Phar Lap: The Electro-Swing Musical
Nov. 10th, 2025 11:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustTagline: The musical that stops the nation.
One thing I love about the Hayes Theatre, is the chance they give to new Australian musicals. Especially ones that tell Australian stories. A musical about Phar Lap? I'm in!
Just look at this promo:
Sometimes you just want to see how they're going to pull it off.
In summary. I loved it! Like a lot of Australian musicals I've seen, it was quirky, irreverent, and affectionate.
Some highlights below.
Cinnamon roll
We all know Phar Lap as a great champion, so how do we get invested in this as an underdog story?
Phar Lap is about to arrive in Australia from New Zealand, as his new trainer, Harry Telford, is waiting at the docks with his new owner, David Davis. Davis is extremely sceptical about this unappealing prospect. Harry is convinced of his potential, talking up his bloodline, his great-grandfather being the legendary Carbine.
And then Phar Lap gets off the boat, carrying a suitcase, with a cheery "Kia ora!" (And a really strong Kiwi accent.)
Like all the horse characters, he's wearing a hat with pointy horse ears, and a long braid to represent a mane. But he also looks adorkable in his woollen vest and checked shorts. And the first thing he does is drop his sandwich, and then try and fail to pick it up with his hooves, while the owner and the trainer look on incredulously. It is the saddest and funniest thing.
Phar Lap: "It's my dream to race in the Melbourne Cup!"
Davis: "Do you think someone like you can win the Melbourne Cup?"
Phar Lap: "No. But I want to participate!"
He is so earnest and endearing. Forget saving the cat - this is how you imprint an audience on a character, and make them say "YOU ARE MY BLORBO NOW."
Bro
At his first race, Phar Lap says to Harry accusingly, "You didn't tell me my brother was going to be here!"
Nightmarch, who is already a champion and a favourite, has the same sire but a different dam. He hates Phar Lap's guts.
Nightmarch: "He knocked up your mum and left us for his new family!"
Harry: "That's not how horse breeding works."
Nightmarch: "I waited at the gate for him to come home! But he never did."
Nightmarch too has a strong Kiwi accent, and calls Phar Lap "bro". But not in a friendly way. (But they have a relationship arc! It's really rewarding.)
Rider
After Phar Lap finishes his first race dead last, Harry decides Phar Lap needs someone disciplined and dominant. Enter jockey Jim Pike, wearing a red silk shirt, but also black leather pants, leather jacket, and leather cap. "Ride You" is basically him singing sexily about "I'm gonna ride you" and wielding his riding crop, while Phar Lap looks both stunned and entranced.
It's kind of like someone thought, "Are there going to be weird sexual vibes with this riding thing?" and going, "YES, DEFINITELY."
The Don
I had not realised Phar Lap and Don Bradman were contemporaries! But it's a stroke of genius to have them cross paths, and the Don to deliver some wise life advice to Phar Lap, right when he needs it most.
If you ever wanted to see Don Bradman do a big song and dance number, with his cricket bat and his baggy green, then this is the show for you. "National Treasure" is about the importance of heroes to a nation in need of hope, during the dark years of the Great Depression.
Other thoughts
The songs were great. Catchy in themselves, though a lot of enjoyment was from their performance on stage and the comedic timing.
The show used tap dancing to portray the racing. It worked really well, as the horses furiously tap danced in a very competitive way.
Phar Lap's journey ends with his sudden death, right after a huge victory in America. But because this is a musical, Phar Lap appears again with angel wings on his back, and has a last conversation with Harry, who had promised to spend his prize money on an estate where retired horses could live out their lives in peace, instead of being sent to the glue factory. It was really sweet.
So yeah. Musical biopic of an Australian icon (who was technically from New Zealand). Who just happens to be a horse.
Videos
Trailer:
"We'll Stick Together Like Glue" (studio version):
"The Race That Stops The Nation" (rehearsal version):
One thing I love about the Hayes Theatre, is the chance they give to new Australian musicals. Especially ones that tell Australian stories. A musical about Phar Lap? I'm in!
Just look at this promo:
If you're thinking elaborate life-size puppetry and dazzling special effects, you couldn't be more wrong (we don't have the budget). Suspend your disbelief as an actor swaps his horseshoes for tap shoes to play one of Australia's most beloved icons.
When an awkward, gangly horse from New Zealand meets a hapless, down-on-his-luck, trainer, they embark on a classic underdog story to win the Melbourne Cup, and Australians' hearts and minds. The road isn't easy – there are gambling scandals, double-crosses, an attempted shooting, and a career-threatening addiction to sugar. It's high stakes, high drama, and highly historically accurate.
Sometimes you just want to see how they're going to pull it off.
In summary. I loved it! Like a lot of Australian musicals I've seen, it was quirky, irreverent, and affectionate.
Some highlights below.
Cinnamon roll
We all know Phar Lap as a great champion, so how do we get invested in this as an underdog story?
Phar Lap is about to arrive in Australia from New Zealand, as his new trainer, Harry Telford, is waiting at the docks with his new owner, David Davis. Davis is extremely sceptical about this unappealing prospect. Harry is convinced of his potential, talking up his bloodline, his great-grandfather being the legendary Carbine.
And then Phar Lap gets off the boat, carrying a suitcase, with a cheery "Kia ora!" (And a really strong Kiwi accent.)
Like all the horse characters, he's wearing a hat with pointy horse ears, and a long braid to represent a mane. But he also looks adorkable in his woollen vest and checked shorts. And the first thing he does is drop his sandwich, and then try and fail to pick it up with his hooves, while the owner and the trainer look on incredulously. It is the saddest and funniest thing.
Phar Lap: "It's my dream to race in the Melbourne Cup!"
Davis: "Do you think someone like you can win the Melbourne Cup?"
Phar Lap: "No. But I want to participate!"
He is so earnest and endearing. Forget saving the cat - this is how you imprint an audience on a character, and make them say "YOU ARE MY BLORBO NOW."
Bro
At his first race, Phar Lap says to Harry accusingly, "You didn't tell me my brother was going to be here!"
Nightmarch, who is already a champion and a favourite, has the same sire but a different dam. He hates Phar Lap's guts.
Nightmarch: "He knocked up your mum and left us for his new family!"
Harry: "That's not how horse breeding works."
Nightmarch: "I waited at the gate for him to come home! But he never did."
Nightmarch too has a strong Kiwi accent, and calls Phar Lap "bro". But not in a friendly way. (But they have a relationship arc! It's really rewarding.)
Rider
After Phar Lap finishes his first race dead last, Harry decides Phar Lap needs someone disciplined and dominant. Enter jockey Jim Pike, wearing a red silk shirt, but also black leather pants, leather jacket, and leather cap. "Ride You" is basically him singing sexily about "I'm gonna ride you" and wielding his riding crop, while Phar Lap looks both stunned and entranced.
It's kind of like someone thought, "Are there going to be weird sexual vibes with this riding thing?" and going, "YES, DEFINITELY."
The Don
I had not realised Phar Lap and Don Bradman were contemporaries! But it's a stroke of genius to have them cross paths, and the Don to deliver some wise life advice to Phar Lap, right when he needs it most.
If you ever wanted to see Don Bradman do a big song and dance number, with his cricket bat and his baggy green, then this is the show for you. "National Treasure" is about the importance of heroes to a nation in need of hope, during the dark years of the Great Depression.
Other thoughts
The songs were great. Catchy in themselves, though a lot of enjoyment was from their performance on stage and the comedic timing.
The show used tap dancing to portray the racing. It worked really well, as the horses furiously tap danced in a very competitive way.
Phar Lap's journey ends with his sudden death, right after a huge victory in America. But because this is a musical, Phar Lap appears again with angel wings on his back, and has a last conversation with Harry, who had promised to spend his prize money on an estate where retired horses could live out their lives in peace, instead of being sent to the glue factory. It was really sweet.
So yeah. Musical biopic of an Australian icon (who was technically from New Zealand). Who just happens to be a horse.
Videos
Trailer:
"We'll Stick Together Like Glue" (studio version):
"The Race That Stops The Nation" (rehearsal version):
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Date: 2025-11-11 03:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-11 12:09 pm (UTC)