Scott Mackenzie, Russell Leonard and Liam O’Byrne.
After presenting Next To Normal last year independent music theatre company Pursued By Bear return to Chapel Off Chapel with High Fidelity: The Musical. Both pieces have scores written by U.S composer Tom Kitt. While the former won the Pulitzer Prize and enjoyed a successful run on Broadway, the latter barely lasted two weeks on the boards.
Based on Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel, which was later adapted into a film starring John Cusack and Jack Black, the story follows record storeowner Rob (Russell Leonard) as he struggles to come to terms with the breakup of his relationship with his girlfriend Laura (Simone Van Vugt). Rob is also constantly haunted by the spectres of girlfriends past (Alexia Brinsley, Louise Cumming, Morgan Haynes, Caitlin Mathieson and Becky Rhodes) as he grapples with notions of responsibility and jealousy.
The show itself is problematic in that the central character is not only flawed but also a bit of a douche; he has cheated on his girlfriend and only really seems concerned with making sure she doesn’t sleep with her new boyfriend, as opposed to discovering anything new about himself and assessing how he treats the people in his life. It’s a pretty big ask of an audience to feel sympathy for this guy and it really doesn’t help matters when the lead actor portraying the central role isn’t up to the task.
Leonard has a somewhat engaging presence on stage but he struggled through the entire first act of High Fidelity. He mumbled his lines, sang painfully out of tune and just generally appeared as if he didn’t really want to be there. This, of course, could be put down to opening night jitters but his performance didn’t improve during the second half of the show; he just never really took off.
Luckily the supporting cast is full of energy and enthusiasm. Scott Mackenzie is a stand out as surly would-be rock star Barry and Liam O’Byrne brings a sweet gawkiness to the role of Dick and he sings the role brilliantly. Van Vugt’s portrayal of Laura is solid, however persistent microphone problems meant that many of her stronger moments were lost. Lisa Woodbrook plays Liz as a sassy hurricane of a woman and she also delivers one of the most aggressive stage slaps I’ve ever witnessed.
There are major problems with this production. Firstly, Sarah Tulloch’s set design leaves no space for the performers to move in. A fantastic looking tall shelf of records dominates stage right and an armchair flanks the other side, but the center of the space is crammed with a large panel of windows that forces the actors to play the action far too downstage. This means that the majority of the audience never get a clear view of what is happening and it makes the already stylistically inappropriate and generic choreography appear messy and out of place. Worse still this piece of the set is never really utilised in any convincing way; Rob’s ex-girlfriends press themselves against it during one number and Liz has a conversation on the phone in it but that’s about it. I was expecting the fantastic sounding band, lead by Frankie Ross, to be revealed within it at some point but alas they are backstage hidden behind a curtain.
Brendan Jellie’s lighting design is fine, however some moments were lost in darkness, which made keeping track of some events difficult. There were also a few awkward moments where lighting cues clearly didn’t happen. For example, at the end of act one the lighting state froze and the house lights didn’t come up. I only knew it was interval because I looked at the programme. The costumes by Jaz Tweeddale seemed to come straight out of the 80s and 90s, all punk rock leather and large shoulder pads etc. However, according to the script High Fidelity is set in modern times (there’s a reference to rock band Coldplay) so this is puzzling.
David Ward’s direction is messy and unfocussed at times. This is mostly evident in the staging of the ‘Desert Island Top 5 Break-Ups’ number; there is so much action happening at once, Rob never stops and gets pushed and pulled around the stage by his exes that this witty and informative song becomes unintelligible. Entrances and exits are clumsy; sometimes taking so long that the band has to vamp until the stage action is completed. This takes a lot of the pace out of the show.
I was really looking forward to seeing a local production of High Fidelity having been a fan of the Broadway cast recording. There is a funny, rocking and enjoyable show in there somewhere, it’s just a bit hard to find it in Pursued By Bears’ production.
Rating : 2 out of 5 stars
High Fidelity: The Musical
Presented by Pursued Be Bear
Chapel off Chapel, Prahran
www.chapeloffchapel.com.au
11 – 21 September
