Two shows

Recently I've seen two shows: both musical comedies, but very different.

First was the Harvard Medical School second year show. It was good fun, though it was far more specific to Harvard than the ANU med revue to ANU, so I didn't get most of the jokes. I very much enjoyed the characterisation of the students, but I didn't really have much reference for the professors. Ben Smith was suitably scheming as Jules Dienstag, the villain. Jackie Boehme as Olivia was an excellent singer: the standard otherwise was not particularly high. I was impressed by how much Sarrah Shahawy resembled her character, Carly Rae Jepsen: I don't know if this was the work of the hair and makeup team (there isn't even one listed), or just a coincidence of which the creative team decided to take advantage.

I then saw the MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players' production of The Pirates of Penzance. This was very impressive as always. Ben Morris was characteristically hilarious as the Major General. My favourite scene was his song at the beginning of the Act II finale. The police and pirates all hide, but the police have taken all of the good (less awful) hiding places. Some pirates find room behind plants and chairs, but there's one left hiding behind the book he was reading, and another pirate hiding behind him. The Pirate King and Frederic are left hiding behind their crossed swords, perhaps as if they were armour on display. They decide this is obvious, so after trying to just stay directly behind the Major General, and lifting up two of the police to hide behind them, they try more extreme measures. The Pirate King breaks the fourth wall to go and hide in the audience, while Frederic takes the even more unusual step of breaking the third wall, standing with the orchestra and playing his sword like a violin. It's certainly a lot of fun. On the whole the show is a good, traditional production. Nora Maynard's coloratura seems effortless, though it can be hard to hear her when she's at the top of the (large) set.