Gutenberg has had an incredible revival in the past few years, with a lauded Broadway revival in 2023 headed up by Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad of The Book of Mormon fame bringing the musical back into the spotlight. For its first show in Australia in many years, it has returned to the Hayes Theatre Co, starring two of Australia’s finest performers in Stephen Anderson and Ryan Gonzalez to take on the lead roles.

The musical has a fairly simple storyline, with two aspiring composers writing a musical that they think is going to bring them Broadway success. The only problem is that the musical is absolutely terrible, leading to a comedy of errors as they present it for the first time. With plays within a play being all the rage on Sydney’s theatre scene at the moment, with Phantom and Moulin Rouge to name a few employing the concept and having great success doing so, Gutenberg takes a slightly different approach, more heavily leaning into humour as the two performers take on a multitude of roles, distinguished by hilarious hats (expertly designed by Lily Mateljan) to show the character that they are playing at the time. More than almost any other musical, this production relies on its two performers to carry the material and director Richard Carroll has done an incredible job of bringing together Anderson and Gonzalez for this production in a pairing that matches Rannells and Gad and feels both natural and electric.

The two stars of this production did an incredible job of feeding off each other’s energy and displayed extraordinary vocals and great comedic timing, with genuine chemistry between the two. Both performers struck the perfect balance of bringing out the humour of a frankly ludicrous production, whilst also displaying incredible acting chops. Gonzalez in particular shone in the first act, giving a rip-roaring performance that mixed charisma and awkwardness in equal parts, with just a little bit of incredible vocals to have the audience  hooked. Anderson started a little bit more tentatively but quickly grew into the role, and once he did, the interplay between the two was a true highlight. 

With a wonderful first act, the energy slightly fell off in the second act due to a weaker script but it was still very well executed, with both Gonzalez and Anderson bringing their all to the role, even as Gonzalez’s character spoke at length about musicals with weaker second acts (a bit of dramatic irony there). The pair were ably assisted by musical director Zara Stanton on the piano, who did an exceptional job of maintaining the energy and bringing a little bit of humour herself with a few cameos as well. Shannon Burns’ choreography was also fantastic, with the two performers juggling what was an incredibly difficult performance to pull off, with multiple characters, multiple movements and very clever blocking. It was a masterful acting performance and possibly actually a little bit underrated because although the comedy makes it seem easier than it is, its difficulty should not be understated.

While in the program both performers wax lyrical about how this terrible musical is actually great in some ways, I would respectfully push back on this as it is, quite frankly, a terrible musical and one that could easily fall apart with the wrong performers behind the helm. This is only more of a credit to these two performers, who made sure that this was a thoroughly entertaining and energetic performance at all points, whilst maintaining every bit of comedy and vocal prowess that the script affords.

One of the running gags of this show is that at the end of every performance, a guest star Broadway producer comes out and for opening night the audience was graced with the presence of David Campbell, which was a very nice surprise and a wonderful way to cap off the night, with the audience giving the production a very well deserved standing ovation.

Overall, this was a masterful display of acting chops from both Anderson and Gonzalez, with Gonzalez in particular stealing the show with a jaw-dropping and dazzling performance. This is a play that is so reliant on its two stars and these two absolutely delivered in spades with comedy, vocals and everything in between, with great support from  Stanton on stage. There is no getting around the fact that this is a terrible musical (and deliberately so) but these two execute it perfectly and make sure that it is a wonderful spectacle for everyone in the audience. To see two of Australia’s finest in this production, it is something that you won’t want to miss. 

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Gutenberg plays at the Hayes Theatre until 10 May. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: John Macrae