Please tell me people lie about their ages on their myspace profiles – is it really possible that Karin Muiznieks is just 22 years old and her co-star and collaborator James Simpson is only 20? Enthusiasm and energy we expect from Generation Y but stacked on top of this these two have so much talent and humour it blew my mind.
Give My Regards to Broady is an ensemble musical theatre piece set in a Fitzroy share house on the hottest day in Melbourne. Karin plays the musical genius struggling to make ends meet, James her frustrated party-boy friend, Erin Newington is the spoilt princess from the right side of town and Luke Hales is the country boy clean-freak. Muiznieks and Simpson wrote and composed the show and jump on the keyboards when required. They have also tucked a couple of cute weirdos into the corner of the stage to play violin, french horn, guitar, ukulele and recorder when required.
The show is a response to the imported diet of musicals we’re used to in Australia. Who needs ‘Good Morning Baltimore’ when you can have ‘I met her at the Melbourne Cup’? The Sharks and the Jets are meaningless when you can have a fancy-pants from South Yarra and a bogan from Broady battling out the benefits of the north and south sides of the Yarra in a musically harmonious cat-fight. Melbourne’s public transport, a gospel tribute to the AFL and a beautifully humorous look at local suburbs through song are all excellent. But the showstopper is definitely when Muiznieks morphs into a bitter Lavinia Nixon and promises to wreak havoc on Melbourne through her ability to control the weather.
This isn’t political satire but it is difficult not to draw comparisons with the early version of Keating – The Musical! The show celebrates local culture, the lyrics are bitingly clever and the songs are really fine. And like all good musicals everyone winds up happy and in tune. Give My Regards to Broady is a joyous piece of theatre – richly comedic, silly and a fun night out. Grab your metcard and book a seat before these stars-in-the-making are whisked away to bigger and better things.
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and further details