Miss Saigon - Review

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

****

Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg

Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil

Directed by Robert Hastie and Anthony Lau

Joanna Ampil

A daring, bold yet incredibly exciting recipe for musical theatre. Take an iconic piece world renowned and adored, make some bold changes compared to previous versions and take it off the traditional proscenium stage and place it an intimate thrust style. Robert Hastie and Anthony Laus’ gamble has paid off as they bring Miss Saigon back to the stage in a new production by special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh.

With 30+ musical numbers it is no wonder that at times Schönberg and Boublil’s piece feels more like an opera, but the cast’s ensemble work is strong, driving the piece from city to city as we follow Kim’s journey, fleeing the Vietnam conflict. Jade Hackett's choreography is a treat and the company deliver the big numbers and transitions with great precision.

Ben Stones’ mostly minimal set leaves a bare stage, allowing a blank canvas for a combination of exquisite lighting and projection from Jessica Hung Han Yun and Andrzej Goulding respectively. Stones however vividly captures the contrast of between the dark and damp streets outside the bars of Saigon with the bright neon lights of Bangkok. The second act’s famed evacuation from the American embassy is a wonder to behold and a treat in itself. 

That said, the biggest treat in the show comes from the duo that is Joanna Ampil as The Engineer and Jessica Lee as Kim. Ampil is no stranger to Miss Saigon but in this production brings a new take on The Engineer. Her rendition of The American Dream towards the end of Act 2 is a tragic celebration of what could have been, exposing all sides and shades of The Engineer in one number, a performance that would be a marathon for many but seemingly effortless for Ampil and immensely gripping. This new interpretation of The Engineer offers a whole new chemistry between her and Kim with some darker moments seeming all the more sinister in contrast, but with also occasional moments of surprising tenderness.

Lee gave a performance that reached every single corner of The Crucible. With an intensity that never wavered, vocal dexterity that never wobbled and a presence and sometimes vulnerability that was incredibly powerful to watch. Her rendition of ‘Id Give My Life For You’ at the end of Act 1 was faultless as was ‘I Still Believe’ where Lee was joined by Christian Maynard who plays Chris, the young American soldier along with Shanay Holmes who plays Ellen. A nod too to the sumptuous performance of the score from Chris Poon and the 15 piece orchestra.

War is sadly a tragedy that seems to rip through the hearts of so many and this production places us, the audience right in the thick of it. At a time when travel and London ticket prices make a trip to the West End simply unaffordable for many it’s incredibly encouraging that regional theatres such as The Crucible are able to offer such a landmark production as this to their audiences.

Runs until 19th August

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Flowers For Mrs Harris - Review

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

****

Based on the novel by Paul Gallico

Music and lyrics by Richard Taylor

Book by Rachel Wagstaff

Directed by Daniel Evans

Clare Burt

Flowers For Mrs Harris marks Daniel Evans’ farewell production at Sheffield’s Crucible and he bows out premiering a musical that is elegant, charming and beautifully crafted.

Paul Gallico’s novel, set just after the Second World War tells of Ada Harris, a charlady widowed during the Great War and who, upon setting eyes on a Christian Dior dress in a client’s house, falls in love with the frock and sets about earning enough cash to buy one of her own. The strength of Gallico’s tale hangs upon Harris’ steely humble resolve in a world that has shown her few favours. Radiating an enchanted kindness to all those she encounters and inspired at first by the spirit of her dead husband with whom she shares private conversations, act one is about Ada raising the near-fortune of £500 to purchase the dress, with the second half centred around her antics upon reaching Dior’s salon in Paris.

And at risk of spoiling, that's it for the plot - save to say that this hardened critic, who was expecting to be entertained if not necessarily moved by a show about a woman and a dress, was in tears at the denouement.

Gallico’s work is a minute examination of post-war England. A time of rationed austerity, where class was prevalent and everyone knew their place. His world also demonstrates the timeless virtues of grace and kindness, demonstrating that whilst some people of power and wealth can behave like pigs, so too and on both sides of the Channel, can privileged folk act with love and compassion.

At the centre of this journey is Clare Burt’s astonishing performance as Ada Harris. A glorious everywoman, Burt makes us believe in the utmost modesty of her lifestyle and its contrast with her dazzling Dior dream. We root for her endeavours and we (literally and audibly) gasp in anguish at her setbacks and stoicism. Imagine a female Jean Valjean, only this time from Battersea, and you start to get close to the genius that lies at the heart of Burt’s creation. 

Like Valjean’s encounters in Les Miserables, it is the individuals who Mrs Harris meets on her journey that make this tale. In assembling his cast Evans has plundered the A-List of Britain's musical theatre performers, with a neat conceit seeing all the cast (Burt excluded) double up from playing one role in Battersea to another in Paris – a touch that only makes the show’s charm sparkle more.

There is much for Anna-Jane Casey to do in London as Ada’s fellow widowed charlady, Violet Butterfield. Casey nails not only nails the female camaraderie of south London working class, but after the break returning as a fag hag of a Parisian femme de ménage, she is a hilarious delight. Rebecca Caine’s opera trained voice thrills, first as a wealthy Londoner and then as the manageress of the Dior salon who learns to overcome her own prejudiced snobbery.

Laura Pitt-Pulford plays a well observed, petulant, wannabe movie actress in London, who cares little for her cleaner, Mrs Harris. But act two sees this gifted actress metamorphose into Natasha, Dior’s star model and in sporting the scarlet Rose ballgown, the highlight of the season’s collection on the Paris runway, Pitt-Pulford takes our breath away.

There's a measured dignity to Mark Meadows’ supporting work, firstly as the ghost of Mr Harris and later on as a kindly French patrician, while Louis Maskell offers some beautifully sung romance as the young André, out to woo Natasha.

Lez Brotherston’s set design suggests a bombed out Battersea, all power station and gasworks. But as the interval strikes his grim London is flown away to reveal a skyline of Paris highlights – only enhancing the magic of Mrs Harris’ arrival in the French capital. Brotherston's imagery is embellished with the imaginative use of a revolve - a further nod to Les Mis?

The costumes are magnificent with act two’s fashion show proving a jaw-dropper. But badged as a musical – and to be fair Tom Brady’s 10piece band make fine work of the score – the tunes are hard to recall and frustratingly the show’s programme does not include a list of musical numbers. One’s memory can almost almost hint at having attended a play with songs.

Either way, the show is pure class and let's hope that London producers will have travelled to Sheffield for make no mistake, the underlying production values of Flowers For Mrs Harris are exquisite. If the right West End venue were to be found then this new musical, Clare Burt, and her stellar company would surely deserve Olivier-nomination.

Runs until 4th June

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Show Boat - Review

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

*****

Music by Jerome Kern

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on the novel "Show Boat" by Edna Ferber

Directed by Daniel Evans

Alex Young and Danny Collins

2015 you sly old fox, you’ve saved the best for last.

The Confederate flag flutters over the stage as the opening bars of Show Boat play out. An ugly image, the flag defining so much of America's troubled history and setting a dark uncompromising tone that defines Daniel Evan's production.

This 1927 Broadway classic isn't a single-star led show such as Gypsy or Funny Girl, rather it is a company driven production that tells an interwoven story of love, despair and racial tension set, for the most part, aboard the Cotton Blossom steamboat as it plys the towns along the vast Mississippi.

Sheffield maybe famous for its steel, but Evans casts this show in platinum. Gina Beck and Michael Xavier take the leading roles of the ill-fated Magnolia Hawks and Gaylord Ravenal, with Xavier's Ravenal exuding a raffish charm as the river gambler with a murky past and whose quest for love is gorgeously defined in Where's The Mate For Me. Xavier's presence captures the romantic irresistibility of the man - with a chemistry ignited between him and Beck that offers a rarely witnessed on-stage magic.

And as for Gina Beck... This diminutive soprano who has led shows both in the West End and across the USA possesses a voice of quite simply ethereal power. One of Show Boat’s captivating charms is that aside from being a gripping yarn, its song-list feels like a whirl through the American Songbook. Beck's take on Only Make Believe and You Are Love, both gorgeously duetted with Xavier are enchanting - whilst her act 2 After The Ball is ravishingly rousing. The love between Magnolia and Gaylord is pure, challenging and ultimately heartbreakingly uplifting and in her character's arc, from young girl to mother, Beck's performance is flawless.

Emmanuel Kojo is probably a new name to most. This young talented actor with a remarkable bass range takes Ol' Man River - one of the biggest songs ever written - and crafts it into an unforgettable performance of utter beauty. Half way into the first act and the audience are in tears. Kojo, who debuted last year in The Scottsboro Boys, is no stranger to suffering the Deep South's cruelty on stage. He imbues the number with an understated pain and a vocal majesty that matches the river's underlying power, in one broad sweep capturing the humiliating misery of back-breaking work "while the white folk play". Kojo is complemented by Sandra Marvin's Queenie. Marvin wows in everything she sings, with a presence and resonance that command our attention.  

Also aboard Evan's steamboat is Rebecca Trehearn as Julie. Trehearn, who stunned last year in City of Angels (a show that also included Marvin) does it again here, with an amazing spin on Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man. She both thrills and fills the Crucible with the song, breaking our hearts in the second half as she stumbles across Magnolia reprising the number. 

And still this show is crammed with gems. Alex Young and Danny Collins are a triple-threat treasure, offering moments of sublimely choreographed comedy as Ellie and Frank Schultz – with Young’s Life Upon the Wicked Stage a particularly delicious entertainment. Allan Corduner is the Cotton Blossom's wise, weary and witty Captain Andy. Together with Lucy Briers as his wife Parthy and who has the roguish measure of Ravenal the moment she sees him, this pair capture the essence of a long lived love.

It's not just the sensational work that Evans coaxes from his company, aided and abetted by Alistair David's inspired choreography. Lez Brotherston's stunning set, all weathered timbers and a fabulously marquee-lit steamboat (even if the paddles should have been set at the vessel's stern!) create a carefully crafted illusion of early 20th century America. That the show is lit by the masterful David Hersey only seals its fidelity.

With the combination of Show Boat’s timeless score (bravo to David White's band) and ingenious staging, it feels as though Evans has created a Hollywood original, as much as re-imagining a Broadway classic. Get to Sheffield before this Show Boat slips its moorings. It's unmissable.

Runs until 23rd January 2016

Photo credit: Johan Persson