Review: PRICE CHECK! THE MUSICAL Embraces The Aussie Cultural Cringe Factor

Reviewed by Joanne Hartstone, Friday 8th July 2016

Price Check! The Musical has taken Sean Weatherly and his coauthor, Cerise de Gelder, ten years to create, which proves how much time and effort is required to make a theatrical production from scratch, even a simple one like Price Check! Weatherly has gone through many processes of rehearsal and development over this time to get the production polished and ready for a fully fledged production, and his patience and dedication is admirable.

Price Check! The Musical has a fairly simple concept. A small, local, independent supermarket is struggling to compete with the nearby Coles, as the big supermarket lowers its prices and attracts customers with lower incomes, with home-brand products. The employees of this small competing supermarket are using all the tricks of the trade to keep their workplace afloat.

David Fisher, played by Sean Weatherly, is an Arts graduate with no career prospects, other than becoming the grocery manager. Narelle Sims, played by Catherine Campbell, has manned Checkout 3 for the past 17 years, and has never dreamed of a management position. Zayeeb Dash, played by Fahad Farooque, has a passion for fruit and vegetables, and has his sights set on managing that department. Mr Butler, played by Rory Walker, oversees the entire supermarket, and rules with a cruel and competitive style.

The employees are challenged daily by regular customer, Mrs Zimmerman, played by Jacqy Phillips, whose demands for specific products and her constant need for assistance keep the employees on their toes.

The musical numbers, written by Weatherly and de Gelder, are catchy and clever. Peter Johns accompanies the cast on keyboard and, as ever, does an excellent job. The sound of the keyboard and cast singing, however, was a little thin. Despite excellent characterisations and strong harmonies, the vocals were occasionally pushed and wobbly. The supporting ensemble of dancers (Ali Walsh, Celeste Barone, Barbara Nutchey and Selena Britz) was energetic and committed. Their enthusiasm oozed all over the stage, but their vocals could have been more balanced with each other to make the sound more dynamic.

Directed by Nicholas Cannon, Price Check! The Musical is an all-Australian production and, just like the Australian stereotype, has undertones of sexism, racism, and intolerance that are incidental, unresolved, and ignored. Price Check! seems to embrace the cringe factor. Bad jokes, puns, sexual innuendo, self-aware spoofs, and musical rip-offs abound in this production. It would appear, however, that these cringe elements are deliberate, and the musical is an intentional home-brand production, cheap, tacky, and for the lowest common denominator.

Jacqy Phillips and Catherine Campbell are excellent in their roles, and make the cheesy dialogue somehow bearable. Fahad Farooque, similarly, is a strong performer who gives us a more complex character than the dialogue suggests. These three performers hold the production together.

I was seated in front of a group of women who were talking all the way through the show. Despite several glares back to tell them to be quiet, their constant talking and giggling also reinforced my thoughts on the play. It was cringe invoking and cheesy, to the point of embarrassing, at times. Their laughter was AT the performers, not with them, and yet they were still laughing, and maybe that was Weatherly's intention all along.

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