Tomorrow Morning - Review

***

Music, lyrics and screenplay by Laurence Mark Wythe

Directed by Nick Winston

Certificate -   12

104 minutes, 2022

Samantha Barks 

Last seen on a London stage some 12 years ago and having amassed a number of productions off-Broadway and elsewhere around the globe Tomorrow Morning, Laurence Mark Wythe’s musical about a couple’s falling into love, marriage, parenthood and subsequent break-up makes it onto the big screen.

Charting the doomed relationship's ten-year lifespan, Wythe’s tale is in many respects a fusion of The Last Five Years melded with Kramer vs Kramer, albeit based in London rather than New York City. But it is not just the Atlantic Ocean that separates these anti-love stories. Both of the American plotlines offered far greater emotional heft in their narratives together with wittier and more perceptive writing in screenplay and lyrics. Wythe’s songs are heavy on exposition, demanding little intellectual connection from the viewer and too often revert to cliché.

The film’s production values however are gorgeous. Ramin Karimloo and Samantha Barks are Will and Cat, the ill-fated lovers and both make fabulous vocal work of Wythe’s compositions. There is also a strong debut from Oliver Clayton as the couple’s young son Zachary who gets caught in his parents’ crossfire.

Nick Winston has helmed a beautifully filmed love letter to London, and to Wapping in particular. There are even cameos from Omid Djalili (in the bath) as Will's dad and the incorrigibly scene-stealing Joan Collins (in full The Bitch mode) as Cat’s protective grandmother Anna.

Crack open the prosecco and chocolates and you’ll be in for an evening of finely sung entertainment.

In UK cinemas from 9th September and on DVD from 17th October

Midnight - Review

Union Theatre, London


***


Music & lyrics by Laurence Mark Whythe
Book & lyrics by Timothy Knapman
Based on the play Citizens Of Hell by Elchin

Leon Scott

Set in Azerbaijan in 1937 and based upon Elchin’s play, Midnight tackles life under Stalin’s terrifying rule where a midnight knock on the door could be followed by trumped up charges of counter-revolutionary activity, torture and in all probability, death. For musical theatre this is an ambitious subject to grapple with and a show seeking to compress Stalin’s grip on the Soviet Union into one small Baku flat on a New Year’s Eve some eighty years ago, needs some sensational songs and narrative if it’s going to pack a punch.

Unfortunately, it’s punches-pulled here, although Midnight does prove to be an evening of two halves. A bunch of (for the most part, talented) actor musos lead a first half that either needs a massive trim or a re-write, before the show comes alive in act two with twists and revelations that mingle Faust with Kafka. The tale is one of those that to even hint at would spoil, suffice to say that combining horror and the supernatural with totalitarian politics makes for an excellent second half cocktail.

Whilst some of the melodies are magical, (Let Yourself Go and The Colonel in particular) there is too much mawkish balladry sprinkled throughout with the first act’s closing number, The Great Machine, feeling contrived and lacking the devastation that should send the audience reeling into the theatre bar for half-time revival.

But within this curious piece, there are some gems. Leon Scott as the Visitor/Officer has a captivating presence that demands our attention in every scene. Perfect in voice and poise, it is Scott’s energy at the heart of this machine. And in a tiny role amongst the musical ensemble Melania Maggiore (who based upon her bio in the programme appears to be making her first UK performance in this show) delivers an absolutely exquisite soprano performance singing Let Me Sleep, matched only by her enchanting work on the violin.

Kate Golledge uses the space imaginatively, with Chris Cuming’s choreography being worthy of its Offies nomination and a rare shout out for a show’s fight director, Jonathan Holby, who with minimal use of props and make up, convinces us of appalling violence.  

The People vs an all-powerful and unfair State has long been the source of good musical theatre (Les Mis anyone?) but this show’s emotional reach rarely ventures out of the shallow waters other than perhaps reminding us of the perils of far-left socialism.

There’s something special around Midnight, but it needs more work.

Runs until September 29th

Photo credit: Lidia Crisafulli

Dress Circle Benefit - One Year On - A Review

Her Majesty's Theatre, London

*****

Today, sadly, Dress Circle, a wonderful store dedicated to all things Musical Theatre, closes its doors.

Many months ago, when closure was first signalled, two dedicated young actors James Yeoburn and Stuart Matthew Price, almost Blues Brothers like, put together a show that culminated in a glorious August 2011 evening at Her Majestys Theatre that was a stunning line up of the West End's finest.

I reviewed the show then, but it has not been until now that my review , which had been lost, has now re-surfaced. Its a pleasure and an honour to re-post it. The store was amazing, and the evening was stellar.

JG

Remember The Blues Brothers, on a mission from God, to save the orphanage they grew up in?

Fast forward 30 ( ok, almost 33...) odd years,  swap the orphanage for Dress Circle, and replace Jake and Elwood Blues  with Stuart Matthew Price and James Yeoburn, and you start to get close to the magic of the Gala concert that graced the stage at Her Majestys

The one thing that both that movie and the Gala had in common was the most outstanding line up of artistes, wishing to be associated with the project.

Simon Lee had rehearsed his 30 piece orchestra to perfection – listening to them, it was hard to believe that this was the first public performance of that ensemble, and that they were not in fact performing that set together 8 times a week.

Without exception ALL the performers on stage were outstanding.

For this writer, though the "ultra-stellar" moments of such an evening, came from those rare moments when the persona of the actor got so wrapt within the performance, that they were truly giving of their soul.

Rebecca Caine sang Think of Me 25 years after her on-stage Christine.  An operatic  performance of crystal delivery, that as she herself tweeted  "I was so overwhelmed by the emotion and ovation I nearly cried. It was like a wall of sound hitting me". With Frances Ruffelle too, spines tingled as A Heart Full of Love was recreated with Jon Robyns.

Then there was the Ellen Greene moment. Ellen was listed in the programme as singing Between, from Betwixt, in the first half. She was great. What the audience did not realise was that she had actually been expecting ( and rehearsing ) to sing Somewhere That’s Green, from Little Shop of Horrors having gone to the effort of having her Audrey wig flown over to London specially for the song.  So when Aled Jones, the evening’s host, interrupted the second half, to introduce this unlisted addition to the evening, the audience went wild .

When that song was first recorded Greene's voice had a wonderful almost hallmark fragility to it. Now, some 25 years later ( and perhaps following the tragic death of Howard Ashman?) singing the song was hard. As Ellen sang, she struggled in what what was clearly a difficult moment. But in a defining expression of excellence, she pulled the performance back, and as the bars rolled by she didn’t just sing the song, she positively nailed it.  On the final notes, as the audience almost to a man rose to salute her,  she wept.  To witness such a performance was more than a joy, it was a privilege.

Dougal Irvine and Laurence Mark Wythe delivered their specially composed number for the night, The World of The Show, that not only evoked the wit of Noel Coward, but also left one confident that the future of British musical theatre composition is in safe hands.

The penultimate number , Bui Doi from Miss Saigon had the inimitable Peter Polycarpou reprising the role of John that he created, backed by a youthful chorus of current West End professionals , again raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

To quote Oliver, could I have possibly asked for more from an evening of such riches? Well to my mind, a nod to Rogers & Hammerstein and Kander & Ebb would not have been out of place, nor would the acknowledgment perhaps of the current contribution of Juke Box Musicals to the strength of current West End / Broadway box office takings. Whilst the trend for JBMs is arguably blocking the path for new writing, those shows do nonetheless, and on a weekly basis, provide musical theatre entertainment for thousands and further, employment for hundreds more. But these greedy comments of mine are mere bagatelles when set against the wonder that was presented on stage last Sunday.

As Sardines Magazine commented " … make no mistake, there was not one person on that stage that did not shine " and as a foundation for an annual ( or  biennial at least ? ) event, Messrs Price and Yeoburn have created a precedent that will be nigh on impossible to live up to.