There are plenty of musicals that weren’t close to being hits, for various reasons. In Flop, Arthur Hull has set himself the mission of proving to us that even the biggest theatrical duds had at least one song they can be proud of.
Hull recently graduated from the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, and received the top two awards from the 2024 National Busking Championships. They also have a deep knowledge of musicals, and a keen ear for recognising which grotesqueries of the past have the potential to amuse us in the present.
Utilising two keyboards and bursts of precise looping, Hull played and sang their way through a lively and diverse selection of songs that spanned decades. Our start with Babes In Arms (starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, 1939) showed how star-power alone isn’t enough to make a hit. It also provided an excellent example of how a quality tune could escape from its shoddy musical-theatre vessel.
After that, well, we might consider some songs not so worthy of pride as they are of a term like “so bad it’s good(ish)”. More casual fans of musicals might know of the famously short run of Carrie (from the Stephen King horror tale), without knowing the perverse delights of its disco opening number. Similarly, we could find a certain schadenfreude upon hearing Hull’s selections from the Princess Diana musical.
There’s very little snark here as Hull seems to have a genuine affection for musicals and the people who devote their lives to them. There’s even a song from a recent-ish musical dedicated to their efforts. Accordingly, Hull only scrutinises those productions which had abundant resources available, and hence not so much excuse for becoming notorious hot messes.
After a slightly nervous start, Hull showed a pleasant voice that has a wide range, and command of the keys, in a zippy show of easy charm. Studded with some obscure songs and fun/frightening trivia, Flop is likely to appeal to punters at various levels of obsession.
FLOP
Festival Hub: Trades Hall – Music Room, Corner Lygon and Victoria Streets, Carlton
Performance: Sunday 6 October 2024
Season continues to 13 October 2024
Information: www.melbournefringe.com.au
Image: Arthur Hull – photo by Nic Fenton, OGA Creative
Review: Jason Whyte