bare the Musical

Welcome to St Cecilia’s College, a Catholic boarding school driven by ritual and rite, and a group of rebellious teens whose Senior year is set to change their lives forever. StageArt’s latest production, bare the Musical, adapts the Broadway smash hit into an electric and energetic show on the small stage of Chapel off Chapel. Described as a unique piece of theatre, bare follows the rules of traditional musicals and breaks them, to satisfying effect.

Much of the story plays out in front of the venue’s ornate stained windows and this is where we are first introduced to star-crossed lovers Peter and Jason. While their relationship is seemingly blossoming, cracks surface when they wrestle with their future path. Peter has accepted his sexual orientation and is preparing to come out while Jason lives in a world of denial, preferring to downplay their mutual affection to maintain his status as the boarding school’s star athlete and heartthrob.

A hodgepodge of high school tropes and storylines weave around the central plot – think 90210 meets Skins. You have the jock, the beautiful but troubled ‘it’ girl, the ostracised and outspoken younger sister with a heart of gold and silver tongue, the drug abusing larrikin, and the loveable teacher – all brought together in the lead up to the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Many of the production’s chuckles and entertaining moments derive from the interactions between characters and the idiosyncrasies that spill out. Struggling with their ideas around religion, sexuality and identity, each character goes through a crisis that is played out at underground raves, in stolen moments in the locker room or school hall, or through passive-aggressive dorm-room conversations.

Directed by Dean Drieberg, the cult classic has gathered a cast of young superstars including Adam Di Martino (Peter), Finn Alexander (Jason), Hannah McInerney (Ivy), Hannah Grondin (Nadia). Vanessa Menjivar plays Sister Chantelle, the sassy nun and unofficial voice of reason. Some key musical numbers are ‘Plain Jane Fat Ass’, ‘God Don’t Make No Trash’ and ‘Best Kept Secret’.

Risky, athletic and emotionally charged in delivery, bare the Musical is a true hit and resonating coming-of-age story that eloquently hits the pulse and grapples with the thoughts of every teenager.

bare the Musical
Chapel off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran
Till Sunday, 15 April 2018
chapeloffchapel.com.au