GLEE Swell Productions State Opera Studio Until 31 Mar 2012 Review by Kylie Pedler Like Will Schuester, the Spanish teacher-cum-Glee club director on the TV series “Glee”, Patrick Lim has a dream of providing opportunities for young teenagers to develop and showcase their talents. If you came expecting a musical production, the dancing didn’t disappoint, with hat, chair and umbrella choreography, a little soft shoe and traditional kick line. The numbers were well-rehearsed and stylized. However, from here the musical theatre elements disappeared and a simple song and dance concert followed. All-round performer Sarah Brideson’s performance of “Le Jazz Hot” was sexy and sassy. She made the stage her own. Other highlights included “Fix You”, lead by Riley Ingham and danced by Sarah Brideson; the saucy vocals of Stephanie Antonopoulos in “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”’; angelic voice of Jasmin Garcia in “Angel”; and High school musical style vocals and movement of Joe Meldrum performing “Keep Your Head Up”. While these were all beautiful performances, the show-stopping number was Yen Yen Stender’s rendition of “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore?” Her amazing vocal control and prowess was unwavering alongside her vivacious storytelling. Expect to see this name in lights. Unfortunately, incorrect song choices or accompaniment key may have prevented other cast members from performing to the best of their abilities with several numbers sounding pitchy and thin. The open-space staging enabled diversity of direction with a simple red-framed scaffolding across the back and abstract black hat and chair setting; however, the venue caused a number of seating and sound deficiencies with many audience members unable to get a clear view of the performance. The next challenge for these youngsters would be to work with a live orchestra and use microphones to ensure every line of their vocals can be heard. The production proves that, with some modification, musical theatre and the new Year 12 musical theatre program have a big future in Adelaide. Many of these teenagers will never be ‘lost in a crowd’.