Pied Pipers Musical Theatre Club have taken on a very different show, with a punk rock vibe, based on the music of band Green Day.
The choreography by Briony Garner-Sullivan was fast, furious and streetwise. Some of the vocals were outstanding and the rock band was excellent, while the ensemble numbers had plenty of energy with a strong ensemble cast who performed with gusto! The staging was good, comprising a two-story urban set, with the band in full view on the upper deck and the cast appearing in costumes that place them and set the scene and urban atmosphere well.
However for the first few scenes it felt a bit like one ensemble number after another without much story. This was not helped by some first night microphone issues which included one of the leads sitting on the sofa singing his heart out, while we couldn’t hear a word and several songs where the vocals were drowned out by the band. In fact I had to look up the plot later and discovered I had misunderstood several bits.
So, the music and harmonies are really good, when you can hear them, and there’s plenty of energy as the plot unravels. The story follows three friends in small-town America, Johnny, Will and Tunny, who are bored with their lives and plan to move to the Big City.
Will, played by Maxim Thompson, falls at the first hurdle, as his girlfriend Heather is pregnant and they are forced to stay behind in their home town, Will stuck to the sofa drinking, while Heather gets progressively larger. Emily Garner puts in a spirited performance as Heather, with strong vocals, and plays a great scene where, sick of Will’s whining and drinking, she takes the baby and leaves.
Here I diverge into a discussion of unconscious bias and misogyny. Heather is fortunate to qualify for a real name, as the other two leading ladies get referred to by titles such as ‘Whatsername’ and Extraordinary Girl. Clearly women are not important to the characters (or the writers?) and are even labelled as secondary. Art imitating real life?
Meanwhile Johnny and Tunny hit the city, with Johnny, played brilliantly and grittily by Alex Stokoe as he meets girlfriend ‘Whatsername’ – a top performance by Lucy Farrow.
Tunny (Chip Colquhoun) is lured into the army and is wounded while in a war zone. We see him hallucinating in hospital in a fun scene with imaginary nurses, falling in love with his nurse, Extraordinary Girl – an extraordinary portrayal by Chlo Kitteridge with superb vocals. There were some moving numbers and performances in this set and clear, emotive storytelling.
Johnny’s dreams of fame and fortune soon turn to a heroin-fuelled mess, with Johnny meeting and egged on by what I thought was a bad influence drug dealer/friend, but is apparently his alter-ego St Jimmy. St Jimmy is played outstandingly by Adam Bond who is in turn angry young man, tempting heroin pusher and strutting diva. Johnny plays his guitar and sings a love ballad When It’s Time to Whatsername, but she too walks out, after a drugged-up, hallucinating Johnny attacks her. This is the central, and gritty story and a contrasting foil for the tragic outcome for Tunny.
The second half is much more together and very moving in many ways. Tunny is wheelchair-bound but has found love, Johnny realises the error of his ways and decides to head home, selling his prized guitar to buy the ticket, and Heather returns with her rock-star boyfriend. All the friends reunite in a high energy rock n roll finale with some fantastic ensemble numbers that work really well.
This sounds like a fairly simplistic plot but some of it came over better than others, with Will’s character being the least well-understood. The vibrant ensemble numbers bring everything to life, and the main plot was fairly obvious, but some of the finer points of the plot were a bit lost in the noise.
So, a musical that was good overall with some fabulous, moving and gritty performances. I think it’s fair to warn that it’s not your average musical (as someone once said after seeing a gritty traumatic drama, “It’s not Mamma Mia, is it?”) and it’s not for the faint-hearted, with scenes of heroin addiction, swearing and sex (no nudity) and loud rock music throughout. But it is well-worth seeing, especially if you enjoy something a bit different with a punk rock, angry young kids, street vibe.
(Photos – Hannah Sandman)
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