It's Only Life - Review

Union Theatre, London


****


Music and lyrics by John Bucchino
Conceived by Daisy Prince and John Bucchino
Directed by Tania Azevedo

The cast of It's Only Life

What happens if you throw together 23 songs, five musical theatre performers, a pianist, and tons of colour? The answer is It’s Only Life, a musical review based on several ‘orphan songs’ (John Bucchino’s own description) interwoven to create a fun production about love and life. With the American songwriter’s work having been performed by numerous stars of stage and screen, including Kristin Chenoweth, Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel, It’s Only Life was assembled in 2004 to tie this collection of music and lyrics together within a framework that provides context and a semblance of narrative.

The result is a firmly entertaining showcase put on through excellent casting and an outstanding ensemble. The cast of five have a genuine chemistry that shines through a polished veneer. Tight choreography and blended vocals are coupled well with complementary set and lighting design. As the cast weave in and out of different characters and dynamics, emotions and energy levels, with each number bringing a distinct identify to the stage, the Union Theatre’s compact railway arch location amplifies the sense of intimacy created by the score.

Under Nick Barstow’s direction, the music is beautifully delivered, but more impressive is his ability to deliver on the piano throughout the performance with increasing fervour and bite. The score is challenging, and the influence of Sondheim (cited on several occasions throughout) is more than evident. Bucchino’s compositions are demanding, fast paced and smart, holding the performers to a high level of accountability, which they achieve admirably. 

Yet it takes a while to get going. While the first half is enjoyable, the quality and energy of deliver is noticeably supercharged after the interval, bringing the production to a roaring crescendo. The most memorable numbers either have heart or humour - or in some cases both - such as On My Bedside Table (Will Carey), This Moment (Sammy Graham) and I’ve Learned To Let Things Go (Jennifer Harding).

It’s all very sweet, if not just a tad too sickly towards the end, when the message about simply enjoying life gets laid on a bit too enthusiastically, free of any subtleties. There’s also a bit of audience participation which, despite its best intentions, feels slightly disjointed and overall unnecessary.

Nonetheless, this remains a delightfully poignant evening that imbues a buoyancy and zest for life.

Runs until 7th July

Reviewed by Bhakti Gajjar

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

John Barr - Self Portrait

Crazy Coqs, London

*****

Apparently it's been 5 years since John Barr last performed in cabaret,but judging by his slick and polished turn at the Crazy Coqs, you would think he was riding high, mid-season. Diminutive in stature (he jokingly boasts of being the tallest in his family) and shaven headed, Barr has a stage presence that demands your attention. He hits impossible harmonics and sustains perfectly held notes that go on forever. If Barr's voice was a motorbike it would be a Harley-Davidson, comfortable, beautiful to listen to, a world class standard that is designed to be appreciated and as able to deliver guttural exhilaration as it is to instantly switch to beautifully breezy ballads. 

Any good cabaret set demands a repartee with the audience that reaches out across the "fourth wall". Barr doesn’t just bring that wall down, he demolishes it and with a devilishly cheeky grin and twinkle in his eyes, proceeds to dance upon its rubble throughout the evening. With Fiz Shapur on piano it is clear that these two talented professionals have an innate understanding of each other. When Barr chats too much, Shapur whisperingly suggests that he should "shut up and sing".

It is a gloriously eclectic selection that opens with Starting Here, Starting Now, sweetly defining Barr’s ballad credentials with the Tear Up The Town that follows, a fine display of tone and impact. A reference to his early days at Sylvia Young's theatre school (contemporary alumni Frances Ruffelle and Jenna Russell were in the crowd) was the intro to his fond look back on a childhood Sondheim showcase with Anyone Can Whistle and clearly adoring Streisand, his What About Today is a glorious tribute to the diva. Barr speaks warmly of his brief work with Anthony Newley before offering a fine take on Newley's signature number What Kind Of Fool Am I? and he goes on to close act one with Pippin's Corner Of The Sky, boastfully, brazenly, telling the crowd how proud he is that composer Stephen Schwartz often asks him to sing the number. Having bigged himself up, (hey, if you got it, flaunt it) Shapur leads in with a beautiful arrangement of the song's haunting opening and whilst its lyrics may sometimes be corny, Schwartz's sublime melodies and key changes were simply smashed. Eagles did indeed belong where they can fly, as Barr soared off for a well earned half-time break.

Act two saw some reflective moments on Barr's past loves before a fine interpretation of Nat King Cole's Nature Boy. The little known Mama, A Rainbow from Minnie's Boys gave Barr the chance to pay tribute to his mum Marie in the audience. Summoning her on stage (with an introduction of questionable chivalry, that if he ever went into drag, his mum is what he'd look like) the love between son and mother was a celebration of inspirational tenderness. Whilst some may call the moment cheesy, it's fondness and above all, sincerity was undoubted. Maintaining his commitment to the importance of family, he dedicated John Bucchino's Grateful to his goddaughter (Russell's child) before his pre-encore closer of Self Portrait from Ed Kleban's A Class Act. Barr had given an acclaimed performance as Kleban in that show, earlier this year and his tender rendition of a number that speaks of incredible sadness and realisation made for another sparkling moment.

Judging the man by his company, Barr's packed audience were a blend of family, friends and industry legends. In town for one night only, this show demands an early reprise. John Barr's Self Portrait is a masterpiece.

John Bucchino And Friends

St James Studio, London

****

It says much for the esteem in which John Bucchino is held, that on one of the first beautifully sunny days of London's summer, he was able to virtually pack out the chic (and thankfully air-conditioned) underground venue of the St James Studio, for the first of his two-gigs-in-one-day appearances.

Here in the UK, outside of the showbiz community, only few have heard of Bucchino and that's a shame. The man has a wryly perceptive take on life clearly demonstrated in Phoebe Coupe singing When You're Here, about a relationship that's foundering and it is impossible not to be bowled over by the brilliance of Bucchino's line " it's hard to know where to go next, When there's so much more subtext than text". Coupe practically pouted her way through the song, with a perfect presence and grounding, enabling her to explore the songs sardonic humour with an understated wit, that both left the audience feeling pleasantly un-patronised and also demonstrated an actress who clearly knew her song intimately and was totally at ease with its lyrics.

For a set list of some 20 songs, Bucchino had invited a surprising total of 10 Friends to take the stage to tackle different numbers. Such was the frequency of the changes in singers that the show often felt like a scaled down X Factor, albeit one with rigorously trained performers rather than publicity seeking manufactured wannabes. Producers take note though as herein lies a massive risk: It is human nature to compare and contrast; so when an uber-talented man like John Barr raises or sets “the bar”, he becomes an extremely tough act to follow. Christian Lund’s take on Unexpressed, unimpressed in contrast as he neutered the song of the full richness of its dramatic potential, whilst Belinda Wollaston, another Aussie new in town, sang the heart-rending Temporary beautifully but with a curious stage presence, staring fixedly at the audience that became a distraction from the song’s impact. 10 guests for 20 songs is too many and at this gig, less would definitely have been more.

The afternoon's star turns were Barr, whose If I Say I'm Over You, reduced him together with some of the audience to tears and the accomplished Sophia Ragavelas. Her diminutive frame belying a voice of remarkable power and wit as she scaled the challenges of two numbers from Bucchino's Broadway musical, A Catered Affair. Amelia Cormack shone too, proving herself to be a dab hand on the fiddle.

John Bucchino is a gifted man, who on the handful of occasions  when he sang his own numbers, showed himself as a relaxed and confident performer happy to share some profoundly  personal moments from his life and establish a fabulous rapport with the room. But a venue as smart as St James demands an act that is as thoroughly polished as the postcode. Skye Crawford and Hilary Elk have done a grand job producing the show, but if they had taken a little more care over the quality rather than the quantity of the singers, what was nonetheless a delightful afternoon, might just have been perfect.