Little Women - Review

Park Theatre, London

****

Music by Jason Howland

Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein
Book by Allan Knee
Based on the book by Louisa May Alcott
Directed by Bronagh Lagan

Lydia White

In its UK premiere, Bronagh Lagan’s take on this 2005 Broadway musical makes for a charming night that defines much of what is excellent about London’s fringe theatre. Amidst a show of deliciously high production values (take a bow producer Katy Lipson) Lydia White as Jo leads a company of 11 in bringing Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale to life.

Playing out in the northern USA against the backdrop of the American Civil War, Alcott’s much loved fable speaks of love, dreams, ambition and tragedy mixed in with tenderly observed sibling rivalries and affection.

White has the lion’s share of the numbers and she gives life to storyteller Jo’s fiery arc of independence. Alongside her literary talents are her sister Beth’s musical flair and Amy’s talent for painting, as Meg makes up the quartet of the March sisters. All four young women are perceptively and very well performed, but in a stand out turn for sensitively delivered poignancy laden with highly charged understatement, Anastasia Martin’s Beth is sensational.

Jason Howland’s score may not be the most memorable but Leo Munby (MD and keyboards) together with his four string players perched high aloft the stage produce an exquisite and immaculately rehearsed sound. Credit too to Nik Corrall’s outstanding design and projections, and  Sarah Golding’s choreography, all of which make fine and imaginative work of the Park’s intimate space.

The first act drags a little but in this co-production with Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre the show will hopefully go on to enjoy a longer life on these shores. Fans of both the novel or the musical theatre genre will not be disappointed.

Runs until 19th December
Photo credit: Pamela Raith

A Night At The Oscars - Review

Upstairs At The Gatehouse, London

****

Written by Chris Burgess

Directed by Bronagh Lagan

Laura Sillett, Kieran Brown, Steven Dalziel, Natalie Green

A Night At The Oscars is the latest revue to showcase some of the last century’s finest songs. In two hours (and two acts) Bronagh Lagan’s cast whirl their way through snatches of 60 songs all of which have an association with either Academy Award nominees or winners.

Chris Burgess has weaved a well-researched narrative that interjects moments of history and comment along the way. The strength of the show though rests in the talents of the 4 performers who make this snapshot tour of much of the American Songbook (and indeed, beyond) such a polished gem.

Kieran Brown, Steven Dalziel, Natalie Green and Laura Sillett are all on top form. Amidst so many classic songs it is hard to highlight the (many) treats, but the stand out moments from the women were both Judy Garland numbers from the first half. Sillett delivered an exquisite take on Yip Harburg’s Over The Rainbow that captured the song’s powerful fragility. The act’s closing number saw Green sing The Man That Got Away with a handling of the song that made for a spine-tingling heartbreaker, a reminder that this is a number that’s not heard often enough.

Dalziel and Brown offered a memorably tight duet of Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? (Harburg again) and also an unexpected close harmony of What’s New Pussycat. The tongue in cheek highlight of the gig however was undoubtedly Brown’s powerful delivery of Live And Let Die – he was magnificent!   

It is a credit to producer Katy Lipson for assembling such spot-on talents for her quartet who are well supported by musical director Ben Ferguson and choreographer Chris Cuming, who has produced well drilled excellence from his tiny cast in the Gatehouse’s compact space.

Carefully curated by Burgess, A Night At The Oscars is a charming production of a delightful idea.

Runs until 4th March, then playing at the Radlett Centre on 11th March

Photo credit: Tim Hall

The MGM Story - Review

Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London


****


Book by Chris Burgess
Directed and choreographed by Matthew Cole

The quartet of performers

Transporting us through the history of musical theatre’s golden age, The MGM Story dives into the tale of how the Hollywood studio nurtured the talent of stars that were to include Judy Garland and Gene Kelly alongside composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and countless others.

Directed and meticulously choreographed by Matthew Cole and with Charlie Ingles perceptively directing his band, this newly compiled musical revue flips back to some timeless movie classics, featuring songs from Singin’ in the Rain, An American in Paris and The Wizard of Oz. Imaginatively set on a studio back lot, the world of the MGM musicals is brought to life and genially animated by the four performers who sparkle in this narrative.

As the evening unfolds, each actor at some point represents one the celebrated names of the Golden era. Emma Kayte Saunders embodies the young Judy Garland and her casting is inspired. Saunders’ voice is earthy and beautiful, with an ability to portray the starlet’s innocence in her early days of fame that is mesmerizing.

Similarly, James Leece’s portrayal of Gene Kelly in the iconic dance sequence of Singin’ in the Rain appears almost effortless. With no streetlight for Leece to hang off of, the use of a step ladder is inspired and the routine still proves an absolute charmer. 

West End veteran Miranda Wilford feels somewhat underused toward the beginning of the performance, appearing firstly and rather oddly, as the Cowardly Lion in Follow the Yellow Brick Road But during the second act, her performance of They Say It’s Wonderful from Annie Get Your Gun, as Betty Hutton, was indeed, wonderful – and note too that there is an incredible resemblance between Hutton and Wilford.

Steven Dalziel, brings a wonderful energy to the quartet that, like Saunders, has you watching him continuously through the show. Each gesture and facial expression has been well thought out and while vocally, he may not have been as showcased as the other three performers, his embodiment of a number of different characters throughout the night highlighted his multi-talented skills. 

Katy Lipson, whose Aria Entertainments co-produces, continues to show real flair in putting together these gorgeously staged revues. Like the rest of London’s fringe, her productions cost a fraction of a West End ticket, yet offer first class production standards and outstanding value for money.

The MGM Story is a sparkling example of the legacies of talent and sophistication that brought about today’s modern musicals and if you love the songs of that era, it’s a perfect night out.

Runs until 25th September, then touring to Windsor, Norwich and Radlett

Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy

Seasons Of Larson - Review

Lyric Theatre, London

***

Directed by Grant Murphy

Jonathan Larson died tragically young, aged just 35. A writer who touched so many lives, it was an inspired idea that saw Katy Lipson and Guy James mark the twentieth anniversary of his passing by staging a concert to remember the man and his work. Seasons Of Larson was a journey back to “the end of the millennium” for an emotional roller coaster of songs, chosen to represent Larson’s best.

The evening had pre-recorded tributes from its performers played out as voicemails throughout the concert – a clever nod to Rent – which despite being cutely anecdotal style stories, in actual fact provided the audience with an opportunity to check back in to reality, shuffle themselves in their seat and prepare for the next (and for the most part self-indulgent) turn. 

Notwithstanding perhaps a little too much eye-closing, air-grabbing and (ahem) lyric-dropping there were some dazzling moments that stunned the audience, none finer than Debbie Kurup’s Come To Your Senses from Tick Tick Boom. Kurup’s performance stole the show, proving utterly believable from beginning to end. 

There was light relief from the endearing Noel Sullivan whose comedy timing and vocals were both on point as he delivered One Of These Days towards the end of the Spring Season, with the sassy Krysten Cummings adding many more laugh out loud moments in Out Tonight and Break Out The Booze.

Subtle and clever staging from Grant Murphy allowed the cast room to breathe, nicely making way for Anton Stephans’ rendition of I'll Cover You to totally bring the house down. 

The predominantly Renthead audience were clearly hungry for anything from that show. Within seconds of hearing the opening bar of any number, excitable murmurs and ear-pricking would ensue, none more so than for Seasons of Love. The song aptly fronted the concert’s second half, as of course it does the show and performed by the whole cast, it proved a very special and unique act two opening.

The evening proved a lovely tribute to the writer, with neat musical direction from Gareth Bretherton. Here's hoping a Larson show may come back to the London theatre scene soon.

Guest reviewer: Heather Lloyd

Jerry's Girls - Review

Jermyn Street Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
Concepts by Larry Alford, Wayne Cilento and Jerry Herman
Directed by Kate Golledge

(l-r) Sarah-Louise Young, Emma Barton and Ria Jones

Drawn from the shows of Jerry Herman, Jerry’s Girls is a delightful cabaret that in the hands of three talented ladies, offers a whirl of show tunes that thoroughly deserves its hastily arranged return visit to Jermyn Street

  

Emma Barton, Ria Jones and Sarah-Louise Young are magnificent throughout, working their way through a set list that was originally put together for a Broadway revue back in the 1980’s. The compilation is rarely seen over here and credit to producers Katy Lipson and Guy James for having the ingenuity to have mounted it so successfully.

With perhaps the exception of Milk and Honey, the numbers are all familiar to musical theatre lovers and the combination of gloriously powerful belts intermingled with moments of the purest poignancy make for an evening that would be an emotional rollercoaster were it not all so ridiculously enjoyable. All of Herman’s big shows get a look in, with Barton’s Mabel in Wherever He Ain’t channelling an exquisite vocal presence that also suggests just a hint of Albert Square! From the same show, Young and Jones give a gorgeous and perfectly weighted nuance to I Won’t Send Roses. 

Herman’s humour sparkles, never wittier than in a song he wrote for the revue, Take It All Off, that wonderfully spoofs burlesque stripping. Again there is fabulous work from Young with Jones being disarmingly (and hilariously) self-deprecating as a stripper whose best years are behind her. 

There are nods to Hello Dolly throughout, with the show ending on a powerful tribute to all that La Cage Aux Folles stood for. Grins along with lumps-in-throats all round.

Kate Golledge directs assuredly, with an entertaining eye for detail. Matthew Cole choreographs cleverly too given the venue's intimacy and that Tap Your Troubles Away evolved into all three women tap-dancing, accompanied by pianist and MD Edward Court and his reed and mandolin playing partner Sophie Byrne on their feet too, (both fabulous musicians to boot) only added to the wondrous sparkle of the occasion. My one regret was not having discovered this gem of a show sooner so I could have had the opportunity to have returned to see it again.

Jerry’s Girls is only playing until May 31st. Barely lasting two hours, it offers West End entertainment at a fraction of a typical West End price. If you love what Broadway, Streisand, Merman & co were/are all about, then you’ll come out grinning. Go see this show!

Runs until 31st May

Laura Pitt-Pulford: Keeping Ahead Of The Curve

SINCE WRITING THIS FEATURE, LAURA PITT-PULFORD'S PERFORMANCE AS MARIA HAS RECEIVED RAVE REVIEWS ACROSS THE BOARD. CLICK HERE TO READ MY REVIEW OF THE SHOW

as Lucille Frank in Parade

There is much anticipation for Leicester Curve's Christmas 2014 offering. The Sound Of Music will be Paul Kerryson, the Curve's much lauded Artistic Director's swansong show. Even more than Kerryson's expected impact upon this classic musical, is his choice of leading lady to play Maria. Laura Pitt-Pulford, an actor who is amongst the cream of her generation is to play the lapsed nun/impetuous governess and her casting is an inspired decision. This Mountview graduate (the class of 2005) has consistently delivered acclaimed excellence in every part she has played and whether it be working in the fringe or in the highest echelons of the subsidised sector, her commitment to her craft is inspirational. As the news was announced of her being cast as Maria, I caught up with Laura to find out a little more about this gifted performer.

Growing up away from the London bubble (her family hail from Rugby) it was to be some months after leaving Mountview before she got her first break in commercial theatre, as Young Heidi in Sondheim's Follies at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton. It says much for Pitt-Pulford that her debut professional gig was a Sondheim - the man famously (and ingeniously) creates demanding roles, a challenge that she more than matched.

Enviably, the last few years have rarely seen Pitt-Pulford out of work, with the Southwark Playhouse, one of London's leading fringe venues, proving to be a springboard for her career. Producer Danielle Tarento spotted her to play Lucille Frank, the leading lady in Jason Robert Brown's scorching musical set around a travesty of justice that occurred in the Southern state of Georgia shortly after the American Civil War. It had been barely five years since Parade had played at London's Donmar (achieving the deserved recognition that had eluded it on Broadway), yet under Thom Southerland's direction the Tarento production was to receive its own critical acclaim, in no small measure due to Pitt-Pulford's heroic Southern belle (alongside her leading man Alastair Brookshaw). She had arrived in London.

Fast forwarding a year saw the Tarento-Southerland partnership stage Jerry Herman's Mack & Mabel, another difficult even if beautifully scored show. Pitt-Pulford was Tarento's only choice to play Mabel Normand - but there was a hiccough. Already playing the lead in Sweet Charity at Belfast's MAC, Pitt-Pulford was only to be allowed a two week rehearsal slot for the role and had to parachute in to the company when they were already half way through their rehearsals. Suffice to say, her preparation for the role had been meticulous with the show going on to be one of London's sell out successes in the summer of 2012.

as Mabel Normand in Mack & Mabel

But Pitt-Pulford is no stranger to flying (sometimes literally) by the seat of her pants. A colleague and good friend tells of how at the Curve on the press night of Paul Kerryson's wonderfully staged Piaf, Pitt-Pulford, playing working girl Toine, was required to have draped herself, spread-eagled over a chaise-longue, clad in little more than her character’s working clothes of suspenders and underwear. As Beginners were being called, a last minute costume check by the actress led her to realise she was knicker-less and even worse, the dressing rooms were an Olympic sprint away through numerous security doors. Ever the consummate professional, the actress made it on stage, just in time, ensuring Toine's opening appeared exactly as planned.

(In a lovely moment, as Laura was talking about Piaf, the coffee shop in which we were sat played La Vie En Rose in the background. Beautiful) 

Kerryson has previous with Pitt-Pulford. Before Piaf, she was his Irene Molloy alongside an award winning Janie Dee in Hello, Dolly! whilst last year Marianne Elliott cast Pitt-Pulford in the National Theatre's The Light Princess, where aside from sporting some stunning footwear, she added puppetry to her skills and still speaks in admiration of Elliott's visionary approach to Tori Amos' ground-breaking musical. A performer who is never afraid to tackle new work, Pitt-Pulford has recently thrown herself into two of up-coming producer Katy Lipson's shows. A cracking UK premier of the Sondheim pot-pourri Marry Me A Little saw some glorious Manhattan-ite interaction with Simon Bailey, whilst her Margaret in Charles Miller's The Return Of The Soldier saw her give a sensitive exploration of the layers of a very complex woman caught up in the aftermath of PTSD during the First World War.

But it is her Maria that right now is so eagerly awaited. Laura tells me that she "just can't wait to put my stamp on it. I grew up on the film, love it, love everything about it. Such a fabulous story and she is such an interesting character." 

The re-union of Kerryson with choreographer Drew McOnie, who together wowed Leicester and the wider the theatre world with a sensational Chicago last Christmas, only adds to the anticipation surrounding the Rogers and Hammerstein classic. But it is the inspired casting of Laura Pitt-Pulford as the intriguing postulant that is likely to underscore what is sure to be a sell out festive treat.

The Return Of The Soldier - Review

Jermyn Street Theatre, London

****

Music by Charles Miller.

Book and Lyrics by Tim Sanders

Directed by Charlotte Westenra

Stewart Clarke and Laura Pitt-Pulford

There was a group of students from Mountview Drama School attending on the same night that I reviewed The Return Of The Soldier and they could not have chosen a finer master-class to demonstrate their pursued craft, for this tiny company, five strong, drip with excellence. Charlotte Westenra's production that premieres this troubling WW1 musical, marks another theatrical tribute that respects the centenary of the outbreak of "the war to end all wars".

Laura Pitt-Pulford, an actress whose name on any bill guarantees a classy performance, is Margaret, a barely happily married woman, whose feelings for a past flame of her youth are re-kindled when the dashing former beau inexplicably starts sending her love letters. Stewart Clarke plays Captain Baldry the gloriously moustachioed and patrician officer who captured her heart all those years ago. The tale unfolds and we learn that Baldry has long since married Kitty, a frightfully snobbish debutante, socially way above the common barmaid Margaret and that the Captain has just been sent back from the Front suffering from shell-shock (or PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) The PTSD has erased any memory of his marriage from his conscience, leaving him only to recall and yearn for his long lost love for Margaret. Rebecca West's novel, adapted by Tim Sanders is ripe for the grand sweep of a musical treatment. Pitt-Pulford's layered Margaret is a masterclass and we feel for her character's emotional dilemma, drawn back to the Baldry house (invited actually, by Kitty) to act almost as a "tethered goat" to try and re-kindle the injured officer’s cognisance of the present.

Making her second foray this year into the theatre of The Great War, Zoe Rainey, recently seen in Stratford East's revival of Joan Littlewood's Oh What A Lovely War! evokes both our contempt for her despicable treatment of Margaret, yet also touches a profound note of sympathy as she grapples with a husband who no longer not only recognises her, but burns with desire for his former love. Alongside Pitt-Pulford, Rainey's work is of the highest standard.

Clarke's Baldry is further evidence that this gifted young actor remains one to watch, whilst doubling up as Margaret's humbling bumbling husband William, as well as the manipulative psychiatrist Dr Anderson, Michael Matus is, as ever, excellent. There is a scene in act one where Margaret kneads dough as she talks to William and casting directors take note: a future Sweeney Todd that pairs Matus with Pitt-Pulford would be sensational.

Whilst the talent that visionary producer Katy Lipson, together with Guy James, has assembled is flawless, the same does not hold true for Miller and Sander’s writing. The melodies often fail to satisfy (notwithstanding several moments of pitch-perfect close harmony) whilst the ironic wit of Dr Anderson’s solo number Head Master lacks the incisive bite of Littlewood's near-perfect collection of war satire. As the story’s endgame plays out we learn of childrens' deaths. To lose one toddler in a plot is forgivable, to learn of two such fatalities is downright careless and notwithstanding the ending’s poignancy, the infant mortalities muddle the emotional thrust of the work, detracting from the raw brutal horrors of trench warfare and PTSD.

Flaws notwithstanding, The Return Of The Soldier is a fine piece of chamber theatre, with the cello and piano work of Simon Lambert’s band proving exquisite. In the tight confines of the Jermyn Street’s cockpit it remains an utter privilege to be able to see and scrutinise such an exceptional cast at work.

Runs to 20th September 2014

The Jewish Legacy

The Radlett Centre

****

Directed by Leon Trayman

For two performances only, The Jewish Legacy came to leafy Radlett.  Devised by Katy Lipson’s Aria Entertainments and selecting only showtunes with a kosher provenance, Aria with Leon Trayman have found themselves spoilt for choice. Like a box of familiar chocolates, (soft-centred probably, judging by the age profile of the matinee audience) their compilation was a selection of Broadway favourites taken from the canon of the last 80 years or so.

Simply staged, four singers narrated and performed a programme that opened with Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin and ended amongst the work of current Broadway talent Jason Robert Brown. Kimberley Blake and Abi Finley provided the soprano voices, Blake having two particular second half highlights. Her Adelaide's Lament from Loesser's Guys and Dolls got the comedy-pathos of the song spot on whilst Send In The Clowns from Sondheim's A Little Night Music was a beautifully noble take on a notoriously challenging number. Finley's poise was as elegant. Having given a stunning contribution to the Kander and Ebb and Disney show medleys, her bang up to date Taylor The Latte Boy from Goldrich and Heisler was a story sweetly told through song.

Tom Millen and Trayman himself were perhaps slightly overshadowed by their leading ladies. Even so, Millen's take on On The Street Where You Live gave a genuine sense of the towering romantic desperation that Lerner and Loewe imbued within the song, whilst Trayman took it upon himself to sing Brown's (mildly autobiographical) Shiksa Goddess, a song that song bluntly and brilliantly tells of its Jewish author's grappling with his guilty conscience as as he falls for the charms of a gentile girl. 'Shiksa' is an extremely vulgar term of Yiddish slang, usually lost on a non-Jewish audience. In Radlett and to predominantly Jewish pensioners, Trayman's solid performance generated as many disapproving tuts from the old folk as it did shocked chuckles. Its a clever song but perhaps too offensive for the show's likely audience. Maybe stick to The Old Red Hills Of Home in future?

The Hebrew legacy left on The Great White Way is huge and to the producers' credit they've plugged their set full of comfortable classics with a liberal serving of Streisand and Fiddler thrown in too. Matt Rampling on piano directed his three piece band skilfully though the show would have been better served with a slightly larger musical ensemble and a compere more at ease with the show's (well researched) patter than the singers who occasionally sounded too scripted.

Demanding to be re-staged, the show is an imaginative and innovative arrangement of much loved tunes that offers a grand night out at the theatre. Both acts ended with big numbers from Bernstein and Sondheim’s West Side Story, Tonight and Somewhere respectively. These two famous songs (a duo and a solo) have each been cleverly re-arranged for four voices and the quartet delivered them with soaring harmonies. It’s a cunning move by the producers, ensuring that when the curtain falls the audience leaves grinning and with a tune on their lips.