Me And My Girl - Review

Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester

****

Music by Noel Gay

Book and lyrics by L Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber

Book revised by Stephen Fry with contributions by Mike Ockrent

Directed by Daniel Evans

Alex Young, Ryan Pidgen and company

A showbiz dream came true at Chichester this week when Matt Lucas, the starring lead of Me And My Girl, had to pull out of the show on doctor’s orders and company member Ryan Pidgen stepped up to the plate to take on the role of Bill Snibson. With barely a couple of hours to rehearse, Pidgen who was warmly received by the Chichester audience, was magnificent delivering an opening night performance that could have been a moment straight out of 42nd Street.

Pidgen may have been the unexpected star of the evening, but in Daniel Evans’ cast he was surrounded by the cream of British musical theatre talent. Opposite him, and in her first major leading role, Alex Young was a convincing and vocally charming Sally Smith. Interestingly, for a leading lady, the show does not give Sally too many singing highlights – but in her one stunning solo of the night, Once You Lose Your Heart, Young proved (yet again, for this website has long been in awe of her talents) why she is one of the finest performers of her generation.

The plot of Me And My Girl is a far-fetched hokum that sees the cockney working-class Snibson discover that he is a landed peer. His newly-realised upper-crust family are horrified by Snibson’s cultural roots and the narrative plays out as Snibson learns to mingle with the aristocracy, while at the same time holding onto his London heritage. There are shades of My Fair Lady in the story, (and even a couple of nods to that musical too in the second half) but where Lerner and Loewe’s foundations lay in a wondrous book, Me And My Girl sits on a far flakier fable. Snibson’s journey is all about old fashioned class and sexual prejudice and while the love between him and Sally is unquestionably deep and sincere, she is reduced to little more than a woman who has to change her role in life to win her man. Elsewhere the excellent Siubhan Harrison is reduced to playing (wonderfully) Lady Jacqueline Carstone, a beautiful aristocrat but a woman with no depth whatsoever. Take a step back and this show is a dated cornucopia of corny cliché and caricature. It is hard to believe that the modern era has seen Stephen Fry (no less) revise the book.

And yet for all its moral flaws, Daniel Evans has fashioned a thing of beauty here, drawn solely from the excellent company that he’s assembled. In supporting roles, Caroline Quentin is the dowager Duchess of Dene, while the venerable Clive Rowe plays Sir John Tremayne – another bumbling toff and the two are simply perfection. Much of the show’s momentum is carried by crass puns and double-entendres which should, by rights, have the audience groaning. Here however they are hilarious, with Evans having drilled his cast to deliver the comedy with split second timing and perfect delivery. There’s a gorgeous twist of role reversal too, as Jennie Dale takes on the role of Parchester, the landed family’s solicitor. Dale (also, always brilliant) shines like a diamond as she tap dances her way through moments of sensational hilarity.

In the pit Gareth Valentine (who not only conducts but has also arranged the show’s score) has taken familiar melodies and revitalised them, as alongside Evans, Alistair David’s choreography is slick, imaginative and impressive.

Me And My Girl’s politics may be of the dark ages – but its ability to put grins on faces and set toes tapping is the mark of a modern show that knows how to please its audience. The talent on stage here is unmatched, and for a seaside festival of song and dance, there’s nothing finer in the country.

Runs until 25th August

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Working - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


*****


From the book by Studs Terkel
Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso
With additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg
Songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers &
Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz and James Taylor

Liam Tanme, Siubhan Harrison, Gillian Bevan,
Peter Polycarpou, Krysten Cummings & Dean Chisnall

It is remarkable how the mundane, simple and modest elements of hard graft, so often taken for granted, become the catalyst for the way you think and live your life, despite your best efforts to be defined by your dreams. Working, a musical directed by Luke Sheppard at the Southwark Playhouse, capitalises on that universal revelation with an incredible cast performing heartfelt, heartwarming and heart-wrenching stories of real people.

Without a narrative of sorts, the revolution that is Stud Terkel’s 1974 book (now on my Amazon wishlist) is celebrated as we’re invited into the lives of everyone from a hotel maid to a press agent, from firefighter to teacher. The seasoned cast relish the array of accents and sass, with no character left behind and no performance lacking and with their younger counterparts embracing their first post training roles with enough energy and glee to keep the hope alive even in the darkest moments. Under Isaac McCullough's baton, the tunes switch from cabaret to rock ballad to country, attributing to the multitude of musicians and writers credited which only adds to this celebration of the spice and variety of life.

Kicking off with an overture addressing the possibilities and downsides of worklife (“There are okay bosses or Satan bosses”) we are then thrown into the unknowingly deep thoughts of a fast food server and delivery guy (the mostly gleefully sweet Liam Tamne), the musings of a “Brother Trucker” (the very much not 19, Dean Chisnall), cue a rock ballad, and the pride of a steel worker (the endearing Peter Polycarpou) and that’s just a few from the guys. The range in the cast is incredible and drives the performance as the perky Indian customer service advisor warps into a pacifist with a screw loose. The ladies include Gillian Bevan perfectly presenting the pride of a lifelong waitress with a cabaret-esque number, Krysten Cummings bringing Whitney back as determined hotel maid and Siubhan Harrison bringing a tear to the eye as she harmonises the woes of factory labourer. It’s difficult to pinpoint a highlight, as it’s difficult to determine a more interesting story when they’re all told with the same pizazz.

In a world where it’s becoming more and more easy to forget the incredibly real and entirely fascinating lives of those who serve you coffee and build your homes, this musical is a welcome revival (and London premiere) and an eye-opening night. Oh, and so much fun.

Runs until 8th July
Reviewed by Heather Deacon
Photo credit: Robert Workman

Luke Sheppard talks about directing Working

Siubhan Harrison in Working

Any new musical from either Stephen Schwartz or Lin-Manuel Miranda makes for big news - so it is even more intriguing and exciting that this week at Southwark Playhouse sees Working make its European premiere - a show that is a collaboration of these two creative giants. 

The show is being directed by Luke Sheppard whose recent credits most famously include Miranda's In The Heights. This proved to be a show which achieved that holy grail amongst London's Off West End (or fringe) theatre scene by securing a fully invested transfer to a commercial venue in the capital, where it played for more than a year, garnering some considerable recognition and success at the Oliviers along the way.

As the rehearsals for Working were coming to an end, I spoke with Sheppard.

JB:     Luke, tell me about the strengths of the story that lies behind Working.

LS:     Well, to be absolutely honest with you, there isn't a story, but there is a narrative. There is no character in the piece that has a traditional journey as we would know it in a book musical even though the book was Tony nominated on Broadway.

It’s not a song cycle either. Rather it is a series of characters who take us on a narrative arc through their different jobs, throughout the piece. Essentially, its closest cousin is something like A Chorus Line because that is based on real experiences attached to a story narrative. Working however has deliberately always sought to remain detached from any sense of fictionalisation. It may not have a story, but what it does have is roots that are connected in, what is I think, arguably one of the first approaches to making a verbatim musical.

Stephen Schwartz took words from interviews and translated them into first monologues and then the songs, that now exist in this structure. I think part of what makes it so wonderful is that while it is totally unique, it’s not a story-driven musical, as people might have come to expect from shows at the Southwark Playhouse.

JB:     This is a most unusual project, bringing the long established talents of Schwartz together with Miranda. What has it been like to work with these two writers?

LS:     It's been a real passion project for Stephen. Working is a show that he's held very close to his heart over the decades, and he's been right behind us in what we’re creating. We keep him in the loop, and I flew over to see him in New York to explain our vision for the show. He really is our port of call as the kind of gospel for the show.

Lin-Manuel has been supportive, although we haven't seen much of him so far because, really, it's only two of his songs that are in the show, while Stephen is the father figure. But I do think that everyone who's ever been involved with Working feels a real fondness for it and are really excited that we're presenting it here.

JB:     And what about the cast? You have assembled a fascinating array of respected and established leads alongside a number of newcomers. Tell me more.

LS:     Yeah. Our cast are extraordinary. Literally, if we were doing this in the West End, every single one of them is who I would want to be playing these roles. Each day, in rehearsals, is just full of revelation after revelation.

We have six, I guess, in inverted commas, "grown-up actors," who play the roles, as per the scripts. We've made a decision to invite six young graduates along for the ride. We've created these six jobs for six graduates who were just leaving drama school and taking their first steps into the world of work, and invited them to essentially bring their opinion into the show, which absolutely informs every step of the production.

They're on stage throughout, and they become the mirror that we hold up to these professions and, also, the lens through which we see the piece. I hope that they will become the narrative that defines the show, that takes us on the emotional journey that Working demands, which is fundamentally all about presenting real people's words in a documentative way.

JB:     You worked with Lin-Manuel when you directed In the Heights a few years ago when, to be honest, his name was only know to the cognoscenti of musical theatre. Since then of course, with Hamilton, his rise to fame has been stratospheric. What has it been like, working with him in that transition?

LS:     It's been very exciting for In the Heights to have been a small part of that dialogue. I was drawn to that show because it's a piece of material that has, in my mind, a universal appeal, even though it's about a very specific community.

What Lin-Manuel does so brilliantly is writing work that is not only so connected to his own experience but can translate to such a wider perspective. In the Heights has been a very, very small part of that dialogue, but it's been wonderful to be a part of that journey.

JB:     You are also one of the very few people who's stewarded a show from a humble Off West End conception through to a full commercial transfer. Obviously you're not going to tempt fate and want to wish for something similar here - But........ 

LS:     Do we think it could have the same path? Actually, the brilliant thing about In the Heights was that it was never meant to do anything else. It was just meant to exist at Southwark. If you missed it, you missed it, and it would go away, and you'd never have another opportunity. The fact that it had a commercial life was a real surprise for us. It wasn't built to do that, and actually, if it was built to do that, we probably would have made different decisions that might have resulted in a less successful show. It was a real gift that the producers just trusted us to make it an event at Southwark and go from there.

And what I have loved about doing Working is that it's exactly the same ethos. It's put together by a team who want to come and work at this theatre, on this piece, and there's no other theatre in London where I would rather be debuting this show because of the industrial roots in the very architecture of the building!

Actually, we have never once talked about the show going any further which I find really refreshing. If you've always got one eye on the next step, then it's not always easy to make the most empowered choices for the audience who are coming to see the show right now. As it stands, this show is here for five weeks, and if you don't see it, you don't see it.

Working is a slice of something very bold and different, which is exactly what I think Off West End theatres are designed for and should be used for.

Working runs at the Southwark Playhouse until 8th July

MS. A Song Cycle - Review

*****

An album themed around the impact of a disease makes for an unusual release at the best of times and yet there is an unexpected noble beauty to Rory Sherman's MS. A Song Cycle. As Sherman writes in his CD sleeve notes, most of the people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are women, often in their 20s or 30s whose lives are at best, rearranged and at worst, devastated. Drawn from his own conversations with friends and family, Sherman has written a collection 14 songs, each one set to music by a different composer, and each recorded by a different woman drawn from amongst the cream of Britain's musical theatre performers.

Whilst all of the recordings are as humbling as they are beautifully crafted, a number are particularly profound, moving or even dammit downright entertaining. Robert J. Sherman (he of the illustrious songwriting line of Shermans and no relation to Rory) has scored the reflective Mondays, recorded by Rosemary Ashe. There's an innate sense of wisdom in Ashe's timbre, singing of the therapy found in a weekly group meeting - with Sherman's gentle melodies only enhancing the song's message.

What's That Jim? scored by George Stiles and sung by Caroline Quentin has a music-hall ring to its take on a woman's frustration at her condition, with a clever fusion of wit and irony in  Quentin’s delivery. Likewise the satire in Mummy's Not Well sung by Lauren Samuels with music by Paul Boyd is another bittersweet gem. The song tells of a child's perspective on her mother's diagnosis, the lyrics bringing a clever poignancy - naive, yet knowing.

Laura Pitt-Pulford's Cerulean Skies (penned by the talented Sarah Travis, more often to be found directing other people's music rather than composing her own) offers a deeply personal message from a mother contemplating her own decline in health as she addresses her child. 

One of the most heartbreaking perspectives on the album comes from Caroline Sheen's Tortoise & Hare (composer Gianni Onori) - sung by a woman who sees her partner physically speeding up in comparison to her own battle with MS, that is leaving her impaired and slow. It's perceptive, painful songwriting, powerfully performed.

And that last sentence is actually an apt description for the entire album. This review has highlighted those that tracks I found left the deepest personal impression and the key word there is “personal”. There's a bevy of other songs from other talented performers and creatives, each of whose contribution may strike each listener differently. They all deserve credit so: Also appearing on the album are Alexia Khadime, Lillie Flynne, Anna Francolini, Jodie Jacobs, Siubhan Harrison, Josefina Gabrielle, Preeya Kalidas, Janie Dee and Julie Atherton. Additional compositions come from George Maguire, Brian Lowdermilk, Erin Murray Quinlan, Verity Quade, Amy Bowie, Luke Di Somma, Tamar Broadbent, Robbie White and Eamonn O'Dwyer.

And on nearly all of the tracks, Ellie Verkerk puts in sterling work on the piano.

No personal gain is being made from the album, with profits going to The MS Society. All the artists involved have donated their time and talent, with Richard O'Brien providing the cash to get the CD released. As such, this review can only be a loving appraisal - to critique would be invidious - as would be to award anything less than 5 stars. MS. A Song Cycle is beautifully performed. Buy it!

Guys and Dolls - Review

Phoenix Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Directed by Gordon Greenberg

The Guys from Guys and Dolls

The current London cast of Gordon Greenberg's Chichester production of Guys and Dolls, recently moved across town to the Phoenix Theatre, is a delight. This company's polished excellence give a delightful treatment of Frank Loesser's words and tunes, themselves a carefully crafted tribute to Damon Runyon's Broadway fables.

The move to the Phoenix itself was an an improbable 12-7, the London production having been planned to leave the Savoy and continue its tour around the UK. It was only upon seeing the warmth of the capital's reception that canny producers opted for the tour to spawn a continued London residency, before hitting the road.

There is an irresistible loveliness around these four leads. Over from America, Richard Kind is a wonderfully lugubrious Nathan Detroit. Kind nails the old promoter's romantic ineptitude as he struggles to find a home for his floating crap game. Beautifully expressive, in a suit that's deliberately cut just a size too large, there's a generous measure of a recognisable everyman in Kind’s comic creation.

Also new to the show is Samantha Spiro's Miss Adelaide. Spiro is all five of New York's boroughs rolled into one - and the shtick that she evolves with Kind is comedy gold. If her vocals may not be the finest, her acting through song is off the scale, including a revelatory nuance to Marry The Man Today (and this from a critic who's loved the show for 35 years). Elsewhere, Spiro’s Take Back Your Mink, all Marlene Dietrich for the first couple of verses before she Hollanderizes her voice into a magnificent Broadway belt for the closing stanzas, is a very guilty pleasure.

Siubhan Harrison is the only lead to have remained from the Savoy and like London’s springtime her Sarah Brown has blossomed magnificently. Of the story's leads, it is only Brown and Sky Masterson who truly evolve through the show discovering both each other and love. Harrison convinces with a touching poignancy as she struggles to resist Sky's charms, along with a glorious set of pipes. Back in Chichester, Clare Foster set Sergeant Sarah's bar very high and it is a joy to report that Siubhan Harrison's tambourine bashing mission doll more than rises to the occasion.

The final newcomer to the romantic quartet is Oliver Tompsett's mellifluous Masterson. Tompsett not only sounds perfect, he looks the part too (his cocked-trilby poise reminding me wistfully of 1982's Ian Charleson at the National). Cool yet ultimately crumbly, with Tompsett it’s all about the voice and the man is a treat to watch and listen to.

It's the lightly sketched details to Loesser's supporting ensemble, those citizens of his Runyonland that add the magic to a great Guys and Dolls and this company doesn't disappoint. Gavin Spokes' Nicely Nicely Johnson convinces as a sweaty water-buffalo in Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat, alongside Jason Pennycooke who delights as an ingeniously created Benny Southstreet.

The diminutive Cornelius Clarke offers up a pugnacious Harry The Horse, sitting well alongside an outsized (and perfectly cast understudy) Cameron Johnson as Big Jule, the Chicago mobster. And as it’s currently the season to celebrate under-recognised understudies, a nod too to Lavinia Fitzpatrick whose dancing as the Diva gave a fabulous contribution to the Cuba routine.

Andrew Wright's choreography alongside Carlos Acosta remains a highlight with both Cuba and the Crapshooters' Ballet pieces continue to offer flair and spectacle. In the pit, Gareth Valentine's work on the new orchestrations brings added sparkle to some wonderful Songbook stalwarts.

Guys and Dolls works best when it doesn't take itself too seriously - and it is truly the mark of an in-form company that a packed theatre can laugh at even the most modest of Loesser's gags. Chemistry? Hell yeah, chemistry! An un-ashamedly romantic, comic-book sketch of New York’s low-life, Guys and Dolls is a perfect evening's entertainment.


Booking to 30th October

Guys and Dolls - Review

Savoy Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser

Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows

Directed by Gordon Greenberg

Jamie Parker

It is a sound idea that has seen Chichester Festival Theatre send their acclaimed 2014 production of Guys and Dolls on the road. The UK tour that commenced in Manchester in November last year is now making a 3 month stop at London's Savoy and it proves fun to re-visit some of this productions more inspired moments.

Guys and Dolls is long acknowledged as one of the Broadway greats (Kenneth Tynan famously commented that along with Death Of A Salesman, the musical was the finest example of American literature) the Savoy show throws into relief how well the show works as a study of love and the human condition. But a cautionary tale. Its cute 1940's New York patter can easily become dated and too many of the show's gags need a punchy comic delivery that not all of this company are up to.

Staying with the production from Chichester's original cast, Jamie Parker's Sky Masterson is up there with the best. His Sky has the gorgeous insouciance that the gambler demands, yet as he realises that he's never been in love before meeting Sarah, Parker reveals the cutest vulnerability too. And boy can he sing. Parker must surely rank amongst the best of his generation in acting through song.

The other gem amongst the show's four leading roles is Sophie Thompson's Miss Adelaide. Barely clad in more mink than a mink, Thompson milks Loesser's wry Manhattan wit with spot-on timing, earning our chuckling sympathy for this most long-term of fiancées.

David Haig plays Nathan Detroit. Whilst Haig may well be a national treasure in waiting, a good Detroit is a tough call and it could be suggested that Haig is also, possibly, a tad too old for the part. Aside from Sue Me he doesn't have too many singing responsibilities (probably a good thing In Haig's case). Above all Haig lacks the ridiculously implausible New York chutzpah that Bob Hoskins defined in 1982 and which, frankly, we ain't seen since. To be fair, Peter Polycarpou who triumphed in the role at Chichester, came close and he is sorely missed from this touring cast. (see note)

This reviewer is missing Clare Foster too – Siubhan Harrison makes a decent stab at Sarah Brown, but doesn't quite rise to the role's tough challenge.

The dance work however is spectacular. Andrew Wright with Carlos Acosta has created some gorgeous routines - and with imaginative Runyonland and Cuba numbers, along with some sensational sewer-dance in the Crapshooters' Ballet the show's choreography is surely amongst the best musical theatre footwork in town right now. And the Hot Box Girls are gorgeously wonderful!

The scenery (marquee lights and advertising hoardings that again suggest a nod to the National's 1982 ground-breaker) is more lightweight than lavish - though remember that this show is on tour so portable sets rather than a full blown West End set of trucks is to be expected.

If you love the show, or just simply adore imaginative dance work then it's well worth a trip to the Savoy.

NOTE:

If Sonia Friedman is reading this review here's my suggestion for a Guys and Dolls dream cast that is probably best staged within the next five years.

Jamie Parker needs to stay as Sky - he won't be bettered. But Parker, a former History Boy, needs to be re-united with his classmate James Corden as Nathan Detroit. Lob in Sheridan Smith as Miss Adelaide and with either Clare Foster or Laura Pitt-Pulford as Sarah Brown and I believe there'd be platinum fol-de-rol for Friedman.

Runs until 12th March, then tours

From Here To Eternity

Shaftesbury Theatre, London

***

Lyrics by Tim Rice

Music by Stuart Brayson

Book by Bill Oakes

Director Tamara Harvey

A passionate wartime romance, a star studded cinema legacy and Tim Rice's lyrics all suggest a musical of grand ambition and spectacular promise. But whilst From Here To Eternity is welcomed as a new piece of musical theatre, as for so many shows or movies themed around Hawaii in that fateful 1941 winter, it proves to be heavy on Pacific promise but, like Soutra Gilmour's (effectively) minimalist set designs, light on artistic content. 

It's a grand canvas indeed that has a show climaxing with the USA being drawn into the second world war. Set around the American naval base at Pearl Harbour, we meet First Sergeant Warden, who is to fall for his womanizing Captain's wife Karen Holmes and Private Prewitt, a member of Warden’s company, who is to lose his heart to Island whore Lorene. Where one love interest is usually enough for most musicals, to be writing for a quartet of lovers is a potential distraction to both writer and audience. Rice's ambitions are noble, but his scope is just too broad to effectively support such romantic complexity.

The show is not helped through the star-casting of Darius Campbell as Warden. Chiselled looks and beautifully voiced for sure, he looks heroic but his acting lacks subtlety and depth and he fails to capture our belief. Robert Lonsdale's Prewitt is a performance that is West End worthy. His take on the song Fight The Fight is stirring and convincing as he grapples with his conscience over being required to fight in conflict. Two reprisals of any song is usually at least one too many and that this song re-appears so often, with other musical motifs returning throughout the evening, indicates that composer Stuart Brayson lacks the talent to match the scale of the show and the renowned wit of his lyricist.

The two lead women delight. Siubhan Harrison is Lorene, a character whose tough shell conceals a wise and tender heart and who inthe number Run Along Joe, gives two pleasing and well-crafted perspectives on the same song through its reprisals. It is Rebecca Thornhill as Karen Holmes who shines out amongst the cast. Her loveless marriage now worn threadbare through countless army flings, the poignancy of the love she craves with Warden is compelling. 

Harvey's direction and Javier De Frutos's choreography is sound throughout even if the constant carrying of metal beds on and off stage by the male ensemble intrudes at times, no more so than half way through the title song From Here To Eternity. The creative pair are at their best though with the routine for You Got The Money that becomes an exciting array of dance, lifts and beautifully timed rendezvous.

The story famously builds towards the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. A big event that in the West End demands effects that are state of the art. In an era of digital illusion and to audiences used to the best of CGI, the attack as presented here is a damp squib. If, on a fraction of this show’s budget the Southwark Playhouse managed to impressively sink the Titanic earlier this year, then it cannot have been beyond the wit of Rice and his co-producers to know that something spectacular was called for above and beyond the projections that we witness shone onto the Shaftesbury stage. 

Notwithstanding a closing nod to the human cost of war that is both respectful and moving, From Here To Eternity is much like the US Pacific Fleet, ill-fated and unlikely to remain afloat for long.

Now booking into 2014