Don’t let the poster fool you, this show is as quirky as it sounds.
The Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical premieres this Adelaide Fringe at the Wonderland Spiegeltent in Hindmarsh Square.
A high energy, funny, and very well done show, this show is more than you could imagine. With twists and turns, you follow the story of John Merrick ‘The Elephant Man’ on a hilarious, odd, and moving journey of hope and courage. It is part old-timey London, part sideshow, part comedy, and part happy ending fairy-tale.
While the poster reviews state ‘The Book of Mormon meets Beauty and the Beast’, I would argue that this production gives Parker, Lopez, and Stone a run for their money.
The Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical is based on a true story but focuses on the hope and courage of John Merrick. A man with less than conventional looks finds himself at the mercy of others and being used for his odd figure. When someone sees him for who he really is, and the beauty on the inside it draws out the inherent courage and pride for people to just be themselves.
WIth a smattering of clever puns and dirty gags, the show is whitty, whimsical, and wild. It is fun, funny, and full of fantastic and funky tunes that will have you singing bizarre and pun-ny choruses long after the show. A live band plays the soundtrack with drums, piano, brass, and more; the score is the perfect fit for the peculiar styling of the sets, costumes, and larger than life characters. The story really comes to with impressive singing, dancing and great costumes, and you are sucked into worlds imagined. Ben Clark does an amazing job as John Merrick, and the villain is a comedic and fun version of Captain Spaulding (played by Sid Haig in Rob Zombie’s 2003 horror film House of 1000 Corpses) mixed with the leather-clad dentist Oren Scrivello in the film Little Shop of Horrors. Marc Lucchesi (Vaudeville Smash) is perfectly cast as multiple characters in the show.
Produced by Guy Masterson, Floating World Entertainment and Adelaide’s Joanne Hartstone, and co-directed by Guy Masterson and Christopher Mitchell. The show is impeccably produced with great casting and characters, a weird and wonderful story, and catchy music. While this story has been an inspiration for many art forms including plays, movies, and even songs including by Mastedon and the name of a rap album, this interpretation of the story is creative, modern, clever, and amazing.
If you are looking for something different, unexpected, and want to be able to say you say it here first, get your ticket before it sells out.
5 Stars
Review by Pearl Tizzie