Musical theatre / “Friends! The Musical Parody” by  Sam Klingner. At The Playhouse until July 16. Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.

WHO is the biggest “Friends” fan? Dom Hennequin, whose job it was to gear up this rather lukewarm audience, asked.  

This awkwardly presented introduction by Hennequin with an audience-participation quiz that offered an all-expenses paid theatre experience to the winner (only to be told that they’d already paid for it themselves) fell flat, before he explained that, due to copyright, the original songs would only be a few phrases long but that we would know and should join in the “Friends” clap.  Without knowing quite what to expect, but not expecting an exact rendition of music or songs from the TV hit show, this statement didn’t present a problem, but served to manage expectations upfront of what might be on offer in “Friends! The Musical Parody”, directed by Dash Kruck.

The opening scene introducing the characters was presented in front of the fountain backdrop, as per the credits in the TV show, with an amusing “Central Perk Tango”, cleverly inspired by the musical Chicago, introducing the break-ups of Ross and Rachel with their respective partners, as presented in season one of “Friends”. Ross, played by Tyran Stig, did an incredible job with the vocal stylings, speech patterns and neurosis of “TV Ross”. Stig also has a lovely singing voice. Belinda Jenkins’ Phoebe was instantly recognisable, replete with the wardrobe, mannerisms, voice and dead-mother songs that fans of the TV show are familiar with.

On opening night, Rachel was played by Lucinda Wilson, whose mannerisms and drawling way of saying “Ross” were spot-on without being too over-the-top. Maverick Newman displayed great comedic physical talent and lapped up the role of Chandler – Newman’s gawky movements as he hopped around the stage were entertaining in their own right, while embracing the already physically expressive traits of the original character. Joey (Callum O’Malley, who will play the role for the Canberra season) wasn’t given as much material to work with and apart from his classic “How you doin’” line and his role on “Days of Our Lives”, the opportunity for his warmth and mannerisms are not really there. His acting agent, Estelle, makes several cameos, engulfed in a plume of cigarette smoke, with the appearances becoming more ridiculous each time.

The cameo roles are played by Hennequin and Newman, with Janice, the recurring girlfriend of Chandler, accidentally summoned sporadically by the cast. Her spine-tingly awful voice and tacky outfits, already at 100 per cent in the sitcom, were taken to new levels in a “Baby Got Back”-inspired musical number, eliciting many laughs from the audience, which seemed to warm up slightly as the production went on. Monica’s character (Annie Chiswell) was underwhelming from a script point of view and apart from a few costumes, the physical similarities and quirks were not there in the same measures as the other characters, with the exception of the“Fat Monica” number.

The cast summarise a few of the main storylines, throwing in references to some of the love interests (the Tom Selleck role as Monica’s much older boyfriend was so nuts it was difficult to know whether to laugh or sit there stunned).  Scenarios are referenced rather than re-enacted, in scenes that include Ross in leather pants and dressed as the Christmas armadillo. Without knowledge of these references, the comedy in its own right is likely pretty silly.

The set smoothly changes between Central Perk, including props such as the ginormous mugs, and Monica’s apartment, where some queries that may have entered the minds of fans during the TV run are addressed in “Suspend your Disbelief”. Where an interval could be expected, the cast instead rushes through a few seasons with a Bob Fosse inspired “jazz hands” number, singing, “A lot of sh*t happened when we were on a break”.

One of the funniest memorable scenes from the “Friends” sitcom was Ross directing his friends to get a couch up a flight of stairs, screaming “Pivot!”. Which is here a musical number offering life advice. Some may recognise the musical “Rent” is referenced as well as other pop songs, such as En Vogue’s “Never Gonna Get It”, which provide another level of entertainment.

The cast were melodically challenged by one of the final numbers, before some brief references to the actors’ private lives. “Friends. The Musical Parody” is not side-splittingly hilarious on its own merit, as it is so overtly over-the-top, and the style of comedy a little dated, but it provides fond, nostalgic memories of a much-loved and enduring TV sitcom from the ’90s, that became part of the zeitgeist. With the director stating the show has “little purpose other than to make you feel good”, then it succeeds.

Those au fait with “Friends” will no doubt leave the theatre having recalled many enjoyable nights in front of the TV as well as having watched an energetic live performance.

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