Shapeless
Craig Beardsworth
Lonely Hearts by Michael Nicholas Williams, Bats Theatre, Reviewed by Craig Beardsworth
IN the 1940’s America was gripped by the trial of ‘The Lonely Hearts Killers’. Raymond Fernandez scanned the personal lonely hearts column looking for rich spinsters wanting companionship. He wooed then married them and Martha Beck posing as his sister helped him knock them off. This gruesome story has provided rich pickings for Michael Williams to generate a musical.
Williams notes in the programme that he originally had a lyricist and script writer lined up, but he ended up writing everything himself including the music. As a composer and lyricist his job was well finessed – so often musical theatre can be derivative with lashings of schmaltz. The tunes were fresh and the score inventive. What really stymied this production was the script and pacing, for example, Julia (Emma Kinane) - the vitriolic mother of Beck (Bryony Skillington) is cruel and discouraging, regularly calling Beck ‘a fat slut’. Yet when neighbour Bobby (Natasha McAllister) comes in with news of a blind date for the shy and downtrodden Beck the three women break into a jolly trio about how exciting it all is.
The script lurched from pathos to slapstick and not enough time was taken to build to the next plot point. With such emotionally loaded material I wish Williams had aimed for more black humour to use as a foil and avoided the tap dancing and spirit fingers.
The singing and acting was well handled. Nick Dunbar made an oily Fernandez, Kinane had a busy night as a host of characters as did McAllister and Nick Purdy shone vocally in a well judged lounge singer cameo. Skillington was the lynchpin. As the flawed Beck she had to be vulnerable, scheming, desperate, sultry and angry. All were achieved.
What wasn’t addressed was the power of her voice. Skillington belted in true music theatre style, but it was too big for the venue. She obliterated the other singers in ensembles and at times during the dialogue I felt she was at the Coliseum.
I also have reservations about directing singers to sing the ‘money notes’ as loud and long as possible every time. What about subtlety, phrasing, contrast? There were lost opportunities and this did a disservice to the drama and the music. It needed a dramaturg to whip it into shape.
IN the 1940’s America was gripped by the trial of ‘The Lonely Hearts Killers’. Raymond Fernandez scanned the personal lonely hearts column looking for rich spinsters wanting companionship. He wooed then married them and Martha Beck posing as his sister helped him knock them off. This gruesome story has provided rich pickings for Michael Williams to generate a musical.
Williams notes in the programme that he originally had a lyricist and script writer lined up, but he ended up writing everything himself including the music. As a composer and lyricist his job was well finessed – so often musical theatre can be derivative with lashings of schmaltz. The tunes were fresh and the score inventive. What really stymied this production was the script and pacing, for example, Julia (Emma Kinane) - the vitriolic mother of Beck (Bryony Skillington) is cruel and discouraging, regularly calling Beck ‘a fat slut’. Yet when neighbour Bobby (Natasha McAllister) comes in with news of a blind date for the shy and downtrodden Beck the three women break into a jolly trio about how exciting it all is.
The script lurched from pathos to slapstick and not enough time was taken to build to the next plot point. With such emotionally loaded material I wish Williams had aimed for more black humour to use as a foil and avoided the tap dancing and spirit fingers.
The singing and acting was well handled. Nick Dunbar made an oily Fernandez, Kinane had a busy night as a host of characters as did McAllister and Nick Purdy shone vocally in a well judged lounge singer cameo. Skillington was the lynchpin. As the flawed Beck she had to be vulnerable, scheming, desperate, sultry and angry. All were achieved.
What wasn’t addressed was the power of her voice. Skillington belted in true music theatre style, but it was too big for the venue. She obliterated the other singers in ensembles and at times during the dialogue I felt she was at the Coliseum.
I also have reservations about directing singers to sing the ‘money notes’ as loud and long as possible every time. What about subtlety, phrasing, contrast? There were lost opportunities and this did a disservice to the drama and the music. It needed a dramaturg to whip it into shape.
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