Moana Jr

At just eight years since its release, Moana is one of the more recent Disney animated films.   It gives us a fable for today’s time of a strong young girl braving difficulties to become the heroine of her Polynesian island - and this musical provides a challenge to a youth society working their way through the canon of Junior versions, because of the need to sing in a foreign language for many of the songs.  The elements of the almost two hour long film have been cleverly condensed to just over one hour in this junior musical and the result proved to be an entertaining show as CD Kids demonstrated to a full house of all ages.

Decoration of the hall instantly evoked the atmosphere of the South Seas, with craftily constructed mini palm trees lining the side walls draped with twinkling coloured lights linking them together.  This dressing gave an attractive backing to, and drew attention to, the cast members who sang and moved along the sides of the auditorium during the performance. 

More and more companies are taking advantage of the ability to bypass traditional sets by using graphics for projection onto a back screen.  This means a saving of space on stage and the man power to do the shifting of flats, plus rapidly changing locations that save time.  In this show the illustrations were drawn in-house with a great deal of creativity and imagination. However, there is still room for some more traditional staging and this design team created a special realm for the Ancestors, set on an elevated area of the fore-stage at DL. It was effective in allowing the Ancestors to remain on stage when not actually part of the action and gave the impression they were looking down on the activities of their descendants.  Little else was needed, and the cream-coloured legs each side of the stage permitted easy entrance and exit points, without adding to or distracting from the artwork, with the provision of steps off the stage giving further opportunities for the cast to leave through the auditorium: all of which helped to accommodate the large cast and avoid hold-ups in the wings. The wooden crates were a simple method of offering platforms for different levels and for quickly constructing the simple boat in which Moana and her two companions first tried to cross the reef, and later the more sophisticated one with a mast and sail, which she used with Maui. Throughout, there was a pleasing lighting design that brought the stage to life in keeping with the back projections and generally the balance between backing track and vocals was good without drowning out the young voices.

Coconuts featured in the props - and what a lot were needed!  Completely appropriate for the subject matter, they were highlighted in the movement numbers by those on stage and along the side walls.  Equally impressive was the selection of differing blue fabric swatches that the Ocean Chorus used to represent the waves.  The many shades added depth to the movement of the sea, and the various styles, on fan-like bases and larger pieces used by two, provided visual interest.  Another method of representing the water was ingeniously achieved by long ribbons circled by those in the hall. This variety imaginatively gave the audience a visual cue to the vagaries of the ocean. 

I found it really impressive how closely matched to the film the costumes of the main protagonists were.  Maybe they’re available to hire from costumiers or to buy, but if not then all the more credit to you for so carefully researching and recreating Moana’s beige crocheted and tasselled skirt with its orange bandeau top and waist sash.  Turning a slight young man into an oversized Polynesian demigod was magically achieved with a padded, flesh-coloured bodysuit to give him huge chest and arm muscles, though strangely not his legs. It was richly adorned with head to toe tattoos and around his waist a loincloth of bright green leaves replicated his known image.  The devilish Tamatoa trio in black sequins and red or silver accessories (loved the crab eyes topper!), and the flower-bedecked green robe of Te Fiti and her alter-ego Te Ka’s fiery red outfit were very clear indicators of character for the audience.  The ensemble outfits of Villagers in leis and Ocean Chorus in shades of blue were extravagant in their generosity and will have kept the backstage team of dressers busy, ensuring that the right collection was in place each time.  Tribal uniforms of grass skirts, dazzling sets of red and green sparkles, and the beautiful blue creations with all the dancers wearing thick shimmering blue plaits and glittery eye make up made the whole show a spectacle of colour.  The simplicity of their bare feet was a charming realism - who wears shoes on a desert island?  The vibrancy of the colour palette on stage was a visual treat.  

The availability of recorded tracks for junior versions of popular musicals means that the cast can have the backings for the songs at an early stage of rehearsal.  Nevertheless, in the case of Moana I can’t begin to imagine how long it took to teach the songs that were in the native language of Moana’s island community!  That the children were able to learn them and sing them so confidently is great credit to the MD. Enthusiasm was evident in the performances demonstrated by happy faces plus security in the moves and their placement. The chorus singing was commendable for their keeping together on the Polynesian verses - while at the same time dancing and performing quite complex patterns of synchronised armography, head gestures and foot steps that were truthfully in keeping with the traditional dances of the area.  There was an intensity curve to follow from curtain up to down and we were taken on Moana’s adventure with surprises and eloquent imagery, so we were happy to share in her success with the explosive confetti cannon finale.

Moana’s was a lovely secure performance by a young lady with a sweet, tuneful voice and the ability to get across some emotions in her acting using clear facial expressions and delightfully clear diction, while Maui, with strutting movements and bravado impression of the larger than life character, was a very confident and energetic performance.  The Ensemble and other characters worked responsibly in their various roles to support the narrative and create the exciting visual pictures on stage.  I came away using the words “joyous, joyful and colourful” and the capacity audience seemed to think the same, judging by their warm applause.

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