Prodigy Original Cast Recording - Review

****

The CD of the Prodigy Original Cast Recording is just released and it’s a pleasure to re-visit the show that premiered last year in London as the National Youth Music Theatre's summer offering. 

Set around a reality TV show that seeks to discover a child prodigy, Brunger and Cleary's show offers an entertaining glimpse into some of the passions and superficialities of modern life, in which the competitive desire for fame and attention can be all consuming.

Listening to a CD offers a greater opportunity to consider a show’s songs in more detail. Reality TV is fertile ground for writers. A couple of years ago I Can't Sing! Had a short-lived outing at the London Palladium, lampooning The X-Factor. To be fair Pippa Cleary's compositions stand up well in comparison to Simon Cowell's multi-million pound extravaganza, but where Prodigy falls a little flat is in the wit of its libretto. Brunger and Cleary are clearly a talented pair but a sharper bite to their lyrics wouldn't go amiss. 

The CD also demonstrates quite how magnificent the female voices were in the NYMT class of 2016. Sephora Parish is a knockout in Block Out The Noise, Laura Barnard's Good TV brings an effusive energy, whilst the wryly perceptive Mother's Shoes duet from Emma Ernest and Caroline Whittingham offers sage observations on what really matters in life, in a song that is impressively free of cliché. There is some comic genius in the show with the younger siblings’ double act, We've Got Talent Too, proving as infectiously wonderful recorded as it was live on stage. Bravo to Hannah Irvine and Luke Rozanski for giving the number the comedic chutzpah that ranks it alongside Kander and Ebb's Mr Cellophane from Chicago.

Well engineered, the recording is a credit to NYMT’s instrumentalists and especially Musical Director Candida Caldicot with the show’s band delivering an exquisitely professional sound. This is a CD that is well worth adding to one’s collection.

The Burnt Part Boys - Review

Park Theatre, London


*****


Music by Chris Miller
Lyrics by Nathan Tysen
Book by Mariana Elder
Directed by Matthew Iliffe

Grace Osborn

In the first musical to be staged at Park 90, the Park Theatre's smaller space, The Burnt Part Boys proves to be one of the finest examples of Off West End musical theatre.

The tale is a simple premise. Ten years after a Texan mine disaster killed a team of miners whose bodies were never recovered, the mining company announce that scene of the tragedy is to be re-opened for exploiting. Pete, the young son of one of the dead men is distraught at the idea of his father's grave being treated so sacrilegiously and sets off to dynamite what remains of the seam and frustrate the company's plan.

It is the ingenious and credible way in which Elder, Miller and Tysen thread some of humanity's most raw emotions through their text that makes this musical so strong. Not only Pete, there are his friends, his brother (now a miner himself) and appearing at times through the show, a haunting ensemble of the ghosts of five dead miners, robbed of their families who in turn were robbed of their husbands and fathers.

Not only a strong libretto, the show under Matthew Iliffe's direction, is also staged perfectly. Rarely has a stage set of such stark simplicity (suspended ropes and lanterns setting the scene alongside a handful of chairs - bravo designer Rachel Wingate) worked so imaginatively alongside flawless performance work. Through their performances alone the cast convey us over rivers, along precipitous ledges and deep into mineshaft caves.

All ten actors are magnificent. Joseph Peacock's Pete is a masterclass in youth, conveying not only the impetuousness of his age, but also a fierceness of passionate devotion to his dead father. Heenan is his young friend Dusty who also turns in a neat tune on the saw. As Frances, a girl of Pete's age who also lost her father and ran off into the hills, Grace Osborn is a revelation. Osborn is completely convincing as a feisty yet tender hillbilly. There is memorable work too from Chris Jenkins as older brother Jake and David Haydn as the enigmatic fantasy creation of Pete's imagination and the ghost of his father, with gorgeous vocal harmonies from all.

Nick Barstow's musical direction is masterful. In an environment that has had its sound designed excellently by Philip Matejtschuk, Barstow's 5 piece band which could so easily dominate the compact space in fact create the perfect Texan sound. Katherine Robb's fiddle playing is exquisite while Felix Stickland's guitar work (and, hurrah, an occasional burst of banjo too) offering up moments that suggest a hint of Ry Cooder. 

If ever a show deserved a transfer or extension this is it. The Burnt Part Boys is perceptive and exciting, with a denouement that is as unexpected as it is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Exceptional, unmissable musical theatre.

Runs until 3rd September

Brass - Review

Hackney Empire, London

****

Music, lyrics and book by Benjamin Till
Additional lyrics by Nathan Taylor and Sir Arnold Wesker
Directed by Hannah Chissick






The Leeds Pals before going over the top

Two years after its premiere in Leeds, the National Youth Music Theatre's production of Brass arrives at the capital's Hackney Empire. And yet again, under the aegis of this remarkable organisation, the quality of acting, song and music is magnificent.

Brass tells a powerful story of the First World War. The Leeds Pals, some 300 or so infantrymen many of whom back home comprised a brass band, were tragically killed in the first day's fighting on the Somme. But rather than just focussing on our Boys at the front, Brass also tells of the munitions girls back home. As well as hearing the soldiers' stories, the show also weaves its lightly threaded fiction through the true lives of the Barnbow Girls who worked in an armaments factory just outside Leeds and who were famous as singers. In the show they take up their boys' brass instruments, forming a band in the factory as a tribute to their loved ones fighting in France.

Using a smattering of both romantic and sibling relationships between the city's boys and girls we share the hopes and tragedies of both, with the show, as well as telling of the battlefield horrors of the Great War also sensitively highlighting the often unsung sacrifices made by women. Long before the era of Health & Safety legislation, those on the production lines suffered debilitating injuries handling the highly toxic components of weaponry.

The real strength of Brass however lies in the impressive performances that Hannah Chissick has coaxed from her company, fuelled of course by the poignancy of knowing that the average age of the NYMT cast would have been similar to that of the young women and men that the story tells of, with Jason Denvir's simply effective designs perfectly setting the scenes.

The whole company, and under Alex Aitken's baton the orchestra too, are fabulous and NYMT should be rightly proud of what is being performed here, even if it is only for two short days. Amongst a multitude of fine performances there are a handful of standouts, with Ben Mabberley, Crispin Glancy, Kitty Watson and Laura Barnard offering perhaps the night's most memorable work.

NYMT truly represent a glimpse of some of the best of what our young people can achieve, be it on stage, in a band or in the myriad of technical areas that make up a show. Take a journey to Hackney today and be inspired by the excellence that is this remarkable company.

Runs until 27th August
Photo credit: Konrad Bartelski

The Comedy Of Errors - Review

Grays Inn Hall, London

****

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Ben Horslen and John Risebero

Susie Broadbent leads the company

Sixteenth century farce that, unlike much of Shakespeare's work, barely skirts around the human condition, doesn't easily stand up to modern scrutiny. The Comedy Of Errors is an implausible tale of identical twins, mistaken identities and Benny Hill style chases across the stage and to work well, demands a stylish production.

So bravo to producers Antic Disposition for pitching their production squarely in the 1920s era of jazz and spatz-shoed hoodlums. Music adds much to the show's minimalist styling and with an intelligently themed nod to the 1950s movie Some Like It Hot that starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, it all makes for a good evening of entertaining theatre.

The music is bravely conceived through an ensemble of actor-musicians. And to be fair to the creatives, in a casting exercise that must have been challenging, for the most part they have succeeded. The company has decently matching physical resemblances where required, alongside accomplished musical abilities.

William de Coverly and Alex Hooper along with Andrew Venning and Keith Higinbotham are convincing as the two sets of identical twins separated from each other in their infancy and it is a particular treat to hear Hooper's banjo strumming. With Chichester's current Half A Sixpence heavily centered around the banjo, the instrument's 2016 renaissance in both drama and musical theatre is proving a blast. There is classy work elsewhere from Susie Broadbent's Courtesan, playing the role not only as that of prostitute (as Shakespeare originally ordained) but also as a sultry-voiced Monroe-esque chanteuse, offering up a handful of American Songbook classics that nicely fill what is one of the shorter plays in the canon.

When not playing the saxophone (which she does very well), Ellie Ann Lowe stubbornly smoulders as Adriana the wife of one brother who then finds herself amorously (and unwittingly) involved with her identical brother in law. And Philip Mansfield's deliciously end-of-the-pier tackiness as inept magician Dr Pinch spices up the second half, enhanced by Lizzy Gunby's economical lighting plots. 

Horslen and Riseboro take some liberties with the verse, but the context remains clear and with most of their performers delivering top notch turns it all works well. There's a lovely note to history too - remarkably and some 400 odd years ago, the play premiered in this very same venue!

Runs until 1st September 2016

Paramour - Review

Lyric Theatre, New York


*****

Directed and conceived by Philippe Decoufle

Samuel William Charlton, Myriam Deraiche and Martin Charrat

With Paramour, Cirque du Soleil widen their scope venturing into musical theatre and incorporating dialogue and songs sung live alongside their signature circus wizardry.

Set in the Golden Age of Hollywood (and Broadway) and dripping in Art Deco themes, the plot is faux film-noir. Indigo (Ruby Lewis) is an actress, a small town stunner who is new to LA and looking for her break in the movies. A.J. (Jeremy Kushnier) is the mogul director who not only casts her as his new found star, but also wants her for his wife. Throw in Joey (Ryan Voner) a humble studio composer on the picture who falls hopelessly in love with Indigo as she does for him and the scene is set for a classic, corny love-triangle.

Before purists of the genre dismiss the plot as predictably shallow, remember that corny de-rigueur in noir-based musicals. Consider City Of Angels and Sunset Boulevard, both shows that offered the potential for stylish song and dance numbers, but only when set against a backdrop of cliché-riddled plot. 

Visually of course, the show is hallmark Cirque. Clever use of live action projection (black & white of course) emphasises the cinematic theme, whilst a beautifully choreographed ensemble break into tap routines at the drop of a (top) hat.

For the skimpiest of reasons the plot shifts around the studios' backlot, from sound stages filming a Cleopatra themed routine (outstanding aerial strap work from Andrew and Kevin Atherton) to a Wild West hoedown and, after the break, a nightmarish zombie invasion. The story's creakiness however is matched only by the Cirque troupe's excellence, a high spot of the second half being the hand-to-trapeze act of Samuel William Charlton and Myriam Deraiche with Martin Charrat on the ground, depicting the passions of the ill-fated trio.  

It may be the actors who top the bill, but it is the Cirque artistes that are Paramour's stars. The closing routine, played out across New York rooftops as the bad guys, clad in vividly coloured suits (think of Batman's Joker and Riddler) chase the heroes, is jaw-dropping in its impossible simplicity. Using discreetly positioned trampolines and their world class artistry, the performers literally fly themselves across the stage and up its walls. There are no wires or ropes at this point, just exceptionally choreographed human endeavor. In a modern movie the scene would be a green screen CGI creation, here it's for real.

Back in the Golden Age, audiences flocked to musicals to be wowed by spectacular routines, perfectly performed. Bravo to Cirque du Soleil for restoring that magic to Broadway.


Booking until February 2017
Photo credit: Richard Termine

Waitress - Review

Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York


*****


Music & lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Book by Jessie Nelson
Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Diane Paulus

Jessie Mueller

Move over Mrs Lovett, there's a new baker on the block. Waitress, Sara Bareilles' female-fuelled take on modern Americana, is perhaps the finest example of new musical theatre writing in quite some years. 

Drawn from Adrienne Shelly's 2007 movie, Jessie Mueller is Jenna the titular waitress from a southern USA town, who not only serves tables but also bakes the top-notch pies that make up the diner's daily specials. Unhappily married to the inadequate and abusive misogynist Earl (covered very well by understudy Ryan Vasquez on the night of this review) Jenna discovers early on in the show that she is pregnant with their unplanned (and, by her, unwanted) child. Following her through the trimesters, the show’s story is strong, engaging and witty and under Diane Paulus' assured direction, never dissolves into sentimentality.

Jenna's two fellow waitresses are Dawn and Becky played by Jenna Ushkowitz and Keala Settle respectively, who sustain the momentum with perceptive comic relief. Dawn desperately seeks love, while Becky, a middle aged battle-axe agonising that her breasts may be misshapen whilst trapped in her own sexless marriage, goes on to satisfy her carnal frustrations in a second half surprise. Both supporting women are cleverly sketched out, with the dynamic between all three, as they share their respective anxieties and desires, proving credible, funny and ultimately moving. There should be a mention too for Charity Angél Dawson as Nurse Norma, whose dealings with the complex cavortings at the local surgery make for a witty measured performance.

Setting aside the stereotype of woman as domestic pie-making goddess, the baking analogy makes for a clever conceit. Not just Jenna's bun in her own oven, but rather the focus on what's inside a pie - ergo what's inside a woman - makes for some honest theatre. Jenna's anguish at her impending motherhood is as contemporary as it is timeless. When Mueller sings What Baking Can Do, we see the lifeline of sanity that baking has thrown to her amidst a life of domestic misery.

If the women are cleverly devised, the men are little more than thinly fleshed out flawed caricatures, with the only admirable man on stage dying before the final curtain. Escaping from Earl's contempt, Jenna stumbles into an affair with her gynaecologist Dr Pomatter (Drew Gehling). It’s an unlikely liaison, the married Pomatter’s actions being unethical, unprofessional and adulterous, however notwithstanding Pomatter cheating on his wife, the love between the two serves to inspire Jenna in believing that not all men are beasts.

Dawn finds love online with Ogie, a geekish tax auditor who shares her love of history. Little more than a decent if two-dimensional twat, Christopher Fitzgerald nonetheless imbues the role with maniacal energy. Already recognised with various awards and nominations for his performance, Fitzgerald's fabulous physicality serves the role perfectly and it is a joy to see this gifted performer so perfectly cast.

Bareilles' writing is a long overdue example of new musical theatre that is imaginative, thought provoking and most of all entertaining. More than just a hardened pie crust hurled at the patriarchy, Waitress is a perfectly baked celebration of womanhood today.

Now booking until June 2017

Photo credit: Joan Marcus

Children of Eden - Review

Union Theatre, London


**

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by John Caird

Directed by Christian Durham, this production of Children of Eden marks the show’s 25th anniversary. It is also only the second production to be staged in Southwark’s newly built and re-located Union Theatre.

John Caird's script for the show is based on the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis and goes from Creation with Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel in act one through to Noah and The Flood in act two. The dialogue is minimal, involving a lot of characters in prayer - frequently overhead to the spotlights.

Notwithstanding the minimalism, the stories’ themes of hatred, forgiveness, love and death, all stemming from familiar biblical tales are immense and demand a certain gravitas from the lead characters. Unfortunately, for the most part, gravitas is the missing element in this production.

As Father, or the “God” character, Joey Dexter feels too young for the role, lacking the authority and charisma that the part desperately needs. Unfortunately Dexter is not helped by the over amplified electric piano which swamped the majority of his vocals. As with the new Union’s recent production of The Fix, the cast here are un-mic’d and poor sound balance seems to be emerging as a recurrent issue. Producers take note: the acoustic intimacy of the old Union didn’t need mics, but it looks like the new space does. 

The young cast of eleven are enthusiastic, charming and unquestionably, hardworking, with their sheer energy in Generations, the second act opening number, proving infectious. The evening’s highlight is Natasha O'Brien, newly arrived on British shores from Canada and one to watch in the future: her committed performance as both Eve and Mama Noah was eye-catching, exuding warmth and openness. O'Brien has an impressive, natural singing voice, showcased to particular effect in Ain't It Good and she seems to enjoy singing the uplifting gospel anthem as much as the audience enjoyed hearing it. 

Lucie Pankhurst devises some clever choreography, with bodies continually moving to evoke settings and props. Her work is perfect for the piece and incorporating her cast to become an elongated snake for Gabriel Mokake's serpent’s song In The Pursuit of Excellence is terrific.

When the whole cast sing in unison, the sound is quite lovely but it is the individual voices that lack confidence. Schwartz's songs, even if not up there amongst his best compositions such as Wicked and Pippin, still beg for strong voices to fill the phrases and soar with the melodies. Unfortunately here they don't and with big subject matter - God, Creation etc - more experienced performers would have made the piece more coherent. 

The relevance of Children of Eden in 2016 is debatable and this production feels slightly old fashioned where it could perhaps have been infused with an element of danger. Any theatrical experience requires the audience to believe another reality and in this show, for two and a half hours. The Union's production manages to suspend our disbelief fleetingly but not enough to convert an audience to this particular religious musical.

Runs until 10th September

Reviewed by Andie Bee