THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS - Everyman Theatre - ACT Hub

The cast of "The Musical of Musicals" - performing the "Speakeasy" segment.
Louis Blomfield - Will Collett - Jarrad West - Nick Griffin (Piano) - Hanna Ley. 

Written by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell.

Original Canberra productions directed by Duncan Ley and Duncan Driver.

Rehearsal Director: Duncan Driver – Musical Director: Nicholas Griffin

Choreographed by Hannah Ley and Jarrad West – Rehearsed by Meg Millband.

Stage Manager/Lighting/ Sound Designer: Nikki Fitzgerald – Costume designer: Fiona Leach

ACT Hub 17 – 25^th October 2025 – Performance on 22^nd Oct. reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

The Cast of "The Musical of Musicals" performing "Corn!" 
Louisa Blomfield - Hanna Ley - Will Collett - Jarrad West

Originally presented in Canberra by Everyman Theatre for sell-out seasons in 2009 and 2010, this delightful parody of Broadway musicals is given a nostalgic revival by Everyman, with most of the original cast intact.

Written by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell and premiered Off-Broadway in 2003, “The Musical of Musicals” is written in five acts. The conceit being that each act is constructed as a stand-alone mini musical involving the same four characters enacting basically the same story, about the ingénue who can’t pay her rent; a dastardly villain who offers to pay her rent, but at a price; and upstanding hero who offers to pay her rent, whether or not he can afford it; and a worldly older woman to whom the heroine turns for advice.

Each mini musical is written in the style of a different Broadway composer or composing team.   

The challenge for the actors is to portray the style of the original productions while coping with the silliness of the invented storylines that include singing, dancing, clowning and endless costume changes.

None of which seemed to faze this cast, who tackle challenge brilliantly, with the help of virtuosic piano accompaniment from Nick Griffin and lightning-fast costuming solutions by Fiona Leach.  

The fun for the audience of course is testing their knowledge of Broadway musicals by recognising the source of the references, while finding time to catch a breath between guffaws.

The actor’s challenge is obviously addictive because Hanna Ley returned from England to reprise her original role as ingénue, June, (“I can’t pay the rent”). Jarrad West reprises the dastardly, Jitter, (“You must pay the rent”), Louisa Blomfield reprises her role as the kindly older woman, Abby, to whom June turns for advice, (“Follow your dream”).

Louisa Blomfield (Abby) - Will Collett (Willy) in "Corn!" a sequence in
"The Musical of Musials"

New cast member, Will Collett, returned from Korea to step into the role of the handsome hero, Willy (“I’ll pay the rent for you”), the role created in the original Canberra productions by Adrian Flor.  Original co-director, Duncan Driver was on hand to rehearse the madness, before becoming the jovial commentator, willing and able to keep the audience informed regarding any gaps in the storylines.

But perhaps the biggest challenge of all is that undertaken by Musical Director, Nicholas Griffin, who single-handedly provides the accompaniment for the entire show, while still finding time for his own costume changes and special effects.

Musical Director, Nicholas Griffin during the "Speakeasy" sequence of "The Musical of Musicals".

The show moves at breakneck speed, requiring concentration from the audience to catch all the references. Bliss for musical theatre devotees and still rewarding for those not particularly attracted to musicals, but able to appreciate the inspired clowning of this pitch-perfect cast, obviously revelling in exercising their vocal, terpsichorean and clowning skills.   

The opening act, entitled “Corn!” parodies the musicals of Rogers and Hammerstein, so watch out for references from Oklahoma, Carousel, The Sound of Music, The King and I, Cinderella, The Flower Drum Song and South Pacific. Of course, there’s a dream ballet and a happy ending.  

Stephen Sondheim receives his comeuppance with “A Little Complex”, wickedly referencing his esoteric musicals, Into the Woods, Company, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George.  

An act entitled “Dear Abby” targets composer, Jerry Herman, referencing his shows Mame, Hello Dolly, La Cage aux Folles, and Dear World; while “Aspects of Junita” is a sung-through pop-opera that rifles through such shows as The Phantom of the Opera. Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Boulevard, Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Starlight Express for a storyline that would make even Andrew Lloyd Webber cringe.

Hanna Ley and Jarrad West channelling Andrew Lloyd Webber during the "Aspects of Junita" sequence of "The Musical of Musicals"

“Speakeasy” gives the cast opportunity to wear skimpy clothes, adopt outrageous fake German accents and dabble in debauchery as they plunder such musicals as Chicago, Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Liza with a Z to parody the musicals of Kander and Ebb, before “Musical of Musical” reaches its glorious finale with an irritatingly familiar song entitled “Done” which devotees will recognise as strikingly familiar to “One” from A Chorus Line.

One of the pleasures of attending shows at the ACT Hub is marvelling at the clever ways with which the directors utilise the space for their productions. For this production, however, the design has the audience seated in a semi-tiered situation.

As a result, poor sightlines for audience members seated beyond the first couple of rows, make it almost impossible to see the actors whenever they were performing at floor level, especially if they were stooping or lying on the floor, and disappointingly, compromising the effect of the excellent choreography.

Similarly, as so much of the enjoyment of the satire is dependent in catching the brilliant satirical barbs, the decision not to amplify the actors, despite their undeniable actorly skills and experience, meant that much vocal information was lost.

Nevertheless, shows as wickedly enjoyable as “Musical of Musicals” are all too rare, so don’t miss this opportunity to see it performed by a topline cast.




                                                          Images by Michael Moore