Elvis: A Musical Revolution is a new juke-box musical that had its opening night at the Crown Theatre on Saturday.
It does seem apt to have musical about Elvis playing at a theatre attached to a casino, a big part of Presley’s career was associated with Las Vegas. Although Viva Crown Casino doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.
It’s easy to see why a musical about Elvis Presley has appeared. There’s been a renewed interest in his life thanks to Baz Lurhmann’s recent film, there’s an absolute trove of music to delve into, and his fans are the right demographic for having the spare cash to buy theatre tickets.
Yet do we need a musical about the life of Elvis? Don’t we all know a massive amount about his life, and surely the target audience would all be champions if you held an Elvis round at a quiz night?
This musical, authorised by the late singer’s estate, had its world premiere is Sydney in 2023 before heading south for a Melbourne season, and is now at the Crown Theatre for a four-week stint.
It’s written by David Abbinanti and Sean Cercone who have previously created the musical versions of Ghost and Saturday Night Fever.
We follow Elvis from boyhood to being discovered at the Sun Studios, his introduction to manager Colonel Tom Parker, rock ‘n roll stardom, movies, military and so on. We follow the rock legend up until the success of his 1968 Comeback Special.
The first half plods along, but the pace picks up and things get more engaging after the interval.
Elvis Presley’s life was certainly filled with drama and conflict. There are themes about race and poverty throughout the telling of this story, but we gloss over the controversial beginning of his relationship with wife Priscilla.
This ending point in 1968 allows the show to finish on a high note. Avoiding the remaining five years of Presley’s life where he started wearing elaborate sparkly jumpsuits, ate all the cakes and hamburgers he could get his hands on, and descended into a life filled with prescription drugs, cancelled dates, paranoia and an early death.
Rob Mallet takes on the lead role of Elvis, and it’s a huge challenge even fifty years after his death Elvis is still everywhere. It’s a huge spectrum from the actual Elvis who is still on the radio with his corny films playing as midday movies, to the plethora of impersonators touring the world.
It’s a huge challenge to bring to the stage, and Mallet’s portrayal falls somewhere in the ‘uncanny valley’ between realism and caricature. He has the quaffed hair, the sideburns, the hip wiggle and the accent – but there are moments when it just didn’t connect emotionally.
Also in the cast is an unrecognisable Ian Stenlake as Colonel Tom Parker, a bald cap and hat putting him in disguise. Kirby Burgess shines as Ann Magaret, and three young actors play Elvis in his youth, on opening night Oscar Harrison was a delight.
The chorus of this show are working incredibly hard and they’re outrageously camp. Their performances are filled with energy and their personalities shine through.
Over the course of the evening, they brought to life hordes of 1950’s teenagers, military buddies, film sets and television audiences. They are superb.
There are some great moments, a scene where Elvis appears on the Frank Sintra show after he returns from military service was hilarious, props to Ben Hall for his portrayal of the crooner.
There’s a captivating sequence where we quickly rush through the many different movies Elvis made, each with increasingly more outlandish settings and plot.
The cast are giving it their all, their desire for you to enjoy this show is oozing from their very beings, their enthusiasm shines through.
Photo by Nicole Cleary
While the show takes in a lot of Elvis hits, as an artist he had way too many to fit into a single musical. He recorded 24 albums, and 17 movie soundtracks during his career.
Throughout the show the story manages to bring over 40 of them to the stage including Love Me Tender, Can’t Help Falling in Love, That’s Alright, Blue Suede Shoes, Jailhouse Rock and many others.
Elvis: A Musical Revolution: is at the Crown Theatre until 2nd June.
