Anything Goes, Barbican Theatre, London ****

The nautical blues and whites of Anything Goes, along with sparkling costumes, music and dialogue, prove the perfect antidote to an ever more sombre world. The effect is heightened by its contrast to the all pervasive brown of its home at the Barbican Centre. It’s the second summer the SS America has set sail from here and key members of last year’s company are on board along with four new top-billing stars in the shape of Kerry Ellis, Denis Lawson, Simon Callow and Bonnie Langford (although Bonnie is off for the first full week of the run, returning from 5 July, with Anna McGarahan ably stepping in until then).

The story is almost pure froth, concerning the romantic misadventures of a mixed band of criminals, entertainers and socialites as they set sail for England from New York. It’s what Gilbert and Sullivan would have been writing if they’d been around in the 1930s, although it largely lacks their satirical edge. Cole Porter’s songs are just perfect and you’ll know most of them as they’ve become standards in their own right – something that’s easier to happen with musicals of this era where people burst into song in ways which don’t necessarily move the action or characters forward – they just stop the show for the pure joy if it!

Kerry Ellis as Reno Sweeney is stunning. She’s delivers a role packed with songs and huge dance numbers with apparently effortless ease. The title number ends the first act and has one of the longest sustained dance breaks you’ll ever see. She’s in the whole number, singing and dancing and looking like she’s having a ball. This love and enthusiasm pervades the whole company and reaches out into the audience. A word, too, about the ensemble dancers, particularly the men who do some energetic posing during Blow Gabriel Blow.

Our hero is Billy Crocker, hopelessly in love (as he sees it) with debutant Hope Harcourt. Samuel Edwards as Billy is a delight. Great singing voice, naive charm and smooth dance moves. But for me the real star of the show is Denis Lawson as gangster Moonface Martin (public enemy number 13 and struggling to get into the top 10). He’s an actor who clearly knows how to showcase his charm and humour and really does so to great comic effect.

As an avid cruiser I can vouch for the authentic atmosphere of the cabin sets, with their cosy lighting and elegant fittings. And to top it off we have a superb band in the pit which plays a significant part in injecting pace into the proceedings.

As an aside, the Barbican has lovely spacious seats with plenty of leg-room. But as an infrequent visitor I must say it’s not well sign-posted from the tube (in fact as far as I could see there is no reference anywhere to the Barbican ‘theatre’) and the walk along an underground dual carriageway to the venue was enough to put you off ever going again! Thank goodness the show itself couldn’t have been more of a contrast.

Sue in the Stalls attended courtesy of London Box Office:

https://www.londonboxoffice.co.uk/anything-goes-tickets

Review – 3 Steps to Heaven, Orchard Theatre, Dartford and on tour ****

Buddy Holly’s enduringly popular songs practically invented the modern so-called juke box musical, with the often revived Buddy Holly Story. That’s a great show, but in 3 Steps to Heaven the concept is taken to its ultimate: shorn of any pretence of telling a story this concert lets the music do the talking. Alongside Holly the producers have chosen another writer and star whose life and career was cut tragically short (in a car accident travelling from a UK concert), Eddie Cochran. His posthumous hit provides the title for the show. Completing the trio we have Roy Orbison. He was stylistically quite different from Holly or Cochran. But then his style was uniquely his own and doesn’t neatly fit with anyone else’s. He also has influences from the 60s to the 80s in his catalogue as he lived until 1988, even then dying relatively young at only 52.

The concert is an invention as the three never performed together. It does, though, bring together a huge catalogue of huge hits. We are reminded that Holly wrote and recorded eight hit records in just two years. These are songs that are still well known today. What’s more they are well known in their original versions, not from re-worked and re-imagined covers. Quite an achievement for someone who died in 1959 aged just 22. Cochran also had hits which live on, such as C’mon Everybody and Summertime Blues. And whilst most people in the audience would either not have been born or at best have been children when Holly and Cochran had hits, many more remember Orbison, whose You Got It chartered immediately after his death in 1988.

So that’s the history and the context; what about the show? Our three leads perform as Cochran, Holly and Orbison without breaking character. As Cochrane, Jonny Labey has a rich voice and a winning stage presence. Edward Handoll has history playing Holly and dons the famous specs with ease. His set contains probably the most well known songs and he re-creates the Holly sound perfectly. Peter Howarth stands rock solid still as the man in black, the big O, (complete with black wig and sunglasses) allowing his soaring voice and huge range to complete the transformation.

The three stars are backed by a supremely professional band headed by musical director Pierce Tee on keyboards. He skilfully enables us to hear live the Holly songs recorded with string backing, something I imagine Holly himself could never do in concert. And whilst the stars are in character from the 50s and 60s, the backing musicians are just themselves. Indeed, the quality of the sound and the stylish lighting design make this concert, I suspect, technically superior to anything either Cochran or Holly would have been able to aspire to in the 1950s.

The whole thing comes together brilliantly to recreate live versions of songs most people know so well from the original records. Being so well known gives the musicians a challenge because every note, every pause, every detail of the arrangements has to be spot-on. And it is (or at least it seemed so to me). They could have sat back and assumed that the audience would be happy just to hear such well known songs again. In effect just letting the songs to do all the work. But these musicians provide highly polished and professional performances which honour the music they are playing and provide more hits in one evening than you’re likely to find in any other show.

3 Steps to Heaven is at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford until Saturday 12 February 2022 and then continues on tour.

Review – Pantoland at the London Palladium ****

The Palladium panto was re-established as a Christmas tradition in 2016. Since then the few remaining elements of plot or character have been gradually removed each year so we’re now left with a kind variety show. This is not a criticism. Clearly the producers have realised that they will get best value from the likes of Julian Clary by giving them as much time as possible to do what they’re best at, without burdening them (and us) with mundane things like a story.

This year we are treated for the first time to the star being an international icon – Donny Osmond. No time is wasted in getting him on stage as he opens the show. There’s no doubt there is something quite magical about being in the beloved and world famous Palladium and hearing the name Donny Osmond announced as the curtains open to reveal the man himself.

The rest of the cast is comprised of what has become in effect the Palladium Panto Repertory Company. Gary Wilmot is the dame and his patter song naming all London’s tube stations (yes – including the new ones on the Elizabeth line) is spectacular. You feel you are witnessing something really special as well as amazing. Nigel Havers is the butt of jokes about his age and not really having a part in the show. Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin is a class act who delivers not only some great laughs but also a range of impressive set pieces including a brilliant moment when his puppet Sam is left in the hands (literally) of Donny Osmond. Cue carefully rehearsed mistakes and corpsing with resultant crowd pleasing hilarity.

Song and dance numbers are left in the more than capable hands of Sophie Issacs and Jac Yarrow, with support from the famous Tiller Girls.

There is, of course, one more person to mention. Julian Clary can, and does, turn the most apparently innocent phrases into complete filth. For example, “I’ve never done Aladdin” and “Put your hand up (pause). In the air!” In the most extravagant costumes he parades about the stage picking on either members of the audience or the cast with waspish remarks and put-downs which in turn bring the house down.

The cast appear to be having a really good time. In less skilled hands this could leave the audience feeling left out of the joke. Not here. The casual mayhem and supposed mistakes only work because this is a slick and hugely professional show that knows exactly what it’s doing and mines every comic opportunity to maximum effect through deft technique and spot-on timing.

My review is missing the fifth star only because, as a Palladium panto fan, I have seen most of this before. Don’t get me wrong, I love the company and wouldn’t want to lose any of them. But the addition of Donny Osmond created the opening for some fresh content and more of this would be welcome. Who knows which international superstar will be joining in the fun next year?

Pantoland is at the London Palladium until 9 January 2022.

Disney’s Frozen The Musical ****

Despite attending a matinee where the average age of most audience members was probably about three, I can still say this is a show that works pretty well for adults. It’s no Lion King, but has some great, even spectacular, moments – hence four, not five, stars.

The musical captures the feeling of the film admirably. It also adds something to the characters of the two sisters, Elsa and Anna. They are, perhaps inevitably, more real and relatable as played in the flesh by Samantha Barks and Stephanie McKeon than in the film. This in turn brings even greater emphasis on their relationship as the driver for the story, making other characters such as Olaf the snowman (Craig Gallivan) and Kristoff the ice salesman (Obioma Ugoala) into cameos. Even the latter’s reindeer Sven (Mikayla Jade and Ashley Birchall alternate in the physically demanding role), although stunningly realised, has little to do.

The highlight is, as it should be, Let it Go, moved along in the story so it comes as the closer to Act One. Samantha Barks is terrific and really does let go as the song builds. She transforms in front of us in an instant from wearing a dull cape to a sparkling white dress – a true coup de theatre which drew gasps and cheers from everyone in the audience (not just the three year olds!).

Olaf is a delight, with the puppet operated and voiced in-view by Craig Gallivan in suitable winter togs. He captures the charm of the character using basic puppetry skills but little other obvious trickery, and has a remarkably close vocal likeness to the film version.

There are, though, a couple of peculiar choices. As Anna travels to find her sister with Kristoff she crosses a huge, icy bridge (shown in the photo above). This comes on from stage right and travels across the stage, at one point only the centre section is on stage before, eventually, the steps down at the other side come into view. It’s the largest single piece of moving scenery I’ve ever seen. It must have cost a fortune and been a nightmare to fit in the wings even at Drury Lane. But I couldn’t see why it was needed. Yes, it showed Anna had to make a journey, but surely there were either simpler ways to do it. Or they could have done more with the bridge than simply walk across it and dump it in the wings! The other similar moment comes at the very last bars. For anyone other than those in the stalls it was obvious there was a revolve and a centre circular platform cut into the stage. Unless I missed it they were never used until the final 30 seconds of the show. Again, an extravagance which added little to the story and created only minimal impact.

Review – Hairspray ****

Hairspray continues to please, with it’s bouncy tunes and appealing story about outsiders finding their place in a society initially unwilling to welcome them in. This year it’s been the (belated) summer musical at the ENO’s home at the London Coliseum.

The story concerns schoolgirl Tracy Turnblad’s ambitions to win a place on the local TV dance show and to integrate the black and white performers, the black company being allowed to perform only on ‘negro day’. The cast for this revival of the production last seen in the West End with Michael Ball just up the road at the Shaftesbury theatre is top notch, with Mr Ball once again doing the honours as Edna Turnblad, as he did for the whole of the previous West End run. He clearly loves the part and displays all the qualities you’d expect from a musical theatre star. Playing his husband Les Dennis proves to be a great choice, being both convincing in the part and with a warm on-stage chemistry between him and Michael Ball’s Edna.

I’m ranking it four stars because of the performances and the brilliance of the score, but it was nearly three, simply because the show is almost defeated by the theatre itself. The Coliseum is vast, with a huge space between the front rows of the circles/balcony and the stage. Even the stalls are kept at a safe distance by the large orchestra pit, sparsely but very effectively filled by the band. Added to that, the stage itself is framed by a front cloth with a TV-screen shaped opening through which we watch the show. As well as being apposite for the plot this also serves to reduce the width of the stage by about a third. In short, the theatre is too big for the show. It feels lost on the stage and remote from the audience. The music itself is so strong it just about compensates for this. Michael Ball is sufficiently bold and twinkly to come across no matter what. And Marisha Wallace storms the place as Motormouth Maybelle, although not all of the cast are as successful.

I’ve seen several of the ENO summer musicals and this problem of scale is not unique to Hairspray, but others seemed to have worked better (for example Bat Out of Hell and Man of La Mancha). Extending the stage over the vast pit would help. Next summer, though, it’s My Fair Lady, which might just be grand enough to live up to the room where it’s due to happen.

Review – The Woman in Black *****

The Woman in Black is remarkable in two ways. Yes, it’s a long running West End show that’s not a musical spectacular or The Mousetrap. More significantly, it’s a brilliantly theatrical experience, which is remarkable considering its origins as a book. The adaptation to the stage is so complete and integral to the work, it’s hard to imagine it having ever been anything

Having seen it on tour in modern venues I had always wanted to experience it ‘at home’ in the older Fortune Theatre. Host to treats I wish I could have witnessed such as Flanders and Swan and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in Beyond the Fringe, it has its own rather magical history of laughter. Since 1989, though, The Lady in Black has haunted the place in more chilling style.

Set in the 1950s, the story concerns Arthur Kipps, who is sent to sort out the papers of the recently deceased Alice Drablow, entailing a visit to the spooky Eel Marsh House. The local village is akin to that in An American Werewolf in London, where any talk of the deceased and the house is quickly and mysteriously shut down. Add in a dangerous causeway to reach it, swirling mists, a graveyard and a child’s nursery and you pretty much have the classic ingredients for a classic ghost story. But this is so much more than that, thanks to Stephen Mallatratt’s brilliantly theatrical approach, which turns these familiar ingredients into an experience which engages the audience’s imagination to such spectacular effect that, as producer Peter Wilson said after the first evening of the re-opened show, “you scared yourselves”.

We are enormously helped in this by perfectly judged lighting and sound, whose timing is critical to some moments where you’ll be the most scared you’ve ever been in a theatre.

With all these ingredients in place, we find ourselves in the hands of Arthur Kipps, our nervous but reliable narrator, played by Terence Wilton. Kipps is at an empty theatre to be coached by ‘the actor’ (played by Max Hutchinson) in order to be able to recount his tale of his visit to Eel Marsh House. Wilton is so effective as the traumatised and hesitant Kipps that it comes as a real shock to see him assume in an instant the various other characters in his story. A scarf, a hat, a coat, a change in gait and we are in the company of someone else entirely. He also gets a moment when the child’s nursery is revealed where he has to list the numerous toys it contains. I’ve learned a few lines in my time and lists are just horrid to get in your head. Surely a little actors’ test added by Mallatratt! As his acting coach, Hutchinson is typically actorly and we feel confident in his presences. He has a rhythmic and almost percussive way with his lines. But the telling of the tale requires ‘the actor’ to assume the role of Kipps at the most dramatic moments. It’s a tribute not only to the writing but to Hutchinson’s engaging performance that you could tell the audience was gripped with fear and trepidation with him.

With some genuine jump-out-of-seat moments and a pervading atmosphere of suspense, this remains the benchmark for ghost stories in any medium and shows how live theatre can do things with you and to you like nothing else.

Review – It’s beautiful over there ****

Stephanie Greenwood writes and performs this single hander at London’s Tristan Bates Theatre in which she recounts stories of death. That sounds morbid, even grim. But this play is neither. It’s a highly personal piece in which Greenwood has set out to tell us about the life and death by suicide of her dear friend Lindsay. The story is given dramatic energy by her unwillingness to confront this particular death which, despite not being of a relative, is much closer to her than any other. At every point when Lindsay’s story is looming in her rear view mirror, ready to overtake her, Greenwood is diverted off the road and backs up into her own past and sometimes that of her ancestors.

There is an extraordinary tale of her great great grandmother hosting magnificent and opulent balls. In another someone else seems to have been shot in Europe during the war for plotting to sabotage German trains. The first of the play’s stories concerns Greenwood confessing to the conflict she felt as a child when speaking at her grandparents’ funerals. How much was she speaking for them and how much was she doing it because she enjoyed the opportunity to perform?

This conflict does create a problem for the play. We know from the blurb it’s a true story, so Greenwood is genuinely baring her soul to us. At the same time we know it’s also a performance, the spontaneity is rehearsed. She’s a professional performer. How do we know what’s true and what’s just a performance?

Fortunately, though, Greenwood is a compelling stage presence and her nuanced performance is captivating. Hands are carefully placed, a tilt of the hip and she’s instantly a surly thirteen year old. This detail is telling and it shows the insight Greenwood brings to the play as, being the sole performer, she is obviously acutely aware of the scrutiny every part of her will be under. All this is given added impact by thoughtfully effective lighting and sound design which neatly and economically signal where we are in Steph’s life.

Gradually the flashbacks take her to more recent times and then we find out we’re all guests at a party  to celebrate Lindsay. We’re all invited to don party hats and enjoy mini muffins and champagne. But this is all too much for our host. She’s not ready to pretend that we can all carry on as normal and breaks down. We are left feeling awkward wearing our silly hats and holding a plastic champagne glasses.

Ultimately it’s Steph and ourselves we learn about from this piece. The person we learn least about is Lindsay, whose suicide is the catalyst for the play. But what we do learn is that there is something different about the impact of her death compared with others in Steph’s life. The subjects of her other stories are in some way heroic but remote. Lindsay, though, is more real, more current but at the same time more unknown to us.

 

 

Review – Dial M for Murder ****

Dial M for Murder is a classic murder mystery, immortalised in Hitchcock’s film version starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. The plot concerns former tennis star Tony Wendice (Tom Chambers) who is secretly aware of the affair his wife Margot (Sally Breton) thinks she has successfully hidden from him for over a year. He blackmails an old school friend with a shady past (Christopher Harper in the first of two roles) into murdering his wife while he is out with her lover, giving him the perfect alibi. The cue for the murderer to strike is arranged to be when Tony phones his wife, luring from her bed to answer so the killer knows when to pounce. It’s at this critical point that the apparently flawless logic of Tony’s plan for the perfect murder collapses.

It’s also from this point the play really takes off. Unlike modern TV examples of the genre, where the body (usually the first of several) makes its appearance within minutes, here there is a long exposition establishing the nature of Tony and Margot’s relationship, the motive for Tony’s desire to murder his wife and the reason he chooses his old school friend to do the deed. So we find ourselves with a murder victim only just by the interval. At times this feels slow despite the cast all bringing great presence to their roles.

The gradual unravelling of Tony’s plan makes a far more interesting second half. It’s also helped enormously by Christopher Harper’s Inspector Hubbard, whom he makes just slightly off centre. This turns a workmanlike character from simply a device to explain what’s happening into a humorously effective commentator.

Tom Chambers is delightfully on the smarmy end of suave as the consummately deceptive and devious husband. And Sally Breton, who we are probably more used to seeing playing for laughs in Not Going Out is both feisty and vulnerable as his wife Margot. As her lover Max, Michael Salami is a strong stage presence.

The single room set is carefully positioned at an angle and comes complete with ceiling – unusual in a theatrical set. Its careful design plays with angles and perspectives to give a perfect view of every part. And moving the action from the 1950s, when the play was written and set, to 1963 allows some design flourishes which separate it from the dour post-war period which might otherwise have left us feeling too distant from it.

This is an effective re-imagining of what is for many a well-known piece thanks to the Hitchcock film. But it succeeds on its own terms, avoiding direct comparison by virtue of the slight time shift and performances which stand in their own right.

Dial M for Murder is at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford until Saturday 1 February and then on tour.

Review – The Bodyguard, the musical *****

This musical version of the hit film The Bodyguard has quite simply the best production values I’ve ever seen in a touring show. Combine this with a raft of hit songs and the star power of Alexandra Burke and you have a crowd pleasing hit.

The story concerns singing star Rachel Marron (Burke) who is bidding for an Oscar with a song co-written with her equally talented but less successful sister Nicki (Emmy Willow). Into the mix enters a mysterious and threatening stalker (a muscular Phil Atkinson) which in turn results in the hiring of the eponymous bodyguard Frank Farmer (Ben Lewis).

I’ve not seen the original Kevin Costner/Whitney Huston film, so the fairly straightforward development of the story was nevertheless quite gripping. Although the role of the baddie was under-written, Phil Atkinson made a striking impression because of some clever staging and his commanding physical presence. The requirements of the plot, though, do result in the slightly odd situation whereby no sooner has Rachel’s new bodyguard started than terrible incidents start befalling her and her family, which he is supposed to be there to prevent.

The score is packed with well-known hit songs from Whitney Houston and others. Emmy Willow as Rachel’s sister Nicki gets a crack at some in her role as a sometime nightclub performer and has a tremendously appealing voice. Ben Lewis in the title role, by contrast, has to murder I Will Always Love You at a Karaoke night and then never sing another note for the whole evening, despite having a CV that includes numerous musicals, not least playing the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. But he manages the changing relationship with his client and her son really well, bringing enormous credibility to the part.

At the centre of things, Alexandra Burke is perfectly cast as star/diva Rachel Marron. Her singing power is, of course, a given but she also has to be a sister, a mother and a lover. All of these she manages with apparent ease. And in the final moments her performance of I Will Always Love You is suitably brilliant.

Adding to the experience is the sheer quality of the production. The set is a slick and highly effective system of moving flats which both illuminate and frame the scenes. They also act to hide some striking scene changes, including the rehearsal room at Rachel Marron’s home and an entire log cabin, which appear magically and impressively. The whole thing is classy, stylish and just flashy enough to impress without overshadowing the performers. This is really a full-blown West End standard show with none of the cut-downs and compromises you sometimes see on a touring version.

The Bodyguard, the musical, is at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford until 18 January 2020.

Review – Goldilocks and the Three Bears *****

The re-established tradition of a pantomime at the London Palladium goes from strength to strength with this fourth outing. Julian Clary is firmly in his element in the role of ring master at a circus which, for reasons I can’t remember but don’t really matter anyway, needs to secure the services of the three bears to provide a show-stopping act and save the circus from being taken over by the evil ringmaster, Paul O’Grady. Although on the night I saw it that role was admirably understudied by Christopher Howell who goes up in my estimation because his CV says he was in two of my favourite recent musicals – Betty Blue Eyes and Made in Dagenham.

The Barnum-esque setting gives legitimacy to a device often used on panto whereby various speciality acts get shoe-horned into the plot. With a circus as the set this technique is made easy. This is how we can legitimately end up with the truly spectacular motor cycle stunt work of Peter Pavlov and his team, who I last saw in Cirque Berserk.

The official story of Goldilocks and the three bears is largely dispensed with in the course of a single musical number. You could legitimately argue that this show has become so far removed from its origins that it’s not really a panto at all. It has become its own genre, in which the plot of whichever panto is largely irrelevant. What does remain, though, are some of the key panto ingredients. Notably the ‘tell him that’ routine, in which an increasingly complicated and potentially rude tongue twister is passed back and forth by a go-between.

The Palladium panto is also establishing its own traditions. Every year Nigel Havers is fighting for his right to be in the show at the cost of his dignity, a part he plays to absolute perfection. He’s like the guest star on a Morecambe and Wise show. And Gary Wilmot has an impressive line in patter songs. Last year it was one which included the names of every tube station. This year, a medley of snatches (sometimes just a single word) from numerous musical theatre standards. Outstanding.

Whilst it lovely to see the great Janine Duvitski, she is a little under used as mummy bear. Matt Baker is a revelation as Joey the clown, not only displaying a range of great circus skills but also having a warm and confident stage presence. Paul Zerdin’s vent act remains the benchmark for such things, the real brilliance being in the puppetry skills his uses to give expression to his characters.

Rising above it all, complete with outrageous double entendres, is Julian Clary. His costume budget alone must be more than that of most entire pantos, although he faces strong competition from the circus-style set which as glitzy and colourful as you could wish. His laid back style belies the skill he has in landing a line or a glance with devastating aplomb. As ever he comments on proceedings from outside the show, with waspish asides about contracts, the CVs of other cast members and getting his cab home. He is totally in his element and it is difficult to imagine a Palladium panto without him.