Tivoli Lovely by WAAPA

Tivoli Lovely by WAAPA
Photo Credit: Stephen Heath

On a mild Friday night my partner and I went to the State Theatre Centre of WA to see the opening night and world premiere of Tivoli Lovely, the latest musical comedy from Eddie Perfect (Beetlejuice, Shane Warne: The Musical). We were looking forward to seeing how this 3 year collaboration between WAAPA’s 2025 Music Theatre graduates, director Dean Bryant and Zara Stanton (music direction) would stack up against the slick professional work of other high end productions that we have seen performed at the Health Ledger Theatre.

Waiting for the doors to open, the hall outside was jam-packed with all the usual suspects, plus a healthy sprinkling of Mums, Dads, family and friends of the cast and crew. The word was that tickets for the opening night were rarer than hens’ teeth, and it certainly looked that way as we found our seats amidst the throng. There was a buzz in the air as well as a cacophony of noise from down in the orchestra pit as the musicians tuned up. And then Charlotte (Zoe Davidson-Wall) stepped on stage and away we went.

Having only read the brief PR blurb in preparation for the show, I wasn’t sure if Tivoli Lovely - an octogenarian and bratty teenager reminiscing about a 1950’s theatre circuit boy band (The Eleven Kevins) was going to be my cup of tea (with biscuits, of course!) 

My fears were put to rest right from the opening number. These guys (and girls) put on a show that can match it with any professional production. I won’t spoil it by giving away too many details, but suffice to say that there is love, loss, murders, singing, dancing (including tap-dancing but oh well!) and drama.

Amidst the youth and enthusiasm of the young cast, Caroline McKenzie as the elder Kitty showed that the older generation can still shake a leg and hit the high notes, while the extensive cast did a fabulous job of singing and hoofing their way through 2 frantically upbeat hours. Whew!

A quick mention of the lighting, sound and set crew is also required – the set was innovative and impressive, lighting was great and the only small blemish was an occasional microphone being activated a bit late, making it hard to hear the first couple of words. But with the actors belting out their dialogue and songs in fine style it really wasn’t much of a problem. And I must say a heartfelt thank you to whoever was responsible for balancing the volume of the music vs the cast, as it was great to not have the music drown out the singers !

All in all, Tivoli Lovely is a terrific 2 hours of top-class entertainment. It received an extended ovation from the impressed audience and rightly so. We are looking forward to seeing more of these talented graduates as they make their way into the Australian theatre, TV and film scene in the near future. Well done all.

Tivoli Lovely by WAAPA’s talented 2025 Music Theatre graduates is on at the State Theatre Centre of WA until the 14 November.

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