If you’re not familiar with Spontaneous Broadway then allow me to fill in the blanks. Our host Randy Polack (Russell Fletcher) invites the audience to submit song titles into the bucket of dreams – these will then be drawn upon to create songs and eventually inspire an entire musical to be performed in front of us. A risky venture perhaps, but with such a seasoned cast it ends up being a wonderful night out.
Tonight’s cast included the high-kicking, posturing Chad Bradley (Geoff Paine), the theatre matron Helen Highwater (Genevieve Morris), Frankston’s leading musical theatre accountant Gordon Supwell (Ross Daniels), the naïve and eager to impress Sally-Anne deFinkletstein (Julia Zemiro ) and the brilliant musical director John Thorn.
Spontaneous Broadway is not new, there have been Fringe Festival shows and regular Spiegeltent appearances but this is the first time it’s been included in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival program. But that hasn’t stopped the fans turning up in droves, the guy next to me was back for the fourth time in a week. As he said, “It’s different every night.”
Some of the genius song titles performed tonight included: “I Drowned My Sorrows but They Learned to Swim”, “You Can’t Put it Where it Won’t Go” and “If Only the Web Had a Spider”. After a showcase of five or six songs the audience appreciation survey (clapping and cheering) determines which song will then be developed into a fully-fledged musical. Tonight’s chosen musical was “Dormitory” set in a girls’ boarding school in Mumbai where the headmistress Beverley discovers that the school troublemaker is actually her daughter.
If you can’t have a good time at Spontaneous Broadway then you need a slap in the face. This is a joyous night out, chock-full of Broadway clichés: ham acting, corny quips, bursting into song at inopportune moments and happy endings.
For more info and booking details go to Spontaneous Broadway