Musical Theatre – Tulpa Magazine

A J Holmes: Yeah, But Not Right Now

The 10pm slot in Gluttony means that the crowd is varied in the demographic and levels of sobriety. The cosy tent was filled with laughter, singing, and playful banter with the crowd throughout the show.

Previously featured on Broadway in the hit show The Book of Mormon, AJ Holmes serenades the audience with his angelic voice, enthusiastic piano playing, a guitar, and a loop pedal.

Gloriously reminiscent of high-school musical theatre, Yeah, But Not Right Now has it all: awkwardness, validation tension, and overconfidence galore. Sit back while Holmes sings you stories about horrible things with a smile on his face, or joyful things in a sulk. This one man show conveys the highs and lows of showbiz, dating apps, and just being in your 20s.

AJ Holmes opens up about his grandma, his life on Broadway, his Facebook-posting mother, and his revelations along the way. I found myself laughing with sympathy, awkwardness, and sentimentality in this unique show.

Uncomfortably intimate at times, the show spans an hour of deep, and not so deep, soul gazing at AJ’s life: a kaleidoscope of joy, love, epiphanies, eroticism, and a riot of laughs. Aimed at an audience in their 20s and above, I found myself relating to every word with a knowing chuckle.

A musical born out of procrastination, this show is for any procrastinator, Casanova, wanna-be-actor or chronic over sleeper.

I give this show a four out of five stars, because I haven’t seen anything that left me grinning throughout and with an echo of that laughter pinching my cheeks hours later.

Words by Sarah Ingham

Yeah, But Not Right Now is playing at Gluttony until March 15

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here

Rebel

How do you pay homage to the late David Bowie? How do you put all of his greatness in a box? The answer: with a roller-skating trapeze artist and literal fire, that’s how.

I sincerely hope that you get the absolute pleasure of seeing the ultimate David Bowie tribute show, Rebel. The performance was theatrical beyond words, just like Bowie himself.

With an exceptionally multi-talented cast, you’ll be blown away by the amazing visual effects and beautifully done covers of Bowie’s music. The spectacular performance takes you out of your seat and on a journey through the decades. The stunning costumes range from patterns and elegance to space age and metallic, perfectly capturing the multi-faceted nature of Bowie’s many personas.

Release your inner rebel with the cast and sing along with the iconic Bowie songs throughout the ages. Looking through the crowd, there can be so many generations under one roof. The performance is for people of all ages, and there’s something for everyone to watch and enjoy. Who wouldn’t want to go and see a show so colourful and kaleidoscopic!

With high boots and high spirits, join the crew of Rebel and lose yourself for an hour in good music and good company.

Five stars from me.

Words by Sarah Ingham

You can catch Rebel at Wonderland Spiegeltent at Gluttony up until the 17th of March. Tickets and details here.

Thrones! The Musical Parody

If, like me, you have spent the past year and a half sitting around wondering how to fill that Game of Thrones-shaped void in your life, I cannot recommend Thrones! The Musical Parody highly enough to carry you through to April.

Set in the home of Linda, a freshly divorced Game of Thrones virgin, but more importantly the person with the best TV, a group of friends quickly try to catch their pal up on the past seven seasons’ worth of content before the premiere of the final season.

Over the course of 75 minutes the cast takes Linda and the audience through the 70-odd characters essential to the plot; a vast array of deaths; the complex (and often sexual) relationships between characters; the many titles of Daenerys Targaryen; more deaths; the power struggles and ever-changing internal balance of good and evil; and of course, the deaths. The songs were well-written, witty and infectious as well as brilliantly delivered; you’ll want to download the soundtrack immediately. Some personal favourites were ‘Stabbin’ and ‘You Know Nothing’ although if I stop and think about it, I can keep adding to my list of favourite songs in the same way that I keep adding to my list of favourite GoT characters.

Although the set was minimalistic, the actors were able to be inventive and resourceful with their props, creating memorable wardrobe choices and taking us from Linda’s living room to Westeros in the blink of an eye. They offered a hilarious take on what has occurred so far on GoT and further explored what may be yet to come.

The endless puns and jokes in the show will be best appreciated by fans of Game of Thrones, but the delivery and dexterity of the cast can certainly be appreciated by all. Go to this show for a good belly laugh, catchy songs that will remain in your head for weeks, and one more hit of Game of Thrones before the final season.

Words by Kirsty van der Veer

Five stars.

Thrones! The Musical Parody every day (except Mondays) until March 17. Tickets available here.

Little Shop of Horrors

Little shop… Little shoppa horrors… Little shop… Little shoppa terrors…

Oh right. The review!

Without a doubt this has to be one of my favourite musicals. In saying that I am probably biased as I’ve seen three separate performances in the last three years.

The storyline follows the meek Seymour, an ex-street-urchin-come-shop-assistant at Mushnick’s Flowers after he discovers a strange an interesting new plant: the Audrey II. Naming the plant after the beautiful shop-girl Seymour is crushing on, things appear to be looking up for Seymour. That is, until Audrey’s boyfriend, an abusive dentist appears to take her away. Meanwhile the Audrey II is suffering and while tending to the plant Seymour discovers its dark secret, the plant has a taste for blood! Before he can do anything, Seymour is swept up in a whirlwind of interviews and lecturing tours as his discovery of a new and interesting plant is publicised. Where would he be without the plant?

Unlike either of the performances I’ve seen previously, The Adelaide Theatre Company uses a massive cast of junior dancers and singers as backup dancers, adding to the fun of the show.

Being part of the audience on Saturday night was a privilege and a wonder. There was so much energy in the hall and it was clear that may of the performers onstage were enjoying themselves. It was an almost flawless performance, the only slip up being well recovered from. Throughout the show the whole crowd was buzzing with energy, even dancing along as the theme music returned signalling the end of intermission and giving a standing ovation at the conclusion of the show.

Just remember folks, whatever you do, don’t feed the plants!

Words by Kayla Gaskell.

Five stars.

Little Shop of Horrors is playing at the Norwood Concert Hall at 2:30pm and 7:30pm Sunday 4^th of March. Tickets available here.