Flowerchildren
By Mark Kearney
If there are two things I love in this life, its music theatre and Casey Donovan.
Ever
since she stumbled onto the Australian Idol stage as a 16 year old
wearing a mess of dreadlocks and a tangle of tulle, I have been
mesmerised by Donovan’s voice. The girl is armed with the sort of vocal
prowess that can uplift your soul one moment and tear it to shreds the
next.
So you can imagine my excitement when she was cast
in Magnormos’ latest production, the very new Flowerchildren,
which follows the lives of 60s pop group The Mamas and The Papas.
The
band, most renowned for their singles California Dreamin’ and Monday,
Monday, enjoyed only short- lived success but their four-part harmonies
remain iconic to this day.
Peter Fitzpatrick’s biting script
tells us that substance abuse and relationship traumas – each member of
the group was romantically linked to at least one other of their
bandmates - were as characteristic of the band as these harmonies.
Donovan
plays the inimitable Cass Elliot and the role fits her perfectly.
Donovan’s Mama Cass is a far cry from the shy teenager we met on Idol
in 2004 – she holds her own alongside her more experienced
co-stars. She’s a feisty, swaggering heroine with only the
slightest hint of inner pain. What hasn’t changed is that voice; it’s
on full display here, no more so than in the eleventh hour Dream A
Little Dream Of Me.
The three other members of the group,
Michelle (Laura Fitzpatrick), Denny (Dan Humphris) and John (Matt
Hetherington), are equally well played. In a script
structurally reminiscent of Jersey Boys, each band member is given
roughly a quarter of the show to narrate (though it did seem that the
female characters were short-changed in this department, particularly
Fitzpatrick’s masterfully acted Michelle. This is, however, the only weakness in an otherwise whip-smart book that is equal parts funny and affecting).
Each
engage with equal aplomb and the subsequent effect is one of balance;
there are no passengers in this ensemble, epitomised by the foursome’s
flawless harmonies. The only question to be levelled at the casting
regards Fitzpatrick’s age; she seems a little too old for the waifish
Michelle - we are repeatedly told that ‘Mitchy’ met John while still in
high school.
Writer Fitzpatrick has woven a great many songs
throughout the show and unlike many jukebox musicals, does so without
it feeling contrived. Sometimes the transition from story to song was a
little too low-key for my liking, though. Perhaps it is my
penchant for classic music theatre, but I was left wanting one or two
bigger production numbers. Dream A Little Dream and the Act One closer,
Dedicated To The One I Love, were welcome additions for their sense of
melodrama.
The production takes place in suitably retro
surrounds designed by Christina Logan-Bell. The floor is painted like
one big recording studio rug, all burnt orange and brown, and
successfully captures a sense of the era. The steps which dominate the
stage give the impression of an amphitheatre one could imagine the
Mamas and Papas performing in at the Monterey Pop Festival of ’67.
Costumes
by Emma Kennedy are an odd assortment of hippie attire. Cass’ caftans
are the stand-out; Donovan always looks great. Sometimes the others’
wardrobes bordered a little on banal.
All in all though,
Flowerchildren is a fabulous if quiet affair, thanks in no small part
to four terrific performances, one cracking script and confident
management of these ingredients by director, Aaron Joyner.
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