Funny Girl - Review

Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes


*****


Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Bob Merrill
Book by Isobel Lennart
Revised Book by Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Michael Mayer

Sheridan Smith

Revisiting Funny Girl, now on tour after its tumultuous (but always impressive) London run that had started at the Menier Chocolate Factory, it’s almost impossible to believe how Michael Mayer had managed to stage it in that tiny space south of the river. Now, watching it in a venue several times the size, the touring production looks absolutely fabulous - cast, set and costumes with the show sounding sparkling, new and exuberant.

This timeless, true life, rags-to-riches story of a Jewish Hungarian immigrant’s talented but quirky daughter certainly captivated the midweek full house at Milton Keynes and no doubt will do so on the rest of the tour. Sheridan Smith is vibrant and happy, back on top form and absolutely owning the character of Fanny Brice that she created at the Menier. She was born to play this role!

Opposite her is Chris Peluso who the gods have blessed with a glorious voice and as gorgeous a presence.  Peluso’s Nick Arnstein is a little more serious than Darius Campbell’s London performance and isn't quite (yet) the match for Smith’s on-stage majesty. But these are very early days for this national tour, and there is every likelihood that Peluso will dig just a little deeper to more than rise to the role.

The supporting cast are fabulous with no weak links. There’s fine work (and tap dancing)from Joshua Lay’s ‘disappointed in love’ Eddie. Rachel Izen, Myra Sands and  Zoe Ann Bown are a hoot as Fanny’s mother and her friends, ladies of a certain age delighting in life and gossip. Throughout, the Ziegfeld girls look and sound stunning and alongside the ensemble boys, all dance with style and panache.

Jule Styne’s score sounds tremendous, wonderfully arranged by Alan Willams and superbly orchestrated by Chris Walker. It’s a tribute to the band to see so many of the audience stay and listen to the very end of the play out and deservedly applaud.

Credit too to Smith (and at certain future performances, her famously sensational London understudy Natasha J Barnes too) for having the gumption to go on the road with the show. All too often, a show’s headline stars can tend to drift away come tour-time, replaced by leads who whilst unquestionably excellent, lack star quality. Not so here, where Smith will be toughing out like a trouper. Brava!

Funny Girl on tour is a chance to glimpse the West End’s finest, up close. We’re all people who need people and amidst a marvellous company, Sheridan Smith continues to make this show unmissable.

Runs until 4th March - Then tours. For schedule click here. 

Reviewed by Catherine Françoise

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Liz Robertson - Songs From My Trunk

London Hippodrome, London

***

Liz Robertson

For a solo night, one of musical theatre’s more talented leading ladies Liz Robertson performed in the Matcham Room at London’s Hippodrome. Her show, Songs From My Trunk was a collection of memorable and inspirational numbers that have stayed with the singer since her teens and beyond and for a woman who has professionally found herself restricted to the Julie Andrews soprano range, the gig provided an opportunity to play around with some much loved melodies, hitherto denied her.

Robertson’s sound is exquisite. Her vocal clarity and ability to hold a note is a treat and there was only a hint of a wobble as she tackled The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows. (And to be fair, the song is a veritable Everest of a challenge). Her MD and friend of many years, Chris Walker, had compiled arrangements that were nearly all very easy on the ear and he conducted his three piece band with perceptive precision, subtle bass work and softened percussion giving a very jazzy feel to the evening.

Produced by Black Sapphire who are a welcome if relative newcomer on London’s cabaret scene, Robertson could perhaps have been better served by her producer shaking up the set list. Whilst some of the songs had a spark to their sweet melody, with her Old Black Magic and her second half opener, It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing being particular treats, too many of her anecdotes were anodyne and too many piquant numbers were blandly merged into each other, creating more of a wallpaper of sound that neither singer nor producer would have intended. That her take on Brian Wilson’s Beach Boys classic became seamlessly segued into Art Garfunkel’s I Only Have Eyes For You, did neither song any favours.

As an encore, Miss Robertson gave an uplifting Birth To The Blues that for the first time that evening, got this reviewer’s toes tapping. More of that sensation would have been welcome and if Songs From My Trunk is a noble try-out of a future set, then perhaps an inclusion of one or two of Robertson’s finer career show tunes may just make the night’s sound a little more elevating than elevator. This diva is unquestionably enchanting, she just needs her set to be a little more thrilling. Her London return is eagerly awaited.

Top Hat - Original London Cast Recording - CD Review

****

Music and Lyrics : Irving Berlin

Producer : Chris Walker

This review was first published on The Public Reviews.


The Original London Cast recording of Top Hat Is a delightful recording of a show that has brought a slice of 1930s Hollywood to the West End. Irving Berlin’s words and music proved to be the bedrock of one of the most successful films of that era, and the movie gave the world several musical numbers that have since been immortalised.

As well as songs, the film is famed for its stunning Busby Berkeley choreography and dance routines, with the legendary Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers being a massive act for Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen to follow. Chambers is of course one of the leading dancers of his generation and his casting in the stage show has been an inspired choice. However, on the strength of this CD, with the imagery of the show’s opulence and his own stunning footwork and tap dance stripped away, his voice needs more impact. Tuneful and clear throughout, though with an accent that is at times a little too forced, his numbers lack an “American Smooth”-ness that should be a strength of classics such as Cheek to Cheek along with Top Hat, White Tie and Tails and Putting On The Ritz.

Summer Strallen’s performance transfers effortlessly to the recording, in particular the sublime delivery of her number You’re Easy To Dance With. In a smaller but equally polished performance, the duo of Vivien Parry and Martin Ball sing Outside of That, I Love You with a deliciously sarcastic comic turn.

This 2012 recording is well produced and very easy on the ear. For those that have seen the show, you will love the CD for its aural recreation of the Aldwych Theatre’s magic. If you have not seen the production then the recording , replete with the authentic sound of much of Chamber’s tap work, is a lovingly crafted re-working of a Hollywood classic.

Released by First Night Records