Review: 35mm is a simple production with anything but simple vocals
Music and lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver, based on photographs by Matthew Murphy, directed by Jarrod Riesinger and Loui Cuff
Review by Nelson Bowler
35mm: A Musical Exhibition is a series of musical vignettes that delve into the themes of love, identity, and self-discovery featuring original music and lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver, and based on photographs by Matthew Murphy. Rising Arts Productions’ performance takes place at the Side Door Theatre, a small and intimate venue appropriately lit with dim red lighting, evoking the ambience of a darkroom. Photographs that inspired each song are displayed on two screens flanking the stage, combining the art forms of musical theatre and photography.
Musical Director Emily Hespe takes a diverse group of vocalists and a tight-sounding band of six musicians, creating a harmonic blend perfect for the contemporary, eclectic music of 35mm. Unfortunately, the sometimes uneven sound levels made it hard to decipher lyrics in the more uptempo ensemble numbers.
The five cast members – Lauren Bacon-Fleming, Jacob Fleming, Samuel Noll, Ella Perusco, and Jenna Woolley – spend the entire piece navigating through a demanding score and intricate characters effortlessly. A mix of solo and group numbers allowed them to show off stunning vocal ability, and capitalise on their respective “moments”.
Kicking off the show with ‘Crazytown,’ Samuel Noll shows off his accomplished contemporary sound, which is even more established in the ballad ‘Cut a Piece With You’. Given the difficult task of performing pieces with complex subject matter like in ‘Leave Luanne,’ a piece depicting a woman trying to escape her abusive partner, Lauren Bacon-Fleming made smart and understated choices, playing with dynamics and creating a gradual build to a rather lengthy song. Because of sound issues, these choices did sometimes come at the cost of being able to understand the lyrics. Jacob Fleming exudes charm and warmth in one of the few comedic pieces of the show, ‘Caralee’.
Bursting with energy and personality, Ella Perusco's ‘On Monday’ is a definite highlight. Her soaring vocals and inviting presence make it hard not to be captivated whenever she's on the stage. Jenna Woolley immediately grabs your attention with her Adele-like vocals in ‘The Party Goes With You’. Even though it’s a somewhat stagnant number, Woolley's intimate performance keeps you engaged with every word, in direct contrast with her 11 o'clock number ‘The Ballad of Sara Berry,’ where she blows the roof off the theatre with an impressive vocal performance that had me wanting more.
35mm is an unconventional musical format, with each song containing a separate story and set of characters. Direction by Jarrod Riesinger and Loui Cuff diverts from the original staging of "stand and sing" with added elements of movement, and while it contributed a creative dynamic in a lesser-known score for the most part, the overuse of movement somewhat hindered the storytelling. Similarly, while the projected visual elements added an interesting dimension, some images did not fit correctly on the screens which meant that some of the projections were lost or difficult to see.
Rising Arts Productions' showcase of this lesser-known musical is a refreshing change from the blockbuster musicals that seem to be preferred by Wollongong community theatre groups. If only for an hour and a half of listening to some amazing vocal talent, this is one to catch.
35mm: A Musical Exhibition plays at the Side Door Theatre until 29 April. Find tickets here.
Images by Rising Arts Productions
Nelson has spent more time watching theatre than anything else. When he’s not sitting in a theatre you’ll find him at home listening to a cast recording – probably Sondheim or Wicked like the basic bitch he is.
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