Dusty : The Original Pop Diva

By Mark Kearney

Dusty : The Original Pop Diva

Dusty Springfield is a name synonymous with pop music. Her back-catalogue is a veritable smorgasbord of classics, including songs like, "Son of a Preacher Man", "The Look of Love" and "I Only Want To Be With You". Just as iconic was her appearance, with smoky eye makeup and blonde beehive her calling cards.

It is somewhat unsurprising, therefore, that the jukebox musical phenomenon has turned its gaze to the life and times of the British superstar. Written among others by Australian entertainment stalwart, John-Michael Howson, Dusty: The Original Pop Diva, first opened at Melbourne's Arts Centre in 2006 before playing to over 400,000 audience members Australia-wide.

Melbourne theatre company CLOC are responsible for bringing the show back to where it all began, with a new incarnation by directorial duo Chris and Lynette White.

Dusty takes us back to when Springfield was still Mary O’Brien (Candice Sweetman), a young girl with dreams of making it big. Despite finding huge success as a recording artist, Dusty (Jodie Symes) remains largely discontented. But this hole is partially filled by her romantic yet turbulent relationship with Reno (Rachel Whitelaw), the lead singer of an all-female pop trio.

Together, they encounter a rollercoaster of experiences which test their resolve as a couple and as individuals.

CLOC's Dusty is a sleek, beautiful-looking production. The show is visually pleasing even before the curtain rises. A temporary prosthenium arch made up of Springfield album covers is a stylish forbearer of things to come. The arch frames the illuminated name, "Dusty", at the rear of the stage. It is appropriate to note here that the entire show is lit to perfection by designer and operator Jason Bovaird.

Set pieces were functional and often innovative. Brenton Staples’ cut-out Albert Hall and stacks of hexagonal platforms were highlights. The latter were an especially effective and interesting way of diversifying the playing space. At times, however, I felt their size meant the cast were struggling for room.

This was particularly the case in the TV studio scenes. But the speckled finish applied to each element of the set was impeccable and is becoming somewhat of a trademark for the Whites’ productions.

Costumes are an integral element of Dusty. Having seen the original production, I remembered the tremendous array of costumes needed to distinguish between the five decades traversed by the show. Victoria Horne’s designs did not disappoint; I counted as many as 17 costumes changes for leading lady Symes (although I’m sure I missed a couple!).

For this, congratulations must be extended to the team of dressers led by Melinda Peebles, who worked their magic side stage all evening. The overwhelming majority of outfits were lovely.

Unfortunately, a couple of designs seemed too large for Symes, chiefly the floor-length, long-sleeve metallic gown in ‘Mama’s Little Girl’. But I am nitpicking. Horne’s attention to detail was epitomised by the entirely new, colour-coordinated costumes given to all cast members in the bows/closing ‘megamix’.

Performances were strong throughout. Jodie Symes handled the demanding role of Dusty with grace, moving seamlessly from matters of love to a relationship breakdown, from drug abuse to illness. Symes was in her element when singing some of Springfield’s more dramatic songs; her highlights included the sultry "Look of Love" and gentler "I Think It’s Going To Rain Today".

Whitelaw sung and acted the role of Reno well. She was never short on the attitude required. While Reno is meant to be an African American, Whitelaw is not. Having said that, I appreciated that Whitelaw had not been caked in dark makeup or sprayed a lurid shade of tan in order to make her seem "black-er". However, a number of references to Reno’s race throughout the performance were a little distracting. I also felt the connection shared by Reno and Dusty could’ve been more palpable. I wanted to care more about their relationship troubles than what I actually did.
    
Samuel Kitchen as Dusty's camp, longtime confidante, Rodney, was a standout. His medley of diva hits (including numbers like Shirley Bassey’s "Goldfinger", Lulu’s "To Sir With Love" and Cilla Black’s "Downtown") was a joy. Considering the role of Dusty’s other friend, Peg (played by Shelley Rodrigues), is grossly under-written, his performance is all the more important to the success of the peripheral cast.

Commendation must also be made of the talented and hard-working ensemble who each took on numerous roles during the show. James Kearney (no relation, I assure you) stood out from the crowd. Accents were an issue in need of addressing, however. English, Irish, American and even South African accents are employed in the course of the show and it appeared the cast were often confused as to which country (or what part of the country) they were from!

Bev Woodford and her band should not be overlooked. They provided a slick, tight knit sound for the duration of the show.

This is CLOC’s first show at the National Theatre and it is a remarkable, not to mention historic, space. I am not sure that it complimented this production, though. This might be due to cavernous nature of the auditorium. I was seated six rows from the stage and could continually hear the creaking of set pieces as cast stood on them or unusually loud clunking of heels. The auditorium also remained very light for some duration of the show.

One of the wonderful things about theatre is the embracing darkness that allows you to focus solely on the performance. Here, however, the atmosphere was not as intimate as I’d so hoped.

Makeup was also problematic. Actors wore faces so thick with makeup it was almost as if it had been applied with a cement trowel. Makeup should not distract from the performance, which unfortunately was the case on the night I attended. Perhaps this was also a space-related issue, hoping that facial definition could be seen from the back of the theatre. However, I’ve been seated closer to the action in theatres deeper than "The Nash", and even then the makeup maintained some subtlety.

Overall, however, this is a strong production. Audiences who loved the world premiere will be ecstatic to revisit the show once more. Those who are coming to Dusty for the first time will be thoroughly entertained. All, however, will certainly be impressed by the depth of musical legacy left by the one and only Dusty Springfield.

"Dusty : The Original Pop Diva"

Presented : CLOC Musical Theatre
Book : John-Michael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow
Directed & Choreographed : Chris and Lynette White
Musical Direction : Bev Woodford