Moby Dick!
Reviews
As HumDrum AmDram has spent nearly three years pursuing permission to stage this musical, the obvious question is, was it worth the effort?
The answer must be a fence-sitting yes and no.
On the minus side, this 'whale of a tale' by Robert Longden and Hereward Kaye tries to pack too much - 28 songs and 135 chapters of Herman Melville's novel - into just two hours.
The result is not so much a full-scale musical but more a series of songs and dances with the occasional funny line, although I suspect "Three years at sea and no sign of Dick" was not in the original book.
On the plus side, creator Longden has had the inventive idea of having the story performed by gymslipped schoolgirls, teachers and even the janitor with the headmistress leading the jolly jape as peg-legged whale-hunter Captain Ahab.
HumDrum's excellently staged production is lively and great fun but at times a little underpowered vocally.
Heading a hard-working ensemble cast, Stuart Francis catches exactly the right balance of camp and seriousness as the captain/headmistress.
Steve Pratt The Portsmouth News - Wednesday 23rd July 1997
You may well wonder what St Trinian's-style schoolgirls in fishnets have to do with Moby Dick, and the answer is - fun!
Their 'headmistress' spells it out in the play with the line, "As Shakespeare said in the Merchant of Venice, 'Stuff Art, let's dance!'".
Originally performed back in the early 80s, Moby Dick! closed after a drubbing from the Press.
It took a lot of determination from HumDrum AmDram before they were given permission to perform this rewritten musical version of the Herman Melville epic.
Moby Dick! is really a play within a play set in the St Godley Academy for Young Ladies, with a cast of schoolgirls acting as the Moby Dick! players.
The piece opens with the sight of the men and women in their St Trinian's style outfits singing in close harmony - one of the company's strong points - and making the most of some wonderful camp humour delivered by the headmistress (Stuart Francis).
Unfortunately all 28 songs were of the forgettable, cheesy kind and the pace of the play was lost towards the end of the first act.
There was some clever choreography to make up for it, though, together with plenty of energy and enthusiasm from all involved.
Sheila Elsdon, who played Esta, Ahab's late wife, was a 'dead' ringer for Su Pollard's Peggy in Hi-De-Hi - complete with blonde curly wig and glasses - and was a firm favourite with the audience. Nikki Lewis turned in an impressive debut as Starbuck and James George was an admirable Elijah.
Things picked up again in the second act with some memorable lines including "Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian" and Captain Ahab's "Obsession isn't just a perfume".
The production was of a high standard throughout with the exception of one or two minor problems such as the sound on some of the solos, and the use of white umbrellas and a torch as the whale was a surprising bit of improvisation. At the end of the day this was never meant to be serious drama, just an opportunity for the cast to camp it up and have a bit of fun, and it worked if the audience's reaction was anything to go by.
Sarah White - Splash Magazine - August 1997
