Ceili O Connor - The Understudy - Review

Century Club, London


*****

Amongst the best of her generation, Ceili O'Connor has achieved numerous West End castings with a talent that has seen her understudy many a leading lady, truly an achievement in itself. With understduies all too often overlooked, it has not been until recently, when we have seen some of London's finest shows having to famously call upon their understudies when the headlining star has been indisposed, that audiences have been famously reminded of just how good those covering performers are. Their performances are typically nothing less than magnificent.

But for O'Connor however, who has covered some of the biggest roles in town and on tour, fate has never yet allowed her to go on in the leading roles that she has understudied. Ever. 

So what better way to showcase her cabaret than as The Understudy - treating a packed audience at the Century Club to a whirl through many of the numbers that she had evidently honed to perfection, though enchantingly giving each of these classic songs a delightful re-imagining.

To confess, I have never seen O'Connor on stage in a large scale commercial show - rather I have only seen her deliver perfection in several fringe productions through the years. So it was appropriate that whilst her set was wittily attributed to the role of the understudy, early on in her act she paid tribute to her fringe career too, with a sublime take on Someone To Watch Over Me from Crazy For You, in which she had featured some years ago at Highgate.

O'Connor's patter was confident, assured, touching and witty. It says much for the actress that so much of her set was shared with fellow performers - and it says even more that each duet or ensemble number was performed with a meticulous yet relaxed precision. When Emily Tierney and Sophie Evans joined her for I Wish I May (surely one of the best close harmony songs written for three female voices ever) the moment was nothing short of spine-tingling. There was delicious supporting work from her fellow understudy troupers Imelda Warren-Green, Eloise Davis and Emma Kingston - and in yet another ingenious re-interpretation of a classic number and accompanied by Matthew Harvey on guitar, she offered up You Must Love Me from Evita (another leading role that O'Connor has covered) with a tenderness that revealed new layers to the song.

It wasn't all show tunes though. An ingenious act-two opener saw her blend the songs that she had grown up with into an intoxicating fusion. Janis Ian, Joni Mitchell, Disney, Cyndi Lauper and even the Spice Girls all became one glorious concoction. There was not a hint of pretentiousness around O'Connor's set list - rather a focus on honesty, wit and excellence, truly the ingredients of a perfect cabaret. 

With O'Connor having understudied Dorothy the evening had to include Somewhere Over The Rainbow and there was a neat tribute to Beguelin and Sklar, the composers of Elf. A moment of charming selflessness saw O'Connor invite her talented younger sister Aisling to sing her own composition.

One of the most unexpected treats of the night was when Michael Bradley took over the keys from Tim Evans (who'd done a sterling job MD'ing through the gig) to accompany O'Connor and Eloise in a medley of Billy Joel songs. The selection that opened and closed with New York State Of Mind was perfectly tailored as half a dozen Joel classics seamlessly segued into each other. The medley was a touching tribute to her mum and dad in the audience, Joel being one of their favourites. He happens to be one of mine too and the moment proved magical.

It's encouraging that London's cabaret circuit can attract young performers able to blend the contemporary with the classic. But more than that - they need to breach that fourth wall with elegance and élan. Supported by her guests, Ceili O'Connor performed with a beautiful bravura that was simply a delight. When her cabaret returns to London, don't miss it.

Grey Gardens - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


*****


Book by Doug Wright
Music by Scott Frankel
Lyrics by Michael Korie
Directed by Thom Southerland

Jenna Russell and Sheila Hancock

Making its European premiere, Grey Gardens is a blend of fact and fiction that tells of Edith Bouvier Beale, aunt to and her daughter Edie. What sets this family apart is that the two women were respectively aunt and first cousin to the woman who was to become the world’s First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Based upon an acclaimed documentary, the show is a cultural fusion that blends Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard with Galton and Simpson's Steptoe and Son (with just a hint of The Great Gatsby). The first half, set in 1941, describes the patrician ascendancy of the Bouvier Beale family whilst act two pitches forward thirty years, depicting almost unbelievably, the flea-infested squalor to which mother and daughter had descended. Grey Gardens their mansion, now overrun with cats. 

The drama of this show is as magnificent as its music, with an ingenious casting conceit. We meet Sheila Hancock, the elderly Edith as the curtain rises, though she is quickly transformed into Jenna Russell who plays (the younger) Edith in act one and (an elder) Edie after the break. Hancock, amongst the finest of her generation, is witheringly contemptuous towards her daughter and yet desperately dependent upon her. She can also sing with remarkable presence - her take on The Cake I Had, a treat.

Russell as Hancock's younger self, captures the manipulative dominance that was to stifle her daughter's attempts at love, whilst in playing the 56 yo Edie (brilliantly costumed in an array of scarves suggesting variously cat-woman crossed with a jihadi bride) she also captures the profound love that her character feels for her mother. If the whole thing wasn't so damnably credible as a dysfunctional family, it would be ridiculous.

And then there's Jenna Russell's voice. Virtually peerless in musical theatre and picking on just two of her stunning moments, Russell’s act two opener The Revolutionary Costume For Today raises the roof, whilst her 11 o clock number Another Winter In A Summer Town touches hearts with its perfectly weighted pathos.

It's not just Russell and Hancock though. Edie in the 1940's is given a captivating performance by Rachel Ann Rayham, whose Daddy's Girl, sung with her hopefully intended Joseph P Kennedy is a glorious fusion of music and movement. (Great choreography Lee Proud). Credit too to the remarkable Aaron Sidwell as the young Kennedy. From Loserville, through American Idiot, to now playing JFK's older brother, Sidwell masters the dynasty's manicured scion. 

Jeremy Legat as Edith's preppy consort musician George Strong offers another perfect cameo, whilst Ako Mitchell and Billy Boyle in a number of roles complete the adult company. As is her custom, Danielle Tarento has cast as well as produced the show and her work here is flawless.

To be fair though, all the creative team have been surpassed themselves. Tom Roger's multi layered set is magnificent, Howard Hudson's lighting again highlighting the subtleties of time and location, Andrew Johnson's sound design ensures neither note nor word are lost, whilst Michael Bradley's 10 piece band make Frankel's complex score a delight.

Tarento and Southerland have never been better and in all honesty there's not much on offer anywhere in London right now that could top this production. Southwark Playhouse should be rightly proud of Grey Gardens. It is unmissable theatre that demands a transfer.

Runs until 6th February

Photo credit: Scott Rylander

Grand Hotel - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Book by Luther Davis

Music and lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright

Additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston

Directed by Thom Southerland

Victoria Serra and company

There is a gorgeous trinity almost akin to a planetary alignment, when producer Danielle Tarento, Thom Southerland and choreographer Lee Proud work together, and in tackling Grand Hotel’s dark and desperate depths they again achieve artistic success.

The dramatic potential of a hotel – and of the lives inside it, has famously proved fertile ground for writers. Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel, in The Shining told of the grand era of the 1920s and whilst 30 years and 5,000 miles may separate Southerland's Grand Hotel from Hitchcock's Bates Motel, both are hostelries to which people fled with dark secrets to hide and inevitable tragedy to confront.

Set in 1928 Berlin, Weimar Germany was a flawed nation and Southerland's production hints at the ugly rise of National Socialism's menacing tide. Checking in at the city's Grand Hotel are a collection of doomed or burdened folk. There is the ageing prima ballerina whose star has fallen, a bankrupt Baron pursued by villainous creditors. Other hotel guests include an impoverished young secretary devastated by an unwanted pregnancy, a failed corporate chief exec and a Jewish bookkeeper riddled with consumption. That’s an awful lot of plot to weave in to a single act show of around 100 minutes – and to be fair whilst much of what Southerland and Proud achieve is downright brilliant, the odd performance falls short of the mark.  

There is flawless excellence on display, at both ends of an age spectrum, from Victoria Serra as Flaemmchen the unfortunate secretary and Christine Grimandi as Grushinskaya the dancer. Serra enchants us with a painful desperation to escape her miserable lot, never finer than during The Girl In The Mirror. And when she’s not breaking our hearts she’s stunning the audience with her sensational dance, memorably in a sensational trio routine, Maybe My Baby partnered by Jammy Kasongo and Durone Stokes.

Grimandi devastates with a sensitive and perfectly weighted portrayal. Almost Norma Desmond like, such is the skill with which her complex fragilities play out, she craves the long-gone adulation of Europe's opera house audiences, yet she is wise enough to know the frailties of her age. There isn’t a more finely crafted female performance in town than that of Grimandi, a star of Italian theatre, offers at Southwark. Also outstanding in a performance of the most subtly crafted devoted depair is Valerie Cutko’s Raffaella – maid to Grushinskaya, who nurses a secret, passionate love for her mistress. 

Stepping in with barely a week or so to rehearse, David Delve’s Colonel-Doctor is another masterclass in understated brilliance. His morphine-addicted war veteran gives us a wry narrative, Chorus like, that strips away the facades of the wealthy and privileged guests and delivered with a presence that consistently commands our attention. Likewise, Jacob Chapman’s Preysing – an apparently happily married businessman who before our eyes descends into a misogynist monster as his business crumbles, is another well fashioned turn.

Lee Proud’s movement is, as always, ingenious. From ensemble representing the hotel’s revolving doors, through to glorious Charleston pastiches and immaculately created routines, Proud makes effective use of the tight traverse space.

And as for Michael Bradley’s 8-piece band, wow! With a sound that at times could suggest a full sized-orchestra, it is a rare treat to hear an ensemble so heavy on strings. There is more than a hint of a Palm Court ambience in Simon Lee's orchestrations and Bradley's immaculate execution.

It remains a continuing credit to Southerland and Tarento that together they have achieved a body of work so impressive that they can acquire the closely-guarded rights to such rarely seen shows. Grand Hotel may be dark and thematic, but presented in the Southwark Playhouse’s intimacy, its cast and creatives offer yet another display of London’s musical theatre genius.

Runs until 5th September

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton

Mack & Mabel - Review

Norman Bowman and
Laura Pitt -Pulford

Southwark Playhouse, London

*****

Book by Michael Stewart
Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
Revised by Francine Pascal
Directed by Thom Southerland

Mack & Mabel is a dark musical. A relationship between the two leads that is often defined by “anti-love” songs and a second act that spirals inexorably to a finale of misery. Yet within this darkness, musical numbers are included that range from the highest levels of hope, through to spectacular glitzy tap routines, and a hilarious pinch of slapstick. And such is the strength of this show that every single number is in perfect context.

Produced by Danielle Tarento, who together with Southerland, staged the award winning Parade at this venue last year, Mack & Mabel charts the interweaving of the lives of silent “two-reel movie” director Mack Sennett, with Mabel Normand, a deli delivery girl from Brooklyn whose charismatic beauty and potential he spots on set and who he elevates to stardom. For a review of Mabel's Wilful Way,  a Mack&Mabel movie, click here.

Set in the early 20^th century, the show in sub-plot touches upon the rise of the full length motion picture and the introduction of the talkies, but these are merely a backdrop to the arc of the ill fated lovers.

As Mack, Norman Bowman is outstanding. Costumed in a cream suit throughout, and frequently fedora’d to shield the bright Californian sun, he is every inch the caricature of a dominating movie director yet one who also possesses a touching vulnerability, with chiselled good looks perfectly matching the strength and sweetness of his tenor voice. In the opening number, describing his early career, Bowman sings Movies Were Movies with an energy and flair that it is nigh impossible to look away from . Later in the first act, alone with Mabel, he defines his lack of loving sensitivity with the poignant I Won't Send Roses, the melody from which serves as an occasional emotionally charged motif at subsequent moments.  The show opened two weeks prior to this review and already Bowman is deservedly being spoken of as a nominee for an Off West End award for leading actor.

 An outstanding Mack needs a Mabel of similar pedigree. Laura Pitt-Pulford shone in Parade last year, and knowing that she would lead in this show, only added to the pre-show anticipation. Pitt-Pulford’s performance exceeded expectations that were already sky high. She charted Mabel’s journey, plucked from obscurity to super-stardom, the enjoyment of the movie-star’s life and her ultimate succumbing to substance abuse, simply exquisitely. Mabel is drawn ironically moth-like, to her love for Mack and movies and the show gives her songs that are often melancholy. Wherever He Ain't, and Time Heals Everything, whilst both of different tempos, are very much are the expressions of a woman who is suffering. Throughout Act 2, Pitt-Pulford puts on a masterclass of fragility that is at once heartbreaking, yet sublime. She captures Mabel’s vulnerability in a performance the fidelity of which is rarely seen on the West End, let alone London’s fringe.

The supporting cast excelled to a person. In the key role of Lottie Ames, Jessica Martin sung and tap-danced inspiringly. The accomplished Stuart Matthew Price played a slick Frank Capra, the one regret of the evening being that the book did not allow his character more solo spots.  Impressive too was Steven Serlin as movie producer Kessel, portraying his characters Jewishness skilfully and recognisably whilst avoiding crass stereotype.

It has been written before that Tarento is committed to the highest of production values. It is clear that she commands the respect of many of theatre’s most talented practitioners, evidenced by the strength of the shows creative team. Lee Proud’s choreography was dazzling. Whilst all of the the show’s movement was slick, his working of Hundreds Of Girls, Hit ‘Em On The Head. Tap Your Troubles Away truly seemed to transport one from a vault in Southwark to a Hollywood back-lot with a tap routine that could have easily graced any major commercial show.

Good light is critical to movie making. From the outset Tarrento’s team have sought to ensure that Jason Denvir’s design is lit effectively and Howard Hudson has delivered what is perhaps the best lighting design seen in London’s fringe. Cleverly evoking at different times studio lights both in front of and behind camera as well as the bright Hollywood sunshine, Hudson’s craft adds another dimension to the rich tableau of this production.  Michael Bradley’s musical direction and vocal arrangement were also well planned and Andrew Johnson’s sound design ensured that lyrics and dialog remained clear above the faultless sound of the band. And all of this directed by Thom Southerland, who has longed to put on this show for many years. He is a credit to his ambitions.

Mack & Mabel has no fancy hydraulics, green costumes or make up, and even the projected movies are simply suggested by a flickering light . (Another inspired Hudson touch)  Mercifully, it has also been spared the modern day casting couch of a TV talent show. In place of those gimmicks it presents a stunning theatrical company delivering excellence through every word, musical note and dance step.

Runs until August 25th