The audience at last night's performance was mainly middle aged women and their husbands, who I'm sure were there more for Dusty's 60s hits then her '80s comeback. In fact, my expectations were that Dusty's collaborations with the PSB might be totally overlooked by the production.
But no, the score contained both What Have I Done To Deserve This and Nothing Has Been Proved. The performance of NHBP actually came first, in the 60s section of the story - staged with reporters circling Dusty asking her to confirm rumours about her private life - to which she reponded by singing the chorus - "It may be false, it may be true..." etc (The verse wasn't sung).
Then in the Act 2, there was a full re-creation of the video for What have I done to deserve this?, with "Neil" and "Chris" in tuxedos, Dusty appearing from behind a curtain, and Neil reclining on a set of stairs, singing the "I bought you drinks, I gave you flowers..." etc.
The musical arrangements for both songs sounded great, although the actor playing Neil seemed to be imitating Neil's voice but it didn't sound right at all.
Dusty: The Original Pop Diva is a big budget production - costing over $6 million and looks like it will be a big success. It's a big, fun, musical, and it's nice to see the PSB represented in this - maybe it will help bring them back to the public consciousness here in Oz in time for the release of Fundamental.
