Anything Goes - Review

Barbican 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 and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall

Kerry Ellis and the cast of Anything Goes

It says much for the quality of writing in the 1930s that nearly some 90 years after it opened on Broadway, Anything Goes can still pack a hilariously powerful punch with its heady cocktail of song and script. This is a show that lampoons (harpoons even) much of both British and American cultures and many of today’s emerging writers (with only a few exceptions) would do well to get themselves to the Barbican to see what good musical theatre – book, lyrics and score - really is.

Meanwhile, having completed its UK tour, the SS America returns to tie up in London, offering the capital another chance to wallow in the unabashed joyous glory of Kathleen Marshall’s Anything Goes. The big four names from last year’s outing of this revival are gone – replaced by Kerry Ellis as Reno Sweeney, Simon Callow as Elisha Whitney, Bonnie Langford as Evangeline Harcourt and Denis Lawson as gangster Moonface Martin and for the most part this quartet are excellent.

What also drives this show immeasurably is the featured artistes who have remained onboard from 2021. Samuel Edwards as Billy Crocker, Nicole-Lily Baisden as Hope Harcourt and the deliciously named Haydn Oakley playing Lord Evelyn Oakleigh are all as magnificent now as they were then – with this whole crazy pot-pourri of a show giving rise to one of the most fantastic evenings of entertainment to be found anywhere in town.

The show’s songs and plot are the stuff of legend – this cast however take them to another level. Ellis captures the insouciant brilliance of Sweeney, not just in her perfectly pitched vocals and footwork, but in her delivery of the rapid-fire gags too. Good comedy requires not only a finely tuned script, but split-second delivery and Ellis (and her troupe) truly are the tops.

Callow was born to play crusty aristocrats, not least this Yale-educated captain of industry and he adds comic heft to an already inspired creation. The writers knew how to mock stereotypes and Callow milks every precious moment that he is granted on stage with sublime precision. Callow's singing nor his footwork may not be the best – but the matured genius of his stage presence more than compensates. Bonnie Langford equally has a role that is paper-thin in its perfectly structured two-dimensionality and yet again, every second of her performance is exquisitely on the money.

Baisden is handed the tough role of being almost completely non-comedic – yet she handles the critically important role of Hope flawlessly. Carly Mercedes Dyer as Erma remains an absolute scream, while Oakley’s Oakleigh is truly one of the most inspired comic turns around. Even if you’ve seen the show countless times before, this iteration will have you moist-eyed with its whip-sharp delivery. And then there’s the dancing - Ellis leads her company through a demanding range of numbers with none surpassing the title number that closes the first act and which seems, breathtakingly, to go on forever.

For a production built for the road the sets are ingeniously lavish as doors and decks slide away, revealing the ship’s cabin interiors. Derek McLane’s designs enhanced by Hugh Vanstone’s lighting plots are simply top-notch. In the pit Mark Aspinall makes de-lovely work of Porter’s score, his 16-piece band delivering a lavish sound.

This production stunned London in 2021 as the city was beginning to emerge from the pandemic and one year on, its return is equally welcomed. In a song and dance show that is drilled to perfection, this is musical theatre at its glorious, frivolous finest.

Runs until 3rd September

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

Golden Days - Review

****

Released this week, Golden Days marks another delicious collaboration of queen and Queen as Kerry Ellis, arguably the finest musical theatre performer of her generation, combines with Brian May (he, famously, of the eponymous rock band) to release their latest collection latter-day classics covered, as ever, with a startling originality.

Ellis' voice has an ethereal timbre that for some years now has been found to sit oh so smoothly alongside May's virtuoso work on the guitar. This album only seals the quality of this inspired partnership. In a range of songs that spans decades, Ellis and May's selection is unconventional. Opening with Amazing Grace, Ellis imbues the hymn with with an unexpected divinity thats deftly picked out by May's fine fingerwork. 

The title track references a cover of Golden Days first recorded by the late Minako Honda. May has some history with the number and together with Ellis, offers up an enchanting take on this unfamiliar song steeped, in a tribute to Honda, in a richly Japanese style. 

The pair have a fine recent history working with Don Black compositions, giving Black's numbers a typically inspiring re-interpretation. For this album they've chosen his Oscar-winning title song from the 1966 movie Born Free and again Ellis offers up a take on the tune that is as reflective of the African landscape as could possibly have been imagined. John Barry may not have imagined the symphonic vista of his melody being given such a mellow-rock treatment - but such is the finesse of Ellis and May's craft that the song sounds as if it had been originally penned with them in mind.

There's an ambitious leap in tackling Gary Moore's Parisienne Walkways. Connoisseurs of fine guitar work (both of the electric and, ahem, the air varieties) rank the number high in the Pantheon of hits, and to hear May magnificently maraud through Moore's masterpiece is nothing short of wonderful. Ellis' take on the lyrics is of course flawless, though it remains a matter of taste as to whether Moore's gritty original is enhanced by Ellis' filigree (albeit one of understated power) treatment.

In an enchanting nod to Rodgers and Hammerstein, one discovers Carousel's  If I Loved You. The song is one of Broadway's most carefully created crafted, coming close to defining the human condition as it moves, relentlessly, through subtly piquant key changes. Ellis and May treat the song with the respect of the gifted craftspeople that they are - and the result is like stumbling across a newly cut diamond that has been fashioned and re-worked from a beautiful original.

From Queen to The King - there's some Elvis here too, as the pair take on Cant Help Falling In Love, May offering up a gorgeous acoustic treatment.

Comprising 13 tracks in all, with Golden Days Kerry Ellis and Brian May have, yet again, created beautiful music. Add it to your collectio.


Available to download from Amazon, iTunes and available from usual retailers

Murder Ballad - Review

Arts Theatre, London


****


Conceived by and with book and lyrics by Julia Jordan
Music and lyrics by Juliana Nash
Directed by Sam Yates

Read my interview with Kerry Ellis and Norman Bowman here

Kerry Ellis, Ramin Karimloo, Norman Bowman

In yet another example of exciting new writing to appear in London, Murder Ballad opens at the Arts Theatre following its original a brief run off-Broadway. This first collaboration between Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash sees the show’s female writers choose the classical plot structure of a high octane love triangle and a woman torn between two men, with Jordan and Nash proving that that sometimes; the oldest storylines can still be the best.

Notwithstanding its title, the work avoids a feast of all too common self-indulgent balladry, plumping instead for a heavily rock based score full of exciting guitar riffs, punctuated by a pulsating percussive undertone with Sean Green's band doing a fine job throughout the sung-through show.

Set in modern day New York, Sara's passionate relationship with the gorgeously masculine and muscular Tom ends suddenly. Rebounding into the loving, caring arms of Michael who's educated, compassionate and everything that Tom isn't, their love develops into marriage and parenthood. A chance encounter years later between Sara and Tom sees a mutually lustful desire fatally re-ignited.

What sets this show apart from most other emerging productions is its casting. Of the four lead roles, two are filled by actors more used to headlining casts in multi-million pound West End or Broadway productions, rather than the more intimate environs of the modestly budgeted Arts.

Kerry Ellis is Sara, playing a role that she herself has described as being a woman who’s "a rock star in a mother's body". Very much an everywoman (and so much more so than cinema's saccharine Bridget Jones currently swamping the multiplexes) Ellis nails Sara's complex emotions, juggling her primal lustful yearnings for Tom's passion against the betrayal of the family that she’s built. Magnificent in both voice and presence and under the scrutiny of the venue's compact space, Ellis delivers a knockout performance.

The source of her understandably weak-kneed desire is Ramin Karimloo's Tom. Spending much of the gig shirtless, the ripped Karimloo demonstrates that the inked body art he sports on his left arm is as impressive as his renowned musical theatre ability. In a gender-reversed definition of pure theatrical Viagra, he brings a ravishing guttural energy to his performance. If Ellis is an everywoman on stage, then Karimloo is for (nearly) every woman in the audience.

It's a tough gig to be cast against Ramin's ramming, rampant potency, but Norman Bowman's Michael rises to the occasion magnificently. His love for Sara is sincerely played out and Bowman who with as much Shakespeare as musical theatre to his recent credit, must surely be ranked as one of our finer performers. His character, a kindly homemaker is not the easiest to portray with an engaging sympathy, but as ever, Bowman pulls it off with charm and flair. 

Completing the quartet of leads, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt takes on the chameleon-esque role of Narrator, guiding the narrative as it plays out across Manhattan. As ever beautifully voiced, Hamilton-Barritt offers her own seductive charm to the evening as the doomed denouement looms.

Sam Yates directs intelligently with a clever use of simple revolves and ingenious projections to transport us through time and place.

Shows this sassy don’t come along that often. Poignant, punchy and perfectly performed, Murder Ballad drips with desire.  

Runs until 3rd December
Photo credit: Marc Brenner

Kerry Ellis and Norman Bowman talk about Murder Ballad

As Murder Ballad opens at the Arts Theatre, I with spoke two of its quartet of performers, Kerry Ellis and Norman Bowman to learn a little more about the show.

Update - You can read my review of Murder Ballad here

JB: Kerry, tell me about the show.

KE: It's a very intimate show, it's a four-hander with, obviously, Ramin, Norman, Victoria and myself. It's at the Arts Theatre, with the lovely Sam Yates directing us.

Murder Ballad has only been performed once before and that was off-Broadway, so it's a very new thing. It's got a bit of rock music in, a bit of country, a bit of musical theatre. It is completely sung through, it deals with real people's situations and, obviously, there's a murder, but I'm not going to tell you who did it!

NB: Kerry pretty much summed it up quite well. It's funny because I've been describing it exactly the same way, as kind of a rock, country piece based on, I think, a very traditional principle of a love triangle. I'm very excited, it's a stellar cast and I just think it's wonderful. 

JB: Tell me about your respective characters, to the extent that you are able to. Norman, I'll start with you. 

NB: I play Michael and I keep wanting to say he's the sensible one of the story in some respects.

If people have any knowledge of those kinds of relationships that a woman will sometimes go for the dark, edgy character, the bad boy, for a thrill, and sometimes the sensible guy for marriage. It's a bit like that game, "sleep with, marry, or murder” I think Michael is the one that you would end up marrying. I guess he wants to be a bit edgier in places, maybe that's why he falls for Kerry's character like he does, because everybody likes a bad girl too.

JB: And Kerry, what about your character Sara?

KE: I guess in a way she’s quite typical. She has a relationship in her younger years and then that kind of breaks down and she moves on and meets Michael and they have their relationship. She talks through having a child and all of that, and then things go wrong, dealing with all of that too.

She's a little bit dangerous, I guess. She had dreams when she was younger to be a rock star and that didn't work out, so I think when she becomes a mother and gets into that routine lifestyle, she craves a bit of that youth and excitement, to be a rock star again. 

I think she's a bit of a rock star in a mother's body! Something I can relate to a little bit!

JB: Who is the show going to appeal to?

NB: Anybody interested in relatively new musical theatre. This is such an unknown quantity to a lot of people. I think that the advertising campaign is great. I think it's been very clever, very catchy. 

KE: I think what's interesting, for me especially, is just that it's so raw and intimate that it's quite exposing. For me, I'm kind of used to doing big, glitzy musical theatre. Costumes, lights, sound, all that kind of showy stuff. This is very raw. It's four regular people telling their story and it's very close. 

NB: It's bringing more of the fringe values into town. 

JB: Norman, what do you mean by "fringe" values?

NB: Fringe values, for me, first of all, they always tend to be a bit more bite sized. They're about shows that are not there for the duration, to run for years and years. They have a known shelf life and I think, as a result of that, something else is given to those productions. 

I know, of course, at the end of the day, it's a business and people still need to make their money back, but a fringe show is not always about the money. It's about putting something on; from beginning to end that is something for the audience. I think it represents great value for money, to be honest.

I know that if you go and see something like Wicked and you pay top dollar for it, you're helping to fund a big production that’s got enormous running costs. When you bring all of the running costs down and you go into something as intimate as the Arts, it can say more about the content that you're going to see, rather than lavish production values.

JB: The show's already extended before it opened, which is good news. Was that something you were expecting to happen?

NB: I wasn't surprised, knowing that Kerry and Ramin were attached to it. I don't mean that as a disservice to either myself or Vic, because we both have worked solidly for a long period of time, but if you're looking to bring audiences in then you need people with that extraordinary profile. 

 

JB: Kerry?

KE: I'm blushing now. Thank you, Norman, that was very kind of you.

NB: It's very true.

KE: Likewise, I think what attracted me to it was the fact that it's an incredible cast. We all come from slightly different areas and that's what's exciting, for me especially.

JB:   Kerry and Norman, thank you both and break a leg with the show!

Murder Ballad plays at London's Arts Theatre until 3rd December 2016

Don Black In Conversation - Pt 1: Cabaret

Don Black

The London Festival of Cabaret opens this week and runs for a fortnight across the city. Featuring a line-up from both sides of the Atlantic you can expect legendary names getting up close to a microphone, singing songs that they love (and may also have composed) and reaching out beyond the spotlight to share stories with an audience.

Unlike a staged musical the atmosphere couldn’t be more relaxed – and over a cocktail or glass of wine, maybe with a bite to eat too, listening to an inspirational performer either singing beautifully or sharing a sparkling anecdote makes for a charming evening.

As the final preparations were being drawn up for Tuesday’s opening night, I caught up with Festival Patron and Oscar-winning lyricist Don Black to talk about his love for the art-form.

JB:    Don, what drew you to supporting the Festival? 

DB:    I've always, for as long as I can remember, loved cabaret. When I was managing Matt Monroe, all those years ago, I used to go to those northern clubs and cabaret clubs which were rife in the '60's. Places like Talk of the Town, I used to love the atmosphere. 

When I started going to America a lot, I used go to all the cabaret places in New York. Lots of things drew me to these places.

You would get singers there who sang the different songs, special material, witty songs. Songs you hear very often. No one in cabaret sings My Way or those out and out popular songs. You get some very, very interesting and intriguing artists.

In New York I used to go and see a guy named Oscar Brown Jr., wherever he appeared. In fact I was discussing him only the other day with Van Morrison, who is a huge fan of his, so is Paul Jones, and many people.

I used to go and see Matt Dennis who wrote great songs like Angel Eyes and Let's Get Away From It All. 

I just like that closeness, the intimacy of the cabaret room. I'm delighted that so much is going on in London, in cabaret. I go to the Crazy Coqs quite often along with the St. James and I go to The Pheasantry too. The other night at The Pheasantry I saw Charles Strouse, the man who wrote Annie and Bye Bye Birdie. Now, you tell me where you can go see a guy, nearly 87 years old, talking for 2 hours and sharing anecdotes about Jule Styne and Hal Prince singing his songs?

Also, I really like the idea of them not being great singers! I like watching the song writers, like Strouse, who's not a great piano player, not a great singer. You get so much heart and so much emotion in those couple of hours. It's a different kind of evening. Cabaret really is a great love of mine. 

I recently saw Anne Reid at the Crazy Coqs. Now Anne is a great example of someone and she won't mind me saying this, who really is not a great singer. But she's a great actress, and therefore a great story-teller. 

JB:    What are your thoughts on the younger cabaret artistes, as compared to those who do cabaret on the back of longer established careers? 

DB:    What you get from young artists, that you may not get from the older people, is new material. You do get the younger people, they'll find a song from a failed musical. You think, "Oh isn't that beautiful." They can be full of surprises.

But of course the more seasoned a performer is, the more they've got more to draw on and of course you can feel for them too. You are close up. So when you see a person in their 60's and 70's singing a song about years gone by or missed opportunities, you cannot help but be moved. It is very touching when you see Anne Reid, who's I don't know nearly 80 now, singing a Barbara Cook song. You get the goosebumps. And as I said about Charles Strouse, when he went into The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow, I mean, god almighty it was phenomenal!

I saw Mitch Winehouse at the Hippodrome a few weeks ago, Amy’s dad. He really put through with about a 12 piece orchestra, and he was terrific. So interesting and of course lots of anecdotes about Amy. It was very personal and also very touching. 

JB:    So – is it about the songs or the story-telling?

DB:    Being a lyric writer I've always gone for the story teller. It's interesting because Tony Bennett's favourite singer and he’s often said this and it says a lot, is Louis Armstrong. Sinatra's favourite singer was Fred Astaire. These people aren't known for singing but they are known for storytelling. You hang on every word when these people sing. That's what I like about cabaret, you don't have to be the greatest singer, but you just have to get your story across. That's why with people like Lorna Luft, you hang on every comma. 

JB: Don, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, and enjoy the Festival!

Aside from cabaret, Don also spoke at length about his song-writing career and part 2 of this fascinating conversation will be published shortly.

The London Festival Of Cabaret – Celebrating Song opens on 28th April and continues at venues across the capital until 11th May. Confirmed artists appearing include Kerry Ellis, Barb Jungr, Janie Dee and Scott Alan (amongst many others) and you can also watch some of today’s younger stars such as Jamie Parker and Caroline Sheen branching out onto the capital’s cabaret circuit. 

www.londonfestivalofcabaret.com

www.londonfestivalofcabaret.com/diary/

I Know I Mustn't Fall Into The Pit - Backstage With Anthony Gabriele and the Cats' Orchestra

At nearly every musical, after the cast have taken their final bow and as the audience start filing out onto the street, the band will typically play a minute or so of exit music, almost the opposite of an overture, before they too sign off for the night. I try to make a point of staying in the auditorium until that number is over, by which time often more than half the crowd will have left, so as to applaud the band (and at that moment in time, only the band) for the usually top-notch contribution that they will have made to the evening’s entertainment. 

So I was delighted when on having mentioned to my friend Anthony Gabriele, currently the musical director (MD) of Cats at the London Palladium, of my curiosity to see inside the orchestra pit during a big West End show, that he graciously invited me to sit in for a performance. Meeting me at the stage door, he showed me down to the pit and as we made our way through the clowder of feline-costumed actors having their radio mikes checked, I felt suitably humiliated surrounded by such talented and athletic performers each of whom could probably summon up more fitness in their little finger than I could muster at all!

A good musical production is a akin to a 3-legged stool. The cast, the creative team and the orchestra make it a success and if you take away any one of those legs, the show flounders. Traditionally a show’s pit is located sunken and to the front of the stage, where the audience’s typical view is of the conductor’s head and whirling baton just visible, allowing him eye contact with both stage and band. The staging of Cats is such that there is no room for such a luxurious, standard location and instead the musicians are located completely out of sight beneath the stage in a virtual musical dungeon. TV monitors allow Gabriele to see the action up top, whilst the usual screens fixed to the front of the dress circle (carefully located out of audience sightlines) allow the performers to clock the conductor.

Like a train formed of an engine and its carriages, (and for that read the orchestra and the cast – and I daren’t say as to who is the engine!) it is the MD who not only drives the train but more importantly, couples those units into one. He or she must be strong enough to hold the train together, yet flexible enough to allow bumps along the track to be absorbed into a smooth journey that neither de-rail nor delay the train and which 99 times out of a hundred, will not even be noticed by the paying passengers enjoying the journey.

Anthony Gabriele, Kerry Ellis and Jonathan Baz

Stopping off en-route to the pit to say a quick hello to the lovely Kerry Ellis, starring as the show’s Grizabella, I was then sat close to Gabriele (but out of the way), in front of his 8 musicians and issued headphones (cans) to listen to the voices that would be coming from afar. 

Out of sight, the dress code is a casual mix of jeans, trainers and t-shirts, but this is an appearance that couldn’t be more deceptive. As the overture starts it is clear that these men can play tunes, known the world over, to a world class standard. My phone was safely set to flight mode and with baton raised, maestro Gabriele got the show underway.

Andrew Lloyd Webber began composing Cats in the 1970’s and there is a strong synthesised/ keyboards bias to his compositions. Gabriele’s band comprise 3 keyboard players, 2 people on reeds, a drummer, a guitarist and a bass player.

The Cats pit has some clever touches. An array of speakers feed the keyboards’ electronic output (already being channelled directly to the show’s sound desk) into the room, to blend with the acoustic sounds of the traditional instruments. Microphones suspended from the ceiling pick up this ambient melding of the sounds, providing a further layer of texture to the finished product that the sound team put out to the audience. It has proved to be a gorgeous enhancement of the melodies.

Paul Slater, Tom Clare and Ben Kennedy (note the arrayed speakers)

It takes a MD of considerable talent to connect with performers located elsewhere in the building but the youthful Gabriele is amongst the very best of the bunch. The man knows the show intimately along with many more besides. Indeed, it was a surprise during the interval to find him helping Joseph Poulton (Mistoffelees in the show), with the tongue-twisting Zulu lyrics from The Lion King's Circle Of Life opener, before the actor transfers there when Cats closes at the end of April. Gabriele has MD'd that show too.

A musical that is either sung or danced through completely, there is barely a moment in Cats that is music-free, and whilst the headphones proved a useful assistance in following the action on stage, there were times when I just took them off and listened in amazement to the talent manifest around me.

What struck me on the night observing the 8 musicians was the passion and commitment writ on their faces as they delivered the classic score, along with an immense sense of welcoming camaraderie shown to the two deputising musicians (“deps”) who were in on the night, covering for absent regulars.

In no particular order and amidst a sea of excellence, memorable moments were the relaxed banter amidst the keyboard players, the gorgeous double-bass work during Growltiger’s Last Stand with a deliciously jazzy syncopation throughout the number. There was a “funk-rock” sound to Mr. Misstofelees that included moments of percussive wonder from the drummer, (I was amazed to see and hear played, up close and for the first time, the enchanting glissando of a mark tree) whilst the brash big-band sound of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer was a delight and of course the overall orchestral splendour of the Jellicle Ball helped explain why, for so long, this show had been the longest running hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Cans were slipped back on to hear Kerry Ellis smash the line “Touch me..” from Memory, proving that even through a headset and on a black and white monitor, her performance is still nothing short of sensational – though as the song played out I took the cans off to luxuriate in these 8 musicians generating what has become one of the most broadcast and beloved songs in the canon in recent years.

Gabriele brings the show to a close - in the background Howard McGill, Dan Czwartos and Darren Lord

The musicians who welcomed me on the night were:

Keyboard 1: Paul Slater 

Keyboard 2: Darren Lord (depping for Assistant Musical Director: Tim Davies) 

Keyboard 3/Deputy Conductor: Ben Kennedy

Electric Guitar/Acoustic Guitar: Nick Rees 

Electric Bass/Double Bass: Nathan Finn 

Drums/Percussion: Tom Clare 

Woodwind 1 - Flute/Piccolo/Clarinet/Tenor Saxophone: Howard McGill (depping for Gavin Tate-Lovery)

Woodwind 2 - Clarinet/Soprano Saxophone/Baritone Saxophone: Dan Czwartos

Gentlemen, thank you all. It was a night I shall never forget.


Orchestral Management: Stephen Hill for Musicians UK Ltd.

Cats - Review

London Palladium, London

*****

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Based on 'Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats by T.S.Eliot

Directed by Trevor Nunn

Kerry Ellis

Back in 1981 Cats re-wrote the rule book of musical theatre. Not just for being the first show immediately recognisable by an image that was to become an iconic brand (those flaming cats eyes with their dancers for pupils - shrewd work, producer Cameron Mackintosh), but for being one of the first through-danced musicals, a concept never before tackled in England. Cats' plot (if there is one) is implausible. Rather, it took the genius vision of a young Lloyd Webber to set this quirky anthology of Eliot verse to music. The rest is theatre history as the show went on to smash box-office records on both sides of the Atlantic.

That Cats in 2015 works at all is down to the show's (now pensioner) creatives and an exceptional cast. Disbelief is quickly suspended and in a production that eschews masks and puppets, the feline transformation is achieved solely through the human skills of the companys' voices, movement and facial expression. At all times the audience can see that these are just people, albeit gloriously costumed and made up, but people nonetheless who with catlike tread and stunning choreography achieve a fabulous illusion. 

Eliot's words are marvellously crafted. They truly don't write 'em like that anymore and his 1930's gems are just steeped in Bloomsbury and a time when trains had First and Third Class carriages, a magical glimpse into an England past. No other writer other than perhaps Matilda's Tim Minchin displays the maverick and eccentric yet profoundly perceptive wit that Eliot masters. Andrew Lloyd Webber's score, played under the experienced baton of Anthony Gabriele and ranging from the haunting minor key harmonics of the Jellicles’ motif, through to the torch-song triumph that is Memory, has evolved into a modern classic.

Legendary choreographer Gillian Lynne neatly re-works her original routines to accommodate the Palladium’s traditional proscenium setting, with modern day dance maestro Bill Deamer adding his talent to staging the coolly jazz-themed Gumbie Cat tap number. John Napier's design has similarly been tailored yet still remains a fairytale setting (beautifully lit) of over-sized trash. (The eagle eyed in the audience will spot that the bashed up car’s number plate has been updated to NAP 70, Napier’s age when the show re-opened last year.)

But Cats, then and forever, has always been about the actors. As well as some fresh young talent, many feline-hardened veterans from the show’s various former and touring productions have been press ganged into service at the Palladium. Excellence is everywhere, but particularly memorable amongst the cattery are Benjamin Yates’ Mungojerrie, who delivers impossible athleticism with an almost Russell Brand styled insouciance whilst Joseph Poulton’s Mistoffeles and Ross Finnie’s Skimbleshanks are both visual delights. (That junk-yard train gets me every time.) A nod too to Callum Train’s Munkustrap who virtually MC’s the show with a breathtaking agility and of course few West End musicals are complete these days without a Strallen. Zizi’s Demeter duly and demurely delivers.

It is however Kerry Ellis’ name that tops the bill at the London Palladium and with good reason. Her poise as faded galmour-puss Grizabella is as poignant as it is perfect. Where the rest of the cast are shod in dance shoes Ellis, fur all mangy, is forced to totter around the stage in impossibly tawdry heels, defining Grizabella's tragedy in poise and presence. And then she sings.

On its own, Memory is one of Lloyd Webber’s biggest selling singles and much like Grizabella herself, it’s a tart of a song that everyone over the last thirty years as had a piece of. The audience knows it, loves it and their expectations as Ellis, along with Natasha Mould’s Jemima tackles the opening bars, are sky high. Ellis doesn’t just meet those expectations however – she smashes them. And as her Grizabella desperately pleads for affection with the shockingly simple words “Touch me”, this queen of London’s musical theatre quite simply takes the Palladium’s roof off. The moment is electrifying and unforgettable. It has been far too long since the West End was last treated to an 11 o’clock number of such jaw-dropping magnificence.

There is no more to add. As world class musical theatre Cats, with Kerry Ellis, is un-missable.

Now booking until 25th April 2015

Scott Alan Greatest Hits Volume One - Review

****

In the run-up to Thanksgiving and Christmas, Scott Alan has released Volume One of his Greatest Hits. Whether you are a newcomer to the work of this talented New Yorker or a devoted fan, there is something for everyone in this 19 track pot-pourri, including a heartfelt couples of pages of liner notes from none other than our very own uber-critic Mark Shenton, a close friend of the composer.

Such is Alan’s respect amongst the performing community, that as with his live gigs, the cream of both Broadway and the West End are credited on the album. He includes a coven of former trans-Atlantic  Elphaba’s  (I counted five but am happy to be corrected) – and indeed it was Kerry Ellis singing Never Neverland (Fly Away) at London’s Pheasantry a couple of years ago that introduced me to Alan’s work. This time round it is Stephanie J. Block who gorgeously frames this paean to childhood, whilst Ellis’ Behind These Walls proves again why she is one of the UK’s leading musical theatre leading ladies.

Several tracks are a nod to Alan’s stage musical Home, that a London audience was treated to a full chamber performance of last year. Shoshana Bean’s take on the title number Home is as gorgeous a performance as you will ever hear from this woman, whilst Liz Callaway’s Goodnight perfectly captures the tragic poignancy of the show’s endgame. Other treats amongst the tracks are Willemijn Verkaik’s magnificent Watch Me Soar, whilst Brit boys Hadley Fraser, Oliver Tompsett and Stuart Matthew Price also make listening to the album a joy.

Within this set of Greatest Hits is perhaps one of the greatest recordings of recent years with Alan being never bettered than when he writes from experience. Inspirational in his publicly declared battles with depression, his Anything Worth Holding To, sung here by Cynthia Erivo, probably the UK’s brightest emerging musical theatre star and in a version arranged by Ryan Martin, is just heartbreakingly sublime.

To be fair, there is much upbeat fun recorded too. Eden Espinosa’s I’m a Star is a witty look at today’s oft-seen desperation for fame, with Espinosa giving just the right amount of punch to Alan’s pithy perceptions. 

The album makes for either an ideal gift or a personal treat and with Alan having re-arranged and orchestrated many of his numbers anew and with all pre-existing recordings being re-engineered for the occasion, this collection is much more than a cynical bundling of work to stack the aisles and the download servers ahead of the festive season. Go buy Scott Alan's Greatest Hits. The album may make you laugh and cry. It will certainly make you smile and think.

Available from Amazon and iTunes

Kerry Ellis At The Pheasantry

The Pheasantry, London

****

Almost a year since her last residency at The Pheasantry, Kerry Ellis, the musical theatre queen of her generation returned to the Kings Road for a three night stint. A packed venue sat adoringly as Ellis worked her way through a set list of classic film and showtunes, with just a sprinkling of Queen and paying particular homage to writers Don Black and Stephen Schwartz.

In recent years Ellis has famously worked closely with Brian May, who has fashioned an astounding harmony of her voice with his talent on guitar. But the intimacy of a cabaret venue demands a different arrangement and Ellis’ long time collaborator on piano and keyboards. Craig Adams has crafted some new takes on old favourites, that were masterfully played on the night by the man himself.

A medley of classic Bond numbers opened the show and in the Oscars weekend, Ellis' neat take on Adele's 2013 winner Skyfall set the tone for a collection of songs that was too have a gorgeously distinctive fidelity. Black's song cycle Tell Me On A Sunday furnished Ellis with a handful of numbers that gave rise to a refreshing moment and amidst that show’s current return to the West End, provided a long yearned for opportunity to hear the songs sung by a woman who is at round about the approximate age that they were written for. Her nods to Wicked were a magically mellow take on Defying Gravity along with I’m Not That Girl, the blockbuster show’s exquisite torch song.

Miss Ellis has been out crowd-funding to raise funds for a video production and one of the opportunities up for grabs had been the chance to sing live with the diva. Flame haired student Megan Yates had bid for this particular evening's slot and the 20 year old cut a fine impression duetting with Ellis and singing In His Eyes, a rarely heard number from Leslie Bricusse and Wildhorn’s Jekyll And Hyde.

With a career that has amassed plenty of anecdotal moments, her banter through the night hit the perfect tone. Sometimes revealing, always respectful and throughout, offering her audience a glimpse into the string of West End smash hits that have come to feature her name up on the marquee. 

Encoring with Alfie, touchingly devoted to her four month old, (who had of course graced this same stage last year, albeit in utero) her enchanting take on the Bacharach/David number was loaded with love for her son. A glorious evening of warmly familiar classics, sung to perfection.

An Evening of Gershwin

Kenwood House, London

****

Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra

Conductor - Jae Alexander

An afternoon of Gershwin, in the glorious grounds of Kenwood House, on a balmy late summer’s afternoon, gave a whole new meaning to "Sunday in the park with George". The last in the 2013 series of the Live By The Lake concerts got underway at the altogether rather civilised time of 5pm with the event having a strangely grand but nonetheless traditional feel of sitting in front of a rather sumptuous bandstand.

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra returned to the stage for the occasion with Jae Alexander conducting. Alexander had already amassed years of Gershwin experience from the pit of the Prince Edward Theatre’s Crazy For You run, but with the orchestral magnificence of the Kenwood sound dwarfing even the finest West End show band, he can rarely have conducted such a musically magnificent take on the New York composer's work.

The afternoon’s cast were magnificent. Gina Beck taking time out from her Glinda’s Wicked swansong was a soprano delight with The Man I Love and defined the afternoon’s Gershwin credentials with a sublime Summertime in the second half.

Kerry Ellis, who with We Will Rock You’s Meat and Wicked’s Elphaba performed on both sides of the Atlantic to her credit, must surely be West End royalty, gave the classic Someone To Watch Over Me an absolutely sparkling treatment, having already warmed up with one of the most bittersweet numbers written, But Not For Me.

David Bardsley provided some fabulous baritone work with A Foggy Day In London Town being appropriate for the location (if not the delightful weather).

Michael Ball, billed as the show’s star, was conspicuously absent through much of the first half until that set’s closing number. Walking modestly onto the stage, as Alexander struck up the band, so Ball eased himself into Strike Up The Band, re-imagining the song with soul and sensitivity in a delivery that was simply spine-tingling. The audience who had been baying for his arrival were swiftly placated and as the number played out, the cheers from the crowd as they headed off for a tea and champagne break were rousing.

The second half featured Ball extensively, including a delightful duet with Ellis who gave perhaps the most enchanting corpse ever. Embraceable You had been carefully planned and rehearsed by the pair, yet Ellis, heavily pregnant so therefore of course forgiveable for any vocal wanderings that she may commit, collapsed into infectious laughter and just giggled her way through Ball’s having to turn the prepared two-hander into a solo. It was all rather lovely.

Highspot of the half though was Viv McLean’s Rhapsody In Blue. For one to be able to lie back on the Kenwood lawns, bubbly in hand, gaze at the skies and listen to this man’s virtuoso take on one of the most glorious piano compositions of the 20th century canon, was nothing short of a fine and rare privilege. 

Bravo to Rouge Events who have had the vision and tenacity to negotiate with Kenwood’s neighbours and re-instate these concerts as a fixture of London’s calendar. Here’s to the 2014 season and their beautiful contribution to the capital’s Summertime.

Kerry Ellis talks of Gershwin, Scott Alan and legends

This weekend sees Kerry Ellis take to the stage at London’s Kenwood House, for an open-air evening of music celebrating the work of George Gershwin. She found time to talk briefly about the legendary New York composer, as well as the city's more contemporary Scott Alan. We also talked about the legends that have influenced her in recent years, Queen's Brian May and the Royal Air Force's very own world class display team, The Red Arrows...

What was it that attracted you to doing an evening of Gershwin?

I have always enjoyed performing at outdoor summer events and the opportunity to sing some of these fabulous songs backed by a full orchestra was just too good to refuse. The rehearsals (in a line up hosted by Michael Ball and which includes Gina Beck) have been amazing and it’s a combination of fabulous songs sung by some amazing voices.

Tell me more about performing with Michael Ball.

Michael is the ultimate showbiz person. Kind and generous, yet always professional. I have known him for years, have been a guest on his show and we’ve been at the Oliviers together, yet we have never actually performed together on stage. This is a first and I am loving the experience.

What Gershwin songs are your favourite?

Summertime, which will be sung by Gina Beck, is probably my favourite song, but another number which I love is Embraceable You, that I am so looking forward to doing as a duet with Michael.

With you as a legendary Elphaba and Gina Beck currently appearing as Glinda, is there likely to be any sort of a Wicked feel to the evening?

Not exactly. The eras and musical styles are so far apart that there is not much room for a crossover, but its an interesting thought that Gershwin, who was writing words and music in the 20s and 30s may have had some modest influence upon Stephen Schwartz, who composed so much in the latter half of the 20th century. 

Whilst many people will know you from Wicked or We Will Rock You, I was first drawn to your talent at the Royal Albert Hall's 2010 Festival of Remembrance  when you sang Chess' Anthem, accompanied by Dr Brian May on guitar. Tell me more about that performance.

That Festival, on the night before Remembrance Sunday, was one of the most memorable moments of my career and I think it will stay with me forever. The enormous emotion and significance of the occasion, combined with the power of the song and Brian’s guitar work made for an unforgettable occasion.

That evening was to precede the launch of my Anthems album which we were to take on tour and marked 8 years of Brian and I having worked together. Only recently we performed our Acoustic By Candlelight tour and where once this legendary rock guitarist of frankly iconic status had been my mentor, we have now become professional partners.

I had the privilege of hearing you sing Scott Alan's Never Neverland at your Pheasantry gig in Chelsea earlier this year. Tell me more about that connection.

I first encountered Scott when he saw me performing on Broadway and asked me to sing Behind These Walls for his album Keys. Last year he asked me to sing Never Neverland at his Birdland concert, which was also released on his album Live. I think he is a beautifully talented writer, gifted in his ability to write songs for women.

I recently interviewed Scott whilst he was in town for his concert at the O2 and there is talk that his musical Home (that includes Never Neverland) may premiere in London. If that happens, would you like to be one of the four women who make up Home's cast?

If I was asked to and was able to, then without a doubt, I would love to be involved with the show. There is a real buzz in the air at the moment about Scott's work that is very exciting.

Finally, and even asking this question makes me insanely jealous, what was it like to fly with the Red Arrows?

It was amazing. I still pinch myself that it happened. It's the ultimate thrill ride, performed by some simply amazingly brave and talented guys and I can't believe they even let me "drive" the plane too! It was a bucket list experience and an absolute privilege to be allowed into a Red Arrows cockpit. I love those guys!

Kerry can be seen in Summertime - An Evening Of Gershwin at Kenwood House this Sunday September 1st, at 5pm

Visit www.LiveByTheLake.co.uk for details and tickets.