Here You Come Again - Review

Riverside Studios, London

****

By Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio

Additional material by Jonathan Harvey

Directed by Gabriel Barre

Steven Webb and Tricia Paoluccio

Hitting the sweetest of sweet spots, Here You Come Again is a juke-box musical that does for Dolly Parton what Mamma Mia did for ABBA. Oozing with sincerity as much as it defies credibility, the show is built around the importance of recognising one’s self-worth, while staying heart-warmingly true to Parton’s glowing public persona.

Set during 2020’s lockdown, Steven Webb plays 40-yo gay Kevin, freshly dumped by his boyfriend and now returned to his parent’s home where for the purposes of social distancing they have isolated him in the attic den that was his bedroom as a teenager. Festooned in Dolly Parton merchandise, the attic is a tribute to the star that Kevin has never stopped adoring for decades.

In the depths of Kevin’s despair and with more than a hint of Mary Poppins, Dolly Parton herself bursts through a poster on his wall singing the title number and lifting the packed Riverside Studios onto a fluffy pink cloud of joy and exhilaration. The show's writing is clever throughout, but with the shrewd addition of Jonathan Harvey to the creative team, dramatic heft is added to the narrative.

Tricia Paoluccio (a co-creator of the show) plays Parton to a tee. Her personification of the queen of country music is nigh-on flawless with a voice that captures Parton’s unique timbre and a tone and cadence that is so spot-on that if you shut your eyes and listen it might just as well be Dolly herself here in Hammersmith.

Parton’s biggest hits (try saying that after a few drinks) are in the show. A wondrously corny storyline introduces Jolene (with superb red-haired accompaniment from Webb), while the interval is sandwiched between Love Is Like A Butterfly and 9 To 5. Islands In The Stream (with the audience all waving the torches on their phones) and I Will Always Love You are two of the second act’s highlights, as a handful of Dolly’s lesser known delights add to the evening’s songlist.

The story line is simple and neat and if the ending may be a tad twee (no spoilers here) at least it ensures the audience leave with the broadest of grins and the warmest of hearts. The finale of a singalong Dolly megamix (currently followed by a Christmas megamix too) is as cheering as a glass of brandy-laden mulled wine.

Above all, this show stands on the strengths of its two leads. Webb has the challenge of convincing us of the sentimentality and integrity of Kevin, which he does magnificently. Paoluccio of course has to become Dolly Parton and both of them produce a top-notch chemistry that is touching and believable. On press night Aidan Cutler and Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke stepped up to deliver a range of minor supporting roles, while the music was perfectly directed by Jordan Li-Smith’s four-piece band who were both on and off stage as the numbers demanded. Paul Wills' set design is simply effective and his glitzy costumes, magnificent. Lizzi Gee's choreography sees the actors perfectly drilled in some outstanding routines.

Here You Come Again will wrap your heart round its little finger. On tour after its month-long Riverside residency, this evening of pure entertainment deserves to end-up in the West End.

Runs until 18th January 2025, then tours

Mother Goose - Review

Theatre Royal, Brighton and Duke of York’s Theatre, London

*****

Written by Jonathan Harvey

Directed by Cal McCrystal

Ian McKellen as Mother Goose

Ponder a while and reflect on the image above. It is a picture of Sir Ian McKellen, one of this country’s finest actors and in this photograph by Manuel Harlan is captured the humour, genius and lifetime of experience that defines him. Now read on…

Mother Goose that has played a week at Brighton’s Theatre Royal before transferring to London’s Duke of York's Theatre and then touring into spring next year, is pantomime at its finest.

In one of those rare theatrical events that sees a Knight become a Dame, Ian McKellen leads the company in a spectacular take on the title role. It’s seventeen years since McKellen last did panto and it’s as if he’s never been away. He holds the role flawlessly in a production that has been built for a long haul on the road and thus denies him both Christmas references and moments of localised fast-moving audience interaction. Nonetheless, his majestic dame captures Goose’s stunning faux-glamour alongside some fabulous moments of self-deprecation and immaculately timed repartee. Heck, McKellen even sings, and for just a brief moment, as he lapses into Tomorrow from Annie that’s prefaced by an autobiographical reference to his 8-year old self seeing panto in Bolton, there is just a hint of poignant pathos as we recognise the man’s remarkable longevity and his place in the pantheon of Britain’s greats. But written by Jonathan Harvey this is panto not pathos - and McKellen’s ability to roll through a script that references Mother Goose’s beaver as well as her (his?) haemorrhoids, hallmarks Harvey's carefully crafted text that will tickle all ages. References to Lord Of The Rings abound, and there’s even a splash of Shakespeare on the closing moments, as McKellen’s Dame treats us to Portia’s “Quality of mercy” speech from The Merchant Of Venice.

McKellen’s supporting cast are outstanding. Sharing the celebrity-billing alongside the venerable Dame is standup comedian John Bishop (mocked throughout by McKellen as not being a ‘real’ actor) as Mother Goose’s husband Vic, making a wonderful foil to McKellen’s high-octane campery. Oscar Conlon-Morrey steps up to the comedy role of the Gooses’ son Jack. Conlon-Morrey is a dab hand at panto, heroically handling Jack’s buffoonery and slapstick.

Oscar Conlon-Morrey, Ian McKellen and John Bishop

The production’s musical references are a delight, with frequent references to classic musical theatre shows - none finer than the Act Two opener of One from A Chorus Line (I can’t explain its relevance to the plot either) with a delivery that is as brilliant as it is hilarious, with Dame Ian providing the number’s visual (if not vocal) climax. It is left to Anna-Jane Casey however, playing the goose of the show Cilla Quack to deliver not only the odd wry menopause gag, but to take the roof off the Theatre Royal, firstly with a brief take on All By Myself, before a simply stunning version of Don’t Rain On My Parade. It is often said that pantomime is, for many children, their first experience of live theatre. In this production they’re also being given a taste of some of Broadway’s finest songs. A nod here to musical director James Keay whose arrangements, delivered by his economically sized three-piece band, are spot on. Lizzi Gee’s choreography is a treat, delivering dance routines (just wait until you see Sir Ian tap!) that has been lavishly designed and immaculately rehearsed.

Anna Jane Casey, John Bishop and Ian McKellen

The show heads into the West End next week and it is a far more traditional pantomime than London’s other highly-priced festive offering. McKellen’s Mother Goose is not about million-dollar costumes shoehorned into a formulaic variety show. Far from it. This is a pantomime created in the mould of hundreds of shows that are playing across the country right now. It just happens to have one of our finest actors ever giving one of his finest performances. What’s more, when the show departs London in February to tour England, Wales and Ireland , all its tickets are affordably priced too.

It is not often that one can say that a pantomime is “coming to a town near you soon”, but this one is. And when it does, don’t miss it.

Touring until 1st April 2023

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan