The Addams Family - Review

New Wimbledon Theatre, London


*****

Music & lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Characters created by Charles Addams
Directed by Matthew White

Cameron Blakely and Samatha Womack

Having recently started out in Edinburgh, The Addams Family finally makes its London premiere. Starting life on Broadway in 2010 the show failed to make an immediate transfer across the pond, but having toured internationally, this gloriously ghoulish musical has at last been given a British life and judging by the reaction of tonight's audience, its arrival is more than welcome.

From the moment the overture commences with the iconic clicks from the cartoon / TV series the audiences are not only on side, but clicking along. The story, characters and settings are iconic. But with such a cultural resonance of course comes great expectations. Have no fear however, this production doesn’t just meet expectations, it smashes them!

The long road to London has been well worth it for this company, for their comic timing and delivery has been honed to perfection. The evening's run of constant stone cold gags sees each wisecrack delivered with the utmost sincerity. Most importantly, Matthew White’s direction has ensured a strong connection to the famously familiar elements of the TV classic, while still allowing creativity from all of his team to blossom. Complete with a mystery arm frequently making an appearance through the letter box, Diego Pitarch's design in particular sets the classic scene from the offset.

The performances are flawless. Too many to mention them all, but Cameron Blakely's Gomez is sensational. His presence is a force to be reckoned with and in the opening number When You're An Addams, which is the first taste we get of Alistair David's impressive choreography, Blakely not only establishes his character but alongside Samantha Womack’s Morticia, draws the audience into their not so normal family life. Stunt / celebrity casting can often be a critique of many UK Tours but not tonight. Womack’s motherly warmth actually comes across with an icy chill. Not only that, but the comedic chemistry between these two fantastic actors is more than alive and certainly at no point do either of these two need a kiss of life from their opposite. The gags also flow thick and fast from Les Dennis’ fabulously crazed Uncle Fester.

A strong mother deserves an equally strong on stage daughter and Carrie Hope Fletcher’s Wednesday is a blast. As the hot headed, torturing yet adorable Wednesday, Fletcher is quite simply a raring ball of energy on stage as her romance with Oliver Ormson's Lucas Beineke develops. Her rendition of Pulled complete with puppet butterflies was top notch, very few actors can deliver such vocal and comical class through song.

- To be fair, Fletcher has dreamed of playing Wednesday for years. This website saw her sing Pulled nearly four years ago at Andrew Lippa’s gig at the St James Theatre. Read Jonathan's review from then - she “took the roof off”. -

Amongst the cross bows, gory dead rabbits, cackles and cries is a story about the simple day to life of a family in New York. Albeit not your average tribe, but the monstrous leading performances and hauntingly slick ensemble bring this family tale to life. Supported by Andrew Hilton's polished band with Lippa's numbers superbly arranged by Richard Beadle, the show plays at Wimbledon until the end of the week before hitting the road as one of the best productions currently touring the land.

If you know your Addams Family songs – Full Disclosure! To everyone else the show is unmissable.

Playing at the New Wimbledon Theatre until May 20th, then touring. Full schedule here.
Reviewed by Josh Adams
Photo credit: Matt Martin

The Girls - Review

Phoenix Theatre, London


****


Written by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth
Directed by Tim Firth

Claire Machin, Sophie-Louise Dann, Joanna Riding, Claire Moore, Debbie Chazen

Make of it what you will, but in less than as many years, the West End has showcased two new British musicals both of which have been inspired by the true stories of naked women being presented in provocative tableaux. While Mrs Henderson Presents may have been drawn from the Windmill Girls' wartime titillating tonic, Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s The Girls is of a more classic vintage, savouring the sauce stirred up when the mostly mature membership of a northern branch of the WI (Women’s Institute) set out to raise funds for a local hospital by posing nude for a calendar.

The true story of the Rylstone & District WI is the stuff of modern-day legend, inspiring Firth to have previously scripted both its film and subsequent stage play treatment (each titled The Calendar Girls). But he and Barlow are two northern lads who’d grown up together and despite pursue differing career paths, had long harboured the dream of co-writing a show. It was to be Barlow’s mum who convinced them of The Calendar Girls' tuneful potential.

Musicals are nothing if they do not explore the human condition - and The Girls pulses with a humanity that touches almost everyone in the audience. That it is written to be performed by predominantly older women - a casting bracket so often woefully overlooked in today's industry – is a joy in itself. Even more impressively, in filling the show’s six featured roles, the producers have done well to assemble a troupe who represent the cream of their musical theatre generation.

Joanna Riding plays Annie whose husband John (James Gaddas) succumbs to cancer, sparking the fund-raising idea. Not just a remarkable, spine-tingling performance, Riding’s role, perhaps more than any other in the canon, is also that of playing everywoman on stage. Her song Kilimanjaro touching anyone who's been bereaved and it is with the most understated pathos that she portrays the grief that is both her devastation and motivation. Her early career saw Riding garner Olivier awards and nominations by the handful. This powerhouse turn will likely see her nominated again.

Alongside Riding is Claire Moore's Chris, the feisty local florist whose idea the calendar is. Moore is another timeless West End star of remarkable pedigree who commands the stage.

Firth and Barlow’s songs have a sweet simplicity with an occasional touch of genius in the lyrics, their opening number Yorkshire, being a stirring tribute to the county’s rugged charm. There may be occasional moments of trite silliness in the wit, but these are more than made up for by the company's sheer excellence. 

Sophie-Louise Dann, herself an accomplished diva, is sensational as Celia, a retired stewardess, whose number So I’ve Had A Little Work Done is a spot-on paean to plastic surgery. Michele Dotrice’s elderly Jessie is similarly outstanding with her feisty, poignant rebuke to the advance of years, What Age Expects. Likewise, Debbie Chazen and Claire Machin bring their own characters’ anxieties to hilarious, even if at times painfully well-observed relief.

The supporting cast fill modest roles with an unassuming charm, Gaddas bringing a caring, nuanced stoicism to his decline that’s never mawkish. Likewise Josh Benson and Chloe May Jackson are a comic delight as teenage schoolkids, simultaneously discovering love and thwarting their mothers’ high-flying expectations.

Richard Beadle’s band infuses the hummable score with verve, while Robert Jones’ design, an ingenious confection of drawers and doors, outlines both the glorious majesty of the Yorkshire Dales with a cosy and well-worn intimacy of the local village hall.

Above all, the strength of this musical lies in how it is played by this wonderful cast. Against the darkest of backdrops, The Girls not only touches our hearts with its tragedy, it celebrates a self-deprecating yet very British resilience that squares up to adversity. 

In what is a story for us all, The Girls makes for a magical night of musical theatre, performed to perfection.

Away from showbiz, the Rylstone women, who set out only to generate a very modest hospital donation, have gone on to raise nearly £5 million to date. A proportion of the show's receipts are being donated to the charity Bloodwise.

Now booking until 15th July

Photo credit: Matt Crockett, Dewynters

The Bodyguard - A New Musical

Adelphi Theatre, London

****

Based on the Warner Bros. Film

Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan

Book by Alexander Dinelaris

Directed by Thea Sharrock



Mark Letheren as Rachel Marron's stalker



The Bodyguard at London’s Adelphi Theatre has been around for almost three months and played this week to a reassuringly packed house on a wintry Thursday night. Alexander Dinelarishas has taken Lawrence Kasdan’s twenty year old screenplay that was embellished with the starring roles of singer Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner as the gun hired to protect her and filleted it down to a staged tale, taking not only a few (modest) liberties with the storyline but also cannily identifying moments along his story’s journey to liberally add in Houston’s hits at any available opportunity. And do you know what? It's a little corny, but it works!

The story broadly follows fictional singer Rachel Marron and her family and entourage and how following the receipt of crazed threats, a skilled bodyguard is hired for the close protection of the star. Any more detail would spoil a good show. If you know the film, expect a few surprises and if you are new to the tale then expect an entertaining ride with a few thrills and spills and the occasional tear too.

The American actress Heather Headley is headlined as starring as Marron. Not so well known in the UK, her Broadway credentials are impeccable. However, it was with a little initial (and short lived) disappointment that we learned that Gloria Onitiri was to take the lead at the performance reviewed here. The cast list states Onitiri as an Ensemble member, yet her detailed bio in the programme describes her as Alternate Rachel Marron. We subsequently learned that she regularly covers for Headley in what is clearly a demanding role. Note to producers : If you regularly have an alternate playing a lead role, then do what Phantom Of The Opera have done for the last 25 years and own up to the fact on your posters and publicity. The honesty does you no harm. Rant over, back to the talent.

Onitiri is quite frankly an unexpected diamond in a glittering show. Her take on Houston’s hits that are sung exquisitely. She was all of rock star, diva, mom and woman-in-love, performed with a gorgeous sound. Her climactic number, Houston's signature hit I Will Always Love You that is an absolute roller-coaster of a song soaring from intimate to epic, was spine tingling. Lloyd Owen as bodyguard Frank Farmer is a turn that is strong and credible. The professional demands of his character demand modest understatement and a performance that is mostly sardonic and laconic. Farmer is allocated few songs in the show (a wise call as a singing bodyguard could well send an audience’s suspended disbelief crashing to the ground) but his rare tuneful moment raises a knowing smile amongst an audience familiar with the tale. The other stunning chanteuse of the night is Debbie Kurup, playing Marron’s sister Nicki. Her delivery of Saving All My Love is exquisite and when she duets with Onitiri, the close harmony work is West End vocal perfection.

Thea Sharrock directs on Tim Hatley’s imaginatively designed set. I suspect the producers have not only an eye on a Broadway opening for the show, but Vegas too, as the classic hits, glitzy sets and not too demanding storyline, will go down well in Nevada’s Sin City. Richard Beadle’s band deliver a very polished and authentic sound ( the delicate guitar lead in to I Will Always Love You was a joy) and for a night of top production values in song and dance, The Bodyguard is another shining example of what makes London the theatre capital of the world.

 

Booking until September 2013

 

 

Songs - Richard Beadle - CD Review

****

Richard Beadle is a very accomplished young musical presence in contemporary musical theatre. His album, Songs, is an anthology comprising some works that will form part of Today Is My Day, a full length show that he is writing, whilst others are simply penned without a connecting thread.

It is a mark of the respect that Beadle commands within the “Business”, that he has been able to enlist the vocal skills of so many talented artistes to perform his works. Rachael Wooding sings most frequently as Emily, the bride to be in Today Is My Day, whilst  Ross Hunter plays Daniel, her fiancé. In an ingenious performance, the talented Hannah Waddingham sings as Katherine, Daniel’s mother and in a bold move for the musical theatre genre, Beadle has written the song  1967 for her character, addressing a sexual assault endured as a young girl. A disquieting theme, but the writer has approached both lyric and tune sensitively, and Waddingham’s delivery is haunting, hinting at the terror that she experienced, and the damage she subsequently suffered.

Julie Atherton features on two songs, both of which bring comedic interludes to the album. In The Wedding Song, she tries her hand as Emily,  frantically preparing herself as all brides must, for the detailed planning of her wedding day. Where the other songs from Today Is My Day are predominantly reflective and introspective, Atherton injects that tone of paranoia that is sufficient to raise a smile in any person who has planned a big event. With I Want A Footballer, Atherton reprises her celebrity-seeking “wannabe” character, heard last year on Dougal Irvine’s song Do You Want A Baby Baby? The lyrics are clever, and the reference to footballers wives and girlfriends being the power-wielders within relationships, suggesting that they are “ the tail that wags the dog” is sublime. If it wasn’t for the “Blue Is The Colour” motif scored into the last few bars, this song would be perfect!

Also performing two songs on the CD is Stuart Matthew Price, for whom Beadle has previously written for the singer’s own album. Colorado Plates sees Price in his fresh and honest style, searching for a probably lost love, with a performance that echoed his previously recorded Run Away With Me.

Lyrically, Beadle does need to sharpen his pencil as regards wit and rhyme if he is to emulate the piercing perception say of Jason Robert Brown, whose music certainly seems to have influenced his work. It must be said however that Richard Beadle’s musical composition is simply outstanding. His range of style and use of orchestra is both exciting and gratifying to listen to, and it is clear why he is a musical director in much demand in today’s competitive West End. The album is both a taste of the future and a celebration of the talents of today. If you enjoy musical theatre, you will relish it.

@jaybeegee63

This review was first published on The Public Reviews