The Rocky Horror Show

As the nights are starting to cool down and close in, the indoor entertainment scene in Wellington starts to liven up. Now showing at St James Theatre is a new production of The Rocky Horror Show. Nicola claims never to have seen the film all the way through, so this was a no-brainer.

First though…dinner, and time for another visit to perennial faves, Loggy B’s (Logan Brown to you). Last time we were there we had the leisurely Taste Of Logan Brown degustation menu, but this time we needed a quicker meal so were on the standard 3-course deal – still a snip at $95 each.  

It’s a short walk down the road and round the corner to St James Theatre, and we were ensconced in plenty of time for the show to begin. You know how it goes, right? Brad and Janet get stranded on the road and go to the local castle (!?) for help – there to be enmeshed in the goings-on at the castle, orchestrated by Frank N Furter, a transvestite from Transylvania, in the galaxy Transexual; ably assisted by RiffRaff, Magenta and Columbia. They did The Time Warp, Sweet Transexual, Dammit Janet and all the other songs. A lot of people had made the effort to dress up for the occasion, but I think we were channelling our inner Janet and Brad. All jolly good fun, catch it if you can!

 

Lizzie The Musical

Lizzie Borden took an axe

and gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

she gave her father forty-one.

The infamous case of Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted of the murder of her father and stepmother in 1893, is one that continues to intrigue. Whilst she was acquitted, no other killer was tried for the murders, and she was shunned for the rest of her life in the Massachusetts town of Fall River. An obvious topic for a musical!

 Nicola was on ushering duty at Circa Theatre, and with a 6:30 showtime we needed to get an early dinner. Once again, Mr. Go’s is the go-to place (do you see what I did there?) and they are also participating in Burger Wellington, so I had their Fromage & Fortune burger.

The show started slightly late as they had a technical hitch with the lighting, so 10 minutes after the advertised start we were ready to go. Lizzie is a rock opera musical, with four characters who are the (surviving) female characters in or adjacent to the Borden household. They’re supported by a five-piece band – drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and obligatory cello. They start by reciting the verse above, then each of the characters introduces herself. The show progresses – mostly musically, but with some spoken parts – as they describe the living conditions in the Borden household, with their father and stepmother. Andrew Borden was a noted miser, and, after remarrying following the death of his first wife, tensions arose in the family. Lizzie and her older sister still lived in the family home, and there are indications of abuse, possible incest, in one of the songs. The first half leads up to the bloody axe murder of Andrew and Mrs. Borden.

The second half focuses on the reactions of all the characters to the murders. It seems clear that Lizzie did do the murdering, but that the evidence is not necessarily pointing at her, particularly after the dress she was wearing is burnt. There’s a memorable song which must have been a delight to perform, called “What The Fuck Now, Lizzie?” sung by her sister. The trial follows, and possibly the only mis-step of the entire production: the band leader, keyboardist Hayden Taylor, has one line, and he fluffed it! He’s supposed to call out “Not Guilty!” as the verdict at the end of the trial, but came in too early, not waiting for the band’s music to completely fade. So what we heard was “<muffled> Guilty!” Bugger.

Anyway, true to life, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the murders, and the whole thing finishes with a flourish. They did an encore number of the forty whacks routine whilst taking their bows, to riotous applause.

 

 

Wicked

After our burgers at Eva Pub, we went along to St James Theatre to see Wicked. This musical has been around for 20 years, and has finally come to Wellington! It’s a lavish production, so we went along to see it. 

Before staring we headed along to Eva Pub for a burger, then made our way to the theatre. This is a sell-out season, and by the time I got around to looking for tickets the only ones still available were up in the nosebleed seats. Fortunately we were in the front row of a section so had leg room in front of us. Even so, the seats at SJT aren’t the most comfortable, and the first half of the show went on for 1½ hours before a break, by which time my bum was thoroughly numbed!

The show is the back story of the witches of Oz, and focuses on Elphaba, the green, so-called “wicked” witch. Along the way it fills in the backstory of all the things in The Wizard of Oz that never get explained, i.e. where the tin man, lion and scarecrow came from, flying monkeys, the wizard himself. I haven’t actually watched TWOO for a few decades, so I’m a bit rusty on the details, but it always seemed a bit vapid. This story packs far more of an emotional punch as the actual characters and their motivations are filled in.

It doesn’t quite end up “happily ever after”, but all the loose ends get tied up, and you end up knowing much more about TWOO than the original film ever gave you.

Dirty Work

Indian Ink, aka Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis, are back with a new show. We’ve seen them a few times before, with The Pickle King, Mrs Krishnan’s Party and Paradise, or The Impermanence Of Ice Cream. We picked a matinee show on Sunday afternoon at Te Papa’s Soundings Theatre, to go and see the new show, Dirty Work – An Ode To Joy.

 

The show is set in an office, and the main characters are Joy, the office cleaner; Neil, the office manager; and Zara, his assistant. The office workers are members of a local choir, and a different choir is used for each performance. The choir haven’t read the script, so have no idea what’s going to be happening. They’ve just been asked to learn some songs, and the cues for when to sing them. Sounds fun!

It’s a big day in the office, and as cleaner Joy is doing her rounds, she’s interrupted by the staff arriving very early to complete the papers for a board meeting later that day. Unfortunately, they quickly discover that their computers aren’t just down…they’re out! Yes, all the PCs have been removed, supposedly for an upgrade. They’ll have to calculate all the accounts by hand. The big boss of the company, based in India, Zooms them to find out where the papers are; Neil, the office manager, says he doesn’t have the authority to do the work, so he is immediately promoted to CFO. Problem solved!

The drama and music continue as problems arise, and are resolved. There’s also a birthday party woven into the plot, which of course give rise to more singing and dancing. There’s social commentary and critique of how economics and work traps people in different roles.

A trademark of Indian Ink’s work is that at least one character will be wearing a prosthetic of some kind. In this case, it’s Joy, and she has a massive set of false teeth to contend with…although she seems to manage, and talk and sing her way past them without any problems.

It’s another jolly romp from Indian Ink, a contrast to the serious plot of Paradise. But, as ever, thought-provoking. The New Zealand tour is just winding up, but their work is being increasingly seen overseas as they tour festivals in Australia, the US and Europe. If they come anywhere near you, take the chance to go and see them!

 

Kinky Boots

I’ve been a bit wayward in keeping up with my blog. This post refers to an event that happened on 9^th July. No reason, just procrastination.

Another week, another musical. Kinky Boots has been around for a while, a musical based on a film based on a sort-of true story. The musical features songs by Cyndi Lauper. I thought this meant that I’d recognise some of the tunes, in the style of Mamma Mia! or We Will Rock You, but it turns out that it’s all original songs written for the production.

It's entering its final week now in Wellington, and Nicola was busy all the week before with string quartet week, so we went to a Sunday matinee performance instead. The show was on at the St James Theatre, which has recently been renovated, largely for earthquake strengthening. As I may have mentioned before, this didn’t stretch to replacing the seats, and they’re not the most comfortable.

The story is that of a shoe manufacturer based in Northampton. The company is in dire straits, as the cost of producing shoes in the UK is being undercut by cheaper imports. The owner, who inherited it from his father, is a reluctant shoemaker, and initially just wants to hand the factory over to someone else. However, the business is on its knees and unless he does something it will close, with consequent effects on the community that relies on it for work. Following an encounter in London, he becomes friends with a drag artist, who complains that none of the boots made for drag artists like her are of good quality, and cannot take the additional weight and stress needed. And so, an idea is born…

There are all the usual tensions required amongst the factory workers, old-fashioned attitudes, a fight, and an impossible deadline to meet (spoiler alert: they meet it). In the end, everything works out, and there’s a big song-and-dance finale.

Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys has been a successful musical in the US, UK, and around the world for a number of years. This touring production in New Zealand has been playing in Auckland, and has now come to Wellington. What’s not to like?

First, of course, dinner. We haven’t been to Loggy B’s for a while so thought to head along there for a pre-theatre dinner. They’ve changed up their offering since Covid, and now offer a prix fixe menu for $75, with three options of starter, main and dessert. It’s still cooked to Logan Brown quality, of course, but they don’t have the full à la carte they used to offer. As fashions in dining change I guess they have to do what they can to stay in business. That said, we had no problem deciding on what to have – the pāua ravioli is still on the menu, and will probably never leave.  And it was delicious.

We arrived at the Opera House in good time for the show, and took our seats in the stalls. The show is told in four parts, from the point of view of each of the four main protagonists – the original members of the Four Seasons. It starts in New Jersey, where a band eventually forms (some early members drop out), they’re occasionally a threesome as one member is banged up in prison, and eventually Joe Pesci (yes, that Joe Pesci) introduces Bob Gaudio to the band. The show documents their early life, problems with debts, gambling, drugs and women, as well as playing some of their best-known hits. Of which there are many more than you think, as memorable song after memorable song is belted out by the accomplished cast of singers, dancers, and musicians. Thoroughly enjoyable, and if you get a chance to see a production of this (it’s finished now in New Zealand, sadly), you should go.

The next day I was working at Zealandia, taking a tour. I was chatting to one of the guests (I only had two people on that particular tour) and it turns out he was the lead saxophonist of the show! I should’ve asked him for Frankie’s autograph.

West Side Story

West Side Story is playing in Wellington for a limited season. We’d be fools not to go.

This outing was organised by Nicola’s chorus, the current world champions Wellington City Chorus. We met up with a few of them beforehand in one of Wellington’s ever-increasing number of brew bars, Whistling Sisters. We’ve been there before and found it to produce good food, which I washed down with one of their brews. Nicola had wine (which they didn’t make). We both had scotch eggs for dinner, accompanied by salad and chips.

We walked up to the Opera House and found our way to the gallery, where we are seated. The gallery hasn’t usually been open for other shows we’ve seen at the Opera House – it’s certainly the first time we’ve had seats up there in the nosebleed section.

The show got under way, with an elaborate set representing the back streets of New Yoik – all railings and drop-down fire escape ladders. It switched in and out to allow street scenes, and also the interior of the dress shop where Maria works. With all this design in the set, it was remarkably underused, I thought, with nearly all the action taking place between the two swingout sections. All the singing and dancing is done very competently, and the story progresses with gusto.

They did seem to leave the break between acts very late, but this seems to be in accordance with the original production. Uncomfortable Opera House seats can leave you a bit saddlesore after an hour and a half, so it was a relief when the interval came. The second act, in which the consequences of all the violence at the end of Act One have to be faced, is mercifully shorter. The ending is sudden, and given its emotional impact, there’s no grand finale song’n’dance number, nor an encore. The cast came out and took their curtain calls, then that was it, show’s over.