Review: THE MAD ONES, The Other Palace

There won’t be any big road movie for Samantha Brown. Not after her brazen Best Friend, Kelly, died unexpectedly. As she sits on the hood of Kelly’s old faithful, she ponders her limbo: stay back and watch life pass her by with an overly protective mum and high school sweetheart by her side, or set off on the grand adventure they'd planned. Right at the edge of adulthood, Sam revisits the past year, wishing it had been ordinary and uneventful, and makes a decision. The Mad Ones (formerly known as The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown in the 2010s) is a sweet contemporary musical with a heart of gold. Directed by Emily Susanne Lloyd and designed by Reuben Speed, Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk’s revisited coming-of-age and anti-Kerouac story is a touching mid-weight exploration of bereavement. 

Lloyd assembles an incredible set of voices. Dora Gee (Sam), Courtney Stapleton (Kelly), Thea-Jo Wolfe (Beverly, Sam’s mother), and Gabriel Hinchliffe (Adam, Sam’s boyfriend) bring forward an electric collection of personalities. Stapleton owns the stage as the funny, taunting Best Friend. Armed with young anti-establishment tendencies, she sees driving (away) as the ultimate act of freedom. In contrast, Gee is pervaded by anxious cautiousness in everything she does. A small ‘K’ pendant shines at her throat: could her platonic devotion be something more? They share a crackling chemistry, and – just like Sam – we wonder what might have been if Kelly hadn’t passed. 

Wolfe and Hinchliffe are the perfect side characters you grow fond of. He’s a bumbling, good-natured simp who deeply cares about Sam; she introduces a mother whose anxieties are entirely justified by her upbringing. A strong-headed feminist, she used to read Sam a signed edition of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and has a show-stopping moment during ‘Miles To Go’. The second act brings a whole new dimension to the role, much like it does to the musical as an entity. For this, perhaps the project needs a smidgen more darkness at the start to be fully engaging.

After the first part presents the dilemma (should Sam stay and fit the norm or leave and break the mould?) it offers a series of songs that, though full of yearning and wit, don’t bring the plot forward. Up to this point, the book is riddled with clichés and maxims that celebrate teenage life and hope for the future; it acknowledges the elephant in the room, but does very little about it. There’s a delicate push and pull between Kelly and Sam, who speak to the audience at random times to contextualise themselves halfheartedly, never leaning into that meta dynamic. Lloyd makes optimal use of the space, never cramping the Studio’s tiny slit of stage, yet creating a great deal of movement. The ominous sound that implies an imminent crash interrupts the action often, allowing for scenes to change smoothly.

Act Two is much more interesting on a writing level, finally reaching its full emotioal climax and leading Gee to let go into a heartbreaking performance. Sam has been ruminating for a while and Kelly’s memory has become part of her. Her mum’s desperate need for connection builds into tender moments that make Wolfe steal the show off of her co-stars. The reflections become more fertile and deep, exploring the nuances of sonder. Everybody moved on, but Sam is still stuck. She still had to deliver her valedictorian speech, the school still had a prom. She’s still meant to go to university. Nothing makes sense to her. Kerrigan and Lowdermilk do drama very well when they allow the narrative to take over.

All in all, it’s easy to see why neither The Mad Ones (a title inspired by Kerouac's book) or The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown exploded on the scene. The piece is a quiet gem, more of a cult musical than a Broadway splash. The songs are standard pop numbers that don’t stick for long, with probably only two in twenty really standing out. “Run Away With Me” has been a favourite for decades now, but there’s plenty to love in others too. Ultimately, this story of a young girl who tries to find herself among the rubble of unexpected loss skims over one too many themes to land properly.

The Mad Ones runs at The Other Palace until 1 June.