Little Me
Produced by The Production Company

Cast: Debra Byrne, Mitchell Butel (cast not complete).

Book: Neil Simon
Lyrics: Carolyn Leigh
Music: Cy Coleman
Director: Roger Hodgman

Publicist: Michael Wilkie

Australian Premiere: State Theatre, Melbourne. August 22, 2007.


The Lowdown:
Part of The Production Company's 2007 season.


AussieTheatre.com Review:
The Production Company has again come up trumps with its latest offering, Little Me. This little known musical is unabashed entertainment plus, and had me and the rest of the audience laughing uncontrollably at its hilarious gags.

The musical is based on the best-selling comic biography of the same name by the writer Patrick Dennis, who also wrote Mame. The story tells of Belle Poitrine (nee Schlumphort) and her quest to escape poverty, and win the hand of the man of her dreams, through the acquisition of fame, wealth and social standing. Much of the humour is derived through the parody of the pretensions of those who value celebrity and wealth, and the adaptation by Neil Simon is full of tasteless one-liners that get you laughing despite yourself.

For this latest production, director Roger Hodgman has reworked the script, skilfully amalgamating the original 1962 script and an updated version created by Neil Simon in 1996. The result is a slick, incredibly fast moving gag-fest, directed to perfection by Hodgman. The swimming scene in the song “I Love Sinking You” is one of the funniest things I have ever seen on a stage.

Debra Byrne is perfectly cast as Belle, who tells her life story in a series of flash-backs. Byrne gives a commanding performance as Belle, from age 16 to mature woman, and shows she is a fine comedienne as well as singer and actress. A special moment though, is the song, “Poor Little Hollywood Star”, when Byrne gets to sit back and just sing, confirming her place as one of Australia’s most cherished vocal talents.

As Noble Egglestone & All the Men in Belle’s Life, Mitchell Butel is screamingly funny. In the role, originally created as a star vehicle for Sid Caesar, Butel gets to play a number of different characters, and he displays an amazing energy in his madcap portrayals. A fine singer and comedian, a highlight is his song with the male ensemble, “Real Live Girl”.

Other standouts are Heather Bolton as Momma & Mrs Egglestone, and Daniel Fletcher as the smooth Lucky Malone. As the Buchsbaum brothers, Peter Lowry and Adam Murphy are a perfect pair and the Production Company Ensemble again turn in a more than professional performance.

Little Me was an early collaboration of Simon and Coleman, and the music is not as strong as in some of their later works like Sweet Charity. The songs act well though as a vehicle for the comedy, and a new orchestration by George Brodbeck adds colour to the show.

Little Me is rarely staged in Australia, but would have to be one of the funniest of Neil Simon’s works. Don’t miss this chance to see it while you can.


Production Shots:



Further Information:
None available