Review: ONLY AN ORPHAN GIRL Brings Laughter Galore

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Thursday 19th November 2015

If you have never seen a melodrama or a recreation of the music hall, now is your chance to remedy that omission, courtesy of the Adelaide Repertory Theatre Society. Only an Orphan Girl, written by Henning Nelms in 1944, is supplemented by a range of variety acts and sing-a-longs, introduced by a top-hatted master of ceremonies in the style of the old music halls, complete with alliterative strings of tongue twisting words. You get two shows for the price of one.

Adelaide audiences are more than a bit familiar with the name Pam O'Grady, the director of this production, and a glance down the cast list reveals that she has recruited a cavalcade of equally renowned and respected performers. O'Grady has ensured that the pace is kept up, often to a frantic level, and no bit of stage business has been overlooked. As a result, the audience to a man, or woman, hisses and boos the evil villain, cheers the hero, oohs and ahs over the heroine, warns the innocent and naïve country folk when the villain tries to trick them, and engages at every other opportunity. Adding in the applause and the laughter, it is difficult to say who worked harder, the cast or the audience.

For those familiar with the melodrama, suffice to say that there is the spinning blade at the sawmill which is getting dangerously close to the heroine and, yes, "go, and never darken my doorstep again", also turns up. It is a classic of its genre. There are puns, bad jokes, and great songs galore and I defy anybody to leave without a smile on their face. The Governor of South Australia, His Excellency, the Honourable Hieu Van Le, AO, is a patron of the company and he was in attendance on opening night, laughing constantly and rocking too and fro in his seat at the antics of the cast. The top job, fortunately, is not always hard work.

Trying hard to keep control of all of this nonsense and mayhem is the master of ceremonies, the jovial and enthusiastic Joshua Coldwell, who fulfilled that function once before, for a production of the Mystery of the Hansom Cab. Once again, he has written his own script in the style of the British music hall tradition. He is especially responsible for keeping the performance moving along and ensuring there are no gaps, not even for a moment, and he certainly succeeds at that. He also joins in on some of the musical numbers so is kept working hard all night, if you can call having as much fun as he appeared to be having as hard work.

Also having a busy evening are Sandi McMenamin at the piano and Rowan Dennis on drums, providing all of the music for the many songs and variety acts, as well as theme music for the characters, and short fills. The sing-alongs were so much fun that I almost got carried away when hearing a familiar theme, but quickly realised that Schubert's Der Erlkönig was only background music. You never know with a melodrama.

There has to be a moustachioed and caped villain, of course, and that role is filled by Barry Hill, a man who has, to quote the Bard, played many parts in his time. He captures the audience from the moment that he first appears, sweeping around the stage when alone, and skulking in the shadows when others are around. Hill is a marvellous villain and the audience love to hate his evil city-slicker, Arthur Rutherford.

A villain has to have a beautiful young lady that he tries to ensnare, and Sophia Bubner provides her in the role of Nellie, the sweet and innocent orphan girl. If she was any sweeter, she could cause diabetes in the first six or so rows of the theatre.

Nellie must be defended and so she needs Dick, whose name is a source of much ribald merriment. Dick Perkins is the son of the simple farmer, Swem Perkins, and his wife, who adopted the baby who has now grown up to be Nellie. Dick and Nellie are in love, but do not speak of to each other. No, he is not very bright. Robert Bell plays this unlikely hero, a sort of Lil' Abner, hayseed character; all muscles, including his head, but a heart of pure gold. Bell is a bright as a new blazer button as Dick, full of energy and most endearing. The audience fell for him and cheered like crazy, as much as they booed the villain.

Swem Perkins and his wife are played by Gary Anderson and Jude Hines, he providing us with the American version of a country bumpkin, far too trusting and unaware of the wily ways of city folk, and her presenting the family-oriented housewife and mother, filled to the brim with love and kindness. They are a great paring as the Ma and Paw doing their best to pay off the mort-gage and care for their family.

Holding the mort-gage on their farm is their widowed friend and neighbour, Mrs. Appleby, with another fine performance from Jean Walker. Her young daughter, Lucy, is played by Rose Vallen, with a Pippi Longstocking wig and boundless energy, skipping and running around the stage tirelessly. She also co-choreographed the production with Pam o'Grady.

Adding to the Perkins household is a woman who arrives from the city, looking to become their lodger. It is Ethel Rutherford, who takes a shine to the hapless Dick. Penni Hamilton-Smith plays the oversexed Ethel, pursuing Dick with all of the wiles of an experience woman from the big city, overwhelming the poor chap. Naturally, these attempts at seduction drew big laughs.

Everything is not only over the top, it is well on the way down the other side and gathering speed, just as a melodrama should. The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, and there is more ham than you'd find in any delicatessen. It is not surprising, and adds to the fun, that the performers cause one another to 'corpse' many times during the production.

During the scene changes the members of the cast, with the addition of singers, Annie Hall, Bec Kemp, and Richard Hobson, leading the sing-alongs, provide a wide range of music hall variety acts. Professor Orlando, the inimitable Wayne Anthony, presented a magic show that turned into a floral display and, by the time he left, the stage was littered with many brightly coloured parasols.

This is a packed evening of frivolity the just doesn't let up. If you need a good laugh, you'll find plenty of them here but, like most good things, it won't last forever, so hurry before it is too late.

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