Jerry's Girls - Review

St James Studio, London

****

Created by Jerry Herman and Larry Alford

Directed by Kate Golledge

Sarah-Louise Young, Anna-Jane Casey and Ria Jones

After the relative failure of Mack & Mabel on Broadway, Jerry Herman took a break from composition and embraced interior design. It might seem an unusual departure for the writer of mega-hits such as Mame and Hello Dolly! but Herman was pragmatic about the highs and lows of the industry. In 1981 however, he teamed up with Larry Alford to create a small cabaret of his greatest hits called Jerry's Girls. The production was a modest success and when La Cage Aux Folles opened two years later, Herman was hot again and with a little tweaking Jerry's Girls was given a full-blown production, first in Florida and then on Broadway.

Perhaps embracing the original concept, Aria Productions puts the emphasis on the songs rather than spectacle and feature three diversely talented performers - Ria Jones, Anna-Jane Casey and Sarah-Louise Young -  each of whom bring something very special to the table. Director Kate Golledge recognises the lightness of touch required for this style of cabaret and allows this triple-threat trio a relatively free hand to engage properly with their audience.

Musically, the highlights come thick and fast, from the clinking glasses that herald Tap Your Troubles Away to the edifying anthem I Am What I Am, delivered with steely determination by an exceptional Jones. Casey proves once again a truly versatile performer, clambering across the grand piano trilling the hilarious Nelson and yet bringing such poignancy to If He Walked Into My Life. Young's comic timing is very much in evidence throughout, no doubt honed through years on the cabaret circuit and lending an easy familiarity to the nature of La Cage Aux Folles.

In the intimacy of the St James Studio Matthew Cole's choreography only really comes to the fore with the Tap Your Troubles Away routine. What this number actually highlights is the versatility of Edward Court on piano and Sophie Byrne on woodwind, who gamely join in the routine and establish themselves irrefutably as part of the ensemble.

Jerry's Girls is however something of a misnomer. The book lists a few token references to the great performers Herman wrote for including Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury and Bernadette Peters and of course, there are his creations such as Dolly Levi, Mame Dennis, Mabel Normand, Countess Aurelia from Dear World and -  somewhat ambiguously - Zaza from La Cage. Thankfully Jerry's Boys make a few appearances and it wouldn't really be a Herman retrospective without the lyrical signature tune from Mack and Mabel, I Won't Send Roses.

Whichever way you look at it, one thing Jerry's Girls will remind you of is Herman's mastery of the musical theatre idiom. A genius of lyric as well as music, you will leave Jerry's Girls anxious for a revival of Mame or at least a desire to check out Hello Dolly! on Netflix. Of course, dedicated Herman fans will have already caught the wonderful recent production of The Grand Tour at the Finborough and have probably already booked for Mack and Mabel at Chichester.

Runs until March 15th 2015

Guest Reviewer : Paul Vale

The Grand Tour - Review

Finborough Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman

Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble

Directed by Thom Southerland

Nic Kyle and Alastair Brookshaw

Thom Southerland's production of Jerry Herman’s The Grand Tour may tell a bittersweet fable, but the show defines all that is good in fringe theatre today. Whilst Broadway success may have eluded its 1979 premier, a staging in the 50 seater Finborough offers the rare privilege of seeing this eclectic work make its maiden voyage across the Atlantic.

The pedigree of Herman, Bramble and Stewart was already established when they collaborated on this tale of tragic whimsy, set against a backdrop of France's encroaching Nazi occupation. Jacobowsky, a Jew who has already fled his native Poland and subsequently Austria and Czechoslovakia must flee Paris. So too must Colonel Stjerbinsky of the exiled Polish Army. Like the Nazis, Stjerbinksy hates Jews but the Germans are after both men and so out of necessity an unlikely allegiance is formed. Throw in a beautiful French woman Marianne, to whom not only is the Colonel betrothed but who can also recognise the human decency of Jacobowsky and the tale evolves into the most tragi-comic of Road movies, as the Holocaust’s tragedy looms.

Alastair Brookshaw’s Jacobowsky is a stunning performance that leads the show. Avoiding caricature, Brookshaw (an actor whose choral career has seen him more accustomed to Westminster’s Abbey rather than Syngaogue and who now, following his outstanding Leo Frank in Tarento’s 2011 Parade confirms his Jewish credentials) nails Jacobowsky’s desperate vulnerability in a performance that combines hilarious chutzpah with profound pathos. Onstage almost throughout, Brookshaw’s opening number I’ll Be Here Tomorrow, sung as he walks, stumbling, across the outstretched arms of the company, evokes the frailty and the tragedy of the time perfectly.

Nic Kyle is the Colonel. His is a tough act, playing the bad-guy/straight-guy to Jacobowsky’s antics, yet the kiwi Kyle skilfully manages his character’s transition as he learns to love his Jewish travelling companion. Completing the trio is Zoe Doano’s Marianne. Doano’s singing matched by her perfect poise and presence that convinces without once becoming sugary, evidences her West End experience.

As well as producing, Danielle Tarento casts the show and her eye for talent is, as ever, spot on. Blair Robertson’s murderous SS Captain defines a villainy that is cliché free, whilst Vincent Pirillo’s Jewish father whose grief as the Nazis destroy his daughter’s wedding (in a scene that is one of several gloriously choreographed routines from Cressida Carre) is a beautifully sung turn that also avoids melodrama.

The Finborough’s stage is tiny yet Phil Lindley’s ingenious scenery, comprising panels that open to reveal differing backdrops sets the locations wonderfully. The act one closing number, One Extraordinary Thing, set in a circus big top complete with high wire routine is a particular delight. Max Pappenheim’s well crafted sound design adds authenticity, whilst Joanna Cichonska’s filleting of the orchestral score to an arrangement for just two pianos maintains the charm of Herman’s melodies whilst never drowning the un-mic’d actors. Southerland has got the balance of song and setting just right – every lyric is crystal clear.

Reflecting the fate of France’s Jews, The Grand Tour offers no happy ending. The narrative may be fiction, but the backdrop is the most painful truth and in this expertly assembled troupe, Danielle Tarento offers up yet another slice of theatrical genius.

Runs until 21st February 2015