It featured eight local singers, each performing two songs of their own choice, with the explanation of their song choice being they were “dream songs” - maybe from a role in a musical they had unsuccessfully auditioned for, or perhaps a song they would love to perform, but maybe they didn’t match the traditional gender, appearance or range for that song and that role.
Given the incredible performances the audience was treated to on Saturday night - I am correct therefore in stating (some) casting directors are stupid, tone deaf and outright blind to the talent around them in Taranaki. Because if those singers have indeed auditioned for the roles they selected on Saturday night, those casting directors must have been asleep, otherwise they would have snapped these actor-singers up in a second.
This was proven before any of these eight performers actually took to the stage in fact, with director, organiser and MC for the night, Antony Saywell, took to the stage to introduce the evening by performing their own version of the Chicago the Musical song When you’re good to Mama.
As Antony said in their introduction, the song, and role of Mama, is traditionally female.
“So if they did decide to put Chicago on in Taranaki, I wouldn’t get the role.”
Dear casting directors and theatre companies of Taranaki - a) please put on Chicago - it’s a great musical, and b) please consider taking a risk, and ignoring gender in the casting should you do so. Because Antony is a great Mama, they have the voice, the movement (despite constantly telling the audience on the night they don’t have great dance skills) and they would make a great Mama, gender stereotypes be damned.
Also, event organisers take note - if you are looking for a versatile, engaging and outright fun MC for your event - Antony is definitely your person.
Antony’s perfectly balanced opening act was a great start to the night, and set a high bar for the eight performers, all of whom didn’t just meet that bar, but confidently leapt over it with each song.
The performers, Amy Bellomo, Jenny Bennett, Ella Coulton, Jazz Gallagher, Elicia-Mae Hitchcock, Kelsey McEwan, Chris Murray and Regan Tate, are all relatively familiar faces to theatre fans across the region, and should be near the front of any reputable casting director’s Rolodex when it comes to looking for Taranaki talent.
Each chose their two songs well, proving that a great performer can make any role their own, whether they match the original vision of a specific age, look, ethnicity, gender or size or not. Some of the songs selected were clear dream roles that the performer could still get cast as, especially if they auditioned for it with even half the talent they showed on stage on Saturday. Ella Coulton’s Killer Instinct showed she certainly should be cast in any upcoming production of Bring it On - The Musical.
Both Jenny Bennett and her son, Chris Murray chose a song from Chess for one of their two pieces each, with Jenny giving Elaine Paige a run for her money with her soulful version of Nobody’s Side from the musical. Chris gave an equally strong performance of Anthem from the musical, almost eclipsing his other song choice Stars from Les Misérables. Jenny’s other song choice, I don’t know how to love him was well chosen as well, and her rendition of it was spine-tingling.
Talking of soulful and spine-tingling, Elicia-May’s second song choice When You Believe (Prince of Egypt) was both those things and plenty more too. When You Believe was originally performed by not one, but two global divas - Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston - and Elicia-May gave an equally diva-esque version, completely owning the song.
Regan Tate had plenty of fun performing Sweet Transvestite from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the audience had an equal amount of fun watching and listening to his version. Another fun performance was from Amy Bellomo, with Someone Like You from Jekyll & Hyde my personal favourite out of her two songs.
Kelsey Mcewan’s two song choices were also perfect for her vocal talent, with her second song Stupid with Love from Mean Girls one of the best performances of the night.
Jazz Gallagher performed one of my other favourites of the night - and while Michael in the Bathroom from Be More Chill wasn’t a song I knew well before, it now has a place on my playlist and is a new favourite, although I actually prefer Jazz’s rendition of it to the original version.
If you are beginning to get the impression you missed out if you weren’t there on Saturday night, well, yes you did, but the good news is this show wasn’t a one-off. Antony says GOAT plans to hold these evenings every few months, with youth and junior versions in the pipeline as well. Keep an eye on the Guild of Arts Taranaki Facebook page to make sure you don’t miss out on the next one.
In keeping with GOAT’s desire to support the arts, the evening was a fundraiser for The Dance Project’s upcoming trip to Australia, and some members of the group were on stage as well, performing just a small taster of the incredible dance routines they have become famous across the region for, with every dance perfectly executed, leaving the audience breathless just watching.
Thanks to Saturday’s show, I have a new playlist for my car, and a new wishlist for musicals (and casting decisions). I want Taranaki theatre companies to start thinking bigger and bolder when it comes to putting on shows and casting directors to get braver and move away from stereotypes. Actually, not just in this region - but globally - these pop-up Broadway stars have what it takes to appear on stages across the world.
