REBOUND - The Musical
| "...Johnny Chester's new Australian musical Rebound is a valuable addition to the ranks of the standard stage musical. Its swag of approachable and sometimes memorable songs, replete with excellent lyrics, bid flair to flower in any renaissance of established musical styles...." - Adrian Wintle, Daily Advertiser, Wagga Wagga, 13th May 2000 read full review | Musical Highlights  RealAudio™ CLICK HERE |
"...Well done Wagga Community Theatre! I attended the musical Rebound at the Civic Theatre and thoroughly enjoyed the production..." - Victoria brooks, Riverina Leader, May 17th 2000 |
The Ravens Netball team, in the country town of Pumpkin Valley, is under siege. Not only have they not won a match for years but the unsympathetic town council, headed by sharp-dealing Eric Turner, wants to evict them from their premises.
But the Ravens are a resilient group, determined to keep the tradition of netball alive in Pumpkin Valley, even if constantly frustrated by the umpiring of Agnes Turner, Eric's wife, who seems determined to see that the Ravens remain winless.
Cathy, the captain of the Ravens, suffering an unhappy marriage, and Molly, enlist the aid of Cal an officer from the local army base, to coach the team. But they badly need funds. All their efforts to attract sponsors fail and even when they hold a fund raising dance, they can't advertise it on Ray Turner's radio show, hardly surprising as he is the nephew of the Mayor.
Billie, the tom boy of the team, attacks Ray for his bias and, after learning that he'd never even watched a game challenges him to do so. Ray attends a game and once again berates the team on his radio program.
Matters start to improve. The team responds to the coaching and Molly capitalizes on the infatuation of her boss, Bruce, to win new uniforms for the team. Then Molly introduces Sam, a young aboriginal girl and a natural netballer, into the team.
But the threat of eviction still hangs over them and not even Charlie, the old caretaker, can provide a reason why the council is so determined to get rid of them. What they don't know is that Eric owns a Company holding the supposed title to the building and he plans to bulldoze it and expand the Town centre, with a development of shops and restaurants all of which he will control. The fact that the title is a forgery is not a problem, as he believes the original was destroyed in a fire some years before.
Once again, Ray denigrates the netball team on radio, upsetting Billie who attacks him at the radio station then feels she has only made the situation worse. But when she arrives to apologise, in a dress instead of her usual tomboy boiler suit, looking stunningly feminine, Ray succumbs and ultimately becomes the champion of the Ravens, eventually turning against his own relatives, when he learns of their skulduggery. That comes to light when Charlie finds the key to a box left by the original owner of the complex, containing a copy of the title and a will leaving it to the Ravens, thus exposing the Mayor as a cheat and a fraud. At the same time, the Ravens hit a winning streak, taking them into the Grand Final.
The Ravens win - as do several of the team with their relationships - Cathy with Cal: Molly with Bruce: and Billie with Ray. But above all this is a story about the Ravens who survive through their determination to "Rebound" and to obey their new creed to "Just do it", the theme of two of the new hit songs.
If you are interested in obtaining the rights
to stage a production of
REBOUND, please contact:
Johnny Chester Music
Email: chess@johnnychester.com
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