Prodigal Son, Jan 19, 2000

 Music by Mathew Frank, lyrics  & book by Dean Bryant 

at Chapel off Chapel until February 5, 2000

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

New Australian musicals are thin on the ground. The reason is not lack of talent but a lack of courage on behalf of producers and audience to take a punt on a no-name show. Lloyd-Webber, vapid as his work is, gets the hype and the ticket sales. More shame us.

Prodigal Son, with a cast of five, is the product of two 23-year-olds with a pack of skills, both of whom were trained at WAAPA musical theatre course in Perth.

 Composer, Mathew Frank, the sole musician on stage, draws on a number of musical theatre traditions. His tunes are singable and diverse.

Dean Bryant's lyrics are clever, often witty and tell the story clearly and succinctly through song.

In fact, the lyrics develop characters and narrative more effectively than does the dialogue. The spoken scenes lack emotional depth and range. This could be the area which needs attention in any reworking before a major season.

The story addresses the tumultuous changes experienced by Luke, a young man who leaves his family home in Eden, a paradise on the coast.

He goes to university in Sydney and there finally admits he is gay. In his confusion he parties too hard, fails his course, takes too many drugs and finally overdoses.

The voices are uneven in quality but the strongest is Barry Mitchell as dad. He brings great warmth to the role. Bryant is credible as the naive Luke. As mum, Jules Hutchinson is a perfect anzac-baking CWA mother.

Graham Pages is versatile in two roles: lover and brother. Amanda Levy as Maddy has a very light but peppy show-tune voice.

Director, Kris Stewart, has kept the style simple and the pace swift on an almost empty stage.

The show is a coming-of-age, coming-out story but it is primarily a tale about family. How does a young man deal with his "difference"? How do mum and dad from a conservative country town, cope with a gay son? What is maleness? How do we protect our children and still give them the freedom to be different from us?

Some of the messages are clumsily rendered but it is redeemed the honesty and commitment of the writers to the material, as well as its fine musicality..

by Kate Herbert