Beginning with a splash of cultural cringe, new Melbourne-staged musical Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert opens with a musical number that asks theatregoers to wave miniature Australian flags and clap along in a 1980s themed centennial tune. That’s before, however, Margaret Fulton emerges and tells everyone to shut the bloody hell up. Such is the dichotomous relationship that directors Bryce Ives and Nathan Gilkez serve up in their limited engagement at Theatre Works in St Kilda. This musical adaptation of the life of the famed cook plays with the flamboyant as well as the poignant throughout its 90-minute runtime with a winning formula that uses its small off-Broadway styled sets and minimal cast to optimum use.
One may not assume that the life of Margaret Fulton was perhaps interesting enough to warrant such an endeavour as Queen of the Dessert, but behind her multiple best selling cook books, her multiple television appearances, and multiple endorsement deals, was a woman whose oft tumultuous life was ripe for the theatrical picking. Having moved to infamous Sydney suburb of The Rocks with dreams of being a cabaret dancer, she soon found herself best friends with a “lady of the evening” next door and working in a nuts-and-bolts factory. With several husbands, loss and heartache, and a healthy sense of wisecracking humour to her name, this lively, energetic musical proves to be a fitting tribute to a woman who has influenced more than she realises.
Written by Doug Macleod (The Clockwork Forest), Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert is best when it allows its cast to embody the emotions that their vocals are very much capable of exhibiting. If I could have used more moments like Zoe McDonald’s (West Side Story) superb motherly ballad and less of Josh Price’s (Cabaret: The Lovebirds) extravagant Geoffrey Rush impersonation then that’s merely a testament to the song-writing, which frequently finds songs worthy of bigger theatres and shouldn’t have to rely on bumbling slapstick to elicit a reaction from the crowd. As Fulton, Amy Lehpamer (Rock of Ages) is a bona fide star and has the sass to go along with her incredible voice. It’s no wonder she already has Helpmann and Green Room Award nominations to her name, but she proves here that she’s got the skills to sing both an ode to a lost love with just as much power as she does a song about a pressure cooker. Elsewhere, Laura Burzacott (PRICK) is a hoot as Margaret’s good time gal best friend, and Zoy Frangos (An Officer and a Gentleman) is an eye-catching surprise in various roles. Interested audience members should try and sit on the left hand side facing the stage for a more up close appearance by Frangos and a pair of suspenders.
The production makes great use of its limited resources. The minimal stage functions as stage and backstage more often than not, and props from cups and saucers to pavlovas and the aforementioned pressure cooker are humorously utilised. The lighting design by Scott Allen and choreography by David Harford are also commendable, as is the work of the on-stage band (plus Jazz Miller and Jess Palmer as back up singers The Margarettes). Doug Macleod’s song too frequently err to the melody of other famous tunes (think “La Vie Boheme”, and even Tears for Fears’ “Mad World”), which makes for a sometimes distracting case of a wondering mind, but the gusto with which the smartly assembled cast work them was always enough to reel me back in. Not to mention the wit and humorous turns of phrase that the lyrics throw up. If the standing ovation that greeted Fulton herself upon the end of the show is any indication, one can sense that the good will many of the audience has for the woman will be transferred onto the show itself. That Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert deserves the affection is just the icing on the cake. Or, perhaps more apt, the passionfruit seed on the pavlova.
Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert runs at Theatre Works in St Kilda until December 1. Tickets can be purchased at the Theatre Works website.
Image credits: Gerard Assi
