Image: Jeff Busby
It’s interesting that Melbourne Theatre Company have chosen to end their 2014 season with two strikingly similar plays. In I’ll Eat You Last British expat Miriam Margolyes portrays Hollywood super-agent Sue Mengers, whilst Pennsylvania Avenue stars Australian performer Bernadette Robinson as Harper Clements, a fictional member of the Social Office at The White House who is retiring after forty years of service. Both shows feature one-woman performances, female characters reflecting on their lengthy careers, anecdotes about celebrities and sets featuring couches.
Pennsylvania Avenue reunites Robinson with the same creative team who developed the highly successful Songs For Nobodies some five years ago; playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, director Simon Phillips and musical director Ian McDonald. Set within the Blue Room of the White House this music theatre piece begins with Harper packing her final box of belongings as she is made redundant by the incoming Bush administration. She reflects on her career and the eclectic roster of singers and performers who have appeared at the White House under the reign of six U.S. presidents, from JFK through to Bill Clinton. In between brief monologues and sensational musical performances, in which Robinson completely transforms into these various celebrities, the audience begins to discover the painful past of this strong and resilient woman.
Robinson’s talents as an astonishing theatrical interpreter of famous performers are on glorious display in Pennsylvania Avenue. Her uncanny ability to perfectly capture the tones, styles and idiosyncrasies of each star’s distinctive voice is simply magical; from the brash confidence and vibrato of Barbra Streisand through to the broken twang of Bob Dylan this is truly a tour de force performance by Robinson. She effortlessly plays an exhausting assortment of roles including Eartha Kitt, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Tammy Wynette, Diana Ross and Maria Callas to name but a few. Most of the musical sequences are thrilling, but unfortunately the surrounding narrative is not.
Murray-Smith’s dialogue is reliably excellent; full of wit, charm and poetry but always focused and coherent. The problem is that the piece doesn’t really have anything all that interesting to say about politics, power or history. We’ve seen it all before, the overwhelming tragedy of the Kennedy assassination, the explosion of the social movements of the 1960’s and the public crucifixion of Clinton. Harper doesn’t spend much time discussing the personalities of the presidents, ‘I liked him,’ she focuses on behind the scenes tidbits such as Marilyn Monroe’s wardrobe gaffs and Eartha Kitt’s outspoken social conscience.
It’s made very clear from the outset that Harper has a dark incident in her past when she refers to her parents setting up her job interview at The White House as a “fresh start” for the young woman. I guessed her secret straight away and the resulting supposedly dramatic denouement is not that revelatory. It doesn’t help matters that in between songs director Phillips often employs rather cheesy ominous underscoring so that the audience is constantly reminded that there are “serious” things going on. The thunderous applause after Robinson’s show-stopping rendition of Don’t Rain on my Parade is cut short by a loud gunshot signifying the death of JFK before Harper tearfully confesses that she maybe could have stopped the assassination by suggesting an alternate route for the president’s fateful cavalcade. This production tells the audience how to feel rather than allowing any deep reflection or interpretation.
Philips’ direction is rather stifled as the entire show is set within one room. There’s only so many times Harper can lounge on the furniture or pick through photos in the cardboard box she constantly handles before it wears a bit thin. Pennsylvania Avenue only really comes to life in the staging of the musical sequences, something Philips handles with flair, although this reviewer did long for a bit more movement or interaction between Robinson and the sensational onstage band lead by musical director McDonald.
Shaun Gurton’s set recreates the grandeur of The Blue Room with ornate couches and chairs surrounded by a circular sheer blue curtain and topped off with a full chandelier. Six large picture frames hang around the performance space projecting historical photographs, portraits of the presidents and different settings. Chris Moore’s video designs are attractive and effective. Nick Schlieper’s lighting successfully creates a concert atmosphere during the musical numbers.
Pennsylvania Avenue is all a bit safe and predictable in the end. The song choices are obvious, we get all the classic hits from ‘Fever’ to ‘Amazing Grace’ and Harper’s life is ultimately not all that interesting. However, there is no denying the unique talent of Robinson and the power of her voice; the standing ovation that greeted her opening night performance was well deserved.
If you’re up for a fluffy distraction to finish your theatrical year then Pennsylvania Avenue is the show for you. Just don’t try to scratch too deep below the surface.
Rating: 3 our of 5 stars
Pennsylvania Avenue
The Sumner Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company
Written by Joanna Murray-Smith
Directed by Simon Phillips
November 8 – December 20 2014
