A Chorus Line - Review

Sadler's Wells, London

*****

Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics by Edward Kleban

Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante

Directed by Nikolai Foster

The cast of A Chorus Line

Nikolai Foster created a magnificent revival of A Chorus Line at Leicester’s Curve Theatre in 2021. Even then, the brilliance of this production cried out for a wider audience, and so it is that London now has a month to enjoy this show with its residency at Sadler’s Wells before it tours across the country.

It has been 11 years since the A Chorus Line last played in the capital, a long wait to witness such a class act of a show and Foster’s interpretation has only improved with time. At just under two hours, this one-act record-breaker upends the traditions of musical theatre. There are no leading characters whose arcs we follow, rather an ingenious confection of the lives and histories of a fictional Broadway chorus line (with narratives drawn from real-life), all desperate to be chosen from the final-round audition that forms the backbone of the show. 

Adam Cooper and Carly Mercedes Dyer reprise their roles of the fictional show’s director Zach and Cassie an auditionee with more of a back-story than meets the eye. Both are sublimely skilled performers making captivating work not only of James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante’s fiendishly challenging book, but also of Ellen Kane’s choreography, with Dyer’s take on The Music And The Mirror proving breath-taking in her interpretation. Both Curve and Sadler’s Wells offer massive stages and Kane’s work, matched to a band that is intriguingly housed in an on-stage cube of gig boxes, uses that space to the full.

Most of the cast in this Curve revival may be new to the show but Foster has selected his actors wisely and they are all, to a person, performers at the very top of their game. The humanity that underlies each of their characters is sometimes funny but often heartbreaking and to name but a few of these gems, Amy Thornton, Lydia Bannister and Kate Parr as Sheila, Bebe and Maggie respectively make gorgeously poignant work of At The Ballet and Manuel Pacific has us in the palm of his hand as he delivers Paul’s devastating monologue of family dysfunctionality. Jocasta Almgill is entrusted with the role of Diana that includes the show’s hit-song, What I Did For Love. Almgill may have sung the lyric “look my eyes are dry”, but across the stalls on press night, quite a few eyes were moist at her delivery.

Throughout, under Matthew Spalding’s musical direction, Hamlisch’s score is handled beautifully. Grace Smart’s set design is neatly simple as the show demands. Howard Hudson’s lighting however is sensational, comprising ingenious use of rows of spotlights that rise and fall in carefully co-ordinated sequences, evoking scenes that range from intimacy to full on Broadway pizzazz. The tour’s lighting crew will have their work cut out on the road, re-calibrating this spectacular rig for each different venue.

It says much for the strength of the nation’s regional theatre that three of the finest musicals to be playing this summer, Oliver!, Barnum and A Chorus Line have all originated outside of London. With this interpretation however, Nikolai Foster has possibly created the definitive British production of this enigmatic show. Just go!

Runs until August 25th. Then on tour.

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

A Chorus Line - Review

Curve Theatre, Leicester

*****

Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics by Edward Kleban

Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante

Directed by Nikolai Foster

The cast of A Chorus Line

It’s a bold statement from Leicester’s Curve that sees them stage A Chorus Line as their seasonal musical. Marvin Hamlisch and Ed Kleban’s meta-musical that scrapes away the schmaltz of 42nd Street, exposing the anxieties and aspirations of an auditioning Broadway chorus line is a gritty glimpse of humanity, with Kleban’s lyrics matching Sondheim's perceptive wisdom. This is a tough show with no gimmicks and which demands a strong and talented company. Here, directed by Nikolai Foster, the musical magic is a singular sensation.

While it is invidious to name cast members as the entire ensemble are all magnificent in the different glimpses of humanity they reveal, be it through the spoken word, song or dance, the key drivers of the narrative are outstanding. In a moment of song-free dialogue Ainsley Hall Ricketts as Paul holds our hearts in his hand as he speaks of the challenges of his parents accepting his sexuality. Lizzy Rose Esin-Kelly as Diana captures one of the show’s most tender lyrics in What I Did For Love, taking those carefully held hearts and breaking them with her honesty, while Carly Mercedes Dyer’s Cassie delivers a dance routine to The Music And The Mirror that is breathtaking in its energy and passion. Helming the on-stage company is Adam Cooper as Zach, the Broadway producer. Fierce yet enigmatic, Cooper plays the role with precise aplomb.

Foster’s team of creatives are as stunning as his cast. Ellen Kane’s choreography skilfully picks out the gelling of the company as the plot’s audition process evolves. Grace Smart’s set design is starkly stunning in its use of the Curve’s cavernous space. But take a bow lighting designer Howard Hudson whose rigs of spotlights rise and fall with a power that both enchants and enthralls. Musical director Tamara Saringer is equally magnificent. Hamlisch’s score is tough, but Saringer and her seven-piece band grasp the music’s challenges perfectly.

The people of Leicester have again been blessed with this festive treat – and if you don’t live nearby, then jump in a car or train and go. This may not be the traditional family show – but for Christmas quality, Nikolai Foster’s A Chorus Line is the One!

Runs until 31st December

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

Tiffany Graves - Review

Crazy Coqs, London

****

Tiffany Graves

For one night only, the fabulous Tiffany Graves was in cabaret at the Crazy Coqs. The stunning performer, increasingly appearing as one of our finest leading ladies offered a collection of numbers that mixed career highspots with a dash of poignancy and some fabulous comedy.

In a gorgeous evening dress and sparkling with bling Tiffany got the show underway with a nod to her magnificent Ulla in the recent tour of The Producers. It was a treat to hear When You Got It, Flaunt It for once sung without the cod Swedish accent, allowing Graves to focus on the lyrics’ inherent humour. 

A witty little number Tweet, penned by Graves (inspired by Pal Joey’s Zip) saw her give name checks to friends and associates cramming the basement venue (interest declared – I was proud to be one of the shout-outs) before easing into a spine-tingling take on Tony Hatch’s Downtown. A song for so long associated with Petula Clark, Graves, accompanied solely by Leigh Thompson on piano did away with the trademark interpretations of the 1965 chart-topper, giving the number an all-new frisson in her version.  

A nod to her current role in Kiss Me Kate led to a delicious Why Can’t You Behave, before the most enchanting of spiels led into an inspired mash-up of The Beatle’s Let It Be, with Disney’s Let It Go, Graves unleashing the full power of her remarkable belt.

Act two saw Graves return clad in a black- sequinned and closely tailored mermaid dress - which with her hair tightly cut reminded me of the look of a youthful Jamie Lee Curtis. A (mildly barbed, no names mentioned here) reference to her time in Sweet Charity kicked off the second half, that then saw the erudite Alexander Bermange take to the piano and mic for a guest spot that showcased the man's hallmark wit. 

Turning to the 1970’s Graves took the Marvin Hamlisch Bond song Nobody Does It Better, filleting the classic into ballad and belt and again giving an oh-so familiar number a wonderfully fresh interpretation.

It turned out that the night was Graves’ first wedding anniversary too (ahh..) and with devoted hubby Oliver toasting her from the crowd, who could begrudge a girl some self-indulgent romance as she closed her set with the schmaltzy (even if unquestionably sincere) I’ll Be Here With You, dedicated to her man. 

Graves’ has to bring this solo show back. Gorgeous singing along with a cabaret patter that was as revealing as it was confident and hilarious. Her witty words at one point segueing into a deliriously wonderful Words, Words, Words from The Witches of Eastwick.

When she does, don’t miss it!

The Goodbye Girl - Review

Gatehouse Theatre, London

**

Book by Neil Simon
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by David Zippel
Directed by Adam Lenson

The Goodbye Girl is a 1993 musical with a story written by Neil Simon based on his award winning 1977 movie. It is a fanciful rom-com telling of the blossoming love between Paula a newly-dumped New York single mum and her lodger/landlord Elliott, a neurotic actor from Chicago who moves into her apartment. This production marks the show’s first London revival for 18 years.

There is a long established principle in musical theatre, that when tackling a show written around a mediocre book, one should display a commitment to outstanding production values (which doesn’t necessarily equate to a huge budget). There is then a chance that one might, just might end up with a hit. Adam Lenson’s programme notes say that The Goodbye Girl has struggled to “find its feet in large scale productions”. Based on this offering, it is still looking for them.

Rebecca Bainbridge and Paul Keating play the star-crossed pair and whilst both actors are competent professionals, neither convinces as the angst-ridden American that each represents. Their singing is passable (though far too often is shamefully inaudible even with mics) and their accents seem cod-USA rather than the passionately brash NY/Chicago tone that their characters demand and which is such a key element to the backdrop of the show’s chemistry.

Claira Vaughan’s choreography offers some interesting ideas for the Gatehouse’s compact space, but her company are woefully under-drilled. The venue has only recently displayed excellence in dance with Singing In The Rain. It's a shame that those standards have not been maintained and the lighting plots are clumsy too. Whilst Hamlisch’s music isn’t easy for sure, MD Richard Bates could do with taking his 5 piece band up a gear or two. There are moments of dischord that need atttention. 

None of the above criticisms are beyond repair and can and should be addressed and to be fair, it’s not all bad. There are some points of classy entertainment on offer with Denise Pitter’s landlady proving a delight, whilst the ensemble’s routine in Too Good To Be Bad is a laugh-out loud treat.

Across town, David Zippel’s far sharper City Of Angels closes this weekend, but a song title from that show could be well applied to The Gatehouse’s Goodbye Girl: It Needs Work.

Runs to 28th February 2015

Sweet Smell of Success - Review

***

Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics by Craig Carnelia

Book by John Guare

Directed by Mehmet Ergen



Stuart Matthew Price



If the aromas of this country’s recent nasty episodes of cheque-book phone-tapping journalism could be distilled they might be ironically labelled the Sweet Smell of Success. This show from Marvin Hamlisch, he of blessed memory, is a thoroughly unpleasant tale of a morally bankrupt press, with a plot that includes almost flippant nods to McCarthyism, suggested incestuous motives, suicide and murder. There is a love interest , but it merely serves as second fiddle to the devious malfeasance that drives this work.

David Bamber is JJ Hunsecker, an influential New York columnist, with an unhealthily protective attitude towards his much younger sister Susan, played by Caroline Keiff. Whilst the immorality of the press has long been a rich seam for writers, Bamber’s character however loathsome is not a patch on the grotesque media baron that was Lambert Le Roux in David Hare's Pravda. Bamber’s acting is impressive but his singing disappoints and a second act vaudeville number, whose sole purpose seems to be that of providing Hunsecker with a big song and  dance routine, is an opportunity squandered. As Sidney Falcone, a protege of manipulative journalism whose character is ruthlessly manipulated by Hunsecker,  Adrian der Gregorian is frequently reduced to acting by simply shoulder shrugging.

To the show's credit, other performances shine. Stuart Matthew Price is masterful as Dallas, the young pianist in love with Susan. It is a delight to see this actor in a large “almost lead” role that for once offers his character numerous opportunities to sing solo, as his voice is simply divine. Similarly excellent is Celia Graham in the far too minor role of cigarette girl Rita. A highlight of the evening is the belting of her character’s one and solo number, Rita’s Tune. Wonderfully mopping up a handful of the minor scene-setting roles is Russell Morton, a young man of striking presence and potential. Hamlisch’s melodies are bold and jazzy and Bob Broad’s direction of his pitch perfect 7-piece band is a beautiful evocation of time and place.

Nathan M Wright’s choreography of the ensemble numbers lacked polish on press night. It was sometimes clumsy, and whilst expensive sets may not be expected in this fine off-West End establishment, foot-perfect dance routines are and Wright should urgently drill his cast further. Mehmet Ergen’s direction also denies his actors their full potential. The show’s staging is at times poorly thought out: a crucial beating takes place on a badly lit gantry, not easily visible to a proportion of the audience and a repeated gag of the chorus appearing from an upstage pit, wears thin with repetition.

In Jason Robert Brown’s Parade one song from a journalist, Real Big News, says more about a corrupt press than this show manages in two acts. If the cast and creative team can refine its weaker points, then this production stands a chance of generating a modest whiff of success.

Runs to December 22