Anyone Can Whistle - Review

Southwark Playhouse,, London

***

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Arthur Laurents

Directed by Georgie Rankcom

Alex Young and company

Anyone Can Whistle is one of Sondheim's lesser known works and probably, rightly so. A curious piece that explores power, fascism and the othering of minorities via a curious interplay of an outdated mockery of mental illness, and an implausible melee of manufactured miracles. It all makes for an occasionally tedious 2 1/2 hours at Southwark Playhouse, interspersed by musical numbers that too often err towards corn rather than Sondheim's signature scalpel-like satire.

For a story this whimsical, a show’s company needs excellence throughout to carry the piece and disappointingly, for the most part, this cast lack the required emotional heft. And as the on-stage talent level wanes, so too does the audience's attention.

That being said, there are two standout performances from Alex Young and Chrystine Symone. Young captures wit, timing and a magnificent presence – with just a soupcon of channelled Hillary Clinton - as Cora, the town's corrupt and devious Mayoress. Young’s musical theatre genius sets her apart amongst her generation and in this production her take on A Parade In Town marks her out as a future Dolly Levi – one can only imagine, blissfully, what she could do with Before The Parade Passes By. 

As Nurse Apple, Symone is offered a more challenging role of obscure complexities. Vocally she is magnificent, never better than in her outstanding interpretation of There Won’t Be Trumpets. It is only a shame that in the musical’s exploration of the nascent love between her and Jordan Broatch’s Hapgood, that their performance falls short of Symone’s magnificence. 

Above the stage, Natalie Pound's 5-piece band make fine work of this rarely heard score.

Runs until 7th May

Photo credit: Danny With A Camera

Me And My Girl - Review

Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester

****

Music by Noel Gay

Book and lyrics by L Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber

Book revised by Stephen Fry with contributions by Mike Ockrent

Directed by Daniel Evans

Alex Young, Ryan Pidgen and company

A showbiz dream came true at Chichester this week when Matt Lucas, the starring lead of Me And My Girl, had to pull out of the show on doctor’s orders and company member Ryan Pidgen stepped up to the plate to take on the role of Bill Snibson. With barely a couple of hours to rehearse, Pidgen who was warmly received by the Chichester audience, was magnificent delivering an opening night performance that could have been a moment straight out of 42nd Street.

Pidgen may have been the unexpected star of the evening, but in Daniel Evans’ cast he was surrounded by the cream of British musical theatre talent. Opposite him, and in her first major leading role, Alex Young was a convincing and vocally charming Sally Smith. Interestingly, for a leading lady, the show does not give Sally too many singing highlights – but in her one stunning solo of the night, Once You Lose Your Heart, Young proved (yet again, for this website has long been in awe of her talents) why she is one of the finest performers of her generation.

The plot of Me And My Girl is a far-fetched hokum that sees the cockney working-class Snibson discover that he is a landed peer. His newly-realised upper-crust family are horrified by Snibson’s cultural roots and the narrative plays out as Snibson learns to mingle with the aristocracy, while at the same time holding onto his London heritage. There are shades of My Fair Lady in the story, (and even a couple of nods to that musical too in the second half) but where Lerner and Loewe’s foundations lay in a wondrous book, Me And My Girl sits on a far flakier fable. Snibson’s journey is all about old fashioned class and sexual prejudice and while the love between him and Sally is unquestionably deep and sincere, she is reduced to little more than a woman who has to change her role in life to win her man. Elsewhere the excellent Siubhan Harrison is reduced to playing (wonderfully) Lady Jacqueline Carstone, a beautiful aristocrat but a woman with no depth whatsoever. Take a step back and this show is a dated cornucopia of corny cliché and caricature. It is hard to believe that the modern era has seen Stephen Fry (no less) revise the book.

And yet for all its moral flaws, Daniel Evans has fashioned a thing of beauty here, drawn solely from the excellent company that he’s assembled. In supporting roles, Caroline Quentin is the dowager Duchess of Dene, while the venerable Clive Rowe plays Sir John Tremayne – another bumbling toff and the two are simply perfection. Much of the show’s momentum is carried by crass puns and double-entendres which should, by rights, have the audience groaning. Here however they are hilarious, with Evans having drilled his cast to deliver the comedy with split second timing and perfect delivery. There’s a gorgeous twist of role reversal too, as Jennie Dale takes on the role of Parchester, the landed family’s solicitor. Dale (also, always brilliant) shines like a diamond as she tap dances her way through moments of sensational hilarity.

In the pit Gareth Valentine (who not only conducts but has also arranged the show’s score) has taken familiar melodies and revitalised them, as alongside Evans, Alistair David’s choreography is slick, imaginative and impressive.

Me And My Girl’s politics may be of the dark ages – but its ability to put grins on faces and set toes tapping is the mark of a modern show that knows how to please its audience. The talent on stage here is unmatched, and for a seaside festival of song and dance, there’s nothing finer in the country.

Runs until 25th August

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Follies - Review

National Theatre, London

*****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by James Goldman

Directed by Dominic Cooke

It’s been a while since the National Theatre last revived a great song and dance extravaganza and a Sondheim one at that. But with Dominic Cooke’s production of Follies the NT’s reputation as one of the nation’s finest creators of musical theatre is restored.

Goldman’s book and Sondheims’s songs build a boulevard of broken dreams and flawed humanity that is as harrowing as it is magnificent. The show’s premise is simple: amidst the rubble of Dimitri Weismann’s once grand Broadway stage, the ageing impresario has invited back the stars of his Follies show from some 30 years ago, for one last hurrah before the building is demolished. As the evening unwinds and the champagne flows old loves, desires and the most excruciating of betrayals are re-kindled and confronted.

The show is first and foremost an ensemble piece - there are at least four stories being told here - but it’s the galaxy of stars that Cooke has assembled, that make this Follies such finely crafted theatre. Sally and husband Buddy (Imelda Staunton and Peter Forbes) re-connect with Phyllis and Ben (Janie Dee and Philip Quast) re-igniting friendships and rivalries that have lain dormant for decades. Storytellers however don’t come any finer than Sondheim and Goldman, with the narrative playing out through an exquisitely mirrored time bend that sees the young, pre-married quartet of lovers simultaneously portrayed by a younger foursome of actors. The National have not only skimmed the cream of British musical theatre in casting the 4 senior roles, their ghostly younger personae are also drawn from the nation’s finest, with Alex Young, Zizi Strallen, Fred Haig and Adam Rhys-Charles weaving the story in and out of the years.

Life has dealt both Sally and Phyllis more misery than they may have deserved, but it is the two women’s responses to their empty marriages and duplicitous husbands that drives the bittersweet essence of this show. Staunton’s Sally is literally crumpled as Buddy’s work flies him around the country in perpetual infidelity. Dee’s Phyllis however is a far more sassy character who’s grown an emotional carapace over the years, enabling her to tolerate Ben’s eminent statesman, yet continually philandering, lifestyle - a man who craves money and recognition above all else and with a vacuum for a soul.

Both marriages seethe with frustration and resentment and yet the show’s dissection of the most complex of loves reveals, in its finale, the couples’ ultimate co-dependency. Rarely is a musical so brutally perceptive and so beautifully performed.

The production’s songs are famous and in this outing, flawlessly sung. Tracie Bennett’s Carlotta delivers an I’m Still Here that comes close to stopping the show. Likewise Di Botcher’s Broadway Baby brilliantly captures a song that defines showbusiness. Stunning too is the soprano duet of One More Kiss, hauntingly handled by Dame Josephine Barstow and Alison Langer.

The four leads have the lion’s share of the numbers. Quast is immaculate throughout, singing a powerful take on The Road You Didn't Take. Could I Leave You from Dee defines her mastery of Sondheim’s inflicted irony, while Forbes’ Buddy’s Blues is a jazz-hands analysis of a man in a tailspin. Staunton is tasked with arguably the show’s biggest challenge and one of the finest 11 o’clock numbers ever in Losing My Mind. Rising to the challenge, she makes the song soar in a tragically understated display of pitch perfect poignancy.

Staunton, Dee and Quast have all amassed a fine pedigree of musical theatre work at the National - and for some of us in the audience, there is an added piquancy of seeing Staunton’s magnificent Sally today, yet also recalling her on the same stage as a Hot Box Girl in Richard Eyre’s 1982 production of Guys and Dolls, a show that boldly launched the National as a musical production house of the finest calibre.

That calibre permeates the show. Bill Deamer’s choreography delivers fabulous footwork from across the wide range of ages (and disciplines) of his gifted company. Upstage, Nigel Lilley deftly directs his 21 piece orchestra to deliciously deliver Sondheim’s classic melodies.

Vicki Mortimer’s designs effectively create the crumbling Weismann theatre, making ample use (overuse?) use of the Olivier’s massive revolve. The show's costumes are a similar treat, well cut to the eras in question and enhanced with some outstanding millinery from Sean Barrett.

Like Weismann’s eponymous show, it’s taken 30 years for London to witness the return of a full scale Follies. The National have a fine history of releasing cast recordings of their major musical productions - let's hope that this show too is recorded for posterity. Follies is as beautiful as it is eviscerating - a masterclass in musical theatre.

Booking until 3rd January 2018. Follies will also screen via NT Live at cinemas nationwide on 16th November 2017

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Carousel - Review

Coliseum, London

****

Music by Richard Rodgers

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on Ferenc Molnar's play Liliom as adapted by Benjamin F Glazer

Directed by Lonny Price

Alfie Boe, Katherine Jenkins Gavin Spokes, Alex Young and Brenda Edwards

Rodgers and Hammerstein considered Carousel to be their finest work. The show is this year's semi-staged Coliseum offering from Michaels Grade and Linnit and they have laid on a sumptuously sized cast and orchestra that bring a rarely encountered richness to the famed musical.

The story based on the Molnar's original Hungarian fable is a latter-day fairytale, suggesting that true love can conquer all and that within even the darkest most damaged souls, there is the capacity to love and to be loved in return. It's a sound and wholesome precept for sure, but this ain’t Beauty And The Beast. The argument at the core of Carousel suggests that domestic violence whilst frowned upon is not only acceptable, but can also be bearable so long as the woman truly loves her abusive partner. It is truly a dated yarn, from an era of ghastly sexual politics.

Putting issues aside, the songs are magnificent - though the show's casting, even if commercially platinum-plated, is artistically curious. The star-crossed leading characters of Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow are played by uber-diva Katherine Jenkins and the megastar of musical theatre that is Alfie Boe. The pair's vocal excellence is beyond comparison – but the chemistry between them lacks sparkle. Jenkins too often seems to forget that this Coliseum gig is live musical theatre rather than an opera or a recording studio. Her flawless voice is not matched by an ability to act through song and she fails to make us truly believe in her journey.

Thankfully, the show’s supporting roles are marvellous. Alex Young - who must surely rank alongside the most gifted performers of her generation - gives a perfectly pitched Carrie Pipperidge, with immaculate timing, voice and presence. Her take on Mister Snow is a treat, while alongside her, as the eponymous hard-working Enoch Snow, Gavin Spokes is another comic gem. Geraniums In The Winder has rarely sounded so deliciously, puritanically hypocritical as it does here.

Derek Hagen's Jigger Craigin is a seedy menace - again performed with wit and conviction, Brenda Edwards breaks the Coliseum's hearts with a stirring You'll Never Walk Alone and even the modest character of Mrs Mullin, the carousel owner who offers a sensitively nuanced shading to Billy's complexities, is wonderfully played by Susan Kyd.

A mention too for Amy Everett as the teenaged Louise Bigelow, whose second act Ballet is beautifully delivered.

As if Boe and Jenkins wasn't enough for the coach parties, Nicholas Lyndhurst has been hauled back to the West End for a turn as the heavenly Starkeeper. Of course his performance is divine, he'll get a few more bums on seats and thankfully Lyndhurst is not really required to sing.

However – what truly sets this production of Carousel apart is the visual (and aural) prominence afforded to the full ENO Orchestra, sat in their raised pit. The melodies are the finest in the canon and under David Charles Abell's baton, as the timeless Carousel Waltz plays out it is entirely possible to consider that this may be the classic score's most glorious realisation on this side of the Atlantic, if not ever.

Lonny Price assembles a strong creative team to enhance the show's imagery. Mark Henderson's lighting serves well amidst the economically designed set - with James Noone's projections effectively creating the New England coastline as Josh Rhodes' dance routines also serve to drive the narrative.

A pricey ticket maybe, but there's much to enjoy in riding this Carousel.

Runs to 13th May

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton

Promises, Promises - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


****

Music by Burt Bacharach
Lyrics by Hal David
Book by Neil Simon
Based on the screenplay "The Apartment" by Billy Wilder and I.A.L Diamond
Directed by Bronagh Lagan

Gabriel Vick and Daisy Maywood

Promises, Promises at the Southwark Playhouse is a delightful splash of Burt Bacharach, in a musical set in 1960s New York and which hasn't played in London for nigh on fifty years. The show's pedigree is top notch, based on Billy WIlder's (he of Sunset Boulevard fame) Oscar-winning Best Picture, The Apartment, translated thence into a musical theatre book via the satirical wizardry of Neil Simon.

Chuck Baxter is a humble accounts clerk in a huge Manhattan insurance office, young and single and who lives in a modest apartment in the city. When Baxter's married manager asks if he can borrow the apartment for an extra-marital liaison with his mistress Baxter agrees - word spreads amongst the managers who all then ask for the apartment's use, with the news ultimately reaching Sheldrake, the department head, who too wants to use Baxter's flat. There's a complicated love that develops between Baxter and Fran, a waitress in the company's Executive Dining Room and for risk of spoiling, that's all that can be said about the plot.

The strength of this show however lies not only in Bacharach and David's eternally hummable tunes, but as much in Simon's razor sharp wit. The comedy is a wry New York shtick and Lagan has polished her cast into a subtle, perfectly timed delivery.

Gabriel Vick plays Baxter and he carries the show magnificently. For those that remember the movie, he captures that beautifully bemused essence of Jack Lemmon - finely principled and ultimately nobody's fool. Vick is also wonderfully voiced and when he picks up his guitar to sing I'll Never Fall In Love Again, it's a pleasant reminder that this timelessly classic song, along with the show's other great Bacharach treats, was born out of the production itself, a refreshing contrast to the modern trend of juke-box shows created long after songs have become hits. Indeed, Promises, Promises is a far more entertaining gig than the recent Close To You, a juke box show framed around the Bacharach catalogue

Opposite Vick is Daisy Maywood's Fran. Maywood captures Fran's feisty and sometimes exploited vulnerability perfectly - with more than a hint of the movie's Shirley MacLaine in her stance. Vocally she's wonderful too, making fine work of A House Is Not A Home.

The casting throughout is spot on. Paul Robinson's Sheldrake is as chiselled in his looks as his morals are despicable, the quartet of middle managers are a delight and John Guerrasio's Doctor, who lives in the flat next door, masters Simon's comically caustic New York nuance. Perhaps the most stunning supporting work comes from the ever excellent Alex Young who opens the second half hilariously as the drunken Marge, stumbling and fumbling towards a doomed romantic tumble with Baxter.

Gabriel Vick and Alex Young

The set design is imaginative but flawed (sit on the far left or right and some moments will be invisible) and likewise Joe Louis Robinson's 7 piece band, who put in a fine shift throughout the evening, need to fine tune a couple of early numbers, though note that these are very modest criticisms.

Promises Promises is a warm-hearted delight on a cold winter's night. This bittersweet story performed by a fabulous company, makes for another jewel in London's theatre crown. 

Runs until 18th February

Photo credit: Claire Bilyard

Show Boat - Review

New London Theatre, London


*****


Music by Jerome Kern
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the novel "Show Boat" by Edna Ferber
Directed by Daniel Evans

Emmanuel Kojo

Show Boat at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre was the best musical that I saw last year and its London transfer is setting a very high bar for 2016. Daniel Evans' production, mounted on Lez Brotherston's spectacularly evocative set doesn't just reprise one of Broadway's greatest ever musicals, it recreates Americas Southlands and Midwest at the turn of the 20th century, with a spine tingling intensity.

Famed as the "original Broadway musical" Show Boat is powered by a narrative that steams through human love and tragedy, fuelled by some of the finest songs written - and in this production, performed by arguably the most talented company in town. Chris Peluso and Gina Beck lead as Gaylord Ravenal and his wife Magnolia. Peluso, who takes over the role from Michael Xavier, offers his own distinctive interpretation of the riverboat-gambler whose heart is melted and enchants with a convincing passion both in solo and in his famous duets of Make Believe and You Are Love.

Beck continues to deliver a magnificent Magnolia with an arc, tragic yet strong, that breaks our hearts. As Magnolia matures from wide-eyed love-struck teenager into a challenging adult life, Beck is en pointe throughout. Truly one of the finest of her generation, the power of her soprano is spine-tingling. Her duets with Peluso may be charming, but in After The Ball, she takes the roof off.

Rebecca Trehearn's Julie offers a performance that is perfectly nuanced throughout. Her character hides a complex secret (no spoilers here) and on re-visiting Trehearn's performance, the tiny details that betray Julie’s deepest fears are performed exquisitely. And of course she matches Beck's vocal perfection. Can't Help Loving That Man Of Mine evolves throughout the evening until it's the song on everyone's lips at the final curtain, whilst Bill, a beautiful lament Is one of the second half's highlights.

Rebecca Trehearn and Gina Beck

The musical is famous for Ol' Man River, a song that's arguably bigger than the Mississippi it tells of. The ridiculously young and talented Emmanuel Kojo continues to kick the song out of the park. He gives it a beautifully bass foundation, yet also allows it to soar with a spirituality. The despair of the African American stevedores, so cleverly evinced in Kern's classic chords and Hammerstein's inspired lyrics is a thing of wondrous grief when sung by Kojo's Joe. Sandra Marvin as Queenie brings a worldly wisdom to her modest role but, again with her gorgeous vocal range, she makes fine work of Mis’ry’s Comin’ Roun’ and the second half’s jolly Hey, Feller!

Alex Young's rising star continues to shine. Her feisty Ellie Mae Shipley providing many of the show's compassionately comic moments with Life Upon The Wicked Stage being delightfully executed. Opposite her, Danny Collins plays her stage husband Frank Schultz. Collins’ dance work is a marvel, his routine with Young during Goodbye My Lady Love being a blur of perfectly executed footwork. In fact Alistair David’s choreography is stunning throughout. The company numbers are breathtaking, either in their raw humanity during Ol’ Man River, or the simply stunning exuberance of Act One’s opening and closing routines.

Show Boat speaks with charm of a time gone by. Whilst its darker sides of racism and gambling/alcohol addiction are sadly timeless, so too is its observation of marriage. As the Ravenals’ union fails, both Joe and Queenie’s marriage along with that of Captain Andy Hawks and wife Parthy (again, excellent supporting work from Malcolm Sinclair and Lucy Briers) endure the decades. There’s a theme of recognizable hen-pecked husbandry that bridges the racial separation and while Parthy and Queenie’s domineering wives raise a warm chuckle in their disciplined approach to housekeeping, it all harks back to a golden and more gentle age of storytelling, when vaudeville, Broadway and Hollywood entertained the world. It’s a further credit to Evans, David and Brotherston that the whole production exudes such a filmic quality.

As Tom Brady's orchestra provide the perfect backdrop to a night of laughter and tears, Show Boat defines flawless musical theatre.

Booking until 7th January 2017

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Show Boat - Review

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

*****

Music by Jerome Kern

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on the novel "Show Boat" by Edna Ferber

Directed by Daniel Evans

Alex Young and Danny Collins

2015 you sly old fox, you’ve saved the best for last.

The Confederate flag flutters over the stage as the opening bars of Show Boat play out. An ugly image, the flag defining so much of America's troubled history and setting a dark uncompromising tone that defines Daniel Evan's production.

This 1927 Broadway classic isn't a single-star led show such as Gypsy or Funny Girl, rather it is a company driven production that tells an interwoven story of love, despair and racial tension set, for the most part, aboard the Cotton Blossom steamboat as it plys the towns along the vast Mississippi.

Sheffield maybe famous for its steel, but Evans casts this show in platinum. Gina Beck and Michael Xavier take the leading roles of the ill-fated Magnolia Hawks and Gaylord Ravenal, with Xavier's Ravenal exuding a raffish charm as the river gambler with a murky past and whose quest for love is gorgeously defined in Where's The Mate For Me. Xavier's presence captures the romantic irresistibility of the man - with a chemistry ignited between him and Beck that offers a rarely witnessed on-stage magic.

And as for Gina Beck... This diminutive soprano who has led shows both in the West End and across the USA possesses a voice of quite simply ethereal power. One of Show Boat’s captivating charms is that aside from being a gripping yarn, its song-list feels like a whirl through the American Songbook. Beck's take on Only Make Believe and You Are Love, both gorgeously duetted with Xavier are enchanting - whilst her act 2 After The Ball is ravishingly rousing. The love between Magnolia and Gaylord is pure, challenging and ultimately heartbreakingly uplifting and in her character's arc, from young girl to mother, Beck's performance is flawless.

Emmanuel Kojo is probably a new name to most. This young talented actor with a remarkable bass range takes Ol' Man River - one of the biggest songs ever written - and crafts it into an unforgettable performance of utter beauty. Half way into the first act and the audience are in tears. Kojo, who debuted last year in The Scottsboro Boys, is no stranger to suffering the Deep South's cruelty on stage. He imbues the number with an understated pain and a vocal majesty that matches the river's underlying power, in one broad sweep capturing the humiliating misery of back-breaking work "while the white folk play". Kojo is complemented by Sandra Marvin's Queenie. Marvin wows in everything she sings, with a presence and resonance that command our attention.  

Also aboard Evan's steamboat is Rebecca Trehearn as Julie. Trehearn, who stunned last year in City of Angels (a show that also included Marvin) does it again here, with an amazing spin on Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man. She both thrills and fills the Crucible with the song, breaking our hearts in the second half as she stumbles across Magnolia reprising the number. 

And still this show is crammed with gems. Alex Young and Danny Collins are a triple-threat treasure, offering moments of sublimely choreographed comedy as Ellie and Frank Schultz – with Young’s Life Upon the Wicked Stage a particularly delicious entertainment. Allan Corduner is the Cotton Blossom's wise, weary and witty Captain Andy. Together with Lucy Briers as his wife Parthy and who has the roguish measure of Ravenal the moment she sees him, this pair capture the essence of a long lived love.

It's not just the sensational work that Evans coaxes from his company, aided and abetted by Alistair David's inspired choreography. Lez Brotherston's stunning set, all weathered timbers and a fabulously marquee-lit steamboat (even if the paddles should have been set at the vessel's stern!) create a carefully crafted illusion of early 20th century America. That the show is lit by the masterful David Hersey only seals its fidelity.

With the combination of Show Boat’s timeless score (bravo to David White's band) and ingenious staging, it feels as though Evans has created a Hollywood original, as much as re-imagining a Broadway classic. Get to Sheffield before this Show Boat slips its moorings. It's unmissable.

Runs until 23rd January 2016

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Anything Goes - Review

New Wimbledon Theatre, London

*****

Music and lyrics by Cole Porter

Original book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse

New book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman

Directed by Daniel Evans

The company of Anything Goes

The Sheffield Crucible production of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, set aboard the transatlantic liner SS American, slipped its moorings last month to start a country-wide journey. Tying up at the New Wimbledon Theatre for one week only, Daniel Evan's de-lightful show is giving south west Londoners the chance to catch what must surely be one of the finest touring productions in recent years.

Richard Kent’s stage design sets the production amidst lifevests, railings and scrubbed ship’s decks that ingeniously play havoc with our perspective whilst Evans' company, dripping in experience, bring seriously crafted excellence to a show that demands not to be taken too seriously.

Debbie Kurup leads as sultry singer Reno Sweeney. Kurup opens the show with I Get A Kick Out Of You, as her blends strength with smoothness, a deftness that defines this show's unique 1930’s appeal. Responsible for five of the show's biggest numbers, Kurup's dance is sublime throughout, with stunning footwork in the title song, whilst her Blow, Gabriel Blow sizzles with presence and passion.

Billy Crocker is played by the ever talented Matt Rawle. Combining moments of comedy whilst being a focal point to the story's fairy-tale romantic strands, Rawle's performance in voice and timing is impeccable. His emergence into white tie and tails for It's De-Lovely, duetting with Zoe Rainey's Hope Harcourt, brought just a hint of New York's Great White Way to Wimbledon's very own Broadway. Rainey too is perfectly cast, the elegant Irish actress giving a measured poise to one of the story's (rare) straight roles. Her take on Goodbye, Little Dream Goodbye offers an oasis of exquisite calm amidst Anything Goes' madcap mayhem.

The second half of the show, as it descends into silliness, is notable for its sequence of comic cameo solos, with a seam of humour that suggests more than a hint of a rivalry with Noel Coward in Porter's writing. Hugh Sach's portly Moonface Martin, every inch the wannabe Public Enemy Number One delights with his Be Like The Bluebird as Alex Young's promiscuous Erma offers another gem with Buddy, Beware. As is so often the case with Anything Goes however, the biggest laugh of the night is generated by Stephen Matthews' sublimely suspendered British buffoon Lord Oakleigh. Watching Matthews' take on his madcap solo number The Gypsy In Me is to note that musical theatre is rarely so funny whilst remaining so stylish. Simon Rouse and Jane Wymark bring spice to the musical’s septuagenarian love story with comic finesse.

The Crucible have a commitment to fine production values, demonstrated here by Alistair David’s imaginative choreography that has been meticulously drilled, with Nigel Lilley’s dance arrangements that only enhance Porter’s original score. 

Evans has coaxed brilliance from his entire team of company and creatives. With a gloriously Art Deco style and a list of musical numbers that virtually defines the American Songbook, musical theatre does not come better than this.

Runs until 7th February 2015, then continues to tour

Alex Young at the Leicester Square Theatre

Leicester Square Theatre, London

***

Alex Young

The Stephen Sondheim Society presented a sparkling hour of cabaret, where Alex Young gave a selection of the composer’s classic numbers amidst a set list that included other works. 

Wide-eyed and when required, teary-eyed too, Young immersed herself in the delivery of her songs. A talented singer, her mastery of Sondheim's caustically comic style was a treat in You Must Meet My Wife accompanied by Matthew Crowe, with both young singers giving a beautifully nuanced lilt to parts written with considerably older performers in mind. Crowe provided further support adding a finishing touch to Young’s neat take on By The Sea, from Sweeney Todd as well as setting the scene for her enchanting Children And Art from Sunday In The Park With George.

The evening wasn’t entirely Sondheim, with Young giving a refreshing interpretation of Tim Connor’s new writing, Back To School. Too many of her other choices however showed a tendency to resort to smut. Notwithstanding that the (predominantly) silver-haired Sondheim society audience may well have found some of Young’s selection vulgar, this clever singer would do well to remember, particularly with sexual references blatant or subtle, that less is often more.

A nod to Bacharach proved a rare and unexpected treat. In singing Whoever You Are, Young soared gloriously from ballad to belt, whilst her I’ll Never Fall In Love Again was a tender delivery of a tune more often condemned to muzak these days. Throughout, Andrew Smith’s piano accompaniment was assured, with Young’s vocal presence continuing to demonstrate to the Society that she remains a worthy winner of their 2010 Young Performer Of The Year award.