Review By Michelle Sutton
Lane Cove Theatre Company presents their production of the Broadway musical If/Then in the brand sparkling new Pottery Lane Performance Space. The musical follows Elizabeth, and two different paths her life could take over several years depending on her actions and decisions following one fateful day at Central Park in New York. Directed by Lochie Beh and with musical direction by Stephen Dula, Lane Cove Theatre Company presents a bright and lively rendition of the musical.
If/Then premiered on Broadway in 2014 and ran for a year with a national tour starring Idina Menzel following shortly after. If/Then’s book and lyrics were written by Brian Yorkey and music written by Tom Kitt. The show explores the idea that one decision can change someone’s entire life, with different scenes showing how Elizabeth’s life could be totally different with a different career path, different friends and romantic relationships. Visual cues designed by Michael Dalton help to signal to the audience which version of Elizabeth’s life they are seeing, with either “Beth” or “Liz” appearing on the screen. This is an interesting idea for the plot of a musical, however the audience is not really given a reason as to why Elizabeth is making such different choices in each version of her life. The character of Elizabeth is not fleshed out in either reality, giving the audience little reason to care about her and her choices.
Elizabeth is played by Daisy Cousens who has a dazzling voice and charming stage presence. Trent Gardiner plays a housing activist who is one of Elizabeth’s best friends and at all times seems to be having the most fun on stage. He is a confident and reassuring performer who brings a lot of personality and charisma to the stage. Belinda Korner plays Elizabeth’s other best friend Kate with self-assurance and swagger. Isaac Downey plays love interest Josh with compassion and warmth. The cast is rounded out by a chorus of 10 artists who play multiple other roles. Lighting design by Byron Rowley and Nate Hill is simple but effective, enhancing the bright, summery, joyful moments and emphasising the distressing moments in Elizabeth’s life where she is forced to make difficult choices.
The weakness of the production in my opinion is the source material itself. The lyrics in the musical are uninspired, literal and not particularly poetic, beautiful or clever. It seems that the characters are almost singing the exact same song over and over with no new perspective or significance. The runtime of the musical is long and the number of songs do not assist with this. None of this is the fault of the company or the performers who do their best to bring life and zest to the stage. Daisy Cousens is to be commended for her stamina and commitment, she is on stage nearly the entire runtime and delivers a strong performance throughout both Acts. If/Then has an intriguing concept, but it does not seem to be quite enough to carry a full-length musical. The execution of the idea is underwhelming and about halfway through Act 1 the novelty starts to wear off. Kudos to the cast for injecting nuance, life and personality into an extremely dull script.
If/Then is an ambitious project and an interesting choice of musical to direct. The cast attacks their vocally demanding roles with enthusiasm, courage and skill. Despite the pitfalls of the script and score, the show is still enjoyable due to the direction of Lochie Beh and efforts of the ensemble. I am very excited to see future Lane Cove Theatre Company productions at the lovely new Pottery Lane Performance Space.
