Review - The Marvellous Elephant Man Wonderland Festival Hub - Hindmarsh Square - Wonderland Spiegeltent Asked on leaving the iconic Spiegeltent, “Did you enjoy it?” I found myself at a loss for an immediate response. I just stared into the distance momentarily. The Marvellous Elephant Man will leave an impression on you well after you leave the theatre. My answer to the above question came to me as I penned this review and is as follows: I enjoyed it just as much as I was perplexed by it. Loosely based on the true story of John Merrick, who was labelled the Elephant Man in the late 1800’s due to severe physical deformity, The Marvellous Elephant Man self-promotes as the Book of Mormon meets Beauty and the Beast and this is the show’s biggest fault. Not knowing which genre it wants to be, sees a constant battle between farce and fierce. The talented cast commit 100% to the source material and this alone will see you enjoy the ride which is often naughty and delicious. The musical numbers often feel “borrowed” from well-established musicals and none more so than Webber’s JC Superstar. Stolen moments often work in musical comedy, inserting a sample here or there for humoristic value, but the inclusions in those circumstances are so obvious they are homages, here not so much. Additionally, there is a reasonable amount of lyric repetition which I feel is not so much lazy writing, but a lack of creativity. Not all is lost, however. There is some fun libretto and a poignant ballad or two which are almost Broadway ready. None more so than “Fools Gold!” It’s moments like this you can see the potential that exists in this production. Ben Clark’s vocals are powerful and perfect. His Merrick is heart-warming, and his anguish tangible. Without prosthetics, but a simple pale palette for affect, Clarke will have you believe he is grotesque as intended. Kanen Breen as Dr Fredrick Treves is perfectly horrible as the vaudevillian villain. A twist on the true story where Merrick and Treves were friends, this turn plays nicely when a shared romance becomes plot centric. There is committing to a character and then there is Breen. His performance as Treves is nasty, unlikable and wicked and I loved every moment. As Merrick’s attending nurse and third point of a twisted triangle, Jodi Comer doppelganger, Annelise Hall, is beautifully caring and vocally matched to Clark who both dazzle in the afore mentioned ballad. Her pert smile and confident innocence match her perfectly to both Breen’s evil and Clarke’s nice. Marc Lucchesi plays most other incidental and transitional characters and is frequently the comic relief. All seeming a little familiar, his many aliases are appreciated. The small band smash the score like they love it and the smile on their faces proves as testament to this. There are the bones of a great show here, but the creative team (Lucchesi, Jayan and Sarah Nandagopan) need to step back and decide on what they want this show to be, a comical romp or a moving musical with the potential to find you quietly rifling through your clutch for a Kleenex? The subject of deformity does not lend itself to well to mockery and satire, and for this reason The Marvellous Elephant Man did the not sit well. The frequency of crass humour and shlock shocks draw you out of a story you desperately want to feel deeply about. ★★★★ Jeff Lang – All About Entertainment 21 Feb at 7PM, 26 Feb, 5 Mar at 6PM, 28 Feb, 1-2, 7, 11-13 Mar at 8:30PM, 3, 8-10 Mar at 9:30PM, 4 Mar at 6:30PM #themarvellouselephantman #aae #allaboutentertainment #wonderlandspiegeltent The Marvellous Elephant Man