- Liane Morris
Metropolitan Players Present… Shrek the Musical!
THE BROADWAY FAMILY SMASH HIT SHREK THE MUSICAL FIRST OPENED ON BROADWAY IN 2008, ENJOYED A SPECTACULAR WEST END SEASON FROM 2011-2013, AND NOW NEWCASTLE'S OWN METROPOLITAN PLAYERS IS BRINGING IT TO NEWCASTLE AUDIENCES AT THE CIVIC THEATRE THIS MONTH FOR NINE PERFORMANCES ONLY.
Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film Shrek, Shrek the Musical brings the hilarious story of everyone's favourite ogre to life on the stage. With a fairy tale cast and fabulous singing and dancing, this lavish musical is a monster-sized spectacular that the whole family will love. Follow the adventures of Shrek and his loyal side-kick Donkey as they attempt to rescue Princess Fiona from her tower, guarded by a love-sick, fire-breathing dragon. Add the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad, a gang of fairy-tale misfits, and a biscuit with attitude, and you've got an irresistible mix of adventure, laughter and romance guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages.
This exciting musical is brought to life by the Metropolitan Players, who also staged the smash hit Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Civic Theatre in 2021. The Metropolitan Players are this year celebrating 45 years of staging high-quality productions for Newcastle audiences, starring local talent. First established in 1977 after The Independent Theatre Company and the Hunter Valley Drama Society dissolved, this dedicated group of volunteers have developed a reputation for staging musicals of a very high standard. President of the Metropolitan Players, Graeme Black, is rightly proud of everything they have achieved over the years.
"There's a lot of competition in Newcastle for the theatre-goer audience," said Graeme.
"Because of this, our standards need to be very high. We've got a dedicated committee of regulars who form the backbone of the company, but for every single show we stage, we run open auditions. There is an incredible array of talent in our city, and we're very proud of the small part we play in providing opportunities for growth and skill building in theatre arts – whether that's acting, technical skills or backstage craft."
A critical member of Graeme's team is his very talented wife, Julie Black, who has been the resident director of musicals since 1983. The two met when they were both performing on stage together in a production of Mame, and these days, they are the only two original members of the Metropolitan Players still involved. Julie had major surgery on her back in 1983 and could no longer perform. The Metropolitan Players were going through a difficult period, and there were no directors available to stage their productions. Julie decided that she could still direct even if she was unable to perform and took up the role of director for one show to give it a try. Almost 40 years later, she has directed every musical production bar one, and she hasn't looked back, discovering a love for nurturing talent and pride in her casting choices.
Auditions for Metropolitan Players are open to anyone who thinks they can perform. Casting choices are often a mix of highly experienced performers with those who are just starting out.
Julie looks for talent rather than experience, and the decisions can be tough due to the breadth of talent and experience on offer in Newcastle, often leading to callbacks to help narrow down her choices.
Over the years, the Metropolitan Players have staged some of the best musical productions ever written, including The Phantom of the Opera (2013), Grease (2011), Mary Poppins (2015), The Boy from Oz (2010), My Fair Lady (2004), Beauty and the Beast (2019), We Will Rock You (2018), Wicked (2016) and Hairspray (2014) to name just a few. More recently, they've begun staging dramatic pieces such as The 39 Steps (2020), The Woman in Black (2021) and earlier this year, the comedy, Keeping Up Appearances (2022).
The inclusion of plays along with the musicals is a strategic decision that is designed to ensure the longevity of the organisation – something that is on Graeme's mind.
"We are succession planning at the moment, and are keen to get some younger talent involved at an organisational level. We want younger perspectives, fresh ideas and different points of view. But, of course, neither Julie nor I will simply walk away. We would never do that, but I do think that it might be nice to step down as President and let someone else have a go. We're happy to mentor those that come after us, and we'll continue to be involved for a long time to come."
"It's important that we stage different pieces now. There are many amateur theatre companies in Newcastle, and we're all looking to fill our own niche. Staging plays is a way to grow our audience base by attracting new people to our shows."
Newcastle is indeed home to a significant number of theatre groups. According to research by Dr Shane Bransdon as part of his PhD at the University of Newcastle, there are 48 theatre groups in the region performing, on average, around 118 productions per year and not one of them is considered professional.
Theatre is considered professional when all involved are paid appropriate rates. The 48 non-professional theatre groups all share an audience of just 20 per cent of the population. The great challenge of the local theatre industry is to grow this audience pool. Under this definition, there is literally no professional theatre in Newcastle.
"We're all vying for the same audience," said Graeme.
"So, there's no point in all doing the same. It's critical for our survival to stand out. The primary difference with the Metropolitan Players is that we stage the big musicals with high production values in terms of staging and talent. At the same time, that's incredibly expensive, so it's a balancing act and one of the reasons we've started producing plays. They attract a different audience and introduce them to our brand whilst at the same time, are slightly less expensive to produce."
"Although no one gets paid, and we're all volunteers, we have to run our organisation as a business. People don't realise that our productions can cost upwards of $350,000 to stage. By the time you take into consideration the costs of insurances, warehousing and storage space, sets and costumes, not to mention venue hire, that's a lot to recoup with ticket sales and why building our audience is so important."
When asked how he would respond to those who doubt the quality and are concerned by the non-professional nature of the Metropolitan Players, Graeme throws down a challenge.
"Just come once," he said. "You can't criticise something unless you try it first. Most people are very pleasantly surprised. Our standards are very high."
Covid has also played a big part in the risk factors of running a theatrical organisation, the size and the quality of Metropolitan Players. The 2021 production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert had to be postponed three times due to covid and put the organisation at financial risk. With the inability to stage productions, there was no income. This lack of income was another reason that the team decided to branch out into staging plays, as they are cost-effective, quicker to launch and help fund the major musicals.
Another change that covid has cemented is the use of understudies. Prior to We Will Rock You in 2018, the company didn't include regular understudies for major roles. During that production, one of the stars became quite ill, and an understudy had to be found with only a couple of hours run through in preparation. Covid has now made this a necessity because any cast or crew could come down with the virus at any point.
"We're listening to news reports right now as we rehearse Shrek the Musical about the spike in numbers of covid cases. We take every precaution so that none of our cast or crew gets ill, and we encourage mask wearing."
Risk minimisation is another reason why big productions like Shrek the Musical are chosen in the first place. The shows Need to be able to attract a large audience, and the audiences need to have confidence that they will enjoy the show. Appealing to different sectors in the community is important too. The audience for last year's Priscilla Queen of the Desert will be quite different than the audience for Shrek the Musical, which will attract families and include children as young as five years old.
The other factor contributing to the selection of productions is whether or not the rights can easily be obtained. Graeme has noticed that the rights for a number of older productions are currently not available, and he suspects that they will be having a professional revival on Broadway or the West End, leaving the amateur or semi-professional theatre companies with less stock to choose from. More contemporary shows can be riskier, so the choices become more restricted.
Despite the risks, however, Shrek the Musical promises to be a dazzling production. Some of the set and several costumes have been sourced through Packemin Productions, who staged the musical in 2018 in Sydney, starring Jay Laga'aia as Shrek. The Metropolitan Players' production has a cast of 36 people with an orchestra of 15. It stars Danny Folpp as Shrek, Lizzy Lindus as Fiona, Luke Aspinall as Donkey and Rory Pollock as Lord Farquaad.
Danny Folpp has a long list of acting credits to his name, including Beauty and the Beast and Grease, and directing credits, including Keeping Up Appearances earlier this year for The Metropolitan Players. Lizzy Lindus is a regular children's theatre performer with The Little Scallywagz and The Jolly Pirates on her list of credits. Luke Aspinall directs and acts in both musicals and plays, and Rory Pollock is regularly seen on Newcastle stages. In fact, Rory has played Lord Farquaad previously in the 2016 Hunter Drama production of Shrek the Musical Jr.
"The talent in Newcastle is truly incredible," said Graeme.
"We love to be a training ground for actors and technicians of theatre craft. Nothing is more exciting than watching the development of our talent and then witnessing their career progression. A number of past Metropolitan Players have done really well for themselves, becoming theatre professionals with successful careers in both Australia and overseas."
David Harris, a multiple award-winning actor who now divides his time between New York and Australia, was a previous performer for Metropolitan Players and starred in their 1995 production of Grease. Jye Frasca, who also starred alongside Harris in Grease for Metropolitan Players, has worked on Broadway and London's West End performing in Wicked and Jersey Boys, among other roles. The success of these and other previous Metropolitan Players stands as a testament to the value of the organisation and inspiration for any new talent that gets involved in the productions.
Graeme and Julie both consider Metropolitan Players a valuable pathway for the large number of performing arts students within the Newcastle region.
"There's a lot going on for kids and teens in terms of performance in our local area, so we think that what we do is offer an opportunity for those who have left school to explore whether or not the theatre is something they wish to continue to pursue. It also helps them build their adult credits, adding to their performance c.v., skill sets and experiences."
One thing is for certain, Newcastle audiences are in for a treat this August. Staged against the backdrop of the stately Civic Theatre with spectacular set design and costumes, Shrek the Musical is an ideal family experience for all ages.
Guaranteed to thrill the young ones and tickle the funny bones of their grown-ups, it's a spectacle that's worth the outing and making a special occasion of it to grow family memories. Tickets are on sale now for a season that runs from 10 to 20 August through the Civic Theatre box office or visit - www.civictheatrenewcastle.com.au
