Return to the Forbidden Planet

"Return to the Forbidden Planet" is possibly the zaniest "out of this world" rock musical, created in 1989 by Bob Carlton and based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and 1950's science fiction movie "Forbidden Planet".  The plot centres around Captain Tempest and the crew of the American spaceship Albatross on a routine scientific survey flight.  The ship is hit by a meteorite shower and is pulled towards the forbidden planet D'Illyria where, some fifteen years earlier, the mad scientist Dr. Prospero and his daughter Miranda landed, after they were sent off into hyper-space by his estranged wife, Gloria, who is now the Science Officer on board the space flight.  And so the adventure begins...

As we entered the auditorium, as "passengers" on the spaceship, we were greeted enthusiastically by members of the crew and after settling in our seats, given polarity reversal flight emergency drill as part of the pre-performance safety notices!  The clever set design by Steve Powter, constructed complete with sliding time-lock doors and upper controls gantry, had transformed the open stage into the flight deck of the spaceship, where other members of the crew were going about their pre-flight checks before lift-off.

This show is a feast of rock and roll classic hits from the 1950's and 60's and we were treated to a high-energy, roller coaster performance.  The cast obviously thoroughly enjoyed singing and dancing to such memorable numbers as Great Balls of Fire, Good Vibrations, The Young Ones, Monster Mash and the rip-roaring finale Johnny Be Good.  Choreographer Becca Neal had devised some great moves for both the principals and chorus, which visually enhanced the evening's performance.

The dialogue for this musical is spoken in Shakespearian verse with an American accent, which potentially creates difficulty for the audience in following the plot.  However, the newsreader (a nice cameo role here by the society's founder, Barrie Stevenson) kept us all on track, via video-link, as the story unfolded.  During this performance, the majority of the cast maintained their American accents well, though, just occasionally, the dialogue was indistinct and the accent slipped during some vocal numbers.

All the principals had been well rehearsed in their various roles by Director Steve Powter; young Joe Craig as Captain Tempest gave us a mature performance with a likeable singing voice; Jim Morgan, in fine voice for his role as Dr. Prospero and, from Andy Letcher, a stong performance as Bosun.  Two very enjoyable performances, too, from Maximillian Murphy as love-lorn Cookie and James Malone as the roller skating robot Ariel.  Lorraine Mason gave a convincing performance as Gloria, the embittered ex-wife of Dr. Prospero, with a good performance from Daisy Webb as their daughter Miranda, a naive teenager who falls in love with Captain Tempest. Good supporting roles from Emma Letcher, Becky Stolworthy and Charlotte Scammerton as the three Navigation Officers.

In her debut as Musical Director, Karen Sanderson worked hard to keep the orchestra in check but, just occasionally, the drums and percussion were too loud, drowning out some of the quieter sung solo vocals.  The two young guitarists, Adam Chinery and Finlay Huson, were obviously in their element, playing the show's iconic rock and roll numbers!

The costumes for the principals had been well chosen by the wardrobe team and the red overalls for the crew with the "embroidered" albatross on the pocket complimented the set.  With atmospheric lighting and sound effects, this all added to a most enjoyable evening's entertainment.

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