Nex' Town
| Nex' Town | |
|---|---|
 Sun Herald 20 Oct 1957 | |
| Music | Iris Mason Hal Saunders[1] |
| Lyrics | Iris Mason Hal Saunders |
| Book | Kylie Tennant Maurice Travers |
| Setting | Youanmi, Western Australia |
| Premiere | 30 October 1957: Independent Theatre, Sydney Australia |
Nex' Town is a 1957 Australian musical by Kylie Tennant and Maurice Travels with music and lyrics by Iris Mason and Hal Saunders. The original production premiered at the Independent Theatre in Sydney,[2] directed by Haydee Seldon and presented by Peter Scriven.[3]
Background[edit]
In January 1957 it was reported Peter Scriven and Alan Burke were working on the book for an Australian musical comedy for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust.[4] In April 1957 Scriven returned to Australia after a six week trip overseas and announced the Trust would produce its first musical comedy soon.[5] In the final event the Trust would present Lola Montez, written by Burke, and Scriven's musical, Nex' Town, debuted at the Independent.
Scriven said he chose to do a show about travelling show people because "they are broad and typical. They are like the Diggers."[6]
He arranged for the show to be put together, financing it himself with a combination of his personal wealth and income from his puppet show The Tintookies. (The budget for the production was between £5,000-£6,000.)[7]
The musical was set in a real town, Youani in Western Australia. It was once a thriving town but by 1957 all that was left was a tin shed.[8]
"It's hard to be Australian without being obviously Australian," said Scriven. "I don't know whether one has it in Nex' Town. Perhaps it's a bit much to hope one has. To get a feeling that this is Australian singing, and Australian dancing, is very difficult."[6]
Premise[edit]
The story of a travelling road show who get stranded in Youanmi, a small Western Australia gold town.
The troupe's baritone knocks out a local and thinks he kills him.
Select songs[edit]
- "A Man's Mad" - Neil Williams
- "Shootin' Through"
- “Nex’ Town,”
- “The Plot Song”
- “Hullo, Joe”
Original cast[edit]
- Bob Ainslie
- Chris Christensen
- Janne Coghlan as sideshow siren
- William Collins
- Ken Fraser as Joe smug politician (local member) home from Canberra
- Guy Le Claire as young narc
- Minnie Love as amateur evangelist
- David M Martin as the clown
- Laurel Mather as Mrs Copley, predatory widow and local publican
- Yvonne McLeod as the female romantic lead
- Neil Williams as Lucky McNeill the baritone[9]
Reception[edit]
The Sydney Morning Herald called it "probably the best Australian made musical yet staged here" although it felt "the determination to imitate oft-proven American tricks at the cost of any really deep Australian feeling was sometimes a little disheartening" and "it was hard to swallow whole several dreary stretches of dialogue and the long and straggling second act."[10]
The Jewish Times said "The Aussie flavor desperately weaves throughout like the illustrated smell from a freshly cooked pie in animated cartoon."[11]
The Bulletin called it "a delightful musical comedy... musically, the show has been remarkably well served by Iris Mason and Hal Saunders with a string of insistently tuneful ditties... a vigorous and highly entertaining musical, produced with skill and imagination."[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "PERSONAL ITEMS", The Bulletin, 78 (4052), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 9 Oct 1957, nla.obj-697319010, retrieved 23 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "Women's Letters SYDNEY", The Bulletin, John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues)., 78 (4049), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 18 Sep 1957 [1880], ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-697291073, retrieved 23 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ Grant, Bruce (12 October 1957). "Another score for the Australian playwright". The Age. p. 19.
- ^ "Sydney's Talking About". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 1957. p. 14.
- ^ "Australian Musical for Theatre Trust". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 April 1957. p. 5.
- ^ a b "Musical comedy seeks to cause turmoil". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 October 1957. p. 2. (subscription required)
- ^ "Peter Scriven Studio Portrait", ABC Weekly, 19 (41), Sydney, 9 October 1957, retrieved 23 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "Column 8". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 September 1957. p. 1.
- ^ "Talkabout", ABC Weekly, 19 (48), Sydney, 27 November 1957, retrieved 13 November 2023 – via Trove
- ^ Browne, Lindsay (31 October 1957). "Premiere of "Nex' Town"". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 6. (subscription required)
- ^ "Art, Theatre & Music Review NEX' TOWN". The Australian Jewish Times. Vol. 65, no. 20. New South Wales, Australia. 15 November 1957. p. 7. Retrieved 23 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Sundry Shows Stage and Music", The Bulletin, 78 (4056), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 6 Nov 1957, retrieved 23 August 2023 – via Trove
External links[edit]
- Nex' Town at Ausstage