Review: Family And Tradition Are Challenged In The Modern Day Farce IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU

Friday 31st March 2017, 8pm, Independent Theatre, North Sydney

Chatswood Musical Society brings Brian Hargrove and Barbara Anselmi's Broadway hit IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU to Independent Theatre for its Australian Premiere. A fun filled farcical musical first produced in in New Jersey in 2011 with a subsequent Broadway run in 2015 is distinctly "New York" in its characters but is very universal and current in its themes.

With strong links to traditional musicals and a heavy influence from Stephen Sondheim, Hargrove (Book and Lyrics) and Anselmi (Music and Concept) have created a seemingly standard wedding story, with a contemporary twist or two. They bring a stereotypical New York Jewish family together with a quintessentiAl White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) Upper East Side family for a wedding that neither set of parents are completely supportive of. The characters are presented as caricatures to ensure easy recognition but do present as somewhat two dimensional characters. Judy Steinberg (Kate Mannix) is a loud overbearing Jewish mother that wants to see her daughters married but lacks any sort of social filter and compassion. Georgette Howard (Chapin Ayres) is the UES WASP that resorts to alcohol to resolve her problems and is reluctant to cut the apron strings from her only son. Daughter Jenny Steinberg (Chloe Angel) is the dedicated sister who has orchestrated most of Rebecca's wedding whilst being the perpetually put down daughter that has resigned herself to a fate where she will never live up to her mother's expectations. Albert (Atha Kastanias) is the stereotypical gay wedding planner that is across everything is a Fairy Godmother or "a cross between Martha Stewart and Dumbledore".

Independent Theatre's split stage, which incorporates a lower level in front of the traditional proscenium stage has been artfully adapted by Neil Shotter to enable a flexibility and enable the story to maintain a fast pace, essential for the comedy of the work. The elevated main stage is backed by a multiple door set which is initially presented as a hotel room, complete with chaise lounge, dressing table and clothes rack of wedding clothes. The lower downstage space, connected to the mainstage by the in-situ curved staircases, serves more as a hotel foyer with chairs lining the walls, a Porter's trolley of suitcases and clothes and a pair of doors that aren't entirely defined but could be old style hotel lobby phone booths. The lighting design assists In Focusing the story and allowing the main stage space to be viewed as separate rooms, transitioning from the Howard's to the Steinberg's hotel suites with the follow spot, although it would work better if it was dimmed before it swept onto the next scene.

Natalya Aynsley's 8-piece orchestra is tucked away in the pit beneath the lower stage with monitors providing actor's cues and may in some way be responsible for the pitch issues experienced throughout. Sound Operator Neil Hoggard had the task of blending the sound from the body microphones and the orchestra with varying results. Sound balances often had the orchestra overpowering the singers, even the stronger vocalists, and a high degree of reverb caused an echo, making Hargrove's detailed lyrics hard to decipher.

Whilst set in New York, with most of the characters meant to have distinctive accents or speech patterns, these aren't really maintained throughout. As mother Judy, Mannix initially delivers a strong New Yorker Jewish drawl but this wanes as the two-hour performance plays out. Similarly, very camp wedding planner Albert's accent and tone disappears which could have been dealt with by changing his implied heritage and allowing Kastanias to present as an Australian gay, which would have had little change on the plot but may have enabled a more consistent performance. The other Jewish New Yorkers are presented with more generic American accents, not really differentiating the character's heritage, relying on the text to convey their difference from the Howard family.

Acknowledging that Chatswood Musical Society is a Non-Professional Theatre group, it is clear that there are some strong performers with potential. Chloe Angel has a beautiful solid voice and whilst her opera training is clear in her delivery, it is lovely to see her utilise a freer 'Broadway Belt' in Jenny's Blues and of the cast, she expresses the most honest emotional connection with her character. Kate Mannix and Chapin Ayres are well matched as the matriarchs delivering the smoothest choreography of the night in their part of That's Family but for the most part Natalie Neary's choreography and James Worner's direction, is generic and clunky.

This production of IT SHOULD BEEN YOU is a nice opportunity to get to see a musical that received six Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, two Drama League Award Nominations and three Drama Desk Award Nominations from its run on Broadway in 2015. Hopefully opening night jitters and sound issues will be resolved for following performances.

IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU

Independent Theatre, North Sydney

31st March - 8th April 2017

To post a comment, you must register and login.