Spontaneous Broadway
Spontaneous Broadway is an improvised musical, devised and performed during the course of the show. The performance begins with Russell Fletcher as Randy Spiegel, our host for the evening, introducing the musical director John Thorn along with the players – Geoff Paine as Chad Bradly, Genevieve Morris as Dame Helen Highwater, Ross Daniels as Gordon Suppwell and Julia Zemiro as Sally Anne de Finklestein. These character creations are camp, recognisable and studied.
There is a beautiful aspect of duplicity in this show. On the one hand they are making up show tunes on the spot, which were at times catchy and enjoyable and which, on some level, wouldn’t seem out of place in a real musical. And yet the pointed mockery of bad musicals permeated the show. A prime example of this was Julia Zemiro’s performance of a song called “Sorry I didn’t hear you I was playing with my phone” in which she crowned the tune with the line “sorry I didn’t hear you, I was kissing you”. This was one of many pearlers scattered throughout the performance.
At the start of the show audience members are invited to submit original song titles on slips of paper from which the group then presents several songs, eventually asking the audience to choose their favourite to be made into a musical. One of the more delicious aspects of this particular performance was that the audience choice was a musical called “Sale” (constructed on the basis of a song title suggested by Helen Thorn’s mum, Lee – “Christmas is coming whether you like it or not”). It was possibly the most logistically difficult of the musicals to construct. However they did so, with great style and humour. (Just on a side note, the highly accomplished musical director John Thorn also happens to be Helen’s uncle…bit of a dynasty here?)
Spontaneous Broadway is not just your regular impro show, this is a show underpinned by intelligence and intent. The protagonists of this show are highly experienced performers and their experience shows, through both the consistently strong musical performances and the ever-present wit working its way through the material. They maintain character throughout and there are moments of charming fallibility which, although recognising the true nature of the show don’t infiltrate the illusion of the characters in any way. This is a testament to the professionalism and experience of the performers.
I loved this show. It was a beautiful accomplishment littered with clangers. The interaction of the characters was knowledgeable and endearing as were each of the characters and performers themselves, with Geoff Paine being a particular standout on this occasion. The entire cast interacted in a way that seemed both planned and unplanned. They operated by reading off each other and yet surprising each other.
There’s a limited season at Speigeltent for this show but they have also done seasons of this show previously and every performance is different. If you can’t catch it at Speigeltent definitely keep an eye out for Spontaneous Broadway in the future.