moby dick! the musical @ bradford playhouse, thursday 12th march By Phillip lickley Here’s one for the pub quizzers among you the author Herman Melville’s great-great-greatgrandnephew Richard Melville Hall adopted the moniker Moby when the follically-challenged vegan became a DJ. Ashamedly, having never read Herman Melville’s iconic 1851 novel, my pop-culture knowledge of the book only stretches to the whale and the angry captain. So going to see a production of Moby Dick! The Musical at the Bradford Playhouse was my first step towards combatting this ignorance. This production of the early nineties musical was undertaken by BUSOM – the Bradford University Society of Operettas and Musicals – who are made up of current students and alumni. Its premise is that St Godley’s Academy for Young Ladies is threatened with closure and the only way to save the school is to put on the titular play and rake in the money. Like a reverse The Producers but with no Hitler. The two shining stars of the production were Ivan Causey as the insane Captain Ahab. Yes, two. Stepping up into a main role in his debut appearance, Causey grabbed it with both hands and was a real laugh on stage, whether it was when appearing as the headmistress in drag or then as Captain Ahab himself – yes, a man dressing as a woman, dressing as a man – which was one of the less confusing moments in a
rather manic opening section that at times sped along a little too quickly for full comprehension, but soon settled down into a quality, laugh-aminute musical. Proving to be a star with the music as well as the mannerisms of the captain, Causey was very watchable on the boards and only upstaged by his loyal cabin boy Pip, played by Ben Bell, who really truly stole the show with his dry sense of humour, facial tics and expressions and a later return – spoiler – back from the dead, including a very funny faux-70s rock number in the second half and a spot-on delivery of wry double entendres from the script. When the audience were laughing it was mainly down to Bell’s excellent work, especially when teamed up with Causey. In fact the whole cast seemed to be having a whale of a time on stage (sorry) as they brought the musical-within-a-musical to life, with songs and spoken sequences tackled with a knowing wink. After a funny opening skit about mobile phones and camera work we got into the production, with opening song Moby Dick setting the pace in a bouncy, uptempo way. At times the band, who were spot-on with the music, were perhaps a little loud for some of the singers but the