Adelaide Reviews

It’s 1999, and the curtain rises to reveal a happy tribe of teenagers on an ice rink singing with excellent clarity about a Saturday night in New Jersey. The song is instantly appealing and sets the tone for the rest of the range of very accessible music by Jeanine Tesori.

This fine new (2021) musical from his own play, by the much-awarded David Lindsay-Abaire, is idiosyncratic in several ways, which makes it inventive yet familiar, complex yet approachable, uplifting yet unsentimental, and altogether peppered with charm, challenge, poignancy and plenty of unbridled humour.

It has unusual topics including anagrams, carpal tunnels, and cheque washing for example, and importantly, progeria: a very rare (approx 1 in 4 million) genetic disease which ages a person at 4 times the normal rate. Also with no straight-line, chronological narrative, bits of the story, and the relationships between the protagonists, are drip-fed to the audience throughout. This takes a bit of unravelling, especially when the age of the character of a couple of members of the central family doesn’t quite fit with the apparent age of the actor. Alcoholism, criminality, and family dynamics also get a guernsey, so there is never a chance to lose interest.

Marina Prior is incandescent in the role of Kimberley, a 16-year-old in a 64-year-old body. In reality, at 61 years old, she masterfully bestrides both ages with her suppleness of movement and crystal-clear singing voice and clear enunciation. Casey Donovan also dominates as the brash, outrageous aunt Debra of the doubtful background. SA’s Nathan O’Keefe is convincing as Buddy – Kimberly’s dad – struggling to get off the grog. The other most notable actor is the very engaging Darcy Wain as Seth, the teenager who is strongly and charmingly attracted to Kimberly, and who has the reputation of being the good boy, unsure of himself, plays chess and the tuba, and is fixated on anagrams. He also has a fine singing voice.

These actors are well supported by an excellent small chorus of enthusiastic and harmonic teenagers. While virtually all this cast is Australian, they all have mastered an almost completely credible American accent, with credit to the Accent Coach Jennifer Innes. The strong, colourful, geometric set (Jonathon Oxlade), is perfectly lit for the changing atmospheres of story and music, which are very competently delivered by this cast and the invisible Orchestra, directed by Kim Purling.

The drip-feeding of this relatively complicated story finally stops (with some dangling bits left untied) to make way for a somewhat chintzy but sweet happy ending, as the family is avoiding a hippopotamus as they drive through a Safari in New Jersey.

I told you it was unusual! Don’t miss it!