by Tim Leininger

Video courtesy of Goodspeed Musicals

            In one of the most absurd moments of theater I’ve seen in years, a mob of emus clog military weapons with rocks. Such is the absolute silliness that is the new musical The Great Emu War with book by Cal Silberstein and Paul Hodge, music and lyrics by Hodge, directed and choreographed by Amy Anders Corcoran, running through Oct. 26 at Goodspeed Musicals’ Terris Theater at 33 N. Main St. in Chester, Connecticut.

            Oh, yes, a group of emus is called a mob.

            Set in the state of Western Australia, The Great Emu War is the true story…well, mostly true…well, somewhat true story of the 1932 Emu War that actually did happen. When the Great Depression and drought hit the country, emus, desperate for food start scavenging nearby farmland for food. The farmers convince the government of Australia to provide military assistance to remove the birds by any means necessary.

            The musical takes a satirical look at the absurdity of a war between the military and thousands upon thousands of flightless birds, and wow is it hilarious.

            The musical primarily focuses on two sets of characters, first is the ornithophobic Major Meredith (Taylor Matthew) and his hapless assistant McMurray (Morgan Cowling) who are hunting the birds. Then there are the emus; led by Edith (Claire Saunders), her father Enoch (Jeremy Davis), and her would be temporary mate Ethan (Ethan Peterson) — female emus travel from mate to mate…we actually learn quite a lot about emus in this musical, and their habits.

Claire Saunders, Jeremy Davis and Ethan Peterson in Goodspeed’s The Great Emu War. Photo by Diane Sobolewski

            The Great Emu War plays out like a 90-minute Bugs Bunny cartoon, fourth-wall breaks and all, as the inept Major Meredith, like Elmer Fudd, repeatedly gets outwitted by the emus, but with a bit more emotional substance, at least where the emus are concerned.

            Musically, The Great Emu War owes a large debt to a number of predecessors, like Clark Gesner’s work on You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, some of Meredith’s patter song elements reminiscent of “The Kite.” Cole Porter’s “I Hate Men” from Kiss Me, Kate is directly given an homage with Meredith’s number “I Hate Birds”. There’s even a callback to Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show with the number “Jam It, Damn It!” These songs can be perceived as lacking originality but considering that the musical is a satire, I don’t mind that the songs have familiar streaks through them. It adds to the parody nature of the show. There are tap dancing emus after all.

            The musical is supposed to be taken lightly and to be enjoyed in its frolicking fantastical fullness. There are moments of intimacy and grief, but they never burden the show so much to drag it down. The cast are well aware of this and do everything within their power to elevate the comedy throughout. LaRaisha DiEvelyn Dionne keeps the tone of the musical at a steady pace as the show’s narrator, The Bush Bard, quipping on the absurdity of everything as it progresses and educating the audience to the socio-political attitudes of the time as well as facts about emus.

The cast of Goodspeed’s The Great Emu War. Photo by Diane Sobolewski

There is excellent direction and acting regarding the physicality of the emus, and I would encourage acting teachers to give their students songs from this musical as acting exercises. As emu wings are not very dexterous, the cast have to mimic the physicality of emus, thus limiting their ability to use their arms and requiring them to put their actions almost entirely in their faces. Davis, Peterson, and Saunders all do a great job of achieving the necessary nuance in their facial expressions, all while being decked out in headwear and tailfeathers to represent them as emus.

            The highlight of the show though is Taylor Matthew’s Major Meredith, who is so over-the-top that the audience was rolling with laughter every time he got his comeuppance by the emus.

            The design is fairly sparce, but what is there has some excellent detail. For example, I thought the guns that Major Meredith and McMurray were using were absurd looking, but then after some research, the guns they’re using are designed to look like the Lewis gun, which was used during the actual Emu War. So, excellent job there.

            The Great Emu War is light comic fare for people wanting a silly night of musical comedy. It’s a good enough show that I think, if given a little more development, could have life further on the off-Broadway circuit.

THE GREAT EMU WAR

TICKETS: https://www.goodspeed.org/

PRODUCTION

Book by Cal Silberstein and Paul Hodge; Music & Lyrics by Paul Hodge; Directed & Choreographed by Amy Anders Corcoran; Costume Design by Herin Kaputkin; Lighting Design by Colleen Doherty; Sound Design by Jay Hilton; Orchestrations by Isaac Hayward; Dialect Coach: Jennifer Scapetis-Tycer; Casting by Hardt Casting; Production Stage Manager: Devin Day; Director of Production: Endla Burrows; Production Manager/Technical Director: Dominck J. Pinto; Associate Artistic Director: Michael Fling; General Manager: Gretchen Wright; Music Direction by Angie Benson

CAST

LaRaisha DiEvelyn Dionne as The Bush Bard

Claire Saunders as Edith

Taylor Matthew as Major Meredith

Ethan Peterson as Ethan

Jeremy Davis as Enoch

Morgan Cowling as McMurray