LEADING members of the arts community tell LEXI LANDSMAN about their favourite stage shows of 2009.

Jonny Pasvolsky

Actor

THE Wonderful World Of Dissocia was the surprise package of the year for me. The most vivid of imaginative worlds whacked you over the head with light, sound, song and colour in the first act of this two-act play. Justine Clarke allowed us into her childlike realm of experience, one where Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy and Edward Scissorhands could all play together.

Director Marion Potts displayed her wild imagination with two severely contrasting acts, which illustrated the emotional turmoil that often blurs the line between illness and imagination. This was an excellent direction for the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) to take in entering into a more relevant realm of plays.

A Streetcar Named Desire is another STC play that I feel deserves a mention for nothing more than Joel Edgerton’s performance as Stanley Kowalski. Although I was considered for the role, being pipped at the post,

I am glad to say he brought a great complexity to a role that on the surface could appear one dimensional. Especially with the Marlon Brando stigma attached to it. Not to mention playing opposite Cate Blanchett as Blanche DuBois. Both actors took me on a journey I hadn’t seen before in this Tennessee Williams masterpiece.

Ari Lander

Griffin resident playwright

THE first play I want to acknowledge as a standout was B Sharp’s astonishing production of Beyond the Neck. Written by Australian playwright Tom Holloway, the play examined the continuing impact of the Port Arthur massacre. Performed in the intimacy of the Downstairs Theatre, the play confronted the audience with the extent of the tragedy and trauma. While focusing on the massacre, the play moved onto a broader canvas, becoming a painful and touching evocation of loss.

The year 2009 also witnessed the return to the stage of Australian playwright Andrew Bovell, who, in collaboration with Hossein Valamanesh and Brink Productions, created When the Rain Stops Falling. The play spans 80 years from 1959-2039 and depicts four generations of a single family in London and Australia.

It’s a play that I think will soon be considered a masterpiece of Australian theatre. STC’s production of the play offered a very different theatrical landscape to Beyond the Neck and is indicative of the richness and variety of the Australian imagination.

Moira Blumenthal

Director

A FISH falling out of the sky and landing at the feet of a man standing in a desert – one couldn’t wish for a more startling opening image in a play. This multi-layered feast, When the Rain Stops Falling, written by Andrew Bovell (Lantana), was a magical exploration of cause and effect between generations. The enjoyment was increased by the presence of the composer accompanying on piano throughout.

Last year also dished up Barrie Kosky’s Poppea – a bravado production based on Monteverdi’s opera. The story of an adulterous affair between Poppea and the Roman Emperor Nero aligned with the hatching of a murder plan by Nero’s wife. The plot description does not do justice to the extraordinary quality of the artistry of this production.

The story was presented in a combination of styles – cabaret, opera and burlesque, with the maestro himself leading a string trio in a delicious score of the original opera music interwoven with a surprising selection of Cole Porter songs.

Troy Sussman

Actor

ONE of my favorite theatrical moments is that instant between when the lights go down and that first chord, that moment when you are about to be transported to a new and exciting world. In 2009, two wonderful and contrasting pieces took me on a journey through their world.

The first was Jersey Boys, an internationally acclaimed musical about the life and times of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It is a catalogue of hit after hit, but as Duke Box musicals go, has the most remarkable and well-constructed book, moving seamlessly through text and song. Performed by an all-Australian cast equal to that of any in the world.

The second was a little-known Australian piece called Once We Lived Here, written by Dean Bryant and Matthew Frank. A boutique musical recounting one family’s struggle through drought, fire and rural hardships. This wonderfully written piece had so much heart and truth, and was told with that quintessential Australian humour.

Shlom Eshel

Producer of JYM theatre company

I consume musicals the way most Jews eat cake. This past season I saw so many fantastic shows, though Billy Elliot was the standout professional musical for me of 2009. The direction was outstanding. The way the cast utilised the stage and the way the set was designed and constructed was both innovative and intelligent.

It displayed a fresh merger of creative ideas and meshed all the production elements flawlessly. I have to admit my bias here as I just love seeing a male dancer carrying a lead in an otherwise female-dominated industry.

Hats off to Sir Elton John’s score and Lee Hall’s stage adaptation, which presented thought-provoking themes with a feel-good ending.

The other production of 2009 that left me absolutely gobsmacked was Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Melbourne tour. This was contemporary dance at its absolute finest. Choreographers Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson are arguably the most talented and exhilarating creative team in the dance scene at the moment.

Their combined vision merged challenging powerful themes that were forceful yet remained elegant and absolutely beautiful. The standard and ability of the dancers was second to none. The production was flawless.

This year will see JYM theatre company stage The Witches of Eastwick from May 15-29 at the Phoenix Theatre, Elwood.

Geoff Sirmai

Kosher Theatresports founder

A number of memorable Jewish-themed plays and musicals featured in the Short+Sweet series in 2009.

Adam Gelin’s hilarious Religion Shop, where characters returned different “faulty” religions for a refund, was a hit at the Seymour Centre in Sydney and won the People’s Choice Award at the Arts Centre in Melbourne.

In the musical category, Bielke (Tevye’s youngest daughter) by Tom Asams and JM Eisenman, picked up the post-story of Tevye (with David Solomon recreating the role from his performances in the Moriah College production Fiddler on the Roof) once the iconic milkman and his family arrive in New York.

Tevye starts a new life and, with youngest daughter Bielke (played magnificently by Jodie Harris), must make hard choices in a new world.

The 10-minute mini-musical staged at the Pilgrim Theatre was brilliantly directed by James Lee (himself an understudy to Topol during the 2008 national tour of Fiddler) and suggested a full-length version of the this musical sequel must be just around the corner. Wicked Schmicked!

Lara Sacher

Actress

WHAT energy and talent! Chicago, a story of murder, fame and fortune. This show had it all. I sat in awe for two hours watching incredibly talented women portray Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly and other women in the county jail. A story that has show-stopping songs and choreography behind every corner, I did not want it to end.

I loved that the talent was not overpowered by garish sets and costume design. Its minimalist approach encompassed the orchestra on stage, encouraging a more engaging experience for the audience.

Although Chicago is a story that has been on Broadway and in film, theatregoers were treated to a fresh and revitalised interpretation of the classic and well-loved story. Each actor crafted new dimensions to their characters that gave viewers a deeper understanding and appreciation of their complex nature. It was a beautifully executed show.

Billy Elliot the Musical is an adaptation by the same team -– Stephen Daldry and Lee Hall –- responsible for the award-winning film Billy Elliot. Although the scenes don’t mirror the movie frame by frame, the plot is the same funny yet poignant journey.

For those who don’t remember, set in northern England amid the historic and violent coalminers’ strike of the 1980s, 11-years-young Billy Elliot discovers he has a passion and talent for dancing. Billy begins to pursue his unconventional ambition through ballet classes, which he disguises as boxing lessons so as not to confront his oppressed and motherless family who are consumed by the industrial action.

There is much critical acclaim and admiration for this show, which always makes me wary of having too high expectations. But Billy really is as good as its word –- uplifting, heartwarming, and hilarious.