Anything Goes - Review

The Other Palace, London


****


Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by Guy Bolton, PG Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse
Directed by Alex Sutton

Olivia Hallett and the company of Anything Goes

Continuing the National Youth Music Theatre’s summer residence at The Other Palace sees this formidable company stage Cole Porter’s satirical musical Anything Goes. Comedy is a tough gig for even the most experienced of performers and it is a credit to NYMT that they deliver a show that, for the most part, hits the mark and captures Porter’s piercing wit.

Packed with songbook classics, any production of Anything Goes will always stir great expectations from its audience that are more than exceeded here, the enormous cast proving spectacular in their ensemble numbers.

Throughout, the song and dance work is performed to such a high standard that it is almost invidious to single out specific performers. However Olivia Hallett as Reno Sweeney leads the line with some sensational solo numbers and she is equally supported by Lulu-Mae Pears, Milo Hallett, Daniel Gray, Spike Maxwell, Toby Turpin, Miguel Rivilla and Sarah Dare in the show’s other key and featured roles. Vocal work is spot on throughout with Porter’s moments of comedy and irony - that are at times ridiculously silly - all being delivered with aplomb, confidence and above all, perfect timing.

The young company are supported by an outstanding creative team drawn from industry professionals. Jordan Li-Smith is, as ever, a masterful musical director. Lee Proud and Adam Haigh’s choreography, drawn from the 1987 Broadway revival is breathtaking - the full company tap numbers are a particular delight - while Diego Pitarch’s designs neatly suggest the SS American and all cleverly helmed by Alex Sutton.

Anything Goes doesn’t come around that often and this one’s a treat. Only on for three more dates, it makes for a great evening in the theatre.

Runs until 24th August

Photo credit: Konrad Bartelski

Sunset Boulevard - Review

New Wimbledon Theatre, London


*****


Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Book & lyrics by Don Black & Christopher Hampton
Based on the Billy Wilder film
Directed by Nikolai Foster

Ria Jones

It is a delight to return to this award-winning production of Sunset Boulevard as its week-long residency in Wimbledon brings it the closest to central London that its touring licence (which has already included venues in Italy and Holland) will allow.

Directed by the Curve’s Nikolai Foster, at its Leicester launch last September (for my review of that opening night see the foot of this page) the show was nigh-on perfect. Seeing the production some seven months on reveals that not only have this outstanding company gelled, but also how some of the cast have matured into their roles.

A packed house at the New Wimbledon Theatre rose as one to salute Ria Jones’ bow and with good reason. Jones remains magnificent, her definitive, decaying diva capturing Norma Desmond’s long-faded Hollywood majesty. Notwithstanding her remarkable association with the role (remember that she created it for Lloyd-Webber as he trialled the show, nearly ten-thousand midnights ago, at his Sydmonton Festival) Jones’ performance now reveals a greater depth to Desmond’s tragedy. Free of the distractions of movie mega-stardom that surrounded the show’s most recent Norma in both London and on Broadway, Jones’ portrayal of Desmond’s shattered mind stands only on its sheer artistic beauty. Her voice thrills, while her acting breaks our hearts. Ria Jones’ Norma Desmond has to be one of the finest musical theatre creations of the decade.

As Joe Gillis, Danny Mac now brings a fully formed wry, sardonic swagger to the part that completes his character. Billy Wilder’s original story (and if you haven’t yet watched the 1950 movie, it’s a must see) was a noir-satire, driven by Gillis’ narration. William Holden nailed the caustic hack on screen and Mac, now, displays a craft that truly inhabits Wilder’s writer. Gillis’ is a complex journey, with Mac convincing us of his ultimately irresistible charm to the young script editor Betty Schaefer and indeed, his love for her in return. 

On an interesting side issue, since September the #MeToo issue has exploded into our collective conscience. In a perceptive interview published late last year in her native Ireland, Molly Lynch (Schaefer in the show) referenced her understanding of the role to comment on an entertainment industry that had remained “toxic, negative and very difficult for women”. Considering the sexual politics that drive the show’s undercurrent - that of a 50 year old star desperately seeking the desirable glamour that she possessed some 30 years previously – one has to acknowledge that the industry’s ugliness and moral vacuity, only now in the headlines, has actually existed since the cameras first turned.

Thankfully Lynch’s vocal and stage presence is as en-pointe as her analysis. Wilder may have created Schaefer with an essential, if simple, 2-dimensionality. Lynch however, as reviewed back in September, delivers the role in a perfect support to the story.

Adam Pearce’s Max, the keeper not only of the flame, but also, perhaps, of one of the tale’s darkest secrets likewise retains his beautifully sonorous boom. As the audience still gasps at his devastating revelation late into the second half, there is a heartbreaking sensitivity to the devotion Pearce’s manservant shows to Norma.

The creatives here have always been top-notch. Lee Proud’s choreography lends an ingenious slickness to the onstage movement. Not just in the exciting ensemble numbers, but also in a gorgeous tango performed by Jones and Mac to The Perfect Year.

My September review omitted referencing Douglas O’Connell’s imaginative projection work that well supports Colin Richmond’s ingenious design. Likewise Ben Cracknell’s lighting work. Above all, a nod to Adrian Kirk in the pit, whose 14 piece orchestra brings a symphonic texture to Lloyd-Webber’s sumptuous score.

The tour is entering its final weeks and there’s only a few days left to catch it here in south west London. As Norma says to Joe: Now Go!


Runs at New Wimbledon Theatre until 14th April, then touring to the end of the month

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan





Sunset Boulevard at Leicester - First published in September 2017

There is a magic that pervades Nikolai Foster’s production of Sunset Boulevard and it flows from leading lady Ria Jones. 26 years after creating the role of Norma Desmond for Andrew Lloyd Webber at the composer’s Sydmonton Festival, Jones now leads the show and never has a casting been more perfect.

Some might argue that a quarter of a century ago she was too young to play Billy Wilder’s middle aged silent movie starlet. A 1920s screen goddess who with the arrival of the “talkies” was to lose first, her 30-million strong fan base and then, her mind. What is beyond question however is that Jones now owns the role, bringing a vocal excellence and power to Norma Desmond that has not been seen for decades. 

Rarely is a character created that is as magnificent, terrifying and ultimately tragic as Desmond and in playing her Jones, who has spent years preparing for the role, delivers what has to be one of the most sensational performances to be seen this year. Her take on With One Look, early on in the show as the narrative starts to unfold, drips with a thrilling energy, alongside pathos that reduces the audience to tears. Jones’ second half stunner, As If We Never Said Goodbye, proves another spine-tingler, wowing the packed Curve auditorium as she defines Desmond’s devastating decline. And in the finale, when it has all gone so horribly wrong and Jones, grotesquely made up, advances on a newsreel camera “ready for her close up”, the audience is floored. 

Several relationships flow through the show. Danny Mac plays writer Joe Gillis, over whom Desmond becomes dangerously obsessed. Mac delivers a powerful presence and style in the role. Elsewhere, Wilder sketched out love from Desmond’s devoted butler Max Von Meyerling and, on the Paramount lot, from the youthful script editor Betty Schaefer who finds herself falling for Gillis.

Adam Pearce’s Von Meyerling is a bald-headed booming monolith, bearing the most complex, tortuous and yet sensitive of loves. Pearce brings a vocal resonance that is as imposing as it is delicate – his take on The Greatest Star Of All is just gorgeous.

As Schaefer, Molly Lynch makes fine work of a delicious Billy Wilder creation. Her love for Gillis is pure film- noir, with Lynch bringing a gorgeously all American cliché to her performance, aspects of her work suggesting the vitality of a Roy Lichtenstein cartoon. Lovely stuff and so beautifully sung too, Lynch’s career is already on an impressive trajectory.

If there’s a minor niggle it’s that the two old hands at Paramount (Jonesey and Hog Eye) who recognise Desmond on her return to the studios, should ideally be played by men in their fifties rather than Foster’s two youthful (albeit very able) lads from his ensemble. Carl Sanderson however as Cecil B. De Mille is spot on in his cameo of the old and wise director who must sensitively grapple with Desmond’s mental decline.

Planned to tour from the outset, all credit to the Curve’s co-producers Michael Harrison and David Ian for boldly creating such a lavish experience, and to the show’s creatives for their ingeniously transportable work. Lee Proud’s choreography is enchanting, while Colin Richmond’s design work, (enhanced by Ben Cracknell’s lighting) makes fine use of projections, screens and the hangar doors of a Paramount sound stage to convincingly create a 1950s Hollywood.

Adrian Kirk's lavish 17 piece orchestra give Lloyd Webber's score a sumptuous treatment, but understand this. In 2017, it is Ria Jones who is making Sunset Boulevard unmissable.  Back as Norma Desmond, it’s as if she never said goodbye.

Sunset Boulevard - Review

Curve Theatre, Leicester

*****

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Book & lyrics by Don Black & Christopher Hampton

Based on the Billy Wilder film

Directed by Nikolai Foster

Ria Jones and Carl Sanderson

There is a magic that pervades Nikolai Foster’s production of Sunset Boulevard and it flows from leading lady Ria Jones. 26 years after creating the role of Norma Desmond for Andrew Lloyd Webber at the composer’s Sydmonton Festival, Jones now leads the show and never has a casting been more perfect.

Some might argue that a quarter of a century ago she was too young to play Billy Wilder’s middle aged silent movie starlet. A 1920s screen goddess who with the arrival of the “talkies” was to lose first, her 30-million strong fan base and then, her mind. What is beyond question however is that Jones now owns the role, bringing a vocal excellence and power to Norma Desmond that has not been seen for decades. 

Rarely is a character created that is as magnificent, terrifying and ultimately tragic as Desmond and in playing her Jones, who has spent years preparing for the role, delivers what has to be one of the most sensational performances to be seen this year. Her take on With One Look, early on in the show as the narrative starts to unfold, drips with a thrilling energy, alongside pathos that reduces the audience to tears. Jones’ second half stunner, As If We Never Said Goodbye, proves another spine-tingler, wowing the packed Curve auditorium as she defines Desmond’s devastating decline. And in the finale, when it has all gone so horribly wrong and Jones, grotesquely made up, advances on a newsreel camera “ready for her close up”, the audience is floored. 

Several relationships flow through the show. Danny Mac plays writer Joe Gillis, over whom Desmond becomes dangerously obsessed. Mac delivers a powerful presence and style in the role. Elsewhere, Wilder sketched out love from Desmond’s devoted butler Max Von Meyerling and, on the Paramount lot, from the youthful script editor Betty Schaefer who finds herself falling for Gillis.

Danny Mac

Adam Pearce’s Von Meyerling is a bald-headed booming monolith, bearing the most complex, tortuous and yet sensitive of loves. Pearce brings a vocal resonance that is as imposing as it is delicate – his take on The Greatest Star Of All is just gorgeous.

As Schaefer, Molly Lynch makes fine work of a delicious Billy Wilder creation. Her love for Gillis is pure film- noir, with Lynch bringing a gorgeously all American cliché to her performance, aspects of her work suggesting the vitality of a Roy Lichtenstein cartoon. Lovely stuff and so beautifully sung too, Lynch’s career is already on an impressive trajectory.

Molly Lynch

If there’s a minor niggle it’s that the two old hands at Paramount (Jonesey and Hog Eye) who recognise Desmond on her return to the studios, should ideally be played by men in their fifties rather than Foster’s two youthful (albeit very able) lads from his ensemble. Carl Sanderson however as Cecil B. De Mille is spot on in his cameo of the old and wise director who must sensitively grapple with Desmond’s mental decline.

Planned to tour from the outset, all credit to the Curve’s co-producers Michael Harrison and David Ian for boldly creating such a lavish experience, and to the show’s creatives for their ingeniously transportable work. Lee Proud’s choreography is enchanting, while Colin Richmond’s design work, (enhanced by Ben Cracknell’s lighting) makes fine use of projections, screens and the hangar doors of a Paramount sound stage to convincingly create a 1950s Hollywood.

Adrian Kirk's lavish 17 piece orchestra give Lloyd Webber's score a sumptuous treatment, but understand this. In 2017, it is Ria Jones who is making Sunset Boulevard unmissable.  Back as Norma Desmond, it’s as if she never said goodbye.

Runs until 30th September and then tours. Full touring details here.

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

The Braille Legacy - Review

Charing Cross Theatre, London

**

French book and lyrics by Sébastien Lancrenon

Music by Jean-Baptiste Saudray

Translation by Ranjit Bolt

Directed by Thom Southerland

The Company

There's a magnificent story behind The Braille Legacy. Louis Braille, the blind French boy who applied himself to developing a language of tactile dots that brought literature to the sightless.

Sadly however in Thom Southerland's interpretation of this new musical, the audience are reduced to little more than les tricoteuses, witnessing a tale that could have played to heart-soaring beauty instead be guillotined to a work of crass and shallow simplicity.

The history behind Braille's struggles is inspirational, but in Lancrenon's prose and Bolt's execrable translations, any glimmer of wit or humanity is blacked out by exposition and cliché.

The acting is as good as the script allows, with Jerome Pradon, Ceili O'Connor and, as Braille himself, newcomer Jack Wolfe all making the best of a tortuous libretto. There's a beautifully voiced chorus of children representing Paris' blind youth.

But Southerland and his choreographer Lee Proud have done (and can do) far better than this. Most of Saudray's tunes lack punch, while Tim Shortall’s curious set appears to be little more than a curious revolving cube comprised of modern French Doors. 

By all means see this show to support a hard working cast and to learn a little more about the life of one of France's true cultural giants. The RNIB are on the programme too with a noble and worthy endorsement.

But while The Braille Legacy may be a passable history lesson, it's ultimately a very disappointing musical.

  

Runs until 24th June

Photo credit: Scott Rylander

Rent - Review

St James Theatre, London


*****

Music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson
Directed by Bruce Guthrie

The cast of Rent

This 20th anniversary production of Rent is a heart wrenching piece of theatre that beautifully touches on the key themes of love, loss, addiction and the fear of living as HIV positive. It is engaging, touching and thought provoking.

Performed countless times across the globe, Rent can often descend into a self-indulgent performers’ showcase. Bruce Guthrie's take on the show however is heavy on integrity, with the director exploring the psyche of each character, making the performances both believable and relatable. Alongside, Lee Proud's mesmerizing choreography fits perfectly with both style and era.

Amidst a stark and rough scaffolding-based set and with the full orchestra on display, Anna Fleischle's designs create an edgy feel that is aesthetically challenging, leaving one to focus on the drama.

Mark Cohen as played by Billy Cullen is beautifully watchable, embodying his character's drive to succeed in his work but also constantly sending out the signals of his desperate need to be accepted by his friends. Ross Hunter's silky, effortless vocals as Rodger Davies are a joy. His performance engages throughout, convincing in the chemistry that sparkles between him and Philippa Stefani's Mimi. Stefani may have just transferred over from In the Heights but here she's a completely different woman, displaying a stunning depth and emotional range. Her unravelling on stage is almost elegant, depicting her character's agonising flaws as she struggles with her addiction and its dangers.

Lucie Jones' Maureen is an unconventional gem. Her cooky, charismatic and confident charm is so suited to the character that she doesn't struggle once to deliver on Maureen's obvious sexuality and allure. As always, Take Me Or Leave Me brings the house down with stunning vocals from both Jones and Shanay Holmes as Joanne. Their delivery is entirely narrative driven rather than just being the shouting match that the number can so often suggest, as they make the song an intimate and passionate breakdown of a relationship between two fiery women.

Now virtually sold out in London, the production is soon to tour and for both Rent-heads and newbies it's a treat. The entire company are outstanding - vocally, choreographically and emotionally.

Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy

Runs until 28th January 2017 - Then on tour. Tour details here

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Allegro - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


****


Music by Richard Rodgers 
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed by Thom Southerland

The Company

Allegro is the third musical born from the long standing genius that is the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. While neither their most successful piece, nor their most daring and despite it being a somewhat lacklustre story, Allegro still holds all of the charm and sophistication associated with R & H musicals. 

The story follows the life of Joseph Taylor, Jr., born to a middle class family in small town America. The son of a doctor, he grows up to follow in his father’s footsteps and training as a medic and trudging through the hardships of college, medical school and all the worries that come with it.

Thom Southerland’s direction is, as ever, expertly executed with the onstage action proving beautifully slick. Paired with Lee Proud’s choreography, the cast deliver compelling performances without going over the top. Anthony Lamble’s minimalistic set design of rolling set pieces and not much else is also beautifully flexible, making for easy interchanges between time frames.

Dean Austin has done an immaculate job with the band, affording a fine respect to Richard Rodgers’ music, giving a rich and full sound that is only aided by the acoustics at Southwark.

As Joseph, Gary Tushaw’s performance is excellent. He plays the polite and quiet leading man with a gentleness that makes you sympathise with him on all of his decisions. Playing opposite him is the spritely and brash Emily Bull, who plays Jennie Brinker, Joe’s eventual wife. Her voice is strong and she plays the free spirited character with a care free energy that, despite her ending up as a rather conniving woman, is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise average story.

The most wonderful and truly gripping part of the production is the use of puppetry to display Joseph in his much younger years. The cast’s control of the simplistic yet hugely effective puppet, adds a further dimension to the performance.

The Southwark Playhouse is building a reputation for extraordinary theatre. While Allegro might not be the most gripping of its recent productions, it is still a joy to watch.

Runs until 10th September

Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy

Photo credit: Scott Rylander 

Grey Gardens - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


*****


Book by Doug Wright
Music by Scott Frankel
Lyrics by Michael Korie
Directed by Thom Southerland

Jenna Russell and Sheila Hancock

Making its European premiere, Grey Gardens is a blend of fact and fiction that tells of Edith Bouvier Beale, aunt to and her daughter Edie. What sets this family apart is that the two women were respectively aunt and first cousin to the woman who was to become the world’s First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Based upon an acclaimed documentary, the show is a cultural fusion that blends Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard with Galton and Simpson's Steptoe and Son (with just a hint of The Great Gatsby). The first half, set in 1941, describes the patrician ascendancy of the Bouvier Beale family whilst act two pitches forward thirty years, depicting almost unbelievably, the flea-infested squalor to which mother and daughter had descended. Grey Gardens their mansion, now overrun with cats. 

The drama of this show is as magnificent as its music, with an ingenious casting conceit. We meet Sheila Hancock, the elderly Edith as the curtain rises, though she is quickly transformed into Jenna Russell who plays (the younger) Edith in act one and (an elder) Edie after the break. Hancock, amongst the finest of her generation, is witheringly contemptuous towards her daughter and yet desperately dependent upon her. She can also sing with remarkable presence - her take on The Cake I Had, a treat.

Russell as Hancock's younger self, captures the manipulative dominance that was to stifle her daughter's attempts at love, whilst in playing the 56 yo Edie (brilliantly costumed in an array of scarves suggesting variously cat-woman crossed with a jihadi bride) she also captures the profound love that her character feels for her mother. If the whole thing wasn't so damnably credible as a dysfunctional family, it would be ridiculous.

And then there's Jenna Russell's voice. Virtually peerless in musical theatre and picking on just two of her stunning moments, Russell’s act two opener The Revolutionary Costume For Today raises the roof, whilst her 11 o clock number Another Winter In A Summer Town touches hearts with its perfectly weighted pathos.

It's not just Russell and Hancock though. Edie in the 1940's is given a captivating performance by Rachel Ann Rayham, whose Daddy's Girl, sung with her hopefully intended Joseph P Kennedy is a glorious fusion of music and movement. (Great choreography Lee Proud). Credit too to the remarkable Aaron Sidwell as the young Kennedy. From Loserville, through American Idiot, to now playing JFK's older brother, Sidwell masters the dynasty's manicured scion. 

Jeremy Legat as Edith's preppy consort musician George Strong offers another perfect cameo, whilst Ako Mitchell and Billy Boyle in a number of roles complete the adult company. As is her custom, Danielle Tarento has cast as well as produced the show and her work here is flawless.

To be fair though, all the creative team have been surpassed themselves. Tom Roger's multi layered set is magnificent, Howard Hudson's lighting again highlighting the subtleties of time and location, Andrew Johnson's sound design ensures neither note nor word are lost, whilst Michael Bradley's 10 piece band make Frankel's complex score a delight.

Tarento and Southerland have never been better and in all honesty there's not much on offer anywhere in London right now that could top this production. Southwark Playhouse should be rightly proud of Grey Gardens. It is unmissable theatre that demands a transfer.

Runs until 6th February

Photo credit: Scott Rylander

Grand Hotel - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Book by Luther Davis

Music and lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright

Additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston

Directed by Thom Southerland

Victoria Serra and company

There is a gorgeous trinity almost akin to a planetary alignment, when producer Danielle Tarento, Thom Southerland and choreographer Lee Proud work together, and in tackling Grand Hotel’s dark and desperate depths they again achieve artistic success.

The dramatic potential of a hotel – and of the lives inside it, has famously proved fertile ground for writers. Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel, in The Shining told of the grand era of the 1920s and whilst 30 years and 5,000 miles may separate Southerland's Grand Hotel from Hitchcock's Bates Motel, both are hostelries to which people fled with dark secrets to hide and inevitable tragedy to confront.

Set in 1928 Berlin, Weimar Germany was a flawed nation and Southerland's production hints at the ugly rise of National Socialism's menacing tide. Checking in at the city's Grand Hotel are a collection of doomed or burdened folk. There is the ageing prima ballerina whose star has fallen, a bankrupt Baron pursued by villainous creditors. Other hotel guests include an impoverished young secretary devastated by an unwanted pregnancy, a failed corporate chief exec and a Jewish bookkeeper riddled with consumption. That’s an awful lot of plot to weave in to a single act show of around 100 minutes – and to be fair whilst much of what Southerland and Proud achieve is downright brilliant, the odd performance falls short of the mark.  

There is flawless excellence on display, at both ends of an age spectrum, from Victoria Serra as Flaemmchen the unfortunate secretary and Christine Grimandi as Grushinskaya the dancer. Serra enchants us with a painful desperation to escape her miserable lot, never finer than during The Girl In The Mirror. And when she’s not breaking our hearts she’s stunning the audience with her sensational dance, memorably in a sensational trio routine, Maybe My Baby partnered by Jammy Kasongo and Durone Stokes.

Grimandi devastates with a sensitive and perfectly weighted portrayal. Almost Norma Desmond like, such is the skill with which her complex fragilities play out, she craves the long-gone adulation of Europe's opera house audiences, yet she is wise enough to know the frailties of her age. There isn’t a more finely crafted female performance in town than that of Grimandi, a star of Italian theatre, offers at Southwark. Also outstanding in a performance of the most subtly crafted devoted depair is Valerie Cutko’s Raffaella – maid to Grushinskaya, who nurses a secret, passionate love for her mistress. 

Stepping in with barely a week or so to rehearse, David Delve’s Colonel-Doctor is another masterclass in understated brilliance. His morphine-addicted war veteran gives us a wry narrative, Chorus like, that strips away the facades of the wealthy and privileged guests and delivered with a presence that consistently commands our attention. Likewise, Jacob Chapman’s Preysing – an apparently happily married businessman who before our eyes descends into a misogynist monster as his business crumbles, is another well fashioned turn.

Lee Proud’s movement is, as always, ingenious. From ensemble representing the hotel’s revolving doors, through to glorious Charleston pastiches and immaculately created routines, Proud makes effective use of the tight traverse space.

And as for Michael Bradley’s 8-piece band, wow! With a sound that at times could suggest a full sized-orchestra, it is a rare treat to hear an ensemble so heavy on strings. There is more than a hint of a Palm Court ambience in Simon Lee's orchestrations and Bradley's immaculate execution.

It remains a continuing credit to Southerland and Tarento that together they have achieved a body of work so impressive that they can acquire the closely-guarded rights to such rarely seen shows. Grand Hotel may be dark and thematic, but presented in the Southwark Playhouse’s intimacy, its cast and creatives offer yet another display of London’s musical theatre genius.

Runs until 5th September

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton

The Producers - Review

Churchill Theatre, Bromley

****

Music and lyrics by Mel Brooks
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan

Jason Manford and Cory English

The headline cast of The Producers is almost a who's who of today's popular entertainment scene. Jason Manford, Louie Spence and Phill Jupitus all take principal roles alongside the lesser known (but nonetheless industry greats) Cory English, David Bedella and the stunning Tiffany Graves. They lead a company that delivers flawless performances as they dust off Mel Brooks deliciously dated musical.

The 12 Tony-winning musical wowed Broadway in 2001, but of course the original yarn was spun by Brooks in his 1968 Oscar winning movie - and it is to that film that this touring revival pays homage. The onstage newspaper headlines scream of LBJ and Vietnam as shyster Broadway producer Max Bialystock, so richly defined by Zero Mostel in the 60s, slicked-back hair and red smoking jacket, is neatly caricatured by Cory English. Back in the day Gene Wilder defined the nebbish (google it) that is frustrated accountant Leo Bloom. In 2015 Jason Manford (a surprisingly big fella in the flesh) makes the most of his lumbering features to define Bloom's wondrously hopeless inadequacies. Manford’s anxiety-ridden Bloom seriously exceeds expectations.

The story could be neither more tasteless nor more famous. As humble clerk Bloom realises that were a show to prove a guaranteed flop then amoral producers could sell its rights many times over and embezzle the investors' cash. Bialystock pounces on this stroke of (criminal) genius and takes Bloom into partnership. Sourcing possibly the worst script in town, Springtime For Hitler written by a crazed former Nazi and hiring Roger De Bris, a disastrous director to helm it, failure is a certainty. Until of course De Bris delivers a Fuhrer who's camper than Christmas and the Broadway crowds go wild...

Cory English has previous as Bialystock, having played the producer on Drury Lane and he masters the ways of the wily granny-shagger with aplomb, his 11 o’clock number Betrayed being a particular treat. Mel Brook's Borsht Belt comedy roots (google that too) are manifest in Bialystock’s corny patter, as his unique style merges Sid James’ Carry On smut with a wry sense of self-deprecation that's as New York Jewish as pastrami on rye.

The biggest butt (pun intended) of Brook’s gags is of course Hitler and the Nazis – and what better way to humiliate a truly evil force than to laugh at it (With a momentary pause to sadly wish “if only” that could be the case in today’s troubled world). Along the way however and in alphabetical order, blacks, gays, Irish, Jews and Swedes are all mercilessly mocked in a show that makes for one big guilty pleasure.

David Bedella’s De Bris is a high priest of high camp. Preening and pouting, he is poured into his dress – and gives Hitler just the right touch of manic megalomania too.  Louie Spence as his posturing assistant Carmen Ghia has a modest role but milks it magnificently with a movement that is as technically brilliant as it his hilarious.  And whoever thought of Phill Jupitus to play the Nazi Franz Liebkind deserves the Iron Cross. The comedian’s (rarely seen) fat, pasty, lederhosen-clad legs add visual genius to the deluded German. Be in no doubt, Jupitus cannot sing and his almost solo number, Haben Sie gehört das deutsche Band will stay with me for a long time.

Meanwhile, leading lady Tiffany Graves’ blonde bombshell Ulla simply steals her every scene. Graves' accent is wonderfully caricatured, her singing sensational whilst her dance and cartwheeling/backflipping movement is jaw-dropping. Sporting fabulous tresses (kudos to wig mistress Sally Tynan) Graves is every inch the (not so dumb) Swedish Blonde.

Magnificence elsewhere from Lee Proud’s choreography, with the big numbers of Along Came Bialy (complete with denture wielding tap-dancing geriatrics) and Springtime For Hitler evidencing a company well drilled in dance routines that blend professional precision with immaculate comic timing. And look out for the unexpected nod to the Vulgarian (aka Germanic) Doll On A Music Box routine from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as the Springtime number kicks off. 

Bravo too to Andrew Hilton’s nine-piece band who give Brooks’ compositions the bold and brassy treatment they deserve.

The Producers’ producers have clearly piled their cash (or their investors’ ?) into the cast and it shows as Matthew White directs a magnificent 5* flawless troupe. But the un-inspiring scenery wobbles, the tank-gun helmets of the dancing Nazi showgirls look like they are Blue Peter inspired cardboard creations and unforgivably, Hitler’s moustache fell off in his big number Heil Myself! Bedella to his credit gamely played on – but where were the professional production values? The show's future audiences deserve a little better.

As entertainment, this touring production of The Producers provides a sensational night out at the theatre. Top notch actors, delivering top notch routines. It makes for one of those rare nights when cheeks will ache from grinning. If you love comedy and musicals it’s unmissable. Brilliant, irreverent, hilarious and all performed by one of the best companies on the road today.

Plays until 14th March, then on tour. 

Carousel

Arcola Theatre, 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 Luke Fredericks

Tim Rogers and Gemma Sutton

Producers Morphic Graffiti present a re-engineered Carousel at London’s Arcola Theatre. With the blessing of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s publishers, they have pitched the tale around the time of the Great Depression, with a costume and style that sets the era apart from traditional turn of the 20th century stagings and it’s an interpretation that works, for the sense of poverty and depravation that surrounded the clapboard housed whaling communities of New England has long been a consistent theme of the show.

The time shift however is only an adaptation of style rather than substance. The grand human struggles of love and redemption, crime and endeavour that underpin Ferenc Molnar’s original play have a timelessness that speaks to us today – with perhaps the one exception being the un-conditional love that Julie Jordan feels towards Billy Bigelow whilst demonstrably accepting her lot as the victim of his domestic violence. Julie’s is a love that is tested in a way that is at best outmoded and at worst a misogynist’s charter.

But it remains Julie’s love and Billy’s futile doomed hopes to better himself that are the engine room of this show. Gemma Sutton is Julie and in the intimate cockpit of the Arcola, her expressions of passion and yearning towards her future husband are played out with pinpoint definition. Sutton masks the steel of her character in layers of hesitant tenderness and when this is married to her exquisite vocal work, the fusion is musical theatre bliss. When she sings If I Love You, her take on the complex melody is pitch perfect and later in act two, when her character, faltering, stumbles choked in her grief and unable to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone until Nettie takes over, the poignancy of the moment is at once both exquisite and unbearable. 

Opposite Sutton, Australian Tim Rogers brings an energy to Billy that suggests Hugh Jackman’s Curly, performed at the National Theatre in 1998. Rogers’ technical excellence manifest through his irreverent energy is another treat of a performance rarely found with such intense beauty on London’s off West End theatre scene.

And around these two lead performers beats a company that drips with perfection. There follows a name check of the most memorable, but all the company were no less than outstanding. Vicki Lee Taylor’s Carrie Pipperidge is a confection of perfect poise, presence and tone, whilst Joe Montague’s Enoch Snow nails the humerous foibles of the pompous but ambitious puritanical procreator. Joseph Connor, Katrina Dix and Susie Porter all display a balletic or acrobatic talent that is never less than breathtaking. A twirly-moustachioed Paul Hutton plays all manner of male authority roles with panache, whilst Amanda Minihan never falters as an inspiring Nettie, Richard Kent chills as a spiv Jigger and Valerie Cutko defines the wise yet complex cravings of carousel owner Mrs Mullins

The show’s design is perhaps the most visionary interpretation of low-budget scenery to be found, with the emotional impact of the opening Carousel Waltz reducing me to tears in minutes. The brilliant use of simple gates and boxes, combined with an acrobatic movement of the company that suggested a hint of Broadway’s Pippin is visionary dance work from Lee Proud and amongst all the numbers, Proud’s talent shines. The act two ballet in particular, a challenge to mount on a more generously proportioned stage let alone the Arcola, proving yet another display of masterful movement.

Stripped down to a 5 piece band, Andrew Corcoran gives Carousel’s timeless melodies a makeover. A subtle use of flute and bass is enchanting, whilst the harp accompaniment to You’ll Never Walk Alone is as subtly inspiring as it is heartbreaking.

Luke Frederick has fashioned a production of flawless technique and artistic excellence. Shows this good don’t come along that often and Carousel deserves a West End transfer. Whilst it plays at the Arcola until July 19th, don’t miss it.

Plays until July 19th. 

Victor/Victoria - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Book by Blake Edwards

Music by Henry Mancini

Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

Directed by Thom Southerland

Anna Francolini

Yet again, the Southwark Playhouse demonstrates that whilst it may be an off West End venue underneath London Bridge station, it continues to remain a showcase of the very best of London’s performing talent, with Thom Southerland’s production of Victor Victoria.

1982 saw the release of Blake Edward’s movie of this story, ( itself based on a 1933 German tale ), written by Edwards largely as a vehicle for his wife Julie Andrews. Scored by Leslie Bricusse, whilst the film received some acclaim, it took 14 years before making the transition on to a Broadway stage, where it ran for a further 2.

The story is novel but ultimately shallow – struggling female singer discovered by an opportunistic gay actor, also down on his luck, who presents her as a man who pretends to be a woman and all set against a modicum of farce and some clichéd caricatures of homosexuals and hoodlums.  The tale would not survive on a modern West End stage, but in the intimacy of the traverse staging of the theatre’s Vault, it achieves a life that is breathtaking if only for the array of excellence that Southerland has assembled.

Anna Francolini as Victoria, who in turn performs both the title characters,  is first encountered as an impoverished Parisian singer eking out survival. Whilst the strength of this show is derived from an excellent company performance, Francolini is one of the two lynch pins that power the production. Her poise and vocal range are delightful, and her slender physique lends plausibility to the remarkable journeys of transformation that she endures. Whilst her performance ( or more likely, the story's structure ) fails to tug the heart strings, Francolini enchants with her powerful delivery and gamine beauty. For those who can recall Edward’s movie, Miss Francolini's first appearance as “Victor” is a spine-tingling moment, faultlessly re-imaging the skill of Julie Andrews’ creation.  Her costumes are outstanding and credit must also go to wig mistress Jessica Kell.

Richard Dempsey is Toddy, Victoria’s befriender and most loyal promoter and he is a delight to watch. Camp but always commanding and in control, Dempsey and Francolini are worth the ticket price alone. Exquisite acting, perfect voice and in the final scene a costume of extravagant beauty.

These two leads are supported by a cast that to a man (or woman), all excel. Kate Nelson’s gorgeously dumb blond and Michael Cotton’s bodyguard with a secret, are but two examples of an acting company that not only set the scene with their style, but also serve to flesh out their predominantly two-dimensional characters with a detail that describes both time and place, on a stage where Martin Thomas’ suggestive design is evocative but, of necessity, minimal.

Joseph Atkins' 8 piece orchestra deliver numbers that are at times almost “big-band” and their interpretations of Mancini’s melodies are a delight. Andrew Johnson’s sound design is skilfully balanced for the complex acoustics of this un-conventional venue.

The choreography of Lee Proud stuns again, with ensemble numbers and tap routines that dazzle and bear more than an occasional nod to the seductive nightclub style of  Bob Fosse. Proud’s vision adds real value to the production whilst Howard Hudson’s lighting transforms the Vault from Paris to Chicago and back again . There are occasional moments when a lead performer drifts out of the spotlight mid-song and this can be a distraction. The production's impact would be modestly improved with a follow-spot placed at each end of the traverse.

With Southerland, in this their third musical pairing, Danielle Tarento has formed a creative duo that echoes the partnership of Cameron Mackintosh and Trevor Nunn. Tarento's productions continue to be staged with an attention to detail and a commitment to outstanding production values that cannot be faulted. Whilst the story may be dated, this show offers a close-up view of musical theatre perfection in performance with singing, dancing and acting that is amongst the best that this city can offer.

Runs to 15 December

Mack & Mabel - Review

Norman Bowman and
Laura Pitt -Pulford

Southwark Playhouse, London

*****

Book by Michael Stewart
Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
Revised by Francine Pascal
Directed by Thom Southerland

Mack & Mabel is a dark musical. A relationship between the two leads that is often defined by “anti-love” songs and a second act that spirals inexorably to a finale of misery. Yet within this darkness, musical numbers are included that range from the highest levels of hope, through to spectacular glitzy tap routines, and a hilarious pinch of slapstick. And such is the strength of this show that every single number is in perfect context.

Produced by Danielle Tarento, who together with Southerland, staged the award winning Parade at this venue last year, Mack & Mabel charts the interweaving of the lives of silent “two-reel movie” director Mack Sennett, with Mabel Normand, a deli delivery girl from Brooklyn whose charismatic beauty and potential he spots on set and who he elevates to stardom. For a review of Mabel's Wilful Way,  a Mack&Mabel movie, click here.

Set in the early 20^th century, the show in sub-plot touches upon the rise of the full length motion picture and the introduction of the talkies, but these are merely a backdrop to the arc of the ill fated lovers.

As Mack, Norman Bowman is outstanding. Costumed in a cream suit throughout, and frequently fedora’d to shield the bright Californian sun, he is every inch the caricature of a dominating movie director yet one who also possesses a touching vulnerability, with chiselled good looks perfectly matching the strength and sweetness of his tenor voice. In the opening number, describing his early career, Bowman sings Movies Were Movies with an energy and flair that it is nigh impossible to look away from . Later in the first act, alone with Mabel, he defines his lack of loving sensitivity with the poignant I Won't Send Roses, the melody from which serves as an occasional emotionally charged motif at subsequent moments.  The show opened two weeks prior to this review and already Bowman is deservedly being spoken of as a nominee for an Off West End award for leading actor.

 An outstanding Mack needs a Mabel of similar pedigree. Laura Pitt-Pulford shone in Parade last year, and knowing that she would lead in this show, only added to the pre-show anticipation. Pitt-Pulford’s performance exceeded expectations that were already sky high. She charted Mabel’s journey, plucked from obscurity to super-stardom, the enjoyment of the movie-star’s life and her ultimate succumbing to substance abuse, simply exquisitely. Mabel is drawn ironically moth-like, to her love for Mack and movies and the show gives her songs that are often melancholy. Wherever He Ain't, and Time Heals Everything, whilst both of different tempos, are very much are the expressions of a woman who is suffering. Throughout Act 2, Pitt-Pulford puts on a masterclass of fragility that is at once heartbreaking, yet sublime. She captures Mabel’s vulnerability in a performance the fidelity of which is rarely seen on the West End, let alone London’s fringe.

The supporting cast excelled to a person. In the key role of Lottie Ames, Jessica Martin sung and tap-danced inspiringly. The accomplished Stuart Matthew Price played a slick Frank Capra, the one regret of the evening being that the book did not allow his character more solo spots.  Impressive too was Steven Serlin as movie producer Kessel, portraying his characters Jewishness skilfully and recognisably whilst avoiding crass stereotype.

It has been written before that Tarento is committed to the highest of production values. It is clear that she commands the respect of many of theatre’s most talented practitioners, evidenced by the strength of the shows creative team. Lee Proud’s choreography was dazzling. Whilst all of the the show’s movement was slick, his working of Hundreds Of Girls, Hit ‘Em On The Head. Tap Your Troubles Away truly seemed to transport one from a vault in Southwark to a Hollywood back-lot with a tap routine that could have easily graced any major commercial show.

Good light is critical to movie making. From the outset Tarrento’s team have sought to ensure that Jason Denvir’s design is lit effectively and Howard Hudson has delivered what is perhaps the best lighting design seen in London’s fringe. Cleverly evoking at different times studio lights both in front of and behind camera as well as the bright Hollywood sunshine, Hudson’s craft adds another dimension to the rich tableau of this production.  Michael Bradley’s musical direction and vocal arrangement were also well planned and Andrew Johnson’s sound design ensured that lyrics and dialog remained clear above the faultless sound of the band. And all of this directed by Thom Southerland, who has longed to put on this show for many years. He is a credit to his ambitions.

Mack & Mabel has no fancy hydraulics, green costumes or make up, and even the projected movies are simply suggested by a flickering light . (Another inspired Hudson touch)  Mercifully, it has also been spared the modern day casting couch of a TV talent show. In place of those gimmicks it presents a stunning theatrical company delivering excellence through every word, musical note and dance step.

Runs until August 25th