Dusty
Produced by Dusty Productions, Dennis Smith

Cast: Tamsin Carroll, Deni Hines, Mitchell Butel, Glenn Butcher, Kaye Tuckerman, Alexis Fishman, Trisha Noble, Rachel Bickerton, Bianca Campbell, Alinta Chidzey, Bobby Fox, Todd Goddard, Simone Kay, Yvette Lee, Liam McIlwain, Tanya Mitford, Monique Montez, John O'Hara, Andrew Perry, Nathan Pinnell, Daniel Scott, Lucinda Shaw, Zoe Trilbsbach, Stephen Wheat, Benton Wilson, Tracey Wilson Stewart.

Written By: John Michael-Howson, David Mitchell, Melvyn Morrow

Publicist: Howie & Taylor Publicity (National). Various publicists for tour.

Australian Premiere: The Arts Centre, Melbourne. Thursday, January 12, 2006.


The Lowdown:
A much hyped new Australian musical that opened in Melbourne before touring Australia. Reviews for the production were mixed but box office takings were quite positive. Alexis Fishman makes her professional musical theatre debut in the production.


AussieTheatre.com Review:
All aboard the runaway train that is Dusty – the new $6 million Australian musical that has promised so much, attracted so much hype and earned itself impressive box office takings.

Dusty of course follows the career of one of the word’s greatest female pop stars, Dusty Springfield. It looks at her life from when she was a humble schoolgirl, right through to her sparkling career at the top of the charts and her battle with alcohol along the way. It also looks, in quite confronting detail, at her death in 1999.

Unfortunately, the musical fails to live up to the fanfare, and while the cast is superb and the music just brilliant, it’s a disjointed and at times sloppy production that really fails to hit the mark.

One of the major problems is the script – it jumps all over the place and never really explains in any great detail exactly how Dusty Springfield became the pop icon she was. We see snippets of her rise – such as her leaving particular bands – but no real detail of big breaks or how she actually escaped being simple Mary O’Brien to become Dusty Springfield. And when there is detail – it’s all over the place, jumping from one era to another and not really having a point.

There’s also some strange choices – such as the inclusion of the ‘young Dusty’ character, played exceptionally well by Alexis Fishman. While the role would have had a rightful place in the production had the concept followed a different line, having the younger version of Dusty essentially follow her alter ego around for much of the show just doesn’t work. It gives the show a very wishy washy feeling.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s plenty of highlights in the show, but for a production that was workshopped extensively and worked on for many years, it fails to ignite.

Some have claimed Tamsin Carroll is absolutely brilliant in the lead role of Dusty – others have said she’s simply not up to the task. Personally, I thought Carroll was a stand out. Some of her numbers made the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention and there were moments you really thought you were watching Dusty Springfield live in concert. Carroll has perfected the role – and that’s the way it should be, given the length of time she has worked on the production.

Fishman is excellent – her rendition of ‘Little by Little’ is great – and Deni Hines absolutely steals the show. Her voice is exquisite and her acting ability superb.

Poor Mitchell Butel – his ‘wig song’ as it is being affectionately called may have been performed exceptionally well, but the number is awful – a waste of time that could have been better spent earlier in the production formulating a better and more consistent storyline.

The cast can’t be faulted, the costumes are superb, the music obviously brilliant and of the choreography by Ross Coleman is A+. The problem here is the script – it’s very shallow and unfulfilling.

The biggest disappointment about Dusty is the fact that it had so much potential and provided an unbelievable amount of excitement ahead of opening in Melbourne. How it went wrong is a mystery – more so, how nobody along the way picked up that this was at times a disjointed mess is unbelievable.

If you love Dusty Springfield’s music – this production will fill your needs. If you’re after a lesson about her life – hit the biography books instead. It’ll suit your needs better and give you a more accurate and detailed look at her career.

How do you fix a problem like Dusty? Re-writes, old chap, re-writes.


Production Shots:



Further Information:
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