They're Playing Our Song
Produced by Ensemble Theatre Company

Cast: Simon Burke, Georgie Parker

Book: Neil Simon
Lyrics: Carole Bayer Sager
Music: Marvin Hamlisch

Publicist: Merran Doyle

Australian Premiere: Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Friday, July 14, 2006.


The Lowdown:
This show garnered plenty of media attention when Georgie Parker had voice problems in the lead-up to opening night. Previews were cancelled, and there were fears opening night would be delayed. It went ahead as planned, and while Parker struggled through the first few performances, the show eventually found its feet.


AussieTheatre.com Review:
So often the script in musicals is just fodder for the songs - something to break breathtaking ballads up or give the audience a break from constant jukebox numbers. In the case of They're Playing Our Song, it's very different. Neil Simon's book is superb, and it could indeed stand alone as a play, as the musical numbers leave plenty to be desired.

This new production of They're Playing Our Song - ironically performed in front of both Jackie Weaver and Sharon Millerchip on opening night, both of whom have appeared in past productions - is obviously presented on quite a small scale, with the Ensemble's stage hardly allowing space for a chorus or live orchestra. To cater for this, much of the music is pre-recorded and the ensemble (which, from memory, features three men and three women) isn't featured at all - any extra vocal work is also played via tape. The result of this is a little disappointing - the execution of the musical numbers suffers and while this is indeed a disappointment, it does give room for Simon's book to shine through.

The musical's about a chart-topping New York composer by the name of Vernon Gersch (Simon Burke) and his love affair with lyricist Sonia Walsk. The pair start working together on musical material before a spark develops and a relationship begins. The trouble starts when Vernon discovers how unreliable, yet predictable, his new fling his. Sonia is having trouble letting go of her troubled ex-partner Leon, which proves more than a headache for Vernon throughout their courtship.

Georgie Parker struggles vocally - perhaps in part to a much-talked about vocal problem in the lead-up to opening night - but she's a sensational actress and she's wonderful to watch in her neurotic-themed scenes throughout the piece. She fails to shine in the musical numbers not only because of some voice problems but simply because the style of the songs are suited to a much bigger stage where Parker can belt high and have a huge orchestra playing their hearts out behind her.

Simon Burke is a fine actor and while I'm not positive his partnership with Parker was a match made in heaven, he certainly excelled in his solo scenes - particularly when talking into his dictaphone, recording a journal of events as they happened.

This musical may be nearly 30 years old but the old-fashioned "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again" story will never grow too old to put on the stage. The Leon sub-plot is the perfect way to ensure predictability doesn't slip into the show and there's just no faulting the brilliant writing of Neil Simon. It's the music I have the problem with - I felt like I was back at the Lyric Theatre watching Adam Jon Fiorentino light up the stage in Saturday Night Fever for a little while there.

Jackie Weaver was superb, according to people who saw her in the Theatre Royal production in the early 1980's, and Sharon Millership was equally brilliant in Melbourne a few years ago. Georgie Parker is the key ingredient to this show's success given her entertainment profile and while she was far from 10/10 on opening night, it's the type of role she'll settle into as time goes on.

I'd love to see it again in six weeks - I have a feeling this show would be even better once settled.


Production Shots: