• theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  • theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  Art Murmurs - Wellington Reviews

Reviews

Moonroe's Happy Hour: A Variety Spectacular

9/3/2023

Comments

 

Austin Harrison

Picture
Moonroe’s Happy Hour is a variety show featuring song, circus and a touch of burlesque created and performed by Laura Oakley and Jackson Cordery. Variety is the name of the game with this show, with some acts proving to be genuinely astonishing while some were found lacking. 

The framing device for the show are our hosts Miss ‘Moon’roe, a lunar take on Marilyn, and Sunny- her piano-playing musical sidekick. The duo tell stories, sing a few songs and do a bit of crowd work. They then throw to themselves in different characters thanks to some speedy costume changes (I don’t have a credit for costume design, but they are all fabulous!). Each character performs a different act and then we return to the hosts in between. 

It’s a solid enough structure and a bit more inventive than classic variety acts which would usually have a separate MC, or would simply be the performers as themselves doing tricks throughout the show. It really does give the feeling of a full menagerie of different disciplines and styles despite there only being two performers on stage. 

While the form is interesting, it is also challenging and Oakley and Cordery do not meet all the demands they’ve created for themselves. Oakley’s hoop act is flawless, and Cordery’s silks aerial act was mind-blowing- but compared to those two segments, most of the show falls pretty flat. The performers are clearly consummate circus performers, but the “variety” parts of the show feel like they’ve come straight from a Cruise Ship in 2005. 

The comedy is generic and largely involves having a titter at some mild nudity, or an unsubtle innuendo. The songs have fun premises, and Cordery’s piano accompaniment is solid, but neither of the pair are amazing singers and so the musical numbers never quite get the audience fully onboard. The crowd work is hit and miss. 

It begs the question for me as to why this pair of talented performers have put all this fluff around their obvious primary skill sets? Perhaps it is because a cruise ship gig is exactly what they’re aiming for, and this is the type of show those producers demand. If so, then fair enough. I can’t help feeling that the pair are capable of a much more high calibre and engaging show than Monroe’s Happy Hour. Afterall, the audience for NZ Fringe is generally younger and craving something new and unique. We are far from the grey-haired occupants of the Norwegian Spirit. 

All-in-all Moonroe’s Happy Hour is indeed a variety show, with some spectacular acts and likeable performers. With a better focus on the duo’s strengths, it could be a very successful show for a broad range of audiences. But in my eyes, it hasn’t quite found its feet just yet.

Monroe’s Happy Hour: A Variety Spectacular runs at Te Auaha until March 11th. Tickets are available through the Fringe Website.
Comments

    Local Honest Reviews

    At Art Murmurs, our aim is to provide honest and constructive art reviews to the Wellington community.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    All Age Appropriate
    Art
    BATS
    Beauty Standards
    Black Comedy
    Body Positive
    Circa
    Circus
    Comedy
    Comedy Festival 2018
    Comedy Festival 2019
    Comedy Gala 2022
    Community Theatre
    Dance
    Devised
    Documentary
    Drag
    Drama
    Emerging Artist
    Exhibition
    Experimental
    Female Artists
    Feminism
    Feminist
    Festival
    For Kids
    Fringe
    Fun
    Gallery
    Gryphon Theatre
    Hannah Playhouse
    Heart + Music
    History
    Improv
    Interactive
    International
    Interview
    Ivy
    Lighting
    Local
    Mental Health
    Monologue
    Music
    Musical
    New Writing
    New Zealand
    NZ Comedy
    NZ Fringe
    NZIF
    On Tour
    Performance Poetry
    Photography
    Photospace Gallery
    Physical Theatre
    Political
    Politics
    Premiere
    Pyramid Club
    Queer
    Race
    Roxy LIVE
    Science
    Scruffy Bunny Improv Theatre
    Sexual Violence
    Shakespeare
    Site Specific
    Site-specific
    Sketch
    Solo Show
    Song
    Spoken Word
    Stagecraft
    Storytelling
    Tahi Festival
    Te Auaha
    Theatre
    Thought Provoking
    Thought-provoking
    Thriller
    Toi Poneke Gallery
    Verbatim
    Victoria University
    Violence
    Virtual Theatre
    Weekly
    Wellington
    Wellington Footlights
    Wellington Repertory