42nd Street - Review

Sadler's Wells Theatre, London

*****

Music by Harry Warren

Lyrics by Al Dubin

Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble

Directed by Jonathan Church

Nicole-Lily Baisden and the company of 42nd Street

Arriving at Sadler’s Wells for a month’s residency, Jonathan Church’s touring production of 42nd Street is an immaculately delivered five-star delight.

The fabled story of chorus girl Peggy Sawyer who gets her lucky break in a Broadway show when leading lady Dorothy Brock sustains an equally unlucky break to her ankle, is as old as the hills and as corny too. For such a yarn to suspend the disbelief of a hackneyed modern audience demands perfection from its performers - and Church, with choreographer Bill Deamer does just that, coaxing magical voice and footwork from across his company.

Nicole-Lily Baisden is Peggy. Outstanding in the recent Barbican-based Anything Goes, Baisden’s star now shines even more brilliantly. She captures Peggy’s initial frail vulnerability, and with a combination of her beautiful singing and mesmerising tap-dance skill, takes the audience with her on her fairy-tale journey.

Adam Garcia headlines as Julian Marsh, the demanding director of Pretty Lady, 42nd Street’s ‘show within a show’. Garcia’s musical theatre credentials are impeccable and he is compelling in both song and dance. As the villain of the piece (albeit with an ultimate heart of gold) Ruthie Henshall is similarly outstanding as Dorothy Brock with Henshall's singing, notably in I Only Have Eyes For You, proving a spine-tingling treat.

The shows comedy lines demand assured timing and confidence in their delivery. Les Dennis leads the line of featured performers carrying this responsibility and although Dennis’ remarkable background in stand-up and TV comedy gives him a raft of experience, he is a magnificent trouper who never overshadows Anthony Ofoegbu and Josefina Gabrielle in their contributions to the show’s gag content. Gabrielle also delivers moments of sung perfection in her role.

This is a production designed for the road with Robert Jones’ sets and Jon Driscoll’s projections providing a fine backdrop to the evening. If there is one small flaw it is that the ensemble is smaller than the script demands - but if the producers have understandably had to cut back on quantity, they score full marks for their show’s quality. The show’s music however sounds as if no expense has been spared with Jennifer Whyte’s 14-piece band making glorious work of Harry Warren’s classic melodies.

Shuffle off to Sadler’s Wells or catch the show touring until the Autumn. Either way, this take on 42nd Street makes for a fabulous night at the theatre.

Runs until 2nd July and then on tour

Photo credit: Johan Persson

42nd Street - Review

Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London


*****


Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble
Directed by Mark Bramble

Clare Halse leads the 42nd Street company

Revisiting 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane – and it still remains the finest spectacle of dance to be found in the West End.

Lulu takes over the role of Dorothy Brock, crock, from Sheena Easton – and the show displays one of those rare moments of art imitating life. Wikipedia may disclose Lulu’s age but this review will not. Suffice to say that her days of being a chart-topping pop star were many decades ago – and indeed her last venture onto a West End stage was back in the ‘80s. But actually, that’s what Dorothy Brock is all about. She’s a faded star, long past her best. Lulu’s vocal magic may have slightly faded, but she still has star quality by the bucket load, alongwith a name that’s recognised on both sides of the Atlantic. Producers, Michaels Grade and Linnit are no fools – Lulu will put bums on seats.

And then, of course, there’s that 50-strong(!) company wowing the crowds with their dance. Ashley Day takes over as Billy Lawlor, but while Lulu may top the bill, it is unquestionably Clare Halse as Peggy Sawyer who leads the show, with tap-dancing feet that become a blur of brilliance.

42nd Street was fabulous when it opened a year ago. It still is.

You can read my original review from 2017 here.

Booking until 20th October

Broadway Melodies - Review

****

It is a delight to review Dan Burton’s debut album Broadway Melodies. As choreographer Stephen Mear has long known, Burton is currently amongst the finest of musical theatre “triple threats” (defined as talented in all three skills of song, dance and acting) and a man who unassumingly provides an assured touch of class to all his roles, whether they be leading or support. Recent years alone having seen him give an assured Tulsa alongside Imelda Staunton’s Momma Rose in Gypsy, an immaculate Billy Lawlor in a Parisian 42nd Street, with Burton only recently having closed a flawless (and sold out) run as Jerry Travers in Top Hat at Kilworth House.

Those three shows on their own define Burton’s affinity with and affection for the classics from The Great White Way, so there is a true sense of belonging in listening to the singer’s choices – a selection that also bears a distinctly autobiographical touch too.

Burton opens the album with Singin’ In The Rain (he’d played Don Lockwood at Paris’ Chatelet a couple of years ago and keen fans may care to visit Paris this December where the show is soon to return) and gives the timeless number a warmly respectful treatment that drips with the comfort he feels in the role. The song is one that’s known by literally everyone and yet Burton still imbues it with a loving freshness - and there’s a cracking trumpet riff too from Gethin Liddington.

Chichester’s production of The Pajama Game from a few years back transferred, with Burton, to the West End and so it is little surprise that the show’s Hey There features among Burton's chosen ten songs, with his gorgeously mellifluous interpretation makes this number arguably the album’s highlight. Scaling Richard Adler’s and Jerry Ross’s intoxicating key changes with a charm and a confidence, Burton makes one want to set the track to ‘repeat’, to fully savour an enchanting three minutes of song.

There’s a delightful note of comedy as Burton teams up with Lee Mead for Well, Did You Evah. Crosby and Sinatra will always be a tough act to follow but there’s well-rehearsed nuance in this recording and one still cannot help but chuckle at Burton and Mead’s take on the tried and trusted gags.

The entire collection is a treat, with amongst the other songs included are a fabulously sonorous I Only Have Eyes For You and a perfectly pitched I’m In The Mood For Love. 

Sensitively produced by Mason Neely, Broadway Melodies is a must for anyone who loves exquisitely sung show tunes. The album is but a gorgeous glimpse of Dan Burton’s talent and with Xmas just around the corner, could well make a perfect gift.

Available to download from Amazon and iTunes

42nd Street - Review

Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London


*****


Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble
Directed by Mark Bramble

The Finale of 42nd Street

42nd Street at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is a feast of musical theatre. This revival of the 1980s show, itself inspired by the 1930s recession busting movie of the same name, is nothing less than a homage to Busby Berkeley’s lavish Hollywood tap routines, framed around a fairytale of Broadway. 

Peggy Sawyer is a kid fresh off the bus from Allentown. She's also a gifted dancer who manages to work her way into the cast of Pretty Lady, the latest production being mounted by Julian Marsh, a tyrannical Broadway producer. When ageing star Dorothy Brock crocks her ankle and is unable to continue in her role, Sawyer is plucked from the chorus to replace her. It’s all magical whimsy, surrounded by a  handful of comic-book subplots that really don't bear close scrutiny.

What makes this show pulse with life is its dance. All credit to the two Michaels, Grade and Linnit, who’ve produced the revival – their 55 (yes 55!) strong company is simply breathtaking. There's barely any (visible) fancy new technology here and no gimmicks at all. Even Douglas W. Schmidt’s scenery is (for the most part) in a refreshingly simple style with hand painted 2D backdrops. It is evident that in this multi-million pound show the producers' money has been lavished on the actors, their sensational costumes and countless pairs of tap shoes.

Amongst the featured roles Clare Halse’s Sawyer is just a delicious whirl of wonderful. Her feet defy belief as she works the show’s fiendishly fierce routines, taking us with her as Sawyer comes to realise her dream. Opposite her and with a modest love interest is Stuart Neal’s Billy Lawlor – again fleet of foot, a joy to behold and a beautifully voiced young man.

Tom Lister’s Marsh is spared much of the dancing responsibility, but he nonetheless creates a believably driven megalomaniac, with just a glimpse of heart. When his voice finds its pitch, he commands the stage.

Making her West End debut,  Sheena Easton is Brock. Easton's is a beautiful voice for sure – her I Only Have Eyes for You is a vocal delight – but her acting lets her down, failing to give the shallowness of her character the body it cries out for. If there is but one criticism of director (and writer) Mark Bramble, it is that he hasn’t taken Easton to fully fill the role.

No matter, for elsewhere there is acting excellence - as Dorothy Brock's septuagenarian, strung-along sugar daddy Abner Dillon, the always excellent Bruce Montague gives a mini masterclass in musical theatre comedy. Likewise Jasna Ivir and Christopher Howell as Pretty Lady's writers are a well polished double act, while Norman Bowman, as ever, brings perfectly nuanced excellence to the modest role of Pat Denning.

But never forget - 42nd Street is all about its song and dance and it's been a long time since a company so large and so perfectly drilled, has wowed a London audience. The classic numbers We're In The Money and Lullaby Of Broadway are joyous - while Keep Young And Beautiful, with the ensemble's Girls horizontal on a revolve as a Berkeley-style mirror is suspended above them to show the ingenious routine, makes it feel like a time machine has brought Broadway and Hollywood's Golden Age to London.

And as for the jaw-dropping finale, it is a festival of synchronised genius, a cascade of glitter and light celebrating the beauty of perfectly performed tap.

As the world on both sides of the Atlantic cautiously enters a new era, it’s just so refreshing to be shown a full-blooded glimpse of the heritage of happiness that beautifully crafted musical theatre can deliver. 

Bravo to musical director Jae Alexander and choreographer Randy Skinner. Drury Lane's 42nd Street is the most spectacular show in town!


Booking to July 2017
Photo credit: Brinkhoff & Moegenburg

My Very Best of 2016

In a year that brought seismic political changes, alongside the tragic deaths of a huge number of talented artists, the showbiz talents of the world continued to turn out first class gigs.  

My favourite moments of the shows that I saw in 2016 are below and include performances from across the UK, together with the USA and also Europe. Theatre, cabaret, dance and concert performances are all included and there's no ranking - the list is entirely alphabetical. 

These shows were quite simply my (and with one exception a guest reviewer's too) highlights of the year. The links below each entry will take you to its original review on this site. 

Enjoy this look back on what was another year of stunning performances.

CABARET

The Understudy - Ceili O'Connor

A newcomer to London's cabaret scene, Ceili's one night gig in the West End was as relaxed and chatty as it was perfectly rehearsed. With a set list that included some of the biggest numbers that this talented West End performer has understudied, through to an unexpected Billy Joel megamix...

Review link



CONCERT


Ennio Morricone at the O2

To be one of the few critics invited to review this one-off gig at the packed O2 was a privilege in itself - But in an era when good film scores can be the modern equivalent of symphonies, to see this 87 year old legend conducting orchestra in choir through some of the most evocative and globally recognisable compositions of the last 50 years will stay with me forever. 

Review link


DANCE

The Red Shoes - Sadler's Wells

Matthew Bourne's newest work from his envisioned and inspirational New Adventures Company is a ballet inspired by a classic film that was all about a ballet inspired by a classic fairy tale. And all styled as a loving tribute to a Golden Age of cinema. A selection of Bernard Herrmann's film scores have been carefully stitched together to form Bourne's musical backdrop. Ashley Shaw leads the sold out run at Sadler's Wells before New Adventures tour the show around the country and with Lez Brotherston's mesmerising set, this ballet is unmissable.

Review link



THEATRE - DRAMA


The Father - Duke of York’s Theatre

Florian Zeller's play was an ingeniously agonising examination of the effects of dementia on an elderly man. Kenneth Cranham brought his heartbreakingly perceptive tour de force back to the West End, in a play (rare these days) that educated and informed its audience about the debilitating nature of the illness, as Cranham palpably shared the nightmare of dementia.

Review link


No Man’s Land - Wyndhams Theatre

Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart made Pinter's deliciously absurdist take on Hampstead and Camden life a theatrical treat. No one can claim to understanding the definitive meaning of the play, but who cared?  In a production as unflinchingly 1970s as The Sweeney or Derek and Clive, these two starriest of knights shone brilliantly.

Review link


King Lear - The RSC at Stratford upon Avon and London's Barbican

Another play and quite possibly the first in the canon about the effects of ageing,  Greg Doran's time hopping take on the ageing pagan monarch was world class theatre from the RSC. Antony Sher revealed new layers of howling grief in what is perhaps the most timeless of Shakespeare's tragedies. 

Review link



The Railway Children - Kings Cross Theatre

I know its frowned upon for a critic to review his own efforts, but the opportunity to ACTUALLY DRIVE THE STEAM TRAIN (!!) in a performance of this enchanting production will stay with me forever. Appearing alongside a talented cast, and meeting the show's fabulous crew, my crash course (literally!) in becoming an engine driver might have been a Health and Safety nightmare, but to this big kid it was a five-star dream come true.

Review link



THEATRE - MUSICAL


42nd Street - Theatre du Chatelet, Paris

The UK's Stephen Mear has shipped New York to Paris with his stunningly, lavishly, choreographed take on this most American of musicals. In a cast built around talents that Mear trusts implicitly Ria Jones, Dan Burton and Jennie Dale were magnificent alongside newcomer Monique Young. Big Broadway shows don’t come more lavishly staged than this.

42nd Street is still on for a few more days and well worth the Eurostar fare!

Review link



Burnt Part Boys - Park Theatre

Modestly staged with minimal design, director Matthew Iliffe and his MD Nick Barstow brought this off-Broadway gem to London. Moving and exciting, the production was one of the tightest pieces of ensemble acting.

Review link



Fiddler On The Roof - Broadway Theatre, New York

Lyricist Sheldon Harnick told me recently that he considered this production of his classic musical as the best revival since its 1964 Broadway opening. Hofesh Shechter's re-imagined choreography made for a glorious whirl of Chagall and Klezmer inspired magic, while Alexandra Silber and Adam Kantor's Tzeitel and Motel gave a youthful integrity to the young lovers that was as relevant to 21st century New York as it was to Tsarist Russia.

Review link


The Fix - Union Theatre

The Union Theatre moved across the road, and to mark its reopening Michael Strassen reprised his take on Dana P Rowe and John Dempsey's musical swipe at the all-American political scene, with a pre Presidential Election run of The Fix. The cast was as excellent as the show's timing, with Lucy Williamson and Ken Christiansen being masterfully Machiavellian - and beautifully voiced too.

Review link


Funny Girl - Natasha J Barnes on for Sheridan Smith

Funny Girl was recognised last year as one of my best shows - But this year, when Natasha J Barnes came on to play Fanny Brice whilst Sheridan Smith was indisposed, she became another of this year's jaw-dropping sensations.

Review link


Grey Gardens - Southwark Playhouse

With a fabulous cast headed by Jenna Russell and the inimitable Sheila Hancock, this quirky Tony-winner made its European premier. Thom Southerland worked his genius over the piece and the queues stretched down to Elephant and Castle - proving yet again that London's fringe can provide a brave and quality platform for the widest range of shows.

Review link


Jesus Christ Superstar - Open Air Theatre

Timothy Sheader in conjunction with Drew McOnie's excruciatingly brilliant choreography gave London an unforgettable take on this early Rice and Lloyd Webber collaboration. Declan Bennett may well have been outstanding in the title role, but it was Tyrone Huntley's Judas, hands dripping silver blood, that lives on. The show returns to Regents Park this year. Don't miss it! 

Review link


Oliver - Curve Leicester

I caught up late to the Curve's Oliver, deliberately, to see Laura Pitt-Pulford take over the role of Nancy and of course she was marvellous. Played out against takis' glorious designs that were as dark as they were colourful, Laura's Nancy was amongst the best I've seen and proved a great way to start the year!

Review link


Parade - Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

Parade is one of the best modern musicals written. A tough and ultimately devastating story - but one in which Jason Robert Brown has painted a picture of the Southern USA at the turn of the 20th century using a flamboyance of musical styles. Parade is a tough show to do well and up in Manchester James Baker did just that. Spines were tingling from the opening chords of The Old Red Hills Of Home and it was gratifying to see that top notch fringe theatre can exist outside of both London and August in Edinburgh.

Review link

It was also a privilege to be invited to write the programme notes for Parade, a musical that I love. You can read them here: Review link

Sunset Boulevard - Coliseum

Life imitated art at the Coliseum as a real mega movie star (Glenn Close) trod the boards as Sunset Boulevard's Norma Desmond. Close's stunning solos, a top notch supporting cast including Michael Xavier and Siobhan Dillon and Stephen Mear's clever choreography made for a phenomenal concert staging.

The show heads to Broadway next year for a limited run and New Yorkers are in for a treat!

Review link


Sunset Boulevard - Ria Jones on for Glenn Close

I didn’t see Ria Jones step up to this most magnificent of plates myself - but luckily that most versatile of theatre PRs Kevin Wilson was there, who reviewed the performance for me.

Review link


Waitress - Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York

Jessie Mueller leads a top notch cast in this intelligent and stylish screen to stage translation. Sara Bareilles has offered a veritable dessert buffet of delectable tunes. A modern tale that's as all-American as apple pie, the cliche-free story is an uplifting tale of discovery and strong women.

Review link

42nd Street - Review

Theatre du Chatelet, Paris


*****

Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble
Directed and choreographed by Stephen Mear

Dan Burton and the Company

There can be few more impressive openings to a musical than Stephen Mear's treatment of 42nd Street. With the orchestra (magnificent under Gareth Valentine's baton) having played the overture’s first few pages the curtain rises teasingly, just a yard or so, to reveal a stage full of dancing feet tapping out the show's melodies. With a company numbering nigh on 40, the sight and sound of this unexpected treat, performed with pinpoint, perfectly drilled precision, is simply breathtaking. Rarely has a show set its stall out so impressively in the overture and then gone on to exceed expectations as the evening plays out.

The story behind 42nd Street is a classic, corny even, meta-musical fairytale. It is 1933 and Peggy Sawyer, a young and gifted dancer from Allentown, Pennsylvania who has no showbiz experience wants to be cast in the new Broadway show Pretty Lady. Its genius but tyrannical director Julian Marsh is on his uppers after the Wall Street crash and in desperate need of a hit. Marsh overlooks Sawyer, and casts Dorothy Brock, a leading lady of years gone by as his star because Brock's sugar-daddy boyfriend has bankrolled Pretty Lady's production costs.

As love rivalries smoulder amongst the cast, Brock breaks her leg at the last minute. As Marsh is about to close the show, the ensemble persuade Marsh him to choose the talented Sawyer as Brock's replacement and of course she and the show become an instant hit.

Whilst the story may be corny, Mear who directs and choreographs has demanded production values that are anything but. Emerging talent Monique Young plays Sawyer and she brings a coquettish insouciance to the role matched only by her sensational footwork, handling her vocal solos with a confident charm and magnificent poise.

Sharing the honours as the show's other leading lady is Ria Jones' Brock. Mear knows Jones well (she famously understudied Glenn Close in his Sunset Boulevard earlier this year) and his understanding of the woman's gift has delivered yet another example of on-stage excellence. Jones hams up Brock wonderfully when she has to, yet shows off the full Rolls-Royce potential of her vocal majesty with her interpretations of I Only Have Eyes For You and the act one closer of the show's title number. As an aside, Jones is one of those occasional performers on London's cabaret scene who truly merits the description "unmissable".

Dan Burton who plays Sawyer's love interest Billy Lawlor is another of Mear's regular ingénues, last seen in the West End's Gypsy. Arguably the best of his generation in musical theatre dance, Burton has a grace in his movement that has to be seen to be believed alongside perfectly pitched, mellifluous vocals. Alexander Hanson's Marsh completes the quartet of key roles and he brings a believable gravitas to a part that can so easily become a cliché in less talented hands. Elsewhere in this magnificent company, Jennie Dale (yet another Mear regular) shines in support as Maggie Jones.

Dan Burton and Ensemble

It’s not just the cast that make this production quite so special. Valentine's orchestra is lavishly furnished, while Peter McKintosh's sets display an imaginative detail that can all too often these days be reduced to an economy of projected images, but here at the Theatre du Chatelet, are displayed in fabulous constructions of steel and backdrops.

And then of course there's the show's famously big numbers. Keep Young and Beautiful, We're in the Money and Lullaby of Broadway are done to a perfect turn. Mear fills McKintosh's stagings (and Philadelphia's Broad Street Station, complete with massive working clock stuns on its own) with a plethora of bodies that define flawless synchronised harmony.

The Chatelet’s producers have lavishly and tastefully invested a fortune in their cast and creatives and it shows. If you can beg, borrow or steal a ticket to Paris, go. This production of 42nd Street is quite simply musical theatre perfection - there's no better show to be seen this side of the Atlantic.

Runs until 8th January 2017