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The Boy from Oz Opens STAGES Season
The Boy From Oz is an
Unforgettable Musical Biography
by Pat Lindsey
It isn’t often that I go to the theater to see a musical that I know nothing about and walk away thinking this is the best show I’ve seen in a very long time. The Boy From Oz tugged at my heartstrings, tickled my funny bone, brought me to tears, and sent me home singing, “I Go to Rio.”
STAGES St. Louis has opened its 33rd season with glitz and glamour as its first show, The Boy From Oz, makes its Midwest premier. Based on the life of Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen, this story envelops the audience in a full range of emotions beginning with Peter’s father’s abuse of him and his mother to red carpet theatrical success to the devastation of grief due to the loss of his lover. But the highs outweigh the lows and the result is a spectacular extravaganza of song and dance worthy of a Broadway Tony Award.
Allen’s story begins with a flashback of his youth in the 1950s when he sang and tap danced in a pub in the Australian outback and dreamed of seeing his name in lights someday. The young Peter Allen was adorably played by Ben Iken the night I saw the show and earned a lot of love from the audience as he tap danced into their hearts. (Simon Desilets also plays that role on other nights.) At age 16, Allen left home and teamed up with Chris Bell (Erik Keiser) to form an act called The Allen Brothers. Their act took them to fortuitous places such as Australian Bandstand and then on to Hong Kong, where they met Judy Garland. That chance meeting with Garland was the turning point in Allen’s career. It took him to New York to open for Garland and it led him to Garland’s daughter, Liza Minnelli, who he later married. The marriage only lasted a few years, however, because Allen was also attracted to men.
After his divorce from Minnelli, Allen met a Texan, Greg Connell (Zach Trimmer), who had a lucrative modeling job in New York. They fell in love and stayed together until Connell succumbed to AIDS. It was only a few years later when Allen met the same fate, but he was able to return to Australia and give one last concert before he died. A sweet spot in the show comes when Connell returns as a spirit from the dead and sings, “I Honestly Love You,” one of Allen’s hits that was recorded by Olivia Newton-John.
When Allen got the opportunity to dance with the Rockettes and sing, “Everything Old is New Again,” he knew he had made the big time. He said, “I always wanted to be a Rockette. It was either that or join the Marines.” At the height of his career, he won an Oscar for writing the theme song for the movie, “Arthur,” in which his ex-wife co-starred.
David Elder is stellar as Peter Allen. His charisma and energy explode on stage as he sings and dances his way through the long list of songs that made Allen famous. His connection with the audience is magnetizing and allows him to easily illicit audience participation and make everyone swoon. No one flashes a smile and rocks a Hawaiian shirt like he does! His supporting cast members also help establish an intimate rapport with the audience while telling key parts of his story and bringing new life to his songs.
The song that initially connected Allen and Garland (Michelle Ragusa) was “All I Wanted Was the Dream” and Ragusa delivers it convincingly. A telling song, “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love,” is beautifully sung as a duet by Allen (David Elder) and Liza Minnelli (Caitlyn Caughell), when they decide to divorce. Corinne Melancon plays Allen’s mother, Marion Woolnough, who ties the story together from beginning to end. Her big number, “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” was inspired by the motherly advice she had given her son.
I didn’t know anything about Peter Allen before I saw this show, but I feel as though I know him now. His dichotomous life story portrayed in this STAGES production with its excellent casting, choreography, and often Vegas-style razzle dazzle costumes and sets, makes it one that will live in my memory for a long, long while.
STAGES St. Louis productions perform in the intimate, 377-seat Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Civic Center, 111 S. Geyer Rd. 63122. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 314-821-2407 or visit www.StagesStLouis.org.
