The Perfect Life - 8 out of 10
Popjam Productions
TICKETS: The Perfect Life (a musical by Amity Dry) | Adelaide Fringe
Four women, whose lives are linked through a café and friendship, each find themselves confronted by the realities of being a woman in a harsh world. There is Lily, the owner of the café, who seems to have it all, including a newly emptied house thanks to her boys going on a gap year. Then there is Bec, the feisty mother of three who still manages to maintain a sense of humour. Lawyer Kate, single and ambitious, brings some youth to the group, as does Jess who has just returned from abroad to catch up with her friends. Over the course of roughly a year, these ladies will run through a minefield of experiences that will test themselves and their friendship.
The Perfect Life
is the latest iteration of the musical which began life in 2009. With book,
lyrics, and music by Amity Dry, it is clear that she feels this is a work that
needs to be regularly brought out and improved. There is much to admire here.
Writing a musical essentially on your own and not only getting a run in
Australia but the US and the UK as well is nothing to be sneeze at, and Dry
deserves many plaudits for continuing to champion this work that clearly has
special significance for her. Taking on the role of Lucy, Dry reminds the
audience of how wonderful her singing voice is and she connects deeply with the
songs her character sings. She brings a motherly warmth to the stage that
serves as the anchor point to the rest of the cast.
She surrounds herself with some
phenomenal talent both onstage and off. Local performer Dee Farnell, fresh from
wowing Adelaide audiences in Come From Away last year, brings the sass
as Bec. Her songs (especially solo “The Day I Was Chosen”) are some of the
musical highlights of the show and the audience reaction to them are loud and
prolonged. Farnell’s singing is in a class of its own, although her dialogue
felt a little stilted at times.
Chloe Zuel, known to Adelaide audiences
from Six and also as part of the original Australian cast of Hamilton, is absolutely wonderful in the role of Jess. She brings so much depth to her
role and her duets with Farnell’s Bec are also brilliantly received. Her
number “I Don’t Care”, while overlong, is a much-needed bright light in a
fairly gloomy second act.
Kerrie Ann Greenland is the final piece to
this puzzle as the stoic Kate. Her story is the one that so many women in the
audience resonate with deeply and despite the strong star power on
stage, she managed to dominate it with her presence and her outstanding singing
voice. Her performance is Act Two is especially heartbreaking.
Combined, the ladies balance out each
other vocally extremely well, knowing when to support and when to step forward.
Their four-part harmonies are tight and well-polished. They also support each
other in the scenes extremely well and allow each member of the group to shine
perfectly - a credit to director Jo Casson.
The show is nicely backed by the excellent
musicians under the tender care of local MD legend, Martin Cheney. The tight
ensemble is an absolute highlight (although I personally would have liked
better strings sounds than the slightly cheesy synth ones used). Balance is
generally excellent between band and singers although the cast are let down on
a number of occasions by late sound cues which saw the start of lines missed.
The show is staged on a wonderfully
adaptive set designed by Bec Francis. Her set wows the audience as they walk in
and makes effective use of lighting and window “space” to show the different
locations in the musical.
Director Jo Casson keeps the action
flowing nicely, although one wonders whether there needs to be a reliance on
blackouts so often. Thankfully, none of these were overlong and so not too much
momentum is lost.
Although there is much to enjoy about this
musical, and indeed the predominantly female audience were genuinely connected
to the stories, there are still some issues that need to be ironed out for
future runs of the show (and let us hope that there are many more). The show
runs a little over 2 and a half hours long and needs about 15 minutes taken off
it by trimming some of the dialogue and shortening a couple of the musical
numbers - especially in the lengthy first act which takes a long time to settle.
The dialogue also needs some rewriting in places to avoid some of it becoming
cliched. One suspects that the perfect version of this show is not too far
away.
With all that being said, this is
absolutely well worth seeing. The performances alone are engaging and vibrant -
and darn it, it’s good to see Amity Dry back onstage again - and the story is
one that will resonate with so many people in the audience, especially the
females. The professional look of the show is a credit to the production team. It is an enjoyable and emotional night out that will leave you thinking for
a long time after.
Any chance to see a local performer write
something as bold and striking as this is something that should be championed
by audiences wholeheartedly. This is a magnificent show for anyone who wants to
see how well Australian musicals can sound. Full credit to Amity Dry for
continuing to work on the show and bring to the very appreciative
audiences.
- Rodney Hrvatin
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