With a touch of burlesque, comedy, dance, circus acts, song and downright hilarity, Marvelous is an adult-only take on the characters of the Marvel movie franchise. Everyone from Captain America, Doctor Strange, Thor, Black Widow and Iron Woman make an appearance! To top it all off they’re backed by some music bangers from 90’s bangers to Broadway smashes.
From the moment I stepped into St Kilda’s iconic National Theatre, the 90’s hits got me straight into the vibe of what I was about to watch. I heard everything from Britney to N’Sync before the show started and when the lights went down we were sent into the world of the naughty and funny, with bear bums and chests on show for everyone. One of the big highlights for me for the whole show was the tight choreography, every member of the cast were very strong dancers and perfected every move while also making the audience laugh. Between numbers Deadpool (on this occasion, played by Samwise Holmes) came out gave us a comedy monologue as he narrated the story of where the show was going to go next, he often improvised and let the audience heckle him which made for absolute comedy gold. This was definitely an added bonus to an already uproarious production so far. My favourite individual performer had to be Emma Wong as ‘Pony Tony’ who’s powerful and gritty dance moves transfixed the crowd, she showed a lot of skill while also displaying mischief and playfulness in her performance. Each time she performed I was enthralled.
Michael Boyle as Captain America was another highlight with his over the top physicality as he hysterically made fun of the character. Another dance moment I enjoyed was Megan Wonfor as Black Widow, clearly struggling to completely rip off her tear-away pants she carried on with poise and didn’t flinch. She finished off with a spectacular backflip off the bar on the set.
The definite audience favourites were parodies of “Defying Gravity” which included flying and “Alexander Hamilton”. These two scenes were very cleverly staged.
The scene with “Fat Thor” was hilarious and also breathtaking as he flew on the pole showed his strength and flexibility while maintaining his comic character.
As mentioned previously, the whole was filled with 90’s hits from ‘Bye Bye Bye’ to “Larger Than Life”. This made for a very nostalgic night! A huge mention must go to the ensemble, they had so much to do and pulled it off in a major way.
The set was extremely impressive with multiple levels and bright lights bringing it to life. It was set out with poles and ledges so the cast could jump and swing from all different parts. This was a very high level and extremely entertaining production. Despite few opening night mishaps, I would highly recommend to anyone who doesn’t mind being just a bit naughty.
