Disney's Moana Jr. - 9 out of
10 stars
Adelaide Youth Theatre
Tickets: Disney's Moana JR Tickets
Adelaide Youth Theatre's production of Moana Jr is a perfect family outing these school holidays. With a run-time of almost an hour, with all the favourite songs and characters depicted on stage, this is an exciting way to experience a familiar story. Just ask the busloads of OSHC children who filled the audience on Thursday; the excitement was clear before the show started!
A youthful production team pulls off this spectacular performance with Director Bernard Flynn, Musical Director Daisy Jury, and Choreographer Kiara Linke. Each team member has extensive performance experience, but only a handful of director credits between them. It is awesome to see AYT building up the next generation of directors – not just performers – and this team has shown that age is no barrier to making thoughtful and dynamic decisions letting every performer shine on stage.
WASAWASA CAST - Reviewed by Anastasia Ferguson
As Moana, Maree Fong leads the show with a flawless performance embodying the rebellious, silly, and proud Disney princess. Her vocal performance is particularly impressive, hitting every note with confidence and skill. You would be forgiven for forgetting she's not the cartoon coming to life on stage.
Elliott Purdie works hard to establish the stage presence needed for the imposing Maui. His comedic physical performance and seemingly effortless vocals enable him to draw well-deserved attention, both when the stage is near empty, or full of the supporting ensemble.
Heihei and Pua are a particular delight to watch as Serafina Siow and Ivy Owen take on these adorable animal companions with natural acting ability. The mischievous pair bring childlike enjoyment to the village life of Montunui while every line is clear and well-timed.
Gramma Tala is the “village crazy lady” and Ella Mishra effectively portrays a woman in her own world, drifting and dancing like water in every appearance, while confidently delivering each line of advice to Moana. Jonathon Siou as Chief Tui and Catherine Kilpatrick as Sina clearly tell the story of familial love and community life through their singing and acting.
Emily George as the sassy Tamatoa is ably backed by Penelope Romeo and Lara Szoboszlai. The trio are eye-catching, never missing a beat, with confident vocals, as well as leading the ensemble dance number with ease.
LOMALAGI CAST - Reviewed by Andrew Broadbent
Starring as Moana, Keira Flynn has a strong future in musical theatre, blowing the audience out of the water with her vocals, choreography and characterisation. Many highlights throughout Moana Jr had the audience hanging on Flynn’s words.
Filling the demigod’s shoes is Elliott Purdie, ensuring the comedic timing is on point, while being agile on his feet. Along with the dance ability, her also carries a boldly tune, suitably creating an overall charming character. His performance of You’re Welcome, ably backed up by the ensemble became a crowd favourite, reprising for the finale. Together, Flynn and Purdie work well as a team.
Yuiko Fujihara graces the stage with fluidity and poise as Gramma Tala, but also unofficially ruled the nest when she needed to. While a small role, Gramma Tala’s influence drives the story, and Fujihara succeeds in delivering a solid performance.
Bailey Wilkinson did the unthinkable and made Shiny an enjoyable song for this reviewer. It has consistently been a song I dread, even in the movie. As Tamatoa, Wilkinson and her two dancers made a very fun and enjoyable scene, supported by the ensemble. There was energy and vibrance shining through her performance.
Nira Hancock as Heihei, and Piper Wilkinson as Pua were very comical. It was evident from the beginning who they were, thanks to some clever costuming. Thankfully, these animal critters have a larger vocabulary range.
Chief Ancestors
Paetyn Slater, Autumn-Rose Smith and Patrick Moore told the story with respect to
the original work but also held the audience’s attention each time they
appeared and sang. The trio have worked hard in becoming a single unit through
their movements, singing and blocking.
“Everybody on this island, has a role on this island” has never been truer. Despite such a large cast, each ensemble member is clearly confident of their place in scenes, set movement, scene changes, and choreographed numbers. Simple and effective, the ensemble highlights the skill of the production team in their impressive performance, and any family member would be thrilled to see their child celebrated in this show. Many members get moments to shine such as Charlotte Richardson, Charlie Clarkson, Rubi McFarlane, Archie Wilkinson, Charlotte Buckley as Villagers and Fishers delivering lines with humour and poise, as does the dance troupe who play a variety of roles including the ever-moving ocean.
Wardrobe and props teams need to be commended for their use of familiar details to identify characters and immersing the audience in each scene. Puppetry is effectively used, especially to represent several transformations and highlight the magic of live theatre. The team have used the Futures Theatre venue to success with the extravagance of screens and a myriad of stage entrances well-used in setting each scene. A couple of minor props and wardrobe incidents during Thursday's performance show the true mettle of these young performers, able to recover and continue without flinching.
From Saturday's 10am session: The Costume Design throughout this musical is on another level, with many individual designs throughout the ensemble and principal characters safeguarding cultural respect, while ensuring the creative flair is met for such a beloved production.
Parents may like to be aware that (as in the movie) one character does pass away in a particularly well handled, just off-stage death scene. The future (and present) of Adelaide's community and professional theatre scenes is in safe hands with the calibre of performance displayed in AYT's Moana Jr.
-Anastasia Ferguson
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