Review By Sophia Gilet
5 talented singers and their music manager take to the stage performing songs that no doubt they can sing but by characters they would never realistically be cast as.
With this, the stage of the Spiegeltent is set. The inside is dark and intimate; a perfect feel for a look into the lives and hearts of Dixie Johnstone, Zac Bennett-Mcphee, Christian Gerrish, Rachel Monamy and Manuao TeAotonga.
The show starts off with the performers rocking out to Teenage Dirtbag dressed in school uniforms, which sets the theme for the whole show.
From there we hear a voice over reading out "Dear diary . . . " and get a glimpse into the lives of these performers as teenagers at their most awkward and desperate.
As each "Dear Diary" segment happens the person in question comes out and sings a song directly related to their experience, then they go from there, often involving a few if not all their castmates. It was invigorating seeing how " I feel pretty" from Westside story was used and made punk rock, but still made perfect sense. A perfect reminder that not every song or character can exist only within the classic or cliche bubble we have them set within.
Being able to hear these stories and the unique voices of these performers was a gift. Some standout moments include - but are not limited to- the flying carpet from Aladdin, not one, not two but three audience members getting involved in a Xanadu stunt, stories of grandma's cooking and the choreography of the cellblock tango.
The performers were enthusiastic and obviously had a lot of fun and, like in any show, when the performers are noticeably having a great time, you cannot help but join in the enthusiasm.
The show covered a lot of the typical outcast stereotypes that exist all around the globe.The Closeted Homo , The Country Bumpkin whose enthusiasm and manners get him into trouble,
The Rebel Girl who smokes fags behind the shed and rocks out to Iron Maiden, The Musical Theatre Nerd who feels invisible, The Drama Geek, The Goth. All of them were cringey and relatable.
While the premise of the show was about singing songs you would never be cast as, the show;s downfall was that it felt self indulgent without properly celebrating the outcasts they represented.
It was amazing to see these 5 talented performers reveal themselves and allow us to see these parts of themselves that we so often they and hide and cover up.
I found the show fun, but it didn't seem to have a really strong narrative or relationships between the performers.
This show is meant to remind us that sometimes when you dont feel as though you are good enough, it is worth rocking out anyway!
The costumes and the quick changes were impressive allowing the five of them to completely transform in a matter of seconds and they used the Spiegeltent fantastically always focusing the attention around the whole space and not just on the stage.
At points the audio wasn’t clear and even though they had microphones I found that 2 of them consistently started really quiet and couldn’t be heard over the backing music, which I found frustrating. I would have liked to hear every moment of every song.
MissCast . . . Again hits all the right notes for musical theatre lovers. It a fun show for the whole family, but a working knowledge of musicals is definitely a plus.
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All opinions and thoughts expressed within reviews on Theatre Travels are those of the writer and not of the company at large.