers, and narrator to thread the acts together. In both roles she is superb.
As a vocalist in the Whitney Houston/ Mariah Carey mould,
she has few peers, able to effortlessly produce sweet head voice or aggressive
rock sounds at will.
As compere, she has the ability to immediately engage her
audience with her warm, friendly storytelling.
Her repertoire for this show ranged through “O Holy Night”, “Christmas
Bells”, Whitney Houston’s “Who Would Imagine a King” and of course, Maria
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”.
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| Prinnie Stevens and Company perform "Joy to the World" |
Central to the success of the show are the six statuesque showgirls, Megan, Lauren, Madeleine, Katrina, Lana and Hollee, some of whom are former Moulin Rouge and Lido dancers skilled in the art of displaying Cathie Costello’s spectacular rhinestone, feather and LED-light decorated creations while confidently performing Matt Browning’s intricate choreography in perfect unison, supported by two accomplished male dancers, Kurtis and Matt.
These dancers are kept busy performing Browning’s eye-popping
Christmas themed routines, highlights among which were a Toy-Soldier ballet
with the dancers costumed in red and gold; a glittering number featuring the entire cast
dressed in silver and black manipulating white ostrich feather fans; and a
dazzling routine which had the younger audience members shrieking with delight,
featuring the dancers dressed as reindeer towing Santa in a sleigh.
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| Santa (Journey Malone) arrives with his reindeer in "The Christmas Fantasy" |
Between the dance routines, ballet-trained acrobat, Aleisha Manion delighted with her virtuosity with hula hoops, and her grace performing astonishingly beautiful manipulations on an extraordinary apparatus that resembled a huge magnifying glass.
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| Aleisha Manion performing during "A Christmas Spectacular" |
Boyd himself astonished with some of his most intriguing illusions including a lovely Nutcracker inspired illusion featuring a huge velvet lined jewel-box and ballerinas, Megan and Holly; and a charming segment involving audience member, Milly, who assisted him to levitate a table.
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| Michael Boyd produces a ballerina on stage. |
But his piece de resistance was a remarkable new illusion in which in answer to a letter sent in by a young boy who had never seen snow, he sent the whole audience, young and old, into raptures by filling the entire theatre with a snowstorm.
For anyone looking for
an antidote to all the depressive news infecting this year’s Christmas
celebrations, Michael Boyd’s The Christmas Spectacular is the perfect solution.
This couple of hours of beautifully delivered gorgeousness is guaranteed to
restore your Joie de vivre and should not be missed when it comes to your city.
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| Prinnie Stevens in a snowstorm during "The Christmas Spectacular" |
