Kevin Purcell

PRESS REVIEWS

Rebecca - The Musical Other Reviews

Rebecca - The Musical

EXTRACTS FROM THE REVIEW OF WORLD
PREMIERE CONCERT PERFORMANCE

By Sam Elliot (theatrepeople.com.au)

"The score captures all the elements of romance, suspense and
mystery evoked by the story in an appropriately rich and swirling
melody that pervades throughout the piece. The music has an
incredibly filmic quality to it reminiscent of the scores of those
blockbuster melodramas of the 30s and 40s giving the piece a
befittingly 'classic' feel."

"The orchestra and their conductor (the composer, Kevin Purcell)
were magnificent - a real joy to listen to - in fact their skill and
the quality of the score stood so well on their own merits, an
evening of simply this alone would have been equally as
entertaining as it was with book and lyrics to embellish upon it."
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REBECCA - THE MUSICAL

PREVIEW - Herald Sun Newspaper
Friday June 18, 2004

Night sweats over musical

•MUSICAL
Simon Plant

LAST night, Kevin Purcell dreamed he went to Manderley. Then again,
with the Melbourne composer knowing the world premiere of
Rebecca-The Musical is just 24 hours away, it wasn't surprising.

Purcell and lyricist Victor Kazan dedicated two years to the project,
deciphered each line of Daphne du Maurier's story and scrutinized
every screen version, including Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 production
with Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.

Tomorrow night's Magnormos production at Melba Hall, directed by
Aaron Joyner, finds surprising new angles in Rebecca and wraps
rhythms around this dark tale for the first time.

"Our version is not the gothic Hitchcockian one. The mood
of the musical is one of haunting melancholy," Purcell says.

Set in the 1930s, in a mansion on the Cornish coast, Rebecca is
about a newlywed who cannot escape the shadow of another woman.

Maxim De Winter (Richard Thomas) has brought his young bride
(Monique Pitsikas), back to Manderley, but he still broods over the
death of his first wife, Rebecca (Lauren Elise).

Did she really drown as Maxim says? Or can the grim house-keeper
Mrs. Danvers (Maureen Andrew) tell a different story?

"We decided early on to explore the thriller aspect," Purcell says.

After much argument, the writers also agreed to make Rebecca
visible - as a ghost.

"At one stage we thought of having her as a voiceover, but I really
wanted to write a couple of songs for her. She had to sing."

Rebecca - The Musical demands a 23-strong orchestra and a cast of 10.
But Purcell has international experience as a musical director and conductor.

In the mid-'90s he worked exclusively for Cameron Mackintosh and
Andrew Lloyd-Webber and watched those theatre giants making
a song and dance.

"You don't have to like all their shows," Purcell says.

"But as pieces of theatre, they're brilliantly conceived
and immaculately executed."

Rebecca has the sort of Gothic mystery that might appeal to
Lloyd Webber. But in transforming du Maurier's 1937 best seller
into a musical, Purcell found a sound all his own.

"It's the sound of the sea. It runs through the music like an undertow,"
he says.

Rebecca had one other essential element for a musical: a redemptive
ending.

"As the young Mrs. De Winter grows in stature, the man she married no
longer seems infallible. Yet by the end, she's picked him up," Purcell
says.

Much as they would like to give it an outing in Australia, the team
behind Rebecca realise their best shot lies offshore.

That's why the show is being filmed and recorded tomorrow night,
so Purcell can knock on doors on Broadway and the West End and
"hopefully light producers' imaginations".

"As a composer, you've got to think in international terms," he says.

© The Herald Sun. Used with permission.

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Other Press Reviews:

Central Queensland University
http://uninews.cqu.edu.au/viewStory.do?story=4707

"Musically this was also a very enjoyable production,
with tight musical direction under Kevin Purcell…"

Ronald McCoy, STATE OF THE ARTS

"the skilful singing is accompanied by an accomplished onstage band…the music and singing by this young company are terrific."

Kate Herbert, The Age
Reviews RENT 10/02/06

"The elegant and stylish conductor was Kevin Purcell.
He got to the core of the music."

Michael Dawney, Evening Echo, Bournemouth

"The whole concert had a wonderful energy about it, which came from Music Director Kevin Purcell's dynamic leadership, and his obvious rapport with the musicians."

Lyman Leathers, Gazette Music Critic
The Delaware Gazette, February

"Finally, the conductor - how fortunate COSO must feel to have
Kevin Purcell as its conductor. This was my first opportunity to
see Mr. Purcell on the podium and his outstanding ability was
inspiring to watch."

Nancy S. Nocks, On Site Review,
Ohio Arts Council, February

"Purcell conducts the 24-piece orchestra with
crystalline clarity, lilting rhythm and passion"

Michael Grossberg, Theater Critic,
Columbus Dispatch, USA

"Last Saturday I had the opportunity to once again
see...'A Little Night Music'. It was outstanding..as good,
or better, than most on- and off-Broadway productions
I've seen over the years"

Roger Morris, President,
Columbus/Franklin County News Bureau

"Purcell meets challenge"

Clive O'Connell, The Age

"Kevin Purcell knows all about entertainment..."

Elizabeth Fortescue,
The Daily Telegraph Mirror