“Toby Quast had spent his whole life running away from what makes him happy: pretending to be other people.”
Toby, or not Toby is not just a play on the iconic Shakespeare quote; but a retelling of the life of Toby Quast, featuring a punchline worth the ticket price alone. We follow his journey of rediscovery, which must be done after facing life under the shadow of nepotism in the form of his own father.
Toby shares the struggles of being a Nepo baby, short for nepotism baby, a term referring to people whose parents have succeeded in similar or related careers. With impressive accompaniment and supporting vocals by fellow Nepo baby, Tana Laga’aia, their musical quips elevated the show with comedic relief and heart in the form of random chords from Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.
The two of them wielding a Diploma of Musical Theatre from NIDA, (yes it makes an appearance) make it very clear that they are no strangers to the stage, Toby digresses that he wasted his life not following his true passion, but I have to beg to differ, as he seems to be on the right path and through his story, shares the conclusion that taking a moment to embrace yourself and enjoy the things in life that make you happy can do no wrong.
It features songs from Avenue Q, Bridges of Madison County, and even a sea shanty, which Toby put way too much faith in us all to learn in 20 seconds. But, dare I say, I enjoyed singing along, even if I did make up all the words. The most touching song of the night being ‘My Father's Hands’, by Phillip Quast, the man of the hour. Toby delivers each song with beautiful vocal quality and provides a truly captivating show.
While not making an appearance on stage, putting this show together couldn’t be done without Associate Producer, Milli Higgins. Providing some excellent graphics to aid this production.
Make sure to get your ticket, to watch Toby Quast talk about how he was Toby lost as he answers if it is Toby, or not Toby? But it’s a pretty safe bet that it will be Toby.
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