Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Amateur theatre groups, lacking the financial and technical resources of the professionals, necessarily have to come up with novel and imaginative ways to stage their shows.  “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, like many musicals developed from films, features a lot of different settings.  Odyssey embraced this challenge with an adaptable set which featured a stylish painted cloth representing the French Riviera, a raised platform and some practical treads, and intelligent use of forestage space.  Different settings were evoked by a few key properties, which allowed for rapid transitions between scenes, while the different levels gave opportunities for attractive tableaux and also allowed some scenes to be played out in two spaces simultaneously.

The director proved herself to be very adept at developing believable characters from her talented principals; yes, some of the action may be a little implausible, but the audience never stops believing in these people and that’s what keeps the show engaging and entertaining.  The dialogue was very natural, the pace never flagged and the movement and gestures were cleverly pitched between realism and that little bit of over-emphasis required in a musical stage show.

The director was also responsible for the choreography, which was sensitive not only to the melody and mood of the music, but even to the orchestration – the entire ensemble performing as silver service servants particularly sticks in the mind, as does the crispness and energy of some of the Latin dancing.  The choreography was cleverly differentiated so that everyone could join in while the most able dancers were given opportunities to shine.  There weren’t many male dancers, but two of them demonstrated notable grace and skill – some of the lifts they executed required tremendous core strength and trust, and that was just from their partners.

The band was a joy from start to finish, and it was a pleasure to hear such an accomplished twelve-piece outfit, under spirited but disciplined direction, play the score so well.

Overall this was such a joyous production, with just about every aspect carefully thought through and brilliantly executed.  The principals were well cast with clearly defined characters, and they drove the narrative with energy and spirit while keeping the whole thing the correct side of plausible.  Add in a terrific band and high production values and you have an outstanding piece of musical theatre.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.