From the team behind the pleasantly diverting (if patchy) Pining for Affection: A Tree Musical comes Tone Death: A Ghost Musical.
We begin with a stand-up comedian dying on stage … in the life-ending way. Through this he meets three other ghosts who died in the theatre. All are unable to leave, or develop their characters much it seems.
They have ambitions to form a musical group, and the comic’s arrival means that the trio can now be a barbershop quartet. The only problem is that they don’t get along very well.
And that’s most of the tale, unfortunately. As we would examine this through song, some will find that effort spent on another tune going over similar ground would have been better spent on further drafts of the story. Inconsistencies were distracting, and there’s a mystery element that needs a lot more shoring up to be convincing.
The very loud backing track drowned out the lyrics at times, but what we could hear could be laboured or not particularly clever. Whilst individual vocal performances could vary, the harmonies and choreography were often good, and the makeup was appropriately unearthly.
We only have so much time on Earth. Punters looking to avoid an hour of purgatory would do well to look elsewhere!
Tone Death: A Ghost Musical
The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place Melbourne
Performance: Tuesday 9 April 2019 – 5:30pm
Season continues to 21 April 2019
Information and Bookings: www.comedyfestival.com.au
Image: Tone Death: A Ghost Musical – courtesy of Marshall & Marrows
Review: Jason Whyte