As far as television sitcoms go, some are experiencing resurgence through the magic theatre. The Office, Golden Girls and Gilligan’s Island are examples of recent musical parody treatments, and Friends: The Musical Parody begins its Australian tour this month.
Love it or hate it, Friends was an incredibly successful series, and this production has already opened to positive reviews in New York and Las Vegas. With a mash up of the show’s popular story arcs, many liberties are taken with character in-jokes and gibes to the real life counterpart actors.
For director Dash Kruk, the concept of satire has worked well, providing the chance to lampoon many of the show’s elements and trademark jokes.
The original Australian cast of Friends: The Musical Parody
“In many ways, the fact that it’s a parody actually takes some of the pressure off!” says Kruk.
“A lot of fans hold the original series pretty close to their hearts. So if we were trying to recreate the show by producing ‘Friends! Live On Stage!’ we would have a lot of insurmountable expectations to uphold. The fact that it’s a parody allows us some freedom in the way we represent the show, and invites the audience to lovingly poke fun at the characters and storylines.”
“They had a same sex wedding, same sex family units, and gay people who were proud of their sexuality.”
But while the original show’s main demographic were young girls, it was never a huge hit with the LGBTIQ community. During their run, shows like Roseanne, Ellen and the obvious Will & Grace encouraged diversity, while Friends constantly saw its male characters cringe obsessively over the slightest gay overtones.
“To be honest, when re-watching all ten seasons, I was shocked by some of the comments and jokes relating to LGBTIQ+ people,” says Kruk.
“Some characters were worse culprits than others, but overall it did make the queer community a punch-line in many ways. I’m not justifying that humour at all, but what also struck me was the way in which the show normalised homosexual couples and showed everyday people coming to a place of acceptance. We’ve got to remember this was the Nineties and we still had a long way to go. The fact that on prime time TV they had a same sex wedding, same sex family units, and gay people who were proud of their sexuality was incredibly progressive for the time. In fact, we have a couple of jokes berating Chandler for comments he makes!”
“When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month or even your year!”
The Australian cast includes Belinda Jenkin (Phoebe), Stefanie Jones (Monica), Sarah Krndija (Rachel), Tyran Stig (Ross), Rowan Witt (Chandler) and Joseph Spanti as Joey. Shakespearean actor Chris Huntly-Turner plays the Rachel-obsessed Gunther.
In preparing for the role of Ross, Tyran Stig not only spent time studying the original source, but also rediscovered his love for the characters and actors.
“I think the most amazing thing about these roles, is that we have ten seasons of a beloved TV show and its characters, at our fingertips for inspiration,” says Stig.
“I take my characterisation of Ross, created by the brilliant David Schwimmer, through his mannerisms, voice and incredible comic timing, and use it as a guide to fit the show we’re creating,” he says.
“I think the writing of the original show allowed people to feel so deeply for these characters because they saw their own roller coaster of emotions, especially with the relationship storylines. Everyone has experienced some sort of heartbreak, love or even just a crush, so it’s been handy to draw on my own life experiences.”
Like with any sitcom, the world of Friends is fictional fantasy and given our current era, such a colourful and nostalgic production could well prove the ticket to audience escapism.
“The nostalgia takes us back to a less problematic time.”
“The thing that stands out to me about this show is how perfect it is for this moment in time,” says Kruk.
“After everything that’s been happening, a lot of people are looking for comfort and the nostalgia takes us back to a less problematic time. This show connects everyone in that theatre and makes them a part of it all. I just think that’s a perfect antidote to the last twelve months.”
Friends: The Musical Parody is playing at The Star, Gold Coast before heading to Melbourne, Brisbane, Parramatta, Adelaide and Perth.
For more visit: friendsmusical.com.au
