Amélie – The Musical . Photo: Nisġa
Amélie – The Musical brings all the whimsy and feel-good vibes of the original 2001 movie to the national stage of Teatru Manoel. Co-producer Revamp.mt brings a hugely talented cast, backed by a crew that clearly knows what it’s doing, and then some.
The way it’s all conceived and executed by director Dorothy Bezzina is spectacular, fully justifying the months of promo that have preceeded the show. This is easily one of the top musical theatre pieces we’ve seen performed in Malta, with very minor flaws that would only matter to a critic. Here are all the details.
Table of Contents
| Play | Amélie – The Musical |
| My Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟 (4.5/5) |
| Producers | Revamp MT & Teatru Manoel |
| Music | Daniel Messé |
| Lyrics | Daniel Messé and Nathan Tysen |
| Book | Craig Lucas |
| Director | Dorothy Bezzina |
| Main cast | Chrissy Despott, Luigi Buhagiar, Paul Portelli, Natassja Chapman, Gianluca Ciia, Althea Troisi, Karl Bartolo, Shannon Chishahayo, Alexia Manduca, Rebecca Darmanin, Albert Garzia, David Ellul Mercer, Jamie Sciberras, Franco Sciberras |
| Music Direction | Edward Mifsud |
| Set & Costume Design | Matthew Cassar |
| Light Design | Mohamad Ali ‘Dali’ Aguerbi |
| Production & Stage Manager | Karl Borg |
| Trigger Warnings | None |
| Age | 6+ |
| Running Time | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Dates | May 8, 9,10,13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Venue | Teatru Manoel |
| Language | English |
Amélie – The Musical: the narrative
Amélie – The Musical is based on the movie Amélie, which was written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant with a 2001 release. The story is peak feel-good whimsy: our heroine survives a strange childhood that sees her isolated from society and from affection, growing up into a dreamer who prefers to spend the evening alone with her made-up worlds than going for a drink with her colleagues.
A chance discovery of an old box belonging to the boy who previously lived at her apartment inspires Amélie to find the now-grown man and to return it anonymously. The happiness this brings about leads her to a decision: she’s going to spend her life bringing joy to others without revealing herself. The tale unfolds with a quirky, almost-surreal beat as Amélie wreaks beautiful, happy havoc in the lives of those around her until she, too, finds love and happiness with Nino.
It’s a simple tale with evergreen appeal and, thankfully, the musical version keeps the original premise intact. You’d have to be an extremely cynical soul not to be touched by the sheer kindness and positivity of this show and, in truth, it’s just the perfect antidote for the dark times we live in.
Of course, productions like Orwell’s 1984, that actually speak to the current political climate, remain as important as ever. But shows like Amélie – The Musical are just as necessary to remind us that there’s still good in the world, and that it’s all right to smile and be happy.
Direction
Once again Dorothy Bezzina shows her directorial chops with a concept that nails every single detail. Under her direction, Amélie – The Musical soars beyond what the audience would normally expect in terms of performance, set and music. Bezzina doesn’t simply follow Craig Lucas’ book — she makes it shine. The stage version of the film has many moving parts. We’ve got puppetry (masterfully rendered, as always, by Theatre Anon), a kinetic set, a wonderful trapdoor entrance by ‘Elton John’, a moving piano… it’s a lot, and Bezzina handles it all like the professional that she is.
There’s literally no downtime. Cafe tables disappear as if by magic, while the action continues elsewhere on stage. Narrators switch seamlessly. The book includes a number of actors who also double up as musicians playing live on stage. These are integral to the flow of the story, but they also add to the complexity of the show. Bezzina handles it all smoothly, creating a cohesive production where the audience doesn’t actually notice all these moving parts, which is as it should be.
Amélie – The Musical is a masterclass in pacing and in immersive world-building. Bezzina clearly has a strong talent for complex productions, and here she’s even exceeded her previous showcase for School of Rock, effortlessly transporting us to Montmartre.
Musical direction
Bezzina’s direction is ably aided by musical director Edward Mifsud. I’ll be honest — the musical numbers in Amélie – The Musical are pleasant enough, but not especially memorable. This is obviously a problem for a musical and possibly part of the reason why the show didn’t become as iconic as, say, Oliver! The Musical.
All this makes Mifsud’s direction even more valuable. He shapes the mood throughout the performance, building a more immersive, oddball language that highlights the heroine’s quirks. The actor-musician format places unusual demands on the production, and Mifsud meets them with impressive precision that’s complemented by the skills of the artists themselves. I lost count of the number of people who played that piano throughout the performance, but dang if it wasn’t a highlight, everytime. Thanks to Mifsud, the music became a seamless part of the production’s emotional fabric and amply compensated for a score that’s richer in mood than bangers.
Set, costumes, lighting & choreography
The other pillar making up the beauty that’s this production is set and costume design, which I”m reviewing together because it’s one person who’s working the magic, Matthew Cassar. Cassar grounds the action in a train station set on two levels, the tell-tale Metropolitain art nouveau signage instantly doing its job.
The skeleton of the set may be constant, but throughout the production Cassar transforms it into a cafe and a church, besides creating a photo-booth that’s continuously shifting, and weaving in a trapdoor entrance, and the moving piano.
The fact that all these transformations take place without a hitch and without disrupting the pacing is indicative of Cassar’s prowess. I’ve only seen one other set with this level of changing parts on a Maltese stage, and that was for Noti Mil-Loki tal-Big G’s. But even so, it came nowhere near what Cassar has achieved with Amélie – The Musical.
Cassar’s costume work is equally strong. For Amélie he maintains a strong visual identity, captured by a deep shade of red that we associate with the character in the movie. Small details, like the embroidered Eiffel Tower motifs on the fabric, add to the magic. These little touches are present throughout, from the Breton stripes to the berets, scarves and polka dots, and they do a wonderful job in completing this Paris Cassar has created.
Lighting design by Mohamad Ali ‘Dali’ Aguerbi also contributes significantly, with sound, light and performances reaching a superb level of cohesion. The hilarious orgasm sequence is one example, with the flashing cues landing perfectly with Amélie’s punchline. Finally, Raphael Pace’s choreography completes the picture with a playful, but precise, sense of movement that’s in tune with the production’s offbeat charm.
Amélie – The Musical: the cast
Chrissy Despott is the production’s beating heart as Amélie. The quirks of the lead character could easily come across as forced, but Despott delivers an Amélie that knows no artifice, and we’re happy to accompany her on this ride, no matter how bananas it gets.
Previously, I’ve only seen Despott perform in Into The Woods, and even here she stood out among the multiple ‘main’ characters. Amélie – The Musical is her time to shine, and deservedly so as she inhabited the role beautifully, delivering innocence, comedy and depth.
Aside from her obvious vocal and acting prowess, the way Despott handles the French accent both in song and speech deserves a special mention. This aspect of performance wasn’t handled equally well by all cast members, but Despott is credible and consistent.
Luigi Buhagiar makes an excellent counterpart to Amélie as Nino, the eventual love interest. He is also percussionist and guitarist, his performance in all cases adding considerable charm to the show. He, too, handles the whole accent situation very well so that the on-stage match works both with respect to chemistry and skill.
Paul Portelli (Julien Dufayel, Amélie’s artist neighbour) and Stephen Oliver (Raphael Poulain) give appropriately eccentric performances that make these secondary roles memorable. Natassja Chapman makes very brief appearances as Amélie’s mother, but she is funny in an understated way, which fits the character perfectly. We also get to enjoy her performances on the piano.
While not part of the main cast, it’s impossible not mention Lawrence Gray’s stint as Elton John. The scene takes place while Amélie imagines she is Princess Diana (who has just been killed in the infamous Parisian car crash for the purposes of the story) during her own funeral. If it sounds bonkers it’s because it is, as we see Gray emerging in full rhinestone and glitter regalia, lights shining on him, belting out Goodbye, Amélie (geddit?). The number requires considerable vocal strength, and Gray doesn’t disappoint.
The entire cast does a great job, as does the ensemble, though it’s impossible to mention everyone. As stated earlier, the French accents were inconsistent — and even non-existant — in parts. Sometimes they made it difficult to understand the lyrics. That said, the performances were all sufficiently credible overall, and any lapses would only have bothered someone who’s watching with a particularly critical eye.
It’s worth mentioning that accent credibility is a recurring issue in shows with a marked connection to a specific country. I remember another extremely strong production, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, struggling even more conspicuously in this respect. I wonder whether in such cases it makes more sense to limit the accent to the main character, but that’s a debate for another day.
Amélie – The Musical: verdict
Amélie – The Musical is that rare beast, warm and feel-good without being saccharine or fake. Direction, cast and crew are clearly some of the best talent we currently have in Malta’s theatre eco-system. They give us a show that’s spectacular, entertaining, heartfelt and highly professional. If there’s one weakness, this is the score itself, and not its interpretation.
Revamp.mt appears to be going from strength to strength and is one to watch as far as musical theatre in Malta is concerned. So far I’ve seen no duds, and Amélie – The Musical is undoubtedly the most polished production so far. Which only augurs great things for the future. Same when it comes to performer Chrissy Despott, I expect nothing but great stuff from now on.
There are still a few performances taking place at Teatru Manoel this week. If you enjoy musical theatre and usually have to travel for your fix, make sure you get tickets to this one.
Affiliate/Advertising Disclaimer: How I Carry Out Reviews
I received no payment for this review of Amélie – The Musical, and I was offered press tickets. The opinions expressed here are purely my own and the producers had no input/control over what I wrote. There are no affiliate links contained within this page. To learn more about my policies and my reviewing process, visit my Affiliate/Advertising disclosure page. To better understand what my rating means, check out the details of the star system.
