The Movies! The Music!

Cameron is currently starring in "The Movies! The Music" at Phoenix Ensemble at Beenleigh. Andrew and I went to the opening last night, and I thought I should write a bit of a review about the show.

Firstly, if you are expecting continuity, forget it. The show is simply a collection of songs that the director and the rest of the cast liked. Because of this, it feels a little forced at times. However, some attempt to introduce structure is through narrations by the cast. Personally, I would have liked there to be a narrator - and that way stumbles over the narrations might have been avoided, and someone with an understanding of voice projection used instead.

However, a major critisism of the show has to be the sound level. The backing tracks were almost painfully loud, and the microphones used by the cast created feedback in every song. The echo effect was also unnecessary; if people wanted to hear karaoke, they would go to a bar. Audiences will come to a production like "The Movies!" to hear people sing properly. A nasty interpretation of the sound levels would be to say that they covered up a cast that lacked musical talent. A nicer interpretation would be that the inexperience of the director and muscial director allowed the situation to occur. Hopefully it will be fixed during later shows.

Still the opening number was fine - Viva las vegas - with lots of dancing. Parts of the vocals were lost in the number, but it was opening night :). During the first act, the stand out songs were the disney tunes - Matt, Caitlyn and Aisha all did a great job. Caitlyn was particularly captivating with her song from The Little Mermaid. The backing music to Matt's Can you feel the love tonight did feel a little fast - there were a lot of words to fit into not much music. Aisha performed well, having a fabulous voice, but it was obvious in parts that the muscial director had been negecting a few of his duties.

Still, I guess it's hard to be on top of everyone's songs (there are 32 in total) when as a musical director, you're in two. And they weren't, I have to say, the best songs - he sounded flat and nasily. Hopefully this was just a case of first night nerves.

The second act opened with Xanadu. Xan did a great job with the song, but the choreo was confusing. A rollerskater, matador, ballerina, random male dancer with unbrella ... unless visual confusion was the desired result, this song failed. Caitlyn's point work was amazing though - just watching her was inspiring, although my toes did start to hurt!

Completely biased, but Cameron's cowboy song was the standout of the night. His voice was clear and steady (even over the previously mentioned high sound levels), top note perfect and captivated the entire audience. Even knowing that the song was nothing more than words to music given his vocal range (which I was reliably informed today was just over two octaves), it was still a joy to hear. I can't wait for him to get back into serious singing over the next 6 months.

Amanda did a good job with Diamonds are Forever, which was clear and hit all the right notes (review cliche #1). I'm not sure why the MD got her to sing the echos at the end of the song though ... especially when 2 other singers were on stage at the same time.

Xan and Cameron's I've finally found someone was also outstanding. The mics, again, were too high and the hideous feedback ruined a beautiful song. Great harmonies and a perfect blend of voices.

Unfortunately, their Time of my Life wasn't so great. Cameron struggled to find the notes to sing, and there seemed to be problems with the microphones. I think that the song is also really too low for his voice. However, the melodies in Time of my Life were also very simple and didn't complement Xan and Cameron's voices. Again, this is a song that will hopefully be improved as the musical progresses.

Two big numbers finished the show - Carwash and Shake your tail feather. Carwash had some great choreo and was heaps of fun. Shake your tail feather had the predicable jumping and wiggling of hands on bottoms. Like Viva las Vegas, the vocals need to be stronger in this song. It has potential, but whether it manages to reach it remains to be seen.

The show is too long, and the tempo of the songs is sometimes a problem. The small cast probably isn't strong enough to support 32 songs. Most of the songs are in that Boys to Men middle of the road - not slow, but not fast. At times I found myself figeting and checking my watch.

Overall, it was an entertaining outing on a friday night. The hall is still terribly hot and uncomfortable, and in Beenleigh. The alcohol is cheap. The ticket price is reasonable, and everyone seemed to enjoy the show. Cameron and Xan were outstanding, and the rest of the cast were ok. It's enjoyable - just don't have too high expectations.