This TTP Youth production of “Sleeping Beauty”, adapted by Kathryn Schultz Miller is certainly colourful. With a stunning array of fairy-tale costuming by Merici Thompson and the Monday Club together with some telling lighting tricks per courtesy of Mike Phillips a large cast of junior and youthful performers strut their stuff across the Tea Tree Players’ stage. Co-directors Georgina Giessauf and Penny Phillips guided the large cast (I counted over 30!) onto, across and around the stage for a significant part of the performance time. The stage is, by any reckoning, of modest size; so to succeed in wrangling that number of youngsters without any discernible mishap is an admirable feat!
As MD Annika Barry had an interesting choice of songs to play with and some worked very well. The Zombie number ” Graveyard Cha! Cha!” (If that is the song’s title!), “I put a Spell on You” and “That’s Amore” were all handled and delivered quite well. On the other hand the low register and romantic quietness of a number like “Can’t Take my Eyes Off of You” is a challenging ask for young voices. However its delivery was managed quite well but more of that later.
In the opening scenes the narrative was well laid out with Maggie Phillips as King Alfred and Jasmine Filmer as Queen Beatrice. Together they evoked suitable royalty and a believable parental chemistry. The “Flower” quartet comprising Aimee Jordan (Lilac), Elsie Hasler (Iris), Hala Giangregorio (Rose) and Maggie Moerman (Daisy) all commanded the stage with grace and assurance. The delivered their lines with quiet authority and purpose with Aimee in particular speaking up and out to the audience with good diction and clear articulation. All too often young actors turn upstage or turn to the right or left to deliver lines to another character and in so doing we, the audience, often miss what is being said!
Sophie Warnecke created an appealing Princess Aurora. She moves well on stage and her persona captured the approval of the young audience. Her good nature allowed her to easily fall under the spell of the wicked Morgana on her 16th birthday as predicted. Aurora’s saviour (and Prince Charming, Ferdinand), a most regal Vale Follett, arrived on stage like the veritable Knight in Shining Armour! He too made the stage his own and together they made an agreeable Princess and Prince managing a pretty fair job of their song “Can’t Take my Eyes Off of You!” Joel Strauss gave a voice strong and true to his noble King Edward, and, along with Aurora’s father King Alfred (Maggie Phillips) combined in a hearty delivery of “That’s Amore”. Their attack on that number certainly matched the power and vigour of Mel Filmer’s nicely portrayed evil Morgana. Filmer stamped herself as the “baddie” of the piece from the moment she stepped up to the stage. She was loud, nicely abrasive and gave strong voice to her aptly chosen number “I Put a Spell on You”.
Morgana’s personal troupe of Ghouls supported her character very well indeed because they all stayed within their own characters! And so too did all the other creatures of the forest, various courtiers in attendance and cast members who chipped in with brief cameo contributions. There are too many of you to mention but you are very much the important backbone of this fairy-tale fantasy. If enthusiastic participation counts for anything (and it always does) everybody onstage contributed to entertaining your audience. Well done you…..all of you!
