Ain't Misbehavin' - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


****


Music by Fats Waller
Based on an idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr
Directed by Tyrone Huntley

The cast of Ain't Misbehavin'

Not seen on a London stage for 40 years, Ain’t Misbehavin’ is gloriously revived at Southwark Playhouse in a co-production with Colchester’s Mercury Theatre.

More of a revue than a musical - there’s no narrative thread outside of each individual song’s arc - the show’s beautifully voiced quintet whirl through thirty or so Fats Waller numbers in an evening that captures the Jazz Age in New York’s Harlem.

The songs are a selection of American Songbook favourites together with the less well-known and it is a credit to director Tyrone Huntley, in his first stint at helming a production, that he extracts not only humour, but also pathos and passion from his talented cast. 

The five performers work impressively as a well drilled troupe - and credit here to  Oti Mabuse’s slick and imaginative choreography that makes fine use of the Southwark’s tight thrust space. But more than just an ensemble, Huntley finds room for each performer to deliver powerful solo turns too.

takis’s ingenious set has travelled well from Essex. A glitzy, archy, tunnelled trompe l’oeil that sits atop a gold burnished floor. Unquestionably brash, yet takis has fashioned a design that complements the piece perfectly, suggesting a nightclub that could have been a magical escape from the poverty of Harlem.

The music is great too. On piano, Alex Cockle conducts his 6 piece combo with nuanced gusto, the non-stop music proving an absolute delight.

With Ain’t Misbehavin' Southwark Playhouse again proves itself as a venue for top-notch Off West End entertainment.

Runs until 1st June

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

takis talks- Performance Designed

The musical Side Show that recently opened at London’s Southwark Playhouse, is another achievement for one of the most distinctive stage designers around. For several years now the reputation of takis (the lower case ‘t’ is deliberate) has acquired immense respect from theatre and opera producers alike. Having admired takis’ work for years, I am one of the few reviewers to have seen much of his work in both theatre and opera as well as a number of regional productions. 

Before Side Show opened, I spoke with takis to learn a little more about his designs for the show, as well as aspects of his other work, including In The Heights.

Side Show

JB:          I have to start with your distinctive name. Please enlighten me

takis:     Well, I am from Greece and it is a Greek name! It was there that my passion with the theatre commenced. I joined an amateur theatre over there and did a lot of work with them. Everything! Performing, choreographing, designing and from the age of 14 to 18 I spent one month a year in Italy doing ancient Greek drama, festivals and touring. That's how it all built up. Then when I was 16, I was like, "That's what I want to do, costumes and design!"

So I decided to study Fine Arts and Costumes in a very old fashioned academy in Bucharest, learnt Romanian and set off.

JB:          Is Side Show your first time back at the Southwark Playhouse since In The Heights?

takis:     Yes and designing the show has been a blessing and a challenge at the same time. A blessing, as the audience have an inclusive, immersive experience of a freak/vaudeville show and are able to observe closely the life journey of (the real life conjoined twins) Violet & Daisy Hilton played extraordinary by Laura Pitt-Pulford & Louise Dearman. On the other hand, having the audience that close you need to be as authentic as possible with the overall design and its details.

Designing real people and in our case ‘freaks’ has not been an easy task. My first challenge was the conjoining of the two sisters, we kept changing the device until Laura & Louise felt connected. We are not talking about only a simple costume connection, but something more anatomical. Their joining has an impact of how they move, dance and how both embodied the two sisters. After achieving the ‘connection’ we worked on how to make them look alike and how to create all the costumes around the achieved conjoined bodies. We had also to create the ‘freaks’, real people of the 1920s with physical abnormalities. The realisation of all the freaks (bearded lady, 3 leg man, pin cushion human, cannibal, lizard man, half man/half woman, tattooed lady, fortune teller/dolly dimple, dog boy) is based on each performer and period research. All the designs are driven by the physique and look of each performer. We experimented and tested ideas until each character came alive. To be fair, the only way we were able to achieve this was to have two extremely talented team members in Clare Amos (wardrobe supervisor) and Natasha Lawes (Wigs, Make up, Prosthetics & Tech-Fx Supervisor).

Moving to the set design; from the beginning we decided that the best configuration would be ‘in thrust’ which means the actual stage space is very limited. I had to create levels, entrances and exits and then, within that, incorporate 7 musicians & 14 cast members. I always design by responding to the actual architecture of the venue, making the space a friend rather than an enemy and I have tried to create a 1920s environment which can change from a freak show to a vaudeville stage.

With the metal structure, cladded with wooden plunks and lighting bulbs I tried to play with illusions, to exaggerate height and depth, create perspective compositions. All the wooden planks are connected but are taking different directions mirroring the characters of the 2 sisters. The metal, art deco circular shapes bring glimpses of the period style, but also illustrate the circles of life; from the full circle to the interrupted ones.

I am really proud of what we have achieved here.

Oliver!

JB:          Looking at some of your other work, tell me firstly about the Oliver! that you designed at Leicester’s Curve last year.

takis:     Well, I’d worked a lot with the director Paul Kerryson before, so I knew that we wanted to make sure that the understanding of the period was correct. We knew that it needed to be dark as well as brightly coloured.

We have the posh characters, so you want to help that number to really be strong, have silks. Then you have Fagin’s gang, the underground, where you have the ability to bring in a lot of textures and colours of the era. Then I will put some modern fabrics within that, some fabrics that you could question them if they are of the time, but as a feeling they will give you exactly that. I went with feelings and textures.

Then of course with the main characters, I always want to meet them. I want to see, "Who do I have? What is interesting of them?" Sometimes they have incredible eyes, they have a nose which you want to exaggerate, or they have a bosom, or they have a waist. Each performer has something to give you that is good to know. Sometimes you have a conversation with them. Sometimes you have to design much earlier before you meet them, but still I do a lot of research per individual, who are these people?

JB:          Tell me more about the importance of costume in your work.

Takis:     In Bucharest we learned costume through art and through dance. Much like a choreographer will learn the dances of the period, so we understood how dress changes in society according to the movements that they made and how they danced and so on.

Then we opened up the garments to see the patterns, sometimes deconstructing them into something else. Having worked with the opera in Rome for many summers, while I was studying I learned scenic paint, costume making and many other skills. I know the basics and the tools and then I twist them to suit my needs.

JB:          Explain more about your work in opera.

takis:     Opera and ballet are on such grand scales! I did a world premiere of ballet with The Little Mermaid and it took a year to design it. The scale was enormous. The vision there, in Scandinavia, was something that we don’t have here. They're really up for exploring.

The brief that they gave me was, “takis, we want a design that will bring the classic ballet into the future". So I brought in 3D projections, floors moving up, moving down, things coming in, flying people, flying through the auditorium, things coming out. There were 12 full sets, moving floors, lifts.

JB:          That sounds spectacular - what was the budget that you had to work with for that?

takis:     I never asked!

This year in particular has been very opera-focussed for me too with an elegant Die Fledermaus at Holland Park this summer and currently the English Touring Opera’s production of Ulysses’ Homecoming and La Calisto.

We push these works to different areas, genres and feelings according to where they are performed and for which audience and why. As with musicals, the music leads you. That's what I love now more and more in musicals, opera and ballets - the stimulation is via the music.

In The Heights

JB:          Coming back to musical theatre I want to ask you about In The Heights. When you first put it together at Southwark, what were your thoughts about the show? 

takis:     I think when we heard the music, we all went, "Wow!". It is a fusion of different cultures. It hits you. It's something that moves you. It moves your body somehow.

The thing that comes out for In The Heights is the heat and the sexiness if you like, that is around there. Also, the values of friends and family are all these elements that are familiar to me because strangely enough, these Latin values are very close to Mediterranean values. We might not dance Latin, but it's these kind of things that sometimes make you respond by dance.

At Southwark we kind of brought the audience in the three sides and then I had to work with the floor and the wall. It's not a big space and we wanted to keep the key locations. Then I played with the lights of the subway, kind of taking us a different direction, different houses, different lines of like, if you like. We see the life of a society, but the life of differing individuals and how they take this cross between each other. That's kind of what's strung for it. We play with bold colours and then I just had the idea to put in fluorescence and of course Howard Hudson is an absolutely incredible lighting designer. We always work so well together.

JB:          And the transfer to the Kings Cross Theatre and sharing the venue itself with The Railway Children. That must have been a fascinating challenge from a design perspective?

takis:     Yes and you’ve driven the train there haven’t you? So you realise what the space is there! How we change between the two shows within one hour has been an amazing challenge. It was more of an engineering designing rather than designing for a show.

I had to work with platforms that are 2 meters square. We put in fills, where the trucks are and then we roll out a dance floor that brings it all together.

I feel happy that we managed to do it, in the sense of we all wanted the show to come back and it's so good that it's back, with all the Oliviers and everything that happened to it. We all have put our souls in that show. It is one of the shows that from day one, we were like, "Yeah". We were like kids, you know how you feel, no matter what age you are. We had this energy in all of us and I think that comes across to the audience.


Side Show plays at  the Southwark Playhouse until 3rd December
In The Heights plays at the Kings Cross Theatre until 8th January 2017

Side Show - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


****

Book and lyrics by Bill Russell
Music by Henry Krieger
Additional book material by Bill Condon
Directed by Hannah Chissick

Louise Dearman and Laura Pitt-Pulford

Originally opening on Broadway in 1997 then revived in 2014, Side Show by Bill Russell and Henry Krieger finally finds its way to the London stage thanks to Hannah Chissick’s ingenious production now playing at the Southwark Playhouse.

Based on the true story of the Daisy and Violet Hilton– conjoined twins who became famous in the 1930s as a vaudeville double act – the musical follows the decade of their fame from its beginnings in Texas through to New York and ultimately their Hollywood debut.

Through their fascinating and unconventional lives, Side Show succeeds in engaging the audience with an open question about individuality and identity; the two girls’ struggle to just be themselves (or “Like Everyone Else” as they sing) is a never-ending controversial and painful process of auto-definition. The contradiction lies in their desiring to be two separate people, on the one hand and the fear of losing a deep part of their inner selves in doing so, on the other.

Bringing a fabulous pedigree to the show, its strong cast is led by Louise Dearman as a saucy and strong Daisy and Laura Pitt-Pulford who plays the sensitive and dreamy Violet. The two are the living embodiment of yin and yang, where the need to be accepted and the desire to live a normal life are intertwined with the sparkle of showbiz and they are utterly convincing in portraying the twins’ double act, especially in songs like “Buddy Kissed Me” and “Typical Girls Next Door”. Their male counterparts are equally impressive: Haydn Oakley is a rascally, charming Terry while Dominic Hodson is a naïve and controversial Buddy.

To deliver such a distinctive story the show can count on some striking songs, from the strongly energetic opening number “Come Look At The Freaks”, to the funny and entertaining “Very Well Connected” and “One Plus One Equals Three”, to the tender “Feelings You’ve Got To Hide” that clearly succeed in moving the audience.

Chissick guides her top-notch company through a virtually flawless production, thanks also to takis’ thought-provoking set which, in its simplicity cleverly alludes as much to the golden lights of the music hall as it does the harsh restraint of circus cages, alongside his glamorous costume designs. As ever, Howard Hudson's lighting plots excel, while Jo Cichonska keeps the band perfectly nuanced under her classy direction.

An uncommon musical infused with both uneasiness and joy, Side Show is a unique, rare experience that will stay with you long after the finale. Go and see it!

Runs until 3rd  December
Reviewed by Simona Negretto
Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Die Fledermaus - Review

Opera Holland Park, London


****

by Johan Strauss II
Libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee
Libretto translation by Alistair Beaton
Directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans

John Lofthouse, Peter Davoren and Susanna Hurrell 

There can truly be no finer night to visit Martin Lloyd-Evans' new production of Die Fledermaus than the hottest day of the year. As the sun set over the Opera Holland Park arena, West London's balmy climes proved a perfect ambience for this most barmy of operettas.

And make no mistake - the story of Die Fledermaus requires ones disbelief to be suspended beyond belief. It's a crackpot tale of the ultimate mate's revenge - involving more infidelity, cuckoldry and trousers around ankles than could fill a season of Whitehall farces. Amidst a risible plot of deception and frustrated assignations, the dated (but nonetheless mildly witty) humour of act one evaporates after the break - and the final act's nod to pantomime, with its references to Cameron, Johnson, Farage et al is already found to be woefully out of date by its omission of Theresa May! 

Alistair Beaton's 1994 translation may be a masterpiece of alliteration and assonance - but it really needed the wit of Jimmy Perry and David Croft to take a 19th century comedy classic and update it to something more than an episode of 'Allo 'Allo! and one that lasts for nigh on three hours at that!

That being said......

The artistic values behind this production are really rather glorious. Ben Johnson and Susanna Hurrell are the married Von Eisenstein and Rosalinde, both desperately and futilely craving extra-marital fornication and they are both magnificent. Hurrell in particular with the gorgeous Hungarian Countess' Csárdás in act two. Peter Davoren's irresistibly adulterous tenor Alfred is another performance of vocal excellence - though the true honours of the night must go to the northern-tones of Jennifer France's Adele who makes sensational work of The Laughing Song.

Under John Rigby's baton the orchestra are magnificent - and for those reading this, who are unfamiliar with the piece, seek out the Die Fledermaus Waltz. You'll find that you've known it for years - and hearing it played with such finesse is truly a treat.

As ever, takis designs imaginatively. Set in the 1920's, his imagery is heavy on Art Deco and Mondrian, with some wonderful gowns for the ladies attending Count Orlofsky's ball - not least the feathered number put to good use by Didi Derrière in a brief moment of burlesque cabaret. Howard Hudson's lighting is similarly dreamy - taking on increasing force as the evening's natural light gradually fades. 

Die Fledermaus' libretto may be tedious - but its delivery at Opera Holland Park, in both style and performance is stunning.

In repertory until August 5

In The Heights - Review

Kings Cross Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Book by Quiara Alegria Hudes

Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Directed by Luke Sheppard

Sam McKay and Eve Polycarpou

This week offered jonathanbaz.com a chance to re-visit Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights and a first time to see it in its Kings Cross home. The revised traverse staging is a magnificent showcase for the production’s first and foremost strength – an exuberant explosion of Latino energy, fuelled by Drew McOnie’s Olivier nominated electric choreography.

Hudes' story remains slight but whilst there may be no soaring perspective on the human condition to match the splendour of McOnie's dance, as the staging swoops in upon life across New York’s Washington Heights the frenetic salsa-fused culture and tempo of the barrio proves infectious

Opening with one man and his boom box, the show’s opening number In The Heights nails the mood immediately, rising swiftly to our first glimpse of McOnie’s choreography. There appears such a fusion between dance and the rap-infused lyrics it could almost be as if the two had been written and choregraphed simultaneously.

Sam McKay still shines as Usnavi, whose bodega provides a communal hotspot. McKay drives the lyrical pulse of the show, though on the night and in a supporting role Cleve September’s Sonny stole the show.

Amongst the female members of the company, Courtney Mae Briggs lights up the ensemble whilst Eve Polycarpou continues to inject such warmth and love as Abuela Claudia, you just want to give her a big hug – and that’s without even mentioning her epic solo number Paciencia y Fe. Also reprising his Southwark role, David Bedella’s passionate yet indignantly paternal Kevin justifies his Olivier nomination.

Luke Sheppard, together with designer takis and lighting guru Howard Hudson have done an ingenious job in expanding the production to fit this most unique of stages. As Miranda's star continues to ascend with Broadway’s Hamilton, In The Heights offers London a glimpse of his visionary talent.

Booking until 30th October

Oliver! - Review

Curve Theatre, Leicester


****


Music, lyrics and book by Lionel Bart

Directed by Paul Kerryson

The Company

The Christmas decorations may be taken down - but at Leicester's Curve the seasonal family show has another two weeks to run and judging by Friday’s packed, cheering audience it is continuing to bring much festive joy to the city.

Oliver! has always been best suited to a large stage and the Curve's main house proves ideal. Matt Kinley's impressive designs: grim ironmongery for the workhouse; beaten up timbers for Fagin's kitchen including a brilliantly silhouetted St Pauls Cathedral; and chocolate box Georgian for Brownlow's Bloomsbury are ingenious and expansive - though a minor niggle, the portrait of Brownlow’s beloved Agnes isn’t visible to those seated stage left.

Paul Kerryson places this glimpse of Victoriana in a warts and all context, pulling no punches with the tale's underlying sex and violence. It has been a while since the genius of Bart's craft in both lyric and score has been so carefully exposed.

In the title role Albert Hart capture's Oliver's wise naïveté. His presence commands the audience (he is almost angelic in Who Will Buy) and if he wisely avoids singing some of the role's highest notes, it's no big deal. Hart rises above the audience's "aahs" and alongside Joel Fossard-Jones' Artful Dodger, the pair achieve a delightfully cheese-less cheekiness.

Aside from the leading parts, it's the detail of the minor characters that work so well in this take on one of the most English musicals in the canon. We get an early glimpse of the show’s passionate darkness with Jenna Boyd and James Gant (Widow Corney and Beadle Bumble respectively) bringing a neatly worked hint of Carry On humour (another most English genre in itself) to their capers.

Likewise Jez Unwin's ghoulish Sowerberry and Natalie Moore-Williams as his ghastly wife. Inspired direction sees a macabre It's Your Funeral partly played out with the two borne aloft, corpse-like as they sing.

The show's splendour opens up in London of course, where Peter Polycarpou's Fagin (clad in an inspired takis-designed robe) is another musical theatre treat. If his semitic caricature was perhaps a tad too stereotypical, in all other respects the actor’s portrayal of this most complex of villains is as beautifully performed as it is cleverly layered. Reviewing The Situation proving Polycarpou as one of the masters of his craft.

There's more delicious detail in Lucy Thomas' Bet - Nancy's friend - who again brings a shading to this modest role that's rarely seen. Likewise John Griffiths as the principled and patrician Brownlow works well.

Bill Sikes is a cracking turn from Oliver Boot. There's all the traditional scary menace associated with this misogynist thug, yet Boot also cleverly works in a vulnerability. His Sikes struggles with both his love for Nancy and his uncontrollable and ultimately murderous abuse of her.

And then there's Nancy…

Bravely stepping in to the role for the run's final three weeks, Laura Pitt-Pulford again shows her professional devotion to director Kerryson, as long has he needs her. Earning a UK Theatre Awards nomination this time last year for her marvellous Maria (and who knows, if she hadn't have been up against Imelda Staunton's unstoppable Rose, she might well have scooped the gong) one can only hope that the award's assessors are calling in at the Curve to catch Pitt-Pulford’s takeover. I'd go anywhere to see this actress and with good reason. Her powerful As Long As He Needs Me is magnificent, reducing many in the house to tears, whilst the loving sensitivity showed towards Oliver (and which Pitt-Pulford portrayed so well towards the Von-Trapp brats a year ago) displays the skill of a performer who not only exudes excellence, but inspires a respect and affection from her fellow company members that is rarely seen in such sincerity.

It is only on re-listening to Bart's score that his melodic genius truly filters through - and under Jo Cichonska's baton the 11 piece orchestra offer an excellent interpretation. A mention to Guy Button, Steve Cooper and Sophie Gledhill whose strings work skilfully brings out the haunting klezmer riffs that underlie Fagin's performance. Choreographer Andrew Wright goes to town with the show's big numbers. We first see Wright's grand visions kick-off in Consider Yourself and he goes on to bring moments of ingenious wit to I'd Do Anything and of course the carnival of street-vendor splendour that is Who Will Buy.

Paul Kerryson gives a classy treatment to a classic show. With only two more weeks left, you should buy these wonderful tickets!

Runs until 23rd January

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

In The Heights

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Book by Quiara Alegria Hudes

Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Directed by Luke Sheppard

The company of In The Heights

In The Heights makes its UK premiere at the Southwark Playhouse in a production that oozes talent. The show is a fusion of contemporary New York cultures, combining latin infused melodies with rap and blending salsa with breakdance. The music is invigorating and the imagery created by Drew McOnie's choreography and his ridiculously talented company are breathtaking. The story though lacks depth and whilst the show is mostly fabulous to watch, the plotlines are hard to care about.

Set in Washington Heights, a famously latin New York district, the show revolves around the events in one neighbourhood (barrio) over the 4th of July period. The immigrant Latin American pulse of the show at times hints at what Bernstein and Sondheim created with West Side Story and indeed the creative trio behind this production's last collaboration, McOnie, designer takis and musical supervisor Tom Deering, was that Broadway classic, in the 2013 NYMT production (reviewed here).The signature of takis’ deign work is evident throughout, with corrugated steel suggesting the impoverished circumstances of the barrio’s residents. But where Sondheim’s lyrics are timeless, Miranda’s offerings are forgettable.

The cast are gems. David Bedella is Kevin, the father of Nina (Christina Modestou) who has just quit Stanford University because she couldn’t pay her way. With the song Inutil, in which Bedella expresses his character’s sense of inadequacy at having failed to provide for his daughter, there is a glimpse of Bedella’s genius as he captures his character’s tortured soul. Alongside Bedella the entire company shine, especially the feisty and beautifully voiced Josie Benson who is a treat to watch as his wife Camila. Alejandro Postigo who has coached the cast in Spanish and culture has done a fantastic job and the show’s hispanic façade is as convincing as could be wished.

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is Daniela, the neighbourhood hairdresser and source of wise counsel (and gossip). She steals her scenes with poise, presence and impeccable timing. More of a a scene-setter than stealer, Nathan Amzi’s Piragua Guy is another touch of class. The moustachioed drinks seller (think Super Mario pushing a hot dog cart) deploys his beautiful tones with panache and its just a shame his role is so small. Sam Mackay does a sound job as the all-rapping Usnavi, delivering much of the show’s narrative in a worthy Eminem tribute.

Not for the first time, the star of the production is Drew McOnie’s choreography. Whilst the Southwark Playhouse may offer a large performing space for a fringe venue, there was a compactness to the thrust staging that imbued the sense of cramped tenement accommodation. This is where McOnie is at his best, as he again sculpts his dancers into vivid flowing tableaux of movement and colour. Deering’s musical interpretations are bold for the tight space and his fabulous eight piece band perform brass arrangements with a pulsing gusto, as well as some gorgeous flute work from Hannah Riches. Gareth Owen needs to tinker with his sound design however as lyrics are sometimes drowned, especially in the multi-part harmonies.

The book and lyrics may disappoint, but the singing, dancing and creative talent show the very finest of talent to be found in town, either on or off the West End. There is excellence at work here, go see. 

Runs until 7th June 2014

Chicago

Curve Theatre, Leicester

****

Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Paul Kerryson

Sandra Marvin and Verity Rushworth

Bob Fosse co wrote the book of Chicago. He also famously inspired the show’s choreography, which could be found on tour in the UK even up until last year. But not any more. That famously coquettish and provocative sexuality has been laid to rest and there’s a new dance style in the Windy City. Like an impetuous child, young British choreographer Drew McOnie has taken some of Broadway’s biggest numbers and re-imagined their steamy suggestiveness into a style that is entirely 21st century.

Paul Kerryson directs on the sleek modern vastness of the Curve’s main auditorium. It’s a big (and possibly expensive) space to fill, sometimes too big and if occasionally the intimacy of a bedroom scene or a lawyer's office seems dwarfed, one does not have to wait long until McOnie’s routines fill the stage. The show is such that one’s eyes are often drawn to the fascinating and complex company dance work rather than the singing lead.

The murderous partners in crime, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, are played by the accomplished Verity Rushworth and Gemma Sutton respectively. Both women are vocally stunning, with Rushworth flashing occasional glimpses of breathaking acrobatic talent. Not quite the finished article yet, their poor synchronisation in the eleven o’clock number Nowadays is a distraction. Nothing though that can't be mended with a spot of drilled rehearsal and a few days settling into the run.

Kerryson is at his best when exploiting the bleak humanity of Kander and Ebb’s caustic wit. The comic pathos of Amos Hart’s Mister Cellophane is a brilliant turn from Matthew Barrow, whilst the sardonic irony of Sandra Marvin’s Mama Morton singing Class with Rushworth is another gem. Credit too to Marvin’s When Your’re Good To Mama. Her Curve-filling curves deliver a thrilling sound and to quote her signature song, she sure deserves a lot of tat for what she’s got to give.

David Leonard is Billy Flynn. He does everything just fine, but somehow there’s a touch of star quality pizazz that’s lacking. Hopefully that too will develop into the run. Notably brilliant amongst the company are Adam Bailey’s Mary Sunshine and Zizi Strallen’s Mona along with her other ensemble responsibilities. One suspects that her understudy Velma will be very watchable too.

The star of the show however is undoubtedly McOnie’s dance work, enhanced by takis’ androgynously metro-sexual costumes. In Razzle Dazzle, when Flynn sings of the court room being a three-ring circus, McOnie sculpts his company, using their limbs together with ropes and harnesses to create a writhing mass of syncopated beauty. Moulding bodies into art forms, in time to the brassy rhythms of Ben Atkinson’s immaculately performing seven piece band, his images are breathtaking. See this show if for no other reason than to glimpse the future of showtune choreography.

Curve’s Chicago is a stylish Xmas offering to a city that has become accustomed to festive excellence from Kerryson and his company. Its a thrilling show and if you have a passion for innovative musical theatre, then its simply unmissable!

Chicago runs to 18th January 2014. To book tickets, click here

To read my interview with director Paul Kerryson, click here

West Side Story

Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

*****

Book: Arthur Laurents

Music: Leonard Bernstein

Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Director: Nikolai Foster

Amara Okereke and Jon Tarcy meet in the Dance At The Gym

Shows don’t come much bigger than West Side Story's translation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into the streets and alleys of New York. With a stunning interpretation, the National Youth Music Theatre’s (NYMT) stage the show in Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, itself a glorious reclamation of what was only recently, urban deprivation and where once stood thriving docks. Takis' set design, all steel container units evokes the poverty of the story's rival street gangs, whilst the containers’ stacking amidst iron staircases and ladders suggest the staircases that cling to tenement buildings and so define Manhattan.

Nikolai Foster, Drew McOnie and Tom Deering are an established triumvirate of excellence as director, choreographer and musical director respectively. These men combined are greater than the sum of their parts and the magic that they have worked with NYMT’s young company is at times jaw-dropping and frequently spine tingling. Deering (taking time out from MD’ing The Colour Purple) has coaxed the most exquisite sound from his 30 strong youth orchestra. The sound bounces off the steelwork in a way that must have Bernstein smiling approvingly from above and whilst all the musicians are first-rate, the brass section is a special delight whilst Deering’s percussionists make the second act’s Cool, sizzle!

The show’s Prologue which sees the stage filled with balletic thugs whose street fight is a vision of grace and technical brilliance is swiftly followed by the Dance At The Gym, one of musical theatres most celebrated dance scenes. McOnie does not disappoint and with cleverly choreographed routines and clever use of colour, the tension of the dance, the rivalry of the gangs and the spark of love between Tony and Maria is cleverly captured. These two numbers set a standard of dance that is sustained throughout.

Sienna Kelly (3rd l) leads the Sharks Girls

Foster is famed for an ability to focus on depth and nuance. He is helped in that the perfectly voiced Amara Okereke’s Maria is a remarkable turn from an actress who is just 16, whilst Jon Tarcy’s Tony grows into a performance of depth and sensitivity. Sienna Kelly’s Anita is a definitive performance of that hot blooded Latina, whilst Rebecca Ridout’s solo performance of Somewhere brings a rarely heard anthem-like beauty to this classic number.

The show has always offered some sharp moments of comedy. Gee, Officer Krupke in particular is a song that provides a welcome chuckle amidst the show’s slowly rising body count. In a recent tweet, Foster himself observed that the song must rank amongst the greatest in the canon, being so subversive, political and sardonic. A young Sondheim set himself a tough bar with this song’s lyrics and the troupe of NYMT young men who sing it in Manchester come as near as damn it to having an encore demanded of them, such is the excellence of their merciless caricatures.

Ben Cracknell's use of smoke and countless clever spotlight plots gives a lighting texture to the performance space that at all times enhances the action. Credit too to the sound team who do a fine job, ensuring that voices are heard over a huge and challenging orchestral sound.

Isaac Gryn (Jet, Baby John) is attacked by the Sharks 

West Side Story is further proof of how the NYMT, under Jeremy Walker’s leadership and vision, maintains its reputation for excellence. The company’s tackling of major and innovative works of musical theatre under the creative supervision of some of the industry’s leading practitioners, is nothing short of inspirational for those young people fortunate enough to be its members and continues to lay down a sound foundation for this country’s musical theatre future.

Runs until August 24th

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.