There are many things to appreciate in MARVELous, which opened last night at the National Theatre in St Kilda, Melbourne.
Right from the get-go we know what we are in for: spotlights aimed out from the stage into our faces dazzle us, the soundtrack rocks and thumps, and we meet our compere and the show’s creator, Samwise Holmes, in his Deadpool guise, forever masked.
On Opening Night the audience was noisily along for the ride with every change of scene and each new Marvel character’s appearance. Since the election results in the US were announced earlier in the day, that was noted in passing – with a predictable joke – before getting on with the evening’s main event.
The Marvel universe is familiar to a generation brought up on Marvel hero movies, comics and spin-off products – we get to meet several of them during the show, each greeted with screams of recognition and delight from the audience. We have Pony Tony, Iron Man, Lady Thor, Doctor Strange – a nice visual gag in there – Black Widow, Loki, Spider-Man, Iron Woman and more – a character for everyone. If you know them already.Â
This is a very ‘in’ show – made for Marvel fans, who recognise the memes and get the jokes and the parodies. Luckily there are a few jokes and references for the non-Marvel initiated, some of which are very funny. For the civilians – read: older than, say, 30; 40 at a pinch – it’s more puzzling, albeit energetic and performed with commitment and panache.
There are some excellent voices in this ensemble – the standouts for this reviewer were Sarah Jane Kelly singing ‘Titanium’ and Andrew Waldin and Megan Wonfor in their featured spots.Â
Twelve attractive, talented singer/dancer/acrobats (and did I mention fit? It’s non-stop dancing, acro-fighting, hurtling, twirling and tumbling mid-air) treat us to an assortment of fights and dances, with great verve, and ever-changing costumes. Not much content, but this show is entertainment-focused, not thought-provoking.
Kudos to Maxine Mueller’s designs of layered, mostly tearaway costumes inspired by graphic novels and the characters in Marvel’s series of superhero movies – lots of harnesses, breastplates, boots (no matter who is dancing, fighting or twirling aloft, boots are obligatory – cool, badass and, by the way, safe for the performers).
The makers of Velcro must have made a fortune from the costume budget of this show – almost every costume piece tears off or is, at least, removed in double quick time, to squeals from the audience. Both male and female performers share a lot of flesh with us – the fight/dance choreography allows for demonstrations of characters’ prowess, as clothing drops away.
There was only one noticeable costume malfunction, which was handled before it caused any major damage to the performer.
Writing this, I’ve had to look up a lot of new acronyms, ‘GELF’ being one – and for you uninitiated it means Genetically Engineered Life Form – and there are plenty of celebrations of that idea throughout. In fact, the AI/alien world is where we spend the evening.
Having said that, I was disappointed that the world of sexism and slightly dated music video choreography rife in the Marvel world, however well executed, is not more clearly parodied, too. Not sure the audience was in on the irony.
The company had two days to get the show on in the National – a huge undertaking, with Dan Potra’s monumental moving set pieces and James Wallis’ enormous lighting design, which frame and support the energy. But there were a few technical hitches in what I suspect was perhaps the first or second full run-through. The audience loved the show so much that the rough edges were indulged; it should be smoother when it settles in.Â
The sound was sometimes out of balance, which muffled lyrics – and a few smart lines went for nothing because they weren’t clear enough. First rule of comedy: clarity! And enough light to see and hear what’s funny and make the point really clearly.
Read: Exhibition review: Gabriella Bisetto, JamFactory Adelaide
A show for aficionados who know all the references and online memes and only for the 15-plus age group, as the producers advise. The fans will love it – energetic, undemanding in the ideas department, full-on and reinforcing the Marvel stereotypes.Â
MARVELous: A Risque Parody
National Theatre, Barkly Street, St Kilda, Melbourne
Created and directed by Samwise Holmes with Sally Jackson
Choreography: Luka Lea-Vestic and Emma Wong
Production design: Dan Potra
Lighting design: James Wallis
Costume design: Maxine Mueller
Aerial coordination: Alex Manning
Performers: Andrea Zappacosta, Andrew Waldin, Emma Wong, Jacob McPherson, Justin Wise, Kaylee Kingi, Liberty Thirsk, Lulani Rawson, Megan Wonfor, Michael Boyle, Samwise Holmes, Sarah Jane Kelly, Thomas Remaili
Tickets: $79-$119
MARVELous will be performed until 10 November 2024.
