Exhilarating dance numbers? Check! Heartfelt script? Not so much…
But we didn’t come here to be wowed by poignant words. We came to dance! And if you can sit through the extended ‘dramatic scenes’ and slow ballads, then dance you will.
The classic 1977 film with John Travolta was first adapted for the West End stage in 1998, and is a fantastic evocation of an era of disco, big hair, sequins, tight shirts and even tighter pants. This production manages to retain all that shiny nostalgia whilst asserting a subtle contemporary flair (pun not intended).
Leave your expectations of a ground-breaking musical theatre plot at the door and you’ll enjoy yourself immensely. Choreography by Malik Le Nost (aided by Mitchell Woodcock) is exquisite, with plenty of nostalgia and a pleasant modern undertone meandering its way through. The ensemble is superb. There are absolutely no weak links, and they glide through the intricate dances at breakneck speed and with incredible precision.
Thankfully, Euan Doidge as our leading man is an excellent dancer. He falls short in the acting department, but makes his way around the stage extremely well. Melanie Hawkins is his dance partner. She’s pretty, perfect and utterly magnetic when she moves. Tim ‘Timomatic’ Omaji oozes charisma and charm as Club DJ Monty, and Marica Hines all but steals the show clad in head-to-toe gold and wielding that powerhouse voice of hers.
All the greatest hits of the Bee Gees are mostly sung by four Star Vocalists – Bobby Fox, Paulini Curuenavuli, Natalie Conway and Nana Matapule. Fox does a lovely job, and it’s great to see him back on stage after an injury last year.
The singers and dancers are buoyed wonderfully by Musical Director Dave Skelton’s band. Funky, fresh and undeniably groovy, they had everyone in the audience moving, whether it was the bopping of a head or full-blown dancing in the aisles. Even the laborious ballads couldn’t hold us down for long.
The aforementioned dramatic scenes unfortunately drag the exuberant energy of the show way down – not even the comedically terrible accents of Denise Drysdale and Mark Mitchell could keep the disco ball afloat.
Stephanie Roy’s inventive projection-based set design is clever and creates some interesting visual layers to a few scenes. Lights by Trudy Dalgleish are appropriately fun, and William Roache’s costumes are gloriously garish and glitzy.
Is this production fun? Yes. Will it leave you contemplating the intricacies of humanity? No. But if you know what you’re in for and are prepared to forgo any narrative tension or anything you know about musical theatre, you’ll be dazzled by the dance numbers and have “Night Fever” in your head for days afterwards.
Playing at the Lyric Theatre until 2 June.
Alana Kaye – Theatre Now
Saturday Night Fever
based on the Paramount/RSO movie
and the story by Nik Cohn,
adapted for the stage by Robert Stigwood and Bill Oakes
additional arrangment and editing by Ryan McBryde
29 Mar – 5 May 2019
Wed-Thurs 7.30pm, Fri-Sat 8pm, Matinees Wed 1pm & Sat 2pm, Sun 1pm & 6pm*
* Performance times may vary weekly
Venue: Sydney Lyric Theatre
Theatre Company: John Frost
Duration: N/A
