Rehab The Musical - Review

Neon 194, London

****

Music & lyrics by Grant Black and Murray Lachlan Young

Book by Elliot Davis

Directed & choreographed by Gary Lloyd

Oscar Conlon-Morrey

After a premiere on London’s fringe in 2022, Rehab The Musical takes up a brief residence at Neon 194, a nightclub in the heart of the capital.

The show is brilliantly conceived. Drawn from the lived experiences of songwriters Grant Black and Murray Lachlan Young, the musical charts the breadths and depths of addiction, while also throwing a spotlight on the callous and manipulative nature of today’s celebrity culture and the vulnerability of individuals, both humble and famous.

The cast in 2022 were magnificent - here they’re even better with the show having to be one of the finest ensemble pieces around.

Keith Allen still leads as Malcolm Stone the vile (think Max Clifford) villain of the piece. Allen offers  a brilliantly fleshed out caricature that could hardly be played better by anyone else. Mica Paris joins the show as Martha, a rehab counsellor with her vocals proving fabulous in the second half’s Museum Of Loss. 

John Barr and Jodie Steele also return, Barr as tanning-salon addict Barry Bronze and Steele as Beth, Stone’s henchman with a twist and both perform at the top of their game.

Newcomer to the show Oscar Conlon-Morrey steps into the role of the deeply damaged Phil, a man with numerous flaws in his mental health. Conlon-Morrey is magnificent in this most complex of characters, enhanced by his majestic vocal work.

Driving the show’s narrative are Christian Maynard and Maiya Quansah-Breed, respectively Kid Pop, the celeb at the centre of the story and Lucy, the fragile young woman with a troubled past but a strong moral background. Quansah-Breed’s voice is sensational, with her portrayal the more credible of the two. Rebecca Thornhill delivers a modest but flawlessly performed cameo as former Bond-girl Jane. 

Combining humour with pathos, the show resonates with an authentic  message that’s drawn from the writers’ lives. There’s lyrical magic too, not least in the hauntingly beautiful Two Broken People.

Gary Lloyd again directs and choreographs with flair, but his choice of staging in the round is hampered by the venue’s flat performing space, with characters too often either being obscured from view or simply poorly lit. The show merits a West End run on a traditional proscenium stage - Neon194 does not do it justice.

The ingredients however remain for a smash hit production - Rehab The Musical offers a strong credible story, great songs and an outstanding cast.

Runs until 17th February

Photo credit: Mark Senior

Rehab The Musical - Review

Playground Theatre, London

*****

Music & lyrics by Grant Black and Murray Lachlan Young

Book by Elliot Davis

Directed & choreographed by Gary Lloyd

Keith Allen

Rehab is one of those rare finds in the world of new musical theatre writing. A strong story, supporting stunning songs, brilliantly performed and all expertly directed.

In a story that’s drawn from writers Grant Black and Murray Lachlan Young’s personal mental health journeys, Jonny Labey plays Kid Pop, a rock star at the height of fame who gets papped doing a line of coke and is promptly sentenced to 60 days rehab at The Glade. Pop’s journey from denial to recovery is subtly yet brilliantly defined, alongside 3 other patients, with songs defining their respective addictions and flaws that capture a wryness of wit, honesty and humour and which show sensitive perception from both writers and performers.

The Glade of course is a supposedly safe and therapeutic place. Outside the clinic’s confines blows the cruel winds of the paparazzi and the media, with the villain of the piece, PR guru Malcolm Stone wonderfully defined by Keith Allen, delivering what has to be the greatest tribute act to Max Clifford ever. Pop is Stone’s client, with the PR man concocting vile and corrupt manipulations (no spoilers here) to keep his client in the headlines. As part of Stone’s deviousness he recruits Lucy Blake, a young mum who’s down on her luck (played wonderfully by Gloria Onitiri), as a honey-trap, paying her to check herself into The Glade. Onitiri has a magnificent presence and she takes the roof of the Playground with her second act number Museum of Loss

There are moments of musical theatre magic - and literal cheesiness - in the story that evolves, but such is the talent on display that the pathos evoked by the story is both credible and at times, deeply moving.

Supporting the story’s three principals are a cast that seamlessly segue in and out of various roles. John Barr as patient Barry Bronze, a man addicted to tanning is, as always, outstanding.  Phil Sealey as obsessive eater Phil Newman is equally compelling, while slightly more thinly-sketched is Annabel Giles’ Jane Killy. All of these three deliver top-notch musical theatre work, not least in their introductory number At The Glade. There is also a fine turn from Dawn Buckland in two modest cameos, firstly as Phil’s wife, singing the haunting Still Here and later with a comic masterpiece as an oligarch’s wife.

Jodie Steele is another of the evening’s treats as Stone’s assistant Beth. With her number Die At Twenty Seven And You’ll Live Forever, Steele steals the show (almost) with her breathtaking power and passion.

Above all, Rehab displays a bold, brave verve and vigour. With songs that range from first-class duetted balladry in Two Broken People through to the stadium-powered Everyone’s Taking Cocaine, slick lyrics are melded with Gary Lloyd’s pinpoint choreography and precise direction. This is a show that has invested as much in its production values as in its libretto (take a bow designers for set, light and sound Andrew Exeter and Chris Whybrow respectively) with Simon Lee’s 4-piece band, hidden atop the stage, making gorgeous work of the exciting score.

Rehab is destined for a larger future. With its brave narrative, exciting score and a company that define musical theatre excellence, catch it in The Playground for an outstanding night out.

Runs until 17th September

Photo credit: Mark Senior

The Story of Bart - Review

Mirth, Marvel and Maud, London


****

Written and directed by Simon Hanning

On the hottest weekend of the year so far, it says much for the combined talents of John Barr and the much missed Lionel Bart, that Walthamstow’s quirky Mirth, Marvel and Maud venue was sold out to hear Barr’s take on the man who was to become one of England’s most successful composers of the last century.

Simon Hanning’s debut play is a meticulously researched biopic with Barr assuming the role of the songwriter throughout. The evening’s first half charts Bart’s rise from writing songs for Tommy Steele (Little White Bull anyone?) and Cliff Richard (Living Doll) through to the acclaim of the West End, Broadway and Hollywood that was to come from Oliver!

The script is sprinkled with as many songs as anecdotes – who knew for example that Bart could not write music? He would hum out a tune on his kazoo, while his good friend Eric Roberts (who was to score most of the Carry On movies) transcribed the melodies to written manuscript.

Bart’s compositions were (for the most part) inspired and in Barr, whose stage debut aged 12 had been in Cameron Mackintosh’s 1977 revival of Oliver! and who was himself to meet Bart on several occasions, the casting is as inspired too. Barr’s love for Bart’s work is almost tangible and when he dons one of the evening’s many hats, he truly inhabits the man’s persona.

It’s not just a one-man show however. While Barr is virtually onstage from start to finish relating all the narrative, there is sung support from Oli Reynolds as an impressive Cliff Richard, from Sophie Isaacs whose vocal beauty in copying Barbara Windsor was breathtaking and finally from the always excellent Jodie Jacobs who from time to time pops up either covering Judy Garland’s Maggie May or else as a show-stopping Nancy. 

It’s worth noting here that Barbara Windsor who knew Bart well has worked closely with both Barr and Hanning in the show’s development. There is also a further remarkable coincidence - Jodie Jacobs is a cousin of Georgia Brown who in 1960 had created the role of Nancy on the London stage. 

The show’s second half profiles Bart’s decline. The fortune that he’d earned from his 60’s success having been squandered on drugs and partying – with perhaps the most heartbreaking revelation being that, in dire straits, Bart sold the rights to his catalogue royalties to Max Bygraves for a paltry £1,000 with Bygraves soon to sell them on for more than a million. Underlining the tragedy, Barr sings a plaintive Who Will Buy? that strips back the Oliver! classic to reveal a previously hidden pathos and reduces the audience to tears. Barr went on to relate that when Cameron Mackintosh re-staged Oliver! at the London Palladium in 1994, he generously cut Bart in for a share of the show's profits, as an act of sheer kindness. 

Bart also composed the title song for the Bond movie From Russia With Love. Famously recorded by Matt Monroe, there was a truly magical moment in the evening as Barr played the Monroe recording allowing it to seamlessly fade and segue into Barr himself taking over the number with musical director Noam Galperin picking up the melody.

The production wrapped up with a rousing Oliver! sung-along tribute from the full cast with Galperin’s band, who had been on immaculate form throughout, sending the audience on their way with toes tapping.

There is talk of the show taking a limited tour of the UK. Putting it simply - this has to happen. The gig may still be a little rough at the edges but nothing that can’t be sorted.

In the hands of John Barr, The Story of Bart is nothing short of sensational musical theatre.

Peter Pan - A Musical Adventure

Adelphi Theatre, London

****

Music & lyrics by George Stiles & Anthony Drewe

Directed by Jonathan Butterell

Jenna Russell and Evelyn Hoskins

There have been many interpretations of J M Barrie's Peter Pan story but this musical version by George Stiles & Anthony Drewe, with book by Willis Hall, deserves a place of note. The tale of the boy who doesn't want to grow up and the three young Darling children of Bloomsbury he takes on an adventure to Neverland, has a charm which beguiles children and adults alike.

Stiles & Drewe (Honk!, Just So, Betty Blue Eyes) premiered Peter Pan in 1999. This concert version of the full production, imaginatively staged by Jonathan Butterell, worked well, with the actors and singers in front of a full orchestra on stage. Very often in concert productions, the larger group numbers can suffer from their lack of space and set; not so in this case. Astute choreography and spot-on delivery made a highlight of The Lost Boys Gang, a seriously catchy tune performed with gusto by the talented ensemble of Lost Boys.

George Stiles has written some enchanting melodies within a rich score, Never Land and There's Always Tomorrow having a distinctly timeless quality. In the hands of Jenna Russell, the show opened with accomplished vocals in Just Beyond The Stars, Miss Russell giving every phrase meaning; a skill she brings so effortlessly to her work. She imbues Mrs Darling with a warmth and the relationship between her and her husband Mr Darling (Bradley Walsh who also plays Captain Hook) seemed real, setting the tone for the evening. The casting of the three Darling children was spot on. Toby Nash and John McCrae as Michael & John were both funny, with huge spirit and not a hint of wimp about either of them.

However, Evelyn Hoskins as Wendy was a revelation. Her solo, Who Will Mother Me? was a show stopper, delivered beautifully. Miss Hoskins' voice soared within the Adelphi Theatre, her interpretation of the eldest Darling child a delight to watch. 

The cleverness of Anthony Drewe's lyrics is particularly apparent in the pirate songs. Bradley Walsh relished playing Captain Hook, making Murder For a Pirate with a Heart a hilarious musical soliloquy. His closing of Act 1 was terrific. Walsh was admirably supported by pirate crew of imaginative actors, each creating a unique character that you could "see" without them having costume or props. Particular note to Steve Elias and John Barr for their subtle nuances and physical precision that was both captivating and hilarious.

Sheila Hancock added gravitas as the story teller, holding the audience in the palm of her hand at the end of the show when revealing she is, in fact, Wendy, the wide eyed child now older, having lived her life fully, without fear. Peter's break down at this realisation at the close of the show was a satisfying twist to a familiar story.

The eponymous role was played with great energy by Ray Quinn. Quinn's interpretation of Pan was assured but a touch heavy handed at times, lacking innocence. However, his personal charm worked well for what is a tough role.

David Shrubsole conducted with aplomb and the finale, when orchestra, actors, children and choir joined together, a little bit of magic was cast within the Adelphi Theatre.

Guest reviewer: Andy Bee 

My Diamond Dozen - The Best of 2013

The Baz's Diamond Dozen 

My 12 most memorable theatrical moments of 2013, in alphabetical order:



A Class Act starring John Barr
Landor Theatre, London
Dir. Robert McWhir

John Barr broke hearts in this glorious, gut-wrenching snapshot of the life of Ed Kleban, lyricist of A Chorus Line
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/03/a-class-act.html


Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter In Conversation: NT at 50
National Theatre, London

Two legends of Richard Eyre's iconic Guys and Dolls production from 1982, talked about their time at the NT
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/10/national-histories-imelda-staunton-and.html


Little Shop of Horrors
Kings Arms, Manchester
Dir. James Baker

A rare example of cracking fringe theatre to be found outside the usual stamping grounds of London and Edinburgh


Macbeth starring Kenneth Branagh
Manchester International Festival
Dir. Kenneth Branagh & Rob Ashford

Possibly the best Shakespeare staged in recent years. Sublime performances in the most innovative of settings imaginable.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/07/macbeth.html


Piaf starring Frances Ruffelle
Curve, Leicester
Dir. Paul Kerryson

8 times a week, Frances Ruffelle literally became Edith Piaf, telling the singer's story from the gutter to world fame, to broken-ness and death.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/02/piaf.html


Pippin
Music Box Theatre, New York
Dir. Diane Paulus

A jaw-dropping spectacle of stagecraft. Visuals and vocals with no gimmickry, just excellence throughout.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/10/pippin.html


Richard II starring David Tennant
RSC Stratford upon Avon
Dir. Greg Doran

Tennant and Doran grasp this most political of tales, giving a classic chapter of English history a sparkling contemporary relevance.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/10/richard-ii.html


Scott Alan in Concert
O2, London

An evening of revelatory and powerful musical theatre, performed by a stellar gathering, that included Cynthia Erivo......
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/08/scott-alan.html


The Color Purple starring Cynthia Erivo
Menier Chocolate Factory, London
Dir. John Doyle

Bringing this Broadway hit to London, Doyle extracted performances from his cast, Erivo in particular, that breathed life into this harrowing yet ultimately uplifting story.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/09/the-color-purple.html


The Scottsboro Boys
Young Vic Theatre, London
Dir. Susan Stroman

Another acclaimed Broadway work, Stroman gave London yet more harrowing theatre in Kander & Ebb's final collaboration, based upon a tragic miscarriage of justice in the American South.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/12/the-scottsboro-boys.html


Titus Andronicus
RSC Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon
Dir. Michael Fentiman

With a decent budget, fabulous creatives and a talented company, Fentiman skilfully extracted the politics, irony and dark humour of this most violent of Shakespeare's plays.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/06/titus-andronicus.html


West Side Story
NYMT at the Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
Dir. Nikolai Foster

With choreographer Drew McOnie and MD Tom Deering, Foster breathed life into the Bernstein/Sondheim classic using only an empty warehouse, steel containers and a company of astonishingly talented young people.
http://www.jonathanbaz.com/2013/08/west-side-story.html

John Barr - Self Portrait

Crazy Coqs, London

*****

Apparently it's been 5 years since John Barr last performed in cabaret,but judging by his slick and polished turn at the Crazy Coqs, you would think he was riding high, mid-season. Diminutive in stature (he jokingly boasts of being the tallest in his family) and shaven headed, Barr has a stage presence that demands your attention. He hits impossible harmonics and sustains perfectly held notes that go on forever. If Barr's voice was a motorbike it would be a Harley-Davidson, comfortable, beautiful to listen to, a world class standard that is designed to be appreciated and as able to deliver guttural exhilaration as it is to instantly switch to beautifully breezy ballads. 

Any good cabaret set demands a repartee with the audience that reaches out across the "fourth wall". Barr doesn’t just bring that wall down, he demolishes it and with a devilishly cheeky grin and twinkle in his eyes, proceeds to dance upon its rubble throughout the evening. With Fiz Shapur on piano it is clear that these two talented professionals have an innate understanding of each other. When Barr chats too much, Shapur whisperingly suggests that he should "shut up and sing".

It is a gloriously eclectic selection that opens with Starting Here, Starting Now, sweetly defining Barr’s ballad credentials with the Tear Up The Town that follows, a fine display of tone and impact. A reference to his early days at Sylvia Young's theatre school (contemporary alumni Frances Ruffelle and Jenna Russell were in the crowd) was the intro to his fond look back on a childhood Sondheim showcase with Anyone Can Whistle and clearly adoring Streisand, his What About Today is a glorious tribute to the diva. Barr speaks warmly of his brief work with Anthony Newley before offering a fine take on Newley's signature number What Kind Of Fool Am I? and he goes on to close act one with Pippin's Corner Of The Sky, boastfully, brazenly, telling the crowd how proud he is that composer Stephen Schwartz often asks him to sing the number. Having bigged himself up, (hey, if you got it, flaunt it) Shapur leads in with a beautiful arrangement of the song's haunting opening and whilst its lyrics may sometimes be corny, Schwartz's sublime melodies and key changes were simply smashed. Eagles did indeed belong where they can fly, as Barr soared off for a well earned half-time break.

Act two saw some reflective moments on Barr's past loves before a fine interpretation of Nat King Cole's Nature Boy. The little known Mama, A Rainbow from Minnie's Boys gave Barr the chance to pay tribute to his mum Marie in the audience. Summoning her on stage (with an introduction of questionable chivalry, that if he ever went into drag, his mum is what he'd look like) the love between son and mother was a celebration of inspirational tenderness. Whilst some may call the moment cheesy, it's fondness and above all, sincerity was undoubted. Maintaining his commitment to the importance of family, he dedicated John Bucchino's Grateful to his goddaughter (Russell's child) before his pre-encore closer of Self Portrait from Ed Kleban's A Class Act. Barr had given an acclaimed performance as Kleban in that show, earlier this year and his tender rendition of a number that speaks of incredible sadness and realisation made for another sparkling moment.

Judging the man by his company, Barr's packed audience were a blend of family, friends and industry legends. In town for one night only, this show demands an early reprise. John Barr's Self Portrait is a masterpiece.

John Bucchino And Friends

St James Studio, London

****

It says much for the esteem in which John Bucchino is held, that on one of the first beautifully sunny days of London's summer, he was able to virtually pack out the chic (and thankfully air-conditioned) underground venue of the St James Studio, for the first of his two-gigs-in-one-day appearances.

Here in the UK, outside of the showbiz community, only few have heard of Bucchino and that's a shame. The man has a wryly perceptive take on life clearly demonstrated in Phoebe Coupe singing When You're Here, about a relationship that's foundering and it is impossible not to be bowled over by the brilliance of Bucchino's line " it's hard to know where to go next, When there's so much more subtext than text". Coupe practically pouted her way through the song, with a perfect presence and grounding, enabling her to explore the songs sardonic humour with an understated wit, that both left the audience feeling pleasantly un-patronised and also demonstrated an actress who clearly knew her song intimately and was totally at ease with its lyrics.

For a set list of some 20 songs, Bucchino had invited a surprising total of 10 Friends to take the stage to tackle different numbers. Such was the frequency of the changes in singers that the show often felt like a scaled down X Factor, albeit one with rigorously trained performers rather than publicity seeking manufactured wannabes. Producers take note though as herein lies a massive risk: It is human nature to compare and contrast; so when an uber-talented man like John Barr raises or sets “the bar”, he becomes an extremely tough act to follow. Christian Lund’s take on Unexpressed, unimpressed in contrast as he neutered the song of the full richness of its dramatic potential, whilst Belinda Wollaston, another Aussie new in town, sang the heart-rending Temporary beautifully but with a curious stage presence, staring fixedly at the audience that became a distraction from the song’s impact. 10 guests for 20 songs is too many and at this gig, less would definitely have been more.

The afternoon's star turns were Barr, whose If I Say I'm Over You, reduced him together with some of the audience to tears and the accomplished Sophia Ragavelas. Her diminutive frame belying a voice of remarkable power and wit as she scaled the challenges of two numbers from Bucchino's Broadway musical, A Catered Affair. Amelia Cormack shone too, proving herself to be a dab hand on the fiddle.

John Bucchino is a gifted man, who on the handful of occasions  when he sang his own numbers, showed himself as a relaxed and confident performer happy to share some profoundly  personal moments from his life and establish a fabulous rapport with the room. But a venue as smart as St James demands an act that is as thoroughly polished as the postcode. Skye Crawford and Hilary Elk have done a grand job producing the show, but if they had taken a little more care over the quality rather than the quantity of the singers, what was nonetheless a delightful afternoon, might just have been perfect.

A Class Act - Review

Landor Theatre, London

*****

Book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price

Music and lyrics by Edward Kleban

Directed by Robert McWhir

A Class Act at the Landor Theatre is a biography of the lyricist of A Chorus Line, Ed Kleban. Written by Linda Kline and Lonny Price, it charts the life of this talented creative who died tragically young in 1987 of smoking related cancer, via a parcel of songs that he bequeathed to Kline and around which the show’s book has been fashioned.

The show depicts Kleban’s life as almost manic. A gifted composer as well as writer, the story’s history commences in 1958 with his inpatient stay in a mental hospital, in which the fragility of his mental balance is clearly signalled. A Chorus Line was to be his only Broadway hit and this show painfully depicts the torture his soul endured at the lack of recognition afforded his musical compositions. Kleban’s mental anguish combined with his early demise make for harrowing watching, yet in Robert McWhir’s skilled hands, this little-known piece is as uplifting as it is tragic.

That A Class Act is such a glorious evening spent in the theatre, is largely due to the efforts of one man, John Barr. His Kleban is on stage almost throughout and he portrays the flawed but gifted composer with an energy that at times suggests a neuroses fuelled younger Woody Allen (the specs clinch it), albeit divinely voiced. Kleban opens the show with an inspirational number, reprised through both acts, Light On My Feet and his closing song, Self Portrait, that wraps up the chapters of his life is as moving and upsetting as a musical can be.

This is a show in which it is invidious to name individual performers. All of the seven supporting cast are outstanding. Memorable though, Barry Fantoni’s Lehman Engel, a teacher of libretto who Kleban studied under going on to teach alongside, was witty and frank. Sarah Borges’ Sophie, Kleman’s first and deepest love is a performance of beautifully calculated understatement, Erin Cornell’s seductive blonde bombshell Mona is as sensitively overstated at the opposite end of the spectrum, whilst Jane Quinn’s Lucy, in love with Kleban, plays both passion and poignancy in perfect proportion.

The company do not put a foot wrong and under Robbie O Reilly’s cleverly crafted choreography, the Landor’s space is well used and as cleverly lit by Richard Lambert. Only on until April 13, this production is a rare “must see”. It is an example of London’s and the Landor’s talents at their very best.

Runs until April 13th 2013