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Everyone likes Theatre Sports. Everyone. Whose Line is it Anyway was always one of my favourite shows, especially the musical improvisations. Spontaneous Broadway is nearly 90 minutes of just that. You couldn’t ask for a better night’s entertainment.

The premise is simple: the cast do a few improvised warm up songs inspired by made-up titles supplied by the audience, and then a new musical is created around the song the audience votes as best. This, of course, is a one-off, one night only musical masterpiece. There are costume changes, dance numbers and overtures. All improvised right in front of your eyes.

Opening night saw a packed house and a guest appearance by Shaun Micallef as German director Claus Von Bulow, whose biography included staging Uncle Vanya at half time at the Superbowl. Micallef was extremely funny and went above and beyond to make the actors’ lives as difficult as possible. His scene directions saw them playing one-legged characters who spoke a mixed accent of South American and German, surviving Judgement Day, managing twenty year time jumps across several continents, and morphing from playing the Beatles to Mexican cleaners obsessed with rubber gloves to Greek Gods atop Mt Olympus. His song titles for the cast included Maureen Get Me a Pastie, My Car Alarm is Going Off and So Am I, and I Wear My Rubber Gloves to Bed and All is Explained.

The cast were brilliant. Mike McLeish and Rik Brown were the stand-outs. McLeish, as the fates would have it, ended up with rather a lot to do when ‘cast’ as the lead, Dirty Javier the Mexican cleaner who wears his rubber gloves to bed (please, people, keep up), after successfully pitching that song title to the audience earlier in the night. Brown, a seasoned improv performer, came up with one sharp line after another. It’s a thrill to watch someone so seasoned at their craft, especially in a situation so fraught with possible disaster.

Musical Director John Thorn is clearly some sort of musical freak genius. He played whatever style the actors decided they wanted to sing in – last night’s requests included a “disco lilting love song, please John”, latin funk, country blues, and “Egyptian, please John”. Not only did he improvise a rather spectacular overture, he remembered the improvised pieces he played at the beginning of the show to repeat them in the second half. Amazing.

Spontaneous Broadway is fun, fun, fun. It’s chock-a-block full of talent and makes you feel happy. I highly recommend you see it – more than once if possible.


2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Spontaneous Broadway

Venue: the Arts Centre, Fairfax Studio | 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
Dates: 12 - 24 April, 2011
Times: Tue-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm
Duration: 75 minutes
Tickets: $30 – $22
Bookings: 1300 182 183 | theartscentre.com.au