A Jerry Herman Triptych – Milk and Honey
Milk and Honey reveals the musical genius of composer and lyricist, Jerry Herman. Within the two act show delightful waltzes, belting chorus numbers and even a tango, captivate the audience. To this end Magnormos’ presentation of Milk and Honey, as a part of A Jerry Herman Triptych was a sensation.
Presented by: MagnormosVenue: Melbourne Recital Centre
Monday, 4 July, 2011
Milk and Honey reveals the musical genius of composer and lyricist, Jerry Herman. Within the two act show delightful waltzes, belting chorus numbers and even a tango, captivate the audience. To this end Magnormos’ presentation of Milk and Honey, as a part of A Jerry Herman Triptych was a sensation. The Melbourne Recital Centre is a performance venue with outstanding acoustic integrity. Magnormos maximised on this particular feature, with all other elements of staging being quite basic. To be exact, the stage was utterly unadorned in any set design, streetwear was worn for costuming, the stage wings were exposed, and the small orchestra was placed upstage. Needless to say, it was not an extravagant musical production. The performance’s success rested squarely on the enchanting musical arrangements and the exceptional execution of the song and dance numbers. Undoubtedly the highlights of the show were the chorus pieces. Choreographed by Michael Ralph, the dance sequences were thrilling and elicited a rousing audience reaction. ‘Independence Day Hora’ and ‘Milk and Honey’ were electrifying. The group choreography was technically demanding, with pirouettes and jetés a plenty, but this was performed in perfect unison and delivered with welcomed bravado. The vocals of the chorus were equally outstanding and stirred the audience into applause. The Jerry Herman Triptych has been billed as three ‘concert staged’ book in hand presentations, with minimal set and a focus on the music/story. The principal cast did rely on their scripts in some moments which interrupted the comic and dramatic banter between characters, however Sophie Carter (Clara Weiss) and Liz Stiles (Barbara) both managed to juggle the cumbersome scripts with finesse. Carter’s show stopping number ‘Hymn to Hymie’ was delivered with gusto and humour, and Stiles’ dramatic scene at the end of Act I were both memorable moments indeed. The talented cast had all the capability of delivering an entirely dazzling night of theatre, and one young actor Rose Sejean, who played Zipporah, dazzled indeed. As a heavily pregnant farmer on a Kibbutz, her outstanding physicality was comedic musical theatre at its best. Sejean waddled around the stage and executed some terrific dance sequences to great effect, all with a bulging belly in tow and no script in sight. With their one and only performance of Milk and Honey as a part of A Jerry Herman Triptych, Magnormos showed themselves to be a strong musical theatre company. Admittedly, the scenes were not altogether polished, but with limited rehearsal time, for a one-off performance, this can be forgiven. The song and dance pieces, in contrast, were well rehearsed, beautifully choreographed and skilfully executed. It was through these brilliant chorus numbers that Magnormos emphasised the musical talent of Jerry Herman. We await the following triptych performances of Dear World and Hello, Dolly with enthusiasm for this terrific celebration of musical theatre.
