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Photo - James Penlidis

This very clever spin-off from the theatresports genre of improvised performance needs little introduction to local audiences. Combining musical theatre parody and homage, it remains an hilarious 75 minutes of laughs, ridiculous costumes and even more ridiculous improvised storylines. The format remains the same, but of course each performance is unique.

The evening's host Randy Patinkin enters and sets the tone as well as introduces the guest performers, Dame Helen Highwater, Chad Bradley, Rosita Del Guardo (Colombo's only musical theatre performer), and local identity Gordon Supwell. The audience has already been encouraged to submit song titles into a bucket before the show, and these are sorted and selected for each performer to pitch - both the song and the show that it will be from.

We are reminded that tonight will see a brand new musical enjoying both its opening and its closing performance.

At my performance we saw previews of My Sculpture has a Strange Penis from the bold Censorship: The Musical, the sad Painfully Shy in this World from The History Books, and the popular Don't Tell Me it's Raining When My Fly is Open from the yet to be seen Newsbreak.

By overwhelming public demand though, the winning entry was Stay and We Will Have Cake from the French Revolution-inspired Count Me Out, performed magically by Chad and Rosita.

Set in 1793, this lush romantic tale between a wealthy aristocrat and a lowly peasant girl featured everything one could wish for in a musical including a dying cow, a nordic dog, a tribute to Russian peasants and Fiddler on the Roof, and even a four-poster bed with a water feature.

Performances were spot on and impossible to single out - each had a moment to shine - well perhaps Chad had a few more moments.

Special mention has to be made of the significant contribution by Musical Director John Thorn who manages to not only set the mood and style with his musical abilities, but also to keep on track with the sometimes wayward troupe.

And there's more - not only are the performances, script and music improvised, but so is the sound and lighting, with little or no warning about scene/mood changes. All wonderfully realised.

In other words this fast-paced concoction kept the capacity crowd in the palm of its hands right from the overture to the final curtain calls.

Of course the alter-egos of Russell Fletcher, Genevieve Morris, Rebecca DeUnamuno, Geoff Paine and Ross Daniels deserve a lot of the credit for such inspired performances and manic hilarity.

As the Spontaneous Broadway flyer claims, these performers do know every song from every musical that's NEVER been written. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of a one-night only musical theatre experience.


Spontaneous Broadway

Venue: the Arts Centre, Fairfax Studio | 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
Dates: 6 - 18 April, 2010
Times: Tue - Sat 7pm, Sun 5pm
Duration: 75 minutes
Prices: Full $32, Concession $27, Tightarse Tuesday $22
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | Venue Bookings 1300 182 183 | At the door
Visit: www.spontaneousbroadway.com.au


Special Guests:
Julia Zemiro: April 13-18
Cal Wilson: April 6 and 13
Rebecca DeUnamuno: April 6-11
Genevieve Morris: April 7-11, 14-18