Show Boat - Review

New London Theatre, London


*****


Music by Jerome Kern
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the novel "Show Boat" by Edna Ferber
Directed by Daniel Evans

Emmanuel Kojo

Show Boat at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre was the best musical that I saw last year and its London transfer is setting a very high bar for 2016. Daniel Evans' production, mounted on Lez Brotherston's spectacularly evocative set doesn't just reprise one of Broadway's greatest ever musicals, it recreates Americas Southlands and Midwest at the turn of the 20th century, with a spine tingling intensity.

Famed as the "original Broadway musical" Show Boat is powered by a narrative that steams through human love and tragedy, fuelled by some of the finest songs written - and in this production, performed by arguably the most talented company in town. Chris Peluso and Gina Beck lead as Gaylord Ravenal and his wife Magnolia. Peluso, who takes over the role from Michael Xavier, offers his own distinctive interpretation of the riverboat-gambler whose heart is melted and enchants with a convincing passion both in solo and in his famous duets of Make Believe and You Are Love.

Beck continues to deliver a magnificent Magnolia with an arc, tragic yet strong, that breaks our hearts. As Magnolia matures from wide-eyed love-struck teenager into a challenging adult life, Beck is en pointe throughout. Truly one of the finest of her generation, the power of her soprano is spine-tingling. Her duets with Peluso may be charming, but in After The Ball, she takes the roof off.

Rebecca Trehearn's Julie offers a performance that is perfectly nuanced throughout. Her character hides a complex secret (no spoilers here) and on re-visiting Trehearn's performance, the tiny details that betray Julie’s deepest fears are performed exquisitely. And of course she matches Beck's vocal perfection. Can't Help Loving That Man Of Mine evolves throughout the evening until it's the song on everyone's lips at the final curtain, whilst Bill, a beautiful lament Is one of the second half's highlights.

Rebecca Trehearn and Gina Beck

The musical is famous for Ol' Man River, a song that's arguably bigger than the Mississippi it tells of. The ridiculously young and talented Emmanuel Kojo continues to kick the song out of the park. He gives it a beautifully bass foundation, yet also allows it to soar with a spirituality. The despair of the African American stevedores, so cleverly evinced in Kern's classic chords and Hammerstein's inspired lyrics is a thing of wondrous grief when sung by Kojo's Joe. Sandra Marvin as Queenie brings a worldly wisdom to her modest role but, again with her gorgeous vocal range, she makes fine work of Mis’ry’s Comin’ Roun’ and the second half’s jolly Hey, Feller!

Alex Young's rising star continues to shine. Her feisty Ellie Mae Shipley providing many of the show's compassionately comic moments with Life Upon The Wicked Stage being delightfully executed. Opposite her, Danny Collins plays her stage husband Frank Schultz. Collins’ dance work is a marvel, his routine with Young during Goodbye My Lady Love being a blur of perfectly executed footwork. In fact Alistair David’s choreography is stunning throughout. The company numbers are breathtaking, either in their raw humanity during Ol’ Man River, or the simply stunning exuberance of Act One’s opening and closing routines.

Show Boat speaks with charm of a time gone by. Whilst its darker sides of racism and gambling/alcohol addiction are sadly timeless, so too is its observation of marriage. As the Ravenals’ union fails, both Joe and Queenie’s marriage along with that of Captain Andy Hawks and wife Parthy (again, excellent supporting work from Malcolm Sinclair and Lucy Briers) endure the decades. There’s a theme of recognizable hen-pecked husbandry that bridges the racial separation and while Parthy and Queenie’s domineering wives raise a warm chuckle in their disciplined approach to housekeeping, it all harks back to a golden and more gentle age of storytelling, when vaudeville, Broadway and Hollywood entertained the world. It’s a further credit to Evans, David and Brotherston that the whole production exudes such a filmic quality.

As Tom Brady's orchestra provide the perfect backdrop to a night of laughter and tears, Show Boat defines flawless musical theatre.

Booking until 7th January 2017

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