Ragtime - Review

Alleyn's School, London

****

Music by Stephen Flaherty

Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Book by Terrence McNally

Directed by Hannah Chissick

Zaya Tserenbat and company

In a bold production that encompasses moments of musical theatre genius, the National Youth Music Theatre is staging Ragtime for three days only at London’s Alleyn's School. Flaherty and Ahrens' canvas of the United States at the turn of the 20th century is a cleverly constructed fusion of social icons (that includes the likes of Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman, Booker T Washington and Henry Ford) blended in with nameless or fictional protagonists, all of whose various stories depict the turbulence of the times of America’s famed melting pot.

Simply staged before a shredded American flag and with only suitcases for scenery to emphasise the immigrant make-up of the country’s population, Hannah Chissick allows her cast to expand the narrative based solely on their ability to sing, dance and act through song. The themes of the show are complex and its arc is broad and it is a testament to this young company that they tackle the ugliness of the tale’s racism alongside the beauty of some of its characters’ tenderness with perceptive and measured depth.

At 23, Lucy Carter who plays Mother is an NYMT veteran and her years of experience are clearly evident. Carter’s stage presence is electrifying, not just in her moments of profound compassion, but also in the steel she shows in challenging her husband’s innate racism. Carter is also gifted the show’s solo high-spot with the second act’s Back To Before, smashing it out of the park and bringing power, passion and profound emotion to the song. 

Zolani Dube plays Coalhouse Walker Jr, an African American ragtime musician whose journey drives the show’s narrative. Dube brings commitment to the role, together with masses of potential. Opposite Dube is Sarah, the woman he loves, played by Katlo Masole. In a role that is largely understated, Masole offers up a turn of assured excellence and vocal beauty as she plays her tragic character.

There are other diamonds in this cast. 12yo Laurie Jones as the Little Boy is confident and compelling, with pinpoint timing too – a rare craft to have mastered so young. Equally Sam Sayan’s Tateh and Zaya Tserenbat’s Evelyn Nesbit are very strong in their supporting roles. Tserenbat in particular, whose take on The Crime Of The Century is a joy to behold.

David Randall conducts his 22 piece orchestra with aplomb, ensuring that Stephen Flaherty’s score, itself a blend of so many different musical genres is delivered delightfully.

The NYMT has a knack of unearthing future West End stars as the list of its illustrious alumni proves. But more than just that teaching young people how to star, above all the NYMT allows its companies to discover the sheer beauty of acting together, through song. Ragtime’s first act closes with Till We Reach That Day, an absolute banger of a number that is written for a show's entire cast to perform. To see and hear this fabulous company singing as one, with power, pathos and passion is spine-tingling and stunning.

Runs until 27th August

Photo credit: Konrad Bartelski

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The Rink - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

*****

Music by John Kander

Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Book by Terrence McNally

Directed by Adam Lenson

Gemma Sutton and Caroline O'Connor

To read my fascinating interview with Caroline O'Connor, in which she talks about leaving Broadway to return to The Rink after 30 years, click here

The Rink, now on at the Southwark Playhouse for a month, is one of those shows that defines the beautiful potential of London’s off-West End theatre scene. A little known musical from giants Kander and Ebb, its first outing in the capital some thirty years ago was to be sadly short-lived. Here however, amidst Southwark’s humble thrust and away from the multi-million pound expectations of the mainstream commercial sector, there is an opportunity for this glitter-ball of a show to spin and sparkle.

With faint echoes of Sondheim’s Follies and just a hint of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel too, the action plays out in a dilapidated roller coaster rink somewhere on America’s eastern seaboard. Anna Antonelli is selling the place that has been a family heirloom for generations and as the removals team arrive to clear away the decades of detritus amassed over the years, so too does daughter Angel, estranged from her mother for the past 7 years. Kander and Ebb are masters of applying perceptive wit to life’s humdrum highs and lows that define the human condition, and over the course of just one day The Rink’s narrative explores, through a series of flashbacked vignettes, these two women’s stories.

Skating across the decades, Caroline O’Connor and Gemma Sutton are mother and daughter respectively. Both performers at the top of their game, the pair bring vocal magnificence combined with an acting ability in both word and song, that can convey the subtlest of messages, with the finely nuanced denouement of the final act proving a masterclass from both. O’Connor’s casting adds a further sparkle to the show. Thirty years ago she was one of London’s earliest Angels and this return across the Atlantic, from Broadway’s Anastasia to the modesty of London’s fringe, is an artistic commitment not often seen in today’s hardened money-driven world. O’Connor has a personal heritage that draws on Ireland, England and Australia - but witness her Anna Antonelli and one could swear she’s got Italian DNA too, such is her mastery of the passion and quick one-liners that define her character’s robust resilience.

Six men make up a supporting ensemble - dipping in and out of roles as needed. They are all magnificent and convincing. Stewart Clarke shines as Anna’s long lost husband Dino and there are equally gorgeous turns from a patriarchal Ross Dawes and Ben Redfern as Lenny, a kindly nebbish who’s held a candle for Anna since they were both kids.

Producers Jack Maple and Brian Zeilinger have imbued the highest standards in The Rink. Adam Lenson’s direction is carefully observed, in what is unquestionably his finest work to date while the choreography from Fabian Aloise is breathtakingly audacious. What Aloise achieves in a tiny space, with six guys on skates has to be seen to believed, with the audience’s grins dissolving into whoops of delight. Likewise Bec Chippendale’s set design - complete with panelled floor is another marvel. Rarely is decrepitude so perfectly portrayed with Matt Daw’s ingenious lighting, Tardis-like, transporting this boardwalk fun palace back and forth through the years.

Jason Winter, Michael Lin & Ross Dawes

Sat hidden above the action, Joe Bunker’s band make fine work of this all too rarely heard score. Indeed, from this critic’s personal perspective, it has been a long, long while since seeing a show for the very first time has led to its tunes still being compulsively hummed the next morning!

Yet again, Southwark Playhouse are delivering an outstanding musical for a fraction of the price of a West End ticket. If you love the genre, it's unmissable.

Runs until 23rd June 2018

Photo credit: Darren Bell

To read my fascinating interview with Caroline O'Connor, in which she talks about leaving Broadway to return to The Rink after 30 years, click here

Caroline O'Connor talks about returning to The Rink after 30 years

Gemma Sutton and Caroline O'Connor in rehearsal for The Rink

Commencing performances this week at the Southwark Playhouse, The Rink is a musical set in an American boardwalk-located roller skating rink that has long since seen better days. The show examines the relationship between the rink’s owner, Anna and her daughter Angel, two women who have grown apart over the years and written by Kander and Ebb, from Terrence McNally’s book, it is the rich complexity of human relationships that drives the narrative.

What makes this particular musical on London's fringe quite so mouthwatering however is its casting of Caroline O'Connor to play Anna. Thirty years ago, when the show first played in the West End, at London’s Cambridge Theatre,  a young O'Connor appeared as Angel.

O'Connor is making an incredibly bold and confident move in stepping back from an acclaimed Broadway run of Anastasia and heading instead to the humble surrounds of the Elephant and Castle. Over a beautifully sunny weekend during the show’s rehearsals, I caught up with O'Connor to talk not only about the show, but also her remarkable career.

JB:    Lets start with The Rink first time around. Tell me all about it....

Caroline:    Well, it was an amazing opportunity really. I'd been in the Me and My Girl original company and then Cabaret with the Gillian Lynne production and also A Chorus Line on national tour, playing Cassie, when the chance came along to cover Angel in the West End. Additionally, with a lot of leading ladies liking to take a show off of their schedule, (I was understudying Diane Langton) I was guaranteed one performance a week which seemed like a pretty good deal in those days.

Fred Ebb came over. John Kander was there so I had the two writers sitting in the auditorium on the day I did my first understudy call on stage, which was quite terrifying! But of course it was also thrilling for me, as a girl who grew up in Australia and just having arrived in England for a few years, to have the actual composers there in the room, along with Terrence McNally too.

Sadly the production did not last for very long and you could feel a great sense of loss amongst the theatre community. But now I feel like it's full circle. Perhaps, I was meant to come back and revisit this beautiful show and get to play the role of Anna. I'm the biggest fan in the world of Chita Rivera (who created the role of Anna on Broadway), she's such an inspiration to me. This show is huge.

JB:    Explain more, please, about the story and the themes of The Rink.

Caroline:    Well, it's a mother/daughter relationship. Angel is a young spirit, and she's gone away, like young people did at that period in the Woodstock kind of finding themselves and having more freedom. Anna however is this poor woman who’s  been left with this business to run, this rink, and her daughter's gone and she's kind of kept this thing going.

The rink belonged to her husband's family, for many years. And, suddenly, she's thinking, "You know what? I think I need some time for myself." And, as soon as she makes that decision, in walks the daughter again. And so kicks off an amazing story of: Will they connect or will they always have this fractious relationship?

It's not just us of course. There are six other men in the show who are brilliantly versatile and extremely talented. They play the show’s other roles, the wreckers, but they also play very important characters in the story, like husband, grandfather, love interest. Just terrific, beautiful voices, great talent.

Adam Lenson our director is rejigging it a little here and there and we have a brilliant choreographer too, Fabian Aloise, who did Working recently. I did West Side Story with him years ago, so we have a connection already. There is a young team around me, which is kind of exciting because of this energy that they bring, and they're all so excited and keen, and it's a lovely feeling in the room.

And Gemma Sutton who plays Angel in the show is just so very talented. I mean, from the moment we met, we just clicked and that's always a blessing when you're doing something where you have to work so closely. And, especially a relationship where it's not exactly a love fest!

JB:    The last time that I heard you sing in London was at The Kings Of Broadway concert at the Palace Theatre. You sang Time Heals Everything from Mack and Mabel that was just gorgeous. You of course played (an Olivier nominated) Mabel when the show opened in the West End in 1995.

Caroline:    Thank you. The most wonderful time I've probably ever had was doing that show. Of course I have loved pretty much everything I've ever done, but I loved Mack and Mabel because although it's a difficult show #I never found it as difficult as a lot of people who would always say, "Oh, the book's not that good."

I never found that a problem, because I felt like we told the truth about Mabel Normand’s life, and I thought she was worth celebrating. She was such an incredible person, not only as an actress, but she was the first female director, and there were so many elements and she just wore here heart on her sleeve.

I had a lot of help too. I met Mabel’s great- nephew and we discussed a lot about her, I saw photos, and he actually gave me a couple of gifts, of items that had belonged to her. So, I felt very fortunate that I had that real insight into her through that contact.

JB:    Tell me a little about your work in Kander & Ebb's Chicago – a show that you’ve played around the world: on Broadway and in Australia, as well as over here. 

Caroline:    I played Velma in Australia and on Broadway, I played Roxie at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre as well as in Lebanon. I've done the show quite a few times and actually I did Chicago twice in Australia, 11 years apart, would you believe! You have to get yourself incredibly fit for Velma, which I quite enjoy too when it's necessary. I was torn the last time, because I was very tempted to do Roxie again, but I’m lucky that I've been able to get to play both those roles. And, now, here with The Rink, this is kind of weird, because now I'm playing both of those roles too.

JB:    And what about your own story?

My parents were Irish so I got sent to Irish dancing classes. The school I went to taught ballet so I auditioned and got into the Royal Ballet School when I was 17. That brought me to London, so that's when I fell in love with London. When I went back to Australia at 19, I was like, "Do I keep going with the ballet or not?" I wasn't like, "Oh, I want to be a big star." That wasn't my mentality. It was always that I wanted to work in theatre. I wanted to learn and to work with great directors and choreographers and people. So, I'm glad that it happened that way, and I'm glad that my success came even if it was a little later, because I had such great training up until then. 

JB:    So, where is home for you now? 

Caroline:    I have homes in Surrey and Sydney and I am lucky enough to have worked all over the world and create a pretty amazing lifestyle and also a pretty amazing, understanding husband too. 

I met him when I was doing Cabaret here in London so, we've been together for 32 years and not everybody in the industry has that kind of support system. You know those sad, tragic stories you hear about people who're in theatre and they have a great career but they have nobody at home, or they have a bit of sadness, I feel really blessed that I've had this amazing, constant love and support in my life. Without sounding too corny, it's true. And, he also just loves what we do. He loves that we travel and that we're both very passionate about music and about theatre.

JB:    You walked away from Anastasia on Broadway to do The Rink. What lay behind that decision? 

Caroline:    People say to me, "why did you come back from New York to do a show at the Southwark Playhouse?” and my reply is because this is what I do. This is my work." I'm still in a black box. I'm still in a theatre. I'm still doing what I love to do, and I would've kicked myself if I hadn't done this. As hard as it is, I really would have kicked myself.

I could have stayed in Anastasia. I was invited to stay on in the show, and I was like, "No, I think I have to do this. I just feel in my heart I have to do it." And, now, some days I'm like, "oh, my God. This is huge. This is a huge" ... When I was playing Angel, I suppose I didn't appreciate how much Josephine Blake (London's original Anna) was doing in the role, and now I look at this mammoth script and mammoth emotional journey and the vocal demands of it. And, there's dancing, and there's a little skating, in brackets. A little. So, yeah, I just think, "Wow! But, my favourite thing is a challenge."

The Rink runs until 23rd June at the Southwark Playhouse

Photo credit: Darren Bell 

Kiss Of The Spider Woman

Arts Educational School, London

*****

Book by Terrence McNally, based on the novel of the same name by Manuel Puig

Music by John Kander

Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Genesis Lynae and company members

Kander and Ebb’s Kiss Of The Spider Woman is a show rarely seen in London. A troubling piece, exploring life within a repressive prison environment of a nondescript South American country and focussing upon the two inmates of one cell. Molina, a homosexual, is imprisoned on a trumped up charge of a sexual offence, whilst Valentin, a committed Marxist, is incarcerated and tortured for his beliefs. The show’s action is set almost entirely in the confines of the prison and in the vividly imagined fantasies of movie-obsessed Molina’s mind and from there stems the power of Puig’s novel, cleverly captured in Terrence McNally’s book.

The  Arts Educational School BA Musical Theatre 3rd Year students are a talented troupe and one could have been forgiven for mistaking this company for professionally experienced alumni rather than undergraduates, such was the talent on display. This review, perhaps invidiously, will comment on but a handful of characters. However, whilst these players may have had key roles, the overall performance of the entire company was astounding. There was not a weak link amongst them and all the actors must shoulder equally the praise that this production has garnered.

The intriguingly named Genesis Lynea headed the cast,  both as Aurora, a film starlet type character of Molina’s fantasies and also as the Spider Woman. Veiled and impeccably made up with jet black lipstick and implausibly long eyelashes Lynea bore a stage presence rarely if at all seen in one so early on in their career. The actress’ poise, presence, movement and above all, her voice was astounding. Shaven headed, costumed throughout in splendid gowns that at times could plunge to display her provocative decolletage, a suggestion of the siren-like fatality of her kiss, Lynea is without question an actress to look out for.

Greg Miller Burns as Molina displayed a combination of strength and fragility. Two of his solo numbers in particular She’s A Woman and Mama, It’s Me showed vocal precision that matched his movement whilst his acting skill gave a credible portrayal of his growing love for his cellmate. Valentin realised by Danny-Boy Hatchard was another display of gritty acting, convincingly evoking a  man at times starved, at times beaten and ultimately in love. Vocally, Hatchard has perhaps a little more to offer than was heard in this show, however his leading of the ensemble in The Day After That was a powerful and moving anthem. Olive Robinson and Shane McDaid were effective supporting players, as Molina’s Mother and Prison Warder respectively, providing sufficient depth in each of their portrayals to add colour to a very starkly portrayed world.

Nikolai Foster’s direction and interpretation of the show has been a blessing to these fortunate students. With minimal props and no scenery save for minimal use of projection and a combination of smoke and well plotted lighting, the power of this production came solely from human endeavour and excellence. The fantasy scenes, in which a dozen actors could, from nowhere, gallop through the shared cell were inspired creations whilst the oft repeated refrain of the prisoners, Over The Wall, was in each of its four reprises, menacingly played out.

Kander’s music is of course denuded without choreography and Drew McOnie’s vision that drew upon the tango amongst other Latin styles, together with some nods in the direction of Bob Fosse, was nothing if not provocative. The big numbers of the Morphine Tango, Let’s Make Love and Only In The Movies, exploited both the talent and the size of the cast and were as drilled and rehearsed as they were imaginative whilst Tom Deering’s musical direction produced a large and compelling South American sound from a band of barely three. The creative trinity of Foster, McOnie and Deering is a symbiotic powerhouse that clearly generates outstanding musical theatre.

This production deserves more than its brief academic-length run of ten days. If the gods of theatre can bestow this show for a month or so, at somewhere like the Riverside perhaps, London will be the richer for it.