Musical doesn’t just succeed – it excels
WITH a captivating cast and several standout performances, Newhaven College’s latest production How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was an enjoyable romp for both audience and performers.
Newhaven gets another big tick for its 1961 musical comedy revival that opened last Thursday and played for five performances at the Wonthaggi Community Arts Centre.
Appreciative audiences relished the wonderful young talent being showcased in a display of fine acting, singing and dancing.
The college dares to be different and continues to lift the bar each year with its theatrical offerings and has given South Gippsland another top show.
Centring around the character of J. Pierrepont Finch expertly played by Tom Barker, the musical tells the story of his climb up the corporate ladder in the big business world just by reading a book.,
The book tells him how to go from mailroom to high powered executive and along the way he tackles aggressive company men, backstabbing colleagues, caffeine addiction and true love.
Think of the television show Mad Men, put it to music and you basically have this male dominated show in a nutshell.
Tom in his lead role gets an A for his performance. He was a standout in his very demanding role.
Another standout was the talented Mitchell Brusamarello who played the boss JB Biggley. No stranger to the stage having appeared in many shows across South Gippsland, he had the audience loving to hate his character and showed great comedic timing in his duet song Grand Old Ivy with Tom.
Mitchell was one of the standouts, in fact he nearly stole the show!
When talking highlights, the beautiful Jade Dalton shone in her role as Rosemary Pilkington who opened the show with Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm, assuring the audience an entertaining show was ahead of them.
Her sweet singing gave an extra gleam to the production. She looked stunning on stage and was a natural. Then you have Emma Volard who played the racy Hedy La Rue and had the audience in fits of laughter with her flirtatious on stage antics. She was a star!
The whiny Byron Scothern (Bud Frump) was every bit the dorky, divisive nephew of JB Biggley. Tara Storey as Smitty performed well.
The show’s feature songs Brotherhood of Man, Paris Original, I Believe In You and The Company Way drew plenty of applause. The song I Believe in You sung by all the males in the cast was super.
Adding to the success of the show were Phoebe Epifano (Miss Krumholtz), Paris Tzimos (Miss Jones), Noah Lugt-Cole (Bratt), Alex Swan (Mr Twimble), Finn Donohue (Gatch) and the strong ensemble that included Emily Carlson, Alannah Coghlan, Macy Lugt-Cole, Imogen Price, Nikita Rainey, Luke Ward, Mack Williams, Daniel Blackney, Alex Burke, Brittany Carlson, Lauren Carlson, Riley Coleman, Jasmine McJames-Court, Cluanie Swanwick, Jorgie Mae Thompson, Olivia Flower, Maria Rosa Gatto, Erin Gin, Kate Maxwell, Liam McLaren, Phoebe Methven, Jack Montgomery, Saxon Taylor, Emma Ward, Pip Wayne, Taylah Williams, Sarah Burns, Jaz Hendry, Hannah Lilleyman, Sam Peters, Jess Wayne, Dean West and Maddy Wilson that showcased its talent in the songs Coffee Break and Brotherhood of Man.
Director Will Handley and maestro extraordinaire Kirk Skinner, the fabulous student orchestra and the strong production team have triumphed with this amazing musical. Sets were creative and colourful, and the costumes were superb.
Newhaven’s performance demonstrated a cast and crew with loads of talent that had the theatre filled with laughter throughout a show that didn’t just succeed but shone.
Quality show: Newhaven College’s latest musical production How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in Wonthaggi last week. She is supported by fellow students front left and right Byron Scothern who was great as the annoying Bud Frump and Noah Lugt-Cole as Bratt .
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