Recent cancellations of major musical productions such as Beetlejuice and Waitress have cast a pall over the industry, but the success of a small gem in Melbourne offers hope. Grey Gardens, which opened Sunday night at fortyfivedownstairs, is already virtually sold out, demonstrating that homegrown productions can thrive despite broader challenges.
What happened: A sold-out success amid industry gloom
The musical, adapted by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie from a 1975 documentary about reclusive mother and daughter Edith Bouvier Beale and Little Edie living in squalor in the Hamptons, received mixed reviews when it debuted off-Broadway in 2006. Time has been kinder to the show, and it now glows like a rare gem in a production that fully mines its wit and tragic impulse. Directed by Tyran Parke with granular attention to detail, the cast includes David Hobson and Deidre Rubenstein, led by an extraordinary Helen Dallimore in dual roles. In fortyfivedownstairs' intimate setting, each chord is considered, every phrase adds texture and emotional resonance.
Details: The crisis in musical theatre
Several high-profile shows – Annie, Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, Waitress – have either closed early or cancelled the remainder of their national tours, casting a pall over the profession and potentially spooking future investors. Producers have cited astronomical transportation costs as a major factor, perhaps unwilling to blame audiences’ increasing reluctance to pre-book. The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has called for urgent, coordinated federal government intervention, whether that be in the form of tax concessions, government grants or “cultural passes” akin to those seen in France and the UK.
But the crisis isn’t uniquely Australian; it may even be caused by conditions overseas. Covid’s global impact on the performing arts was devastating and is ongoing, shutting down the kind of development crucial to the art form. Musicals need development capital and artistic momentum before they’re ready for audiences. The complete cessation of these things has led to a dearth of quality musicals coming through the pipeline. Broadway is itself reeling from recent closures – Andrew Lloyd Webber thinks it is in “dire danger” after his acclaimed queer reimagining of Cats announced it would close despite having just won three Tony awards – and the UK’s West End seems to rely increasingly on vacuous celebrity casting.
Impact: Homegrown shows offer a path forward
Australian creatives continue to mount finely considered musicals and audiences continue to flock to them. The recent success of entirely homegrown shows like Mathew Frank, Sheridan Harbridge and Dean Bryant’s My Brilliant Career, or Queenie van de Zandt and Tiffany Noack’s Middle Raged prove Australians can create and produce work of rigour and relevance. Younger generations embrace musical theatre just as enthusiastically as in the past, and the world-class standard of performance in this country remains undiminished. We are ostensibly living in recession times, and given the theatre is the very definition of discretionary spending, audiences may become more cautious. Ludicrously high ticket prices don’t help.
The last thing producers should do is panic. As budgets tighten, there’s a temptation to conservatism and risk aversion, which explains the current proliferation of musicals adapted from teen films of the 80s and 90s. Some are ingenious – Eddie Perfect’s Beetlejuice justified its translation to the stage by the strength of its own vision – but most are trashy and exploitative. Often written by film-makers with no theatre background and zero understanding of the craft, they’re designed as dopamine hits of nostalgia, forgettable even while you’re watching. Grey Gardens is the opposite, an example of adaptation led by complexity, conviction and high degrees of artistry. If theatre producers become lazy and cynical, they can’t then blame their audiences for following suit. Good luck procuring a ticket to Grey Gardens – it’s already virtually sold out!
