REVIEW: Brilliantly Insane, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS Is A Clever Classic Comedy Musical

Saturday 6th June 2026, 2pm, Hayes Theatre Potts Point (In season Matinee reviewed)

Rebecca McNamee (Director) delivers a fabulous new production of David Yazbek (Music and Lyrics) and Jeffrey Lane’s (Book) musical adaptation of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS.  Based on the 1988 movie directed by Frank Oz, this work is the perfect blend of song, dance, and well crafted clever comedy presented by outstanding performers that excel in all fields to deliver a hilarious few hours of absurd plot and classic Broadway in the intimate space of Hayes Theatre.

The premise of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is that slightly more ‘mature’ Lawrence Jamieson (Blake Erickson) has set himself up in the resort town of Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera.  Posing as the deposed Prince of an obscure European kingdom, he targets wealthy women, in town for a summer holiday, and convinces them to donate money and more to fund his fight to win his kingdom back, a ruse he’d managed to rope the local Police Inspector Andre Thibault (Jordan Shea) into.  When he believes that notorious con-artist, The Jackel, is planning to set up shop in town he hatches a plan to get him to bypass his territory but when it fails he ends up the victim of blackmail by Freddy Benson (Rowan Witt) and more schemes and bets are laid as they seek to secure the wealth of more women, the ultimate prize being the “Queen of Soap” Christine Colgate (Kristina McNamara). 

With the work set in French Riviera, Set Designer Soham Apte has created a space that has terraces, boardwalks and water features that can be transformed into casinos gaming rooms, hotel foyers, mansions and even a train, all bathed in the soft ‘sunlight’ through palm fronds and bougainvillea adorned trellises (lighting design: James Wallis).  While the time setting is somewhat ambiguous, drawing inspiration from the classic images of cream suits, velvet slippers and Panama hats for Lawrence’s signature style, Costume Designer Angelina Daniel incorporates references from styles from the 40’s to the current day given that Yazbek and Lane’s lyrics and book reference contemporary pop culture.  Daniel has ensured that these range of styles are all clear decisions that serve the story while being creative in enabling simple changes to enable quick transformations for the ensemble. 

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is a solid blend of songs written for the musical at a time when there were a lot of jukebox musicals emerging.  Yazbek incorporates a range of musical styles for the work and his lyrics are wonderfully clever.  Supported by a six piece band led by Dylan Pollard (Piano/Conductor), there is a richness and clarity to the songs with leads and ensemble all equally strong throughout.  This is supported by Em-Jay Dwyer’s sound design which understands the requirements of the intimate space and the challenge of a behind the scenes band. 

In the roles of the wealthy women that Lawrence has seduced into funding his “freedom fight”, Aurélie Roque and Scarlet Lindsay present a brilliant contrast of characters.  Roque presents a more ‘mature’ Muriel Eubanks, a woman that fills her calendar with charitable works of the upper class woman not required to work for a living, with a suitable gravitas while still expressing the underlying loneliness of someone that really hasn’t found a purpose of her own.  As the daughter of an Oklahoma farmer Jolene Oakes, Lindsay creates a brilliantly unhinged bride to be, even though Lawrence isn’t sure how she came to the conclusion they were betrothed.  Her Southern drawl is dragged out deliciously and her physical commitment to the role makes for an hilarious expression.  As the French Police Inspector Andre, Jordan Shea brings his comic sensibility to the work that relies as heavily on his facial expressions as his take on a French accent.   

The core characters of Lawrence, Freddy and Christine are delivered by the trio of Erickson, Witt and McNamara who are all masters at the key elements of comic musical theatre in terms of their song, dance, drama and the ability to draw out the humour of the work while balancing the absurdity with an intuitiveness.  As the experienced playboy con-artist, Erickson expresses Lawrence’s confidence and ego as he seeks to prove he can outfox his young rival Freddy.  With the ‘game’ of convincing people that he is Prince and proving he’s the master at his art, at times it feels as if Erickson is also drawing on the arrogance and elitism of Kelsey Grammer’s Fraiser Crane.  As the younger Freddy who believes he can outwit the master, Witt presents the character with a physicality and endearing charm akin to a lolloping puppy that is all legs.  McNamara ensures that Christine is seen as the quintessential innocent ‘girl next door’ with charming naivety and a classic ‘old world’ style. 

Brilliantly funny and utterly absurd, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is clever contemporary musical theatre that retains the elements of classic Broadway while being presented with intuition and insight into human nature.  While the underlying premise is crazy, there are truths about the need for human connection, what is real and what is contrived, and where people will draw the line with regards to personal integrity.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Hayes Theatre Co

Photos: John McCrae

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