Whilst I hadn’t initially realised that these performances were a workshop trial, when the director announced this on the night pre-show, I definitely found it exciting to be part of something like this. As he mentioned, that doesn’t happen as often in Australia as it does overseas. The team asked for feedback which I have indeed provided privately. Doing so here would seem unfair as the show is still in development.
Being able to see a musical in its infancy shows just how much work goes into making something good. Even producing this workshop version was a serious undertaking involving plenty of effort. If you are interested in such things, Back To The Future has a Deluxe Edition of their soundtrack available where you can listen to the demo tracks of many songs. It is fascinating to compare them with what ultimately made it into the musical.
Man Up! debuted at Planet Royale in Northbridge, again this was a relaxed and welcoming venue. It is about issues affecting men, or let’s say, some stereotypical issues affecting stereotypical men. It will be interesting to compare later iterations of this story with the original that premiered on the weekend. Watch this space!
