Parking Spot: The Musical! continues at Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street until 22 August (except 16).
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
Will (Harris Solomon) has a new car. Now at last he can forgo the wasted hours travelling the New Jersey subway, and give himself the freedom to realise his ambition of writing horror novels. There’s only one problem. In the whole block, there is only one parking spot, owned by an absentee postman. Everyone wants it.
There are lots of amusing hurdles put in their way by the traffic warden (Ricki Richards). A battle ensues with the other residents, and Will’s relationship with his long-suffering wife Pennelope (Amandalyn Mclellan) deteriorates as his life is devoted to getting that spot. With the reported death of the postman, no holds are barred.
A string of punchy songs, with lyrics by Louis Armistead and composition by Erick Eiser and Dash Hammerstein, lace this production. There’s some lovely choreography and the cast make a great team.
It’s a great premise, but after the exposition, the script by Louis Armistead seems to lose its way. The departure of Pennelope is rather predictable, as is the ultimate reconciliation. And the key to resolving everything, provided by the deus ex machina appearance of Edgar, Will’s horror story-writing guru, feels like a bit of a cheat.
That said, it’s a jolly, fun show, beautifully sung, with efficient direction by Juju Jaworski.
The audience loved it.
James Bryce
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