This cabaret-cum-jukebox
musical takes us from call centres to dog walking to café culture, painting the
age-old dilemma of work/art balance in neon-bright colours, perfect lipstick
and the largest eyelashes you’ve ever seen.
With help
from their Fairy Drag mother (the two queens taking turns, because the show can
only afford the two of them), Holly and Brenda learn to believe in themselves
and put all their drag skills to good use.
But being
the show it is, though Holly is no “Beauty School Dropout” for all intents and
purposes she absolutely is, just so she can sing that song from Grease.
The girls work together in a café, which brings on “The Worst Pies in London”
from Sweeney Todd and “Opening Up” from Waitress. It’s that kind
of camp, chaotic show.
The song
list is a real joy and the queens' singing and choreography is top notch. Transitions
between songs could use a little streamlining, though some of that comes down
to missed sound and lighting cues on the night I saw the show. Holly and Brenda
are pros at improv, so the rough edges were a good source of humour – and their
crowd work is fun. Though audience interaction always depends on audience
reaction, the night I saw it, the guy who was pulled up on stage really got
into his makeover.
There’s some political commentary thrown in about drag story-time and “groomers” but I think the only dramatic moment that really worked was Brenda’s run-in with her boss, Mr Arnstein, before she bursts into “Don’t Rain on My Parade”.
Brenda and Holly learn some lessons along the way and the audience has a huge amount of fun throughout. And if the queens do want to continue to make a living in drag, making a musical for themselves to tour is a great way to do it. Lots of fun and so much heart.
Werkin' 5 to 9 is on at the Melbourne Fringe Festival until October 8th.
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