Last week Andrew and I rushed down to South London to watch the Amateur Theatre Production of "Nine". You may remember this musical as being released as a movie last year with actors such as Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz and Sophia Loren. It was also directed by the director of "Chicago" (Rob Marshall) and looked like it had the makings of a fantastic movie - however it didn't do very well at all. I never saw the film and only heard bad reviews of it, so had no desire or interest to make the effort to see it. When one of Andrew's collegues landed the lead role in the amateur production, however, it gave us a definite reason to traipse all the way to Kingston to see what it was all about.
I must say that when it comes to explaining the story of some musicals I am at a loss. They can be a little bit like trying to explain the intricate plot of a Mozart opera. Using words alone to explain the plot leave it a little bit limp, but augment it with music and the plot seems to make a little bit more sense. This story is a little bit like that. Essentially the lead character, Guido Contini, is having a bit of a break down. In the midst of this breakdown we are introduced to the women in his life: his mother, his wife, his lover, his muse and his producer. (In many ways, we are shown the various roles that women play in life.) We then watch as he tries to resolve how he comes to terms with being in love with so many women at one time. The simple conclusion to the story is that he realizes that he has been living as an immature nine year old and decides to grow into maturity. I think that there is a whole lot more to the story if you are willing to look for it.
The music is remarkably similar to Chicago, so I can understand why Rob Marshall chose to direct it. I wonder if perhaps it was too similar to Chicago to succeed? Or perhaps it was the more elusive plot that was the problem. I guess I'll have to watch the movie to answer those questions. But now for the musical we saw.
The actors were supported by an orchestra who were seated on the stage. This was a wonderful thing to observe especially for an amateur theatre production. The music and singing was wonderful and all the actors where exceptionally well cast. It is clear to me that the secret to a successful amateur theatre production is a good director who is able to set everything up so smoothly that it is impossible for the amateur actor to feel insecure when on stage. Amateur actors have much less time to rehearse than professional actors and so need as much support as they can get. I feel this director did a brilliant job. I was completely swept away into the action of the story and well entertained, and the actors on stage looked like they were having a lot of fun. In fact, I felt a little bit grateful to have been able to see this show live rather than as a movie.
One thing this interpretation of the musical did for me was encourage me to think about the roles women play and about the labels we give each other. Why is there this belief that the image of "wife" is seperate to that of "lover" or "mother", when the truth is that women are constantly playing all these roles at the same time? Is it possible for us to be content living as both the supportive wife and romantic lover? Is it possible for men to recognize all those elements in one women, rather than needing more than one woman to play each role? It is these questions that have made me consider this an excellent musical, one with a little bit more to think about than usual.
