Bare, another stunning Union production

Ross William Wild and Michael Vinsen in Bare – the Rock Musical at the Union Theatre. Picture: Roy Tan

Bare, the Rock Musical, with music by Damon Intrabartolo and lyrics by Jon Hartmere (they also wrote the book), started out as a pop opera. It premiered in Los Angeles in 2000 and a newer version recently finished an Off-Broadway season in February. This is its professional European premiere. The show has similar themes to the more successful Spring Awakening which took New York by storm in 2006. Set in a co-ed Catholic boarding school, St Cecilia’s, it deals with the pupils’ issues with drugs, religion, sexuality and identity.

The show opens in church. During the Mass on the Feast of Epiphany, Peter – the altar boy – falls asleep and has a nightmare where he is outed and condemned to damnation. He and the school’s golden-boy Jason are secret lovers, but while Peter wants the whole world to know about them, Jason is scared of the consequences.

The school is putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet, which cleverly parallels the loves, rivalries and pending tragedy of the students’ own story. Matt, who is in love with Ivy, the school’s most popular girl, expects to play Romeo to her Juliet, but is beaten to the role at the last minute when Jason turns up unexpectedly and auditions. Matt is cast as Tybalt and Peter gets Mercutio, while Jason’s overweight twin sister Nadia unsurprisingly gets cast as the Nurse, although she had her heart set on playing Juliet (‘Plain Jane Fat Ass’).

Following the students throughout their final school term – in rehearsals; at a rave, where Lucas the school’s drug dealer supplies them with ecstasy (‘Wonderland’) and Matt sees Peter and Jason kissing; the confessional; Ivy’s surprise birthday party (‘Birthday Bitch’), where she disappears with Jason, and Peter’s various dream sequences – we see the falling in and out of love of our main characters. After the spring break it all comes to a head, after Peter steps in to play Juliet at a rehearsal when Ivy is late again. When she finally arrives, she tell Jason that she is pregnant by him, while Matt, who has lost out again to Jason as class valedictorian, reveals what he saw at the rave. Now that their secret is out, Jason goes to Confession and is told by the priest to deny his feelings for Peter. Before the play’s performance, Lucas offers Jason something to get him through the show, with fatal consequences.

The handsome Ross William Wild is perfectly cast in the role of Jason, you totally believe why people would fall under his spell or be jealous of him. And Michael Vinsen gives a very touching performance as Peter, especially in the scene where he phones his mother to tell her that he is gay, but she refuses to listen him (‘See Me’). As the misunderstood Ivy, Lily-Jane Young sings from the heart in ‘Portrait of a Girl’ and ‘Touch My Soul’ where she expresses her true feelings to Jason.

They are strongly supported by Dale Evans as Jason’s rival Matt and Melanie Greaney who gives the role of the bitchy Nadia the right amount of anger and pathos, but fails to give her sarcastic one-liners their full comic justice. The stand-out performance however is by Hannah Levane as the drama teacher Sister Chantelle. She has a sensational singing voice and great comic timing. In one of his dreams, Peter sees her as a gospel-diva Virgin Mary (‘911! Emergency!’), but she really excels when she lets Peter know that she understands what he is going through and tells him to be proud of who he is (‘God Don’t Make No Trash’).

With the audience on three sides, David Shields has created a clever set design, where a church altar becomes a bed or a changing room locker, and a back wall of church windows are beautifully lit by Tim Deiling. Tightly directed by Paul Taylor-Mills with an excellent five-piece band led by Christopher Peake and energetic choreography by Racky Plews, this is another stunning production presented at this unique fringe space.

The Union Theatre is under threat of closure as British Rail wants to turn the theatre and local shops into office space. There is an on-line petition which can be found on Facebook. This is an important fringe venue which deserves to be saved as it has produced so many wonderful musical theatre productions over the last few years, including the amazing all-male cast Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

Peter St James