Review: GEORGY GIRL - The Seekers Musical

A new Australian musical had its world premiere last night and Georgy Girl - The Seekers musical is a show that will do Australians and theatre in this country proud. Based on the life of the Seekers, the first Australian band to achieve overseas success, the jukebox musical weaves timeless classics into a clever book to tell a truly remarkable story. While there may be some fine-tuning to be done on the script it's a minor quibble in an overwhelmingly positive success story.

The show centres on Judith Durham (Pippa Grandison) , an insecure, overweight young girl who joins forces with band members Keith Potger (Phillip Lowe) Bruce Woodley (Mike McLeish) and Athol Guy (Glaston Toff) to form the Seekers. The Seekers travelled to London where they conquered the charts having a succession of number 1 hits including I'll Never Find Another You, The Carnival is Over and the Oscar nominated Georgie Girl.

Grandison is vocally supreme in her depiction of Durham. She delivers a faultless vocal performance and captures all the nuance of a life that has been through many battles. Grandison is supported brilliantly by Potger, McLeish and Toff ,all who bring charm to their individual characters. Adam Murphy as Ron Edgeworth has the trickiest job in the show, constantly breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience directly and trying to land some at times very dubious jokes. He does, however, navigate this role with class and charisma, completely inhabiting his portrayal, totally committing to the light hearted cheesy direction that his character takes.

There are some other real standouts in this brand new musical. Michael Ralph's choreography is indeed one of them. It is quite possibly the highlight of the entire show. His ability to infuse the 60s period with contemporary movement is creative and artful. The only unfortunate part about his choreography is that is not more of it in the show. Shaun Gurton's set design is another real feature of the musical. Its use of space and its overall aesthetic combine to enhance the story tremendously. Gary Young's direction brings everything together wonderfully and the orchestra, under the musical direction of Stephen Gray, sounds sublime.

This new Australian musical is a wonderful addition to the theatre landscape in this country. It is ideal for anyone who grew up in and or listening to music of the era. It is a story that will touch you and which resonates with anyone living in the suburbs of Australia, wanting to chase a dream. Georgy Girl is a musical which eloquently traverses the lives of four humble musicians who did just that.

Georgy Girl

Her Majesty's Theatre Melbourne

Booking through to February 21

ticketek.com.au