DRACULA TRIUMPHANT

DRACULA TRIUMPHANT THEATRE ROYAL

In the new musical DRACULA TRIUMPHANT the actor playing Jonathan Harker sings ‘I can’t believe I stooped so low.’ To the poison-pen critics who await new musicals as lions might await a lamb, lines like this are manna from the Gods. As is already obvious from other reviews sadly this show had all too many moments likely to send critics to their lexicons for new terms of damnation.

David Morris and Aaron Kernaghan have bravely attempted to bring a new rock chic to Stokers dark fable. The Calvin Klein costumed cast, or more correctly, half-costumed cast, did their best to lend gravitas to the through-sung material without, it must be said, much success. Pitch problems plagued virtually all the principals who were not assisted by the music which tended to seek out and over-amplify notes that were impossible to reach or only achieved by shrieking. Certain members of the orchestra also appeared to be off on a frolic of their own. Sitting beside me, two young gentlemen who, one got the impression, may in other circumstances have been music theatre enthusiasts, were moved to block their ears.

Shutting the eyes was not at all advisable as the assembled cast was exceptionally easy to look at. T J Power (an actor, not an electricity company) brought great presence to the stage as Dracula – his imposing height, looks and assured performance made one wish he’d had better material and more vocal coaching. Michelle Pearson and Virginia Natoli handled the roles of Mina and Lucy competently and with appeal, although even their ballads were punctuated by uncomfortable vocal twists. As Harker, Simon Brook McLachlan bore a striking resemblance to the shortest member of the former Boy Band ‘Take That’. That aside, he made the most successful attempt at handling the music and gave a suitably committed and impassioned performance, which, like Power’s, was often delivered half-naked. The old adage ‘sexy sells’ had obviously been brought to bear (bare?) on this production but judging by the small audience without much success.

One got the feeling that there had been a loss of nerve somewhere in promoting this show. There were no advertising signs outside the Theatre Royal and the $20 ‘last-minute rush’ tickets succeeded only in annoying audience members who had paid full price and leaving those of us who had arrived intending to, $40 better off.

All this sounds like damnation and, much as I would have wished to, it was fairly hard to find a great deal to like in this show. There were one or two impressive moments and the final ten minutes were quite compelling. Another positive was the staging which considering the budgetary considerations was reasonably inventive. Kernaghan, who, in a manner reminiscent of the Dennis Waterman sketch in Little Britain, wrote the music, orchestrated the music, conducted the music and directed the show, must have a great capacity to absorb stress. Generally his direction was pacy but it may have been wiser to hand over that task and the conducting to third parties. MorrisÂ’ lyrics were often lost in the cacophony however those that escaped served the material well even if the story-line itself became a tad jumbled at times. Morris also should have resisted the temptation to play a role on stage. Perhaps if both creators had sat in the audience the show may have had a greater chance of success. One final irritation was the curtain-call in which the cast all applauded one another. With the possible exception of high Opera applauding is best left up to the audience. That is generally what they are there for.

For Kernaghan and Morris the magnitude of the achievement of bringing an entirely new large cast work into a major Sydney theatre should not be underrated. It is to be hoped that that courage has not led to a financial bath. While this piece may not have met their expectations, the lessons learnt will serve them well in future projects and all power to their elbows for having had a go.