There is a lot to like about The Mad Ones and one can well imagine it having a successful future life beyond its current run but, as is often the case with original works of musical theatre, the show is hamstrung by not knowing when to end.
First thing's first though, this talented four-person cast do a remarkable job of selling Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk's creation, squeezing every last drop of emotion out of each lyric and line of dialogue. Fresh from racking up positive reviews for her performance as Deb in Ordinary Days, Dora Gee takes on the lead role here as Samantha Brown.
Samantha is an 18-year-old girl, struggling to decide on a direction, who serves as narrator - often unreliably - for the piece. Essentially, she is grappling with a key moment in her life, where she lost best friend Kelly Manning (played by Courtney Stapleton).
Gee's performance is captivating from start to finish and she absolutely nails the intricacies and nuances that come with playing a teenager who finds herself in a series of difficult situations - not to mention her stunning vocals which, together with Stapleton's, deftly carry the weighty story of the whole show.
Stapleton herself is far removed from perhaps her best-known role to date, Disney princess Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and Kelly is feisty, sarcastic and dogmatic in her belief that Samantha should rail against the life that has been laid out for her. The chemistry between the pair is certainly convincing but is often stronger than the material they have to work with.
The company is completed by Thea-Jo Wolfe as Samantha' mum Beverly and Gabriel Hinchcliffe as boyfriend Adam, who both initially appear as lighter characters in Samantha's orbit but successfully develop into fully-fledged characters in their own right by Act Two.
But herein lies the issue for The Mad Ones. The score is strong, with several stand-out numbers, but not good enough to sustain a little over two hours, split by an interval. The show would benefit from reverting back to a single-act performance, building momentum throughout. The book is hit and miss and, while some scenes are masterful in their dialogue, others feel predictable and cliched.
Although there is enough here to have an enjoyable, thought-provoking evening of musical theatre, it is not always clear what the point of the story is and, worse yet, The Mad Ones doesn't know when it has outstayed its welcome. The end sequence just keeps going and going until it eventually becomes a bit of a drag.
But there is definitely the nucleus of a strong show here, propelled by a seriously talented group of performers that, if this show is to iron out the creases, the creatives involved would do well to keep together. The Mad Ones is flawed and needs further development but is on the right road to grow.
The Mad Ones is playing at The Other Palace (Studio) until 1 June. For ticket information, see here.
Review: Tom Ambrose