Dusty

The Production Company

'Dusty' is the musical retelling of Dusty Springfield's life from aspiring schoolgirl performer to international artist and the sadnesses in her personal life.

I originally saw the musical in its premiere season in Sydney back in around 2004 and whilst enjoyed the performances and reliving her signature songs I found the play itself to be rather unbalanced. The first half ran like a continuous concert with only superficial reference to the details of Springfield's life whilst the second half was melodramatic and by comparison sparse of music. At least, that's my recollection.

The program notes for this limited staging in Melbourne indicate that the Director worked with the authors to rewrite the play; or more specifically the Director requested 'a nip and rewrite here and a rethink there'. I think the play is improved as a consequence. I still think it is somewhat unbalanced but perhaps less so than I found it earlier.

The performances in this production are very good with Amy Lehpamer (Dusty) and Baylie Carson (Mary, the childhood 'Dusty') outstanding. Their duet to conclude Act 1 was exceptional.

★★★1/2