Hell Hath No Fury – Musical Bitchin’ from the Basement of Hell @ Downstairs at the Maj
Saturday, July 31, 2021
Squeezing the best lessons out of the lemons life gave her, Zalia Joi’s musical cabaret Hell Hath No Fury – Musical Bitchin’ from the Basement of Hell hits the highs and lows of a redemption journey without missing a note. With a packed house on Saturday night in the Maj basement, a receptive audience was ready to party, warmed up by the brilliant musical skills of Men From Hell (Matt Milford, Shaun Davis, James Vinciullo, Reilly Stewart and Jesse Brewer).
Early on we see the downfall of our pitiful and lost lead character Alicia (played by multi-talented Zalia Joi who penned the script, music and lyrics) into the basement of hell, where she is doomed to an eternity of jealousy and pining. Unlike so much “relationship theatre” where the audience squirms in pity at the all-too-real life stories, by wrapping the lessons in a fanciful fable of the underworld, Joi provides opportunities to reflect on our own illogical Disney-dust sprinkled decisions. Other songs recognise the downfalls of “tap, swipe, click” romance, and you could feel the audience’s emotions tangibly as they connected with ballads of self-worth and desire for acceptance.
While Bomb Shock is the big number, launching as a single on August 13, it was the clever hip hop rhymes of Epidemic that had the audience shuffling in their seats. It was also clear fellow audience members loved the Tina Arena style Deliverance, and wanted to sing along to the more traditional musical theatre melody of Dream a Brand New World.
The physical comedy skills of co-star Fiona Cooper shone in her performance of Beetlejuice-esque Evie, a long-dead lady of the underworld. Cooper’s hilarious gestures paired with sarcastic wit, brought forth a great comic relief character of a petulant teenager crossed with Maleficent. Too often it was hard to drag your gaze away from Evie to concentrate on the song itself.
A musical small on scale but big on emotion, you will be reflecting on your life journey and humming Bomb Shock well into the night.
MELISSA MANN
