Review: Gutenberg! The Musical!

(Neil Gooding Productions; Seymour Centre, Chippendale, Sydney; 17–21 February, return season 14–25 July))

Ah, to be famous (or infamous) enough to have one’s life set to music, to join the ranks of such worthy recipients as Jesus, Evita, Peter Allen, Keating, Shane Warne and Gutenberg.

Yes, finally the life of Johann Gutenberg (1398-1468), inventor of the movable-type printing press, has been immortalised in song! Or it will be … if Bud Davenport and Doug Simon have anything to do with it.

This is the premise behind the hilarious Gutenberg! The Musical! Two aspiring American writers, Bud (David Harris) and Doug (James Millar, who also co-produces), perform a “read through” of their musical, in the hope that a Broadway producer might be in the audience and see fit to bring their masterpiece to the world.

The pair runs through the entire musical, accompanied on piano by Charles (Bev Kennedy). Bud and Doug play all parts by the changing of caps in a frenetic, funny and affectionate lampoon of the musical genre.

Unfortunately, information about Johann Gutenberg is “scant”, and the actual invention of the printing press is not sufficient to warrant a whole musical, so Bud and Doug ‘elaborate’ on the story, throwing in some romance, a villain, and sundry dubious and un-PC characters.

The humour is often silly, bad jokes abound, and major artistic licence is taken regarding historical accuracy and timing. It’s tremendous.

The actual writers, Scott Brown and Anthony King, performed the show themselves in the acclaimed world premiere in London in 2006 after an off-Broadway production and showcase in the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

David Harris and James Millar boast impressive credentials in musical theatre, and their performances here are brilliant. Both have beautiful voices and spot-on comic timing — as well as boundless stamina to carry this two-hander with nary a breather.

The creative team behind Gutenberg! is similarly impressive (no pun intended). Neil Gooding’s direction is tight and smart, and the music (directed by Bev Kennedy) and choreography (Nathan M. Wright) so well realised that it’s easy to forget there are only two people on stage. Of course, all those caps help …

Gutenberg! The Musical! returns to the Seymour Centre from 14-25 July. I don’t need to be pressed to see it twice (pun definitely intended).

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