Oliver! - Review

Festival Theatre, Chichester

*****

Music, lyrics and book by Lionel Bart

Freely adapted from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist

Revised by Cameron Mackintosh

Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne

Simon Lipkin

Matthew Bourne’s production of Oliver! will quite possibly be the the most glorious musical revival to open in the UK this year. Cast with the cream of the country’s musical theatre talent, Cameron Mackintosh’s revisions of Lionel Bart’s show achieve the rare distinction, that many strive for but very few achieve, of taking a classic and making it even better.

Bourne again works alongside designer Lez Brotherston, in a partnership that has lasted decades and which sees this national treasure of a musical visually re-imagined yet still authentically Victorian, with bridges and revolves and swirling steampunk ironwork transporting us across the England of the story.

The kids are gorgeous, and Bourne’s direction and choreography sees the show kick-off with Food Glorious Food that is as imaginative as it is evocatively charming. On press night it was the young and talented Cian Eagle-Service in the title role, beautifully voiced and with a charming confidence that held the narrative along with our belief in him.

The show's workhouse scenes introduce us to the despicable Mr Bumble and Widow Corney luxuriously played here by the ridiculously talented Oscar Conlon-Morrey and Katy Secombe. Musical theatre cognoscenti will know that the 1968 movie saw Mr Bumble played by Secombe’s father, the late and much loved comic-genius Harry Secombe and Secombe more than honours her father’s memory with her take on the amorous widow. Conlon-Morrey complements her in his skilled and hilarious interpretation of blustering pomposity. A nod too to Stephen Matthews and Jamie Birkett who capture the ghoulish comedy of the Sowerberrys, the undertakers to whom Oliver is sold by Bumble.

Katy Secombe and Oscar Conlon-Morrey

Brotherston’s set ingeniously shifts us to London where Billy Jenkins’ Artful Dodger gives just the right Cockney swagger to Consider Yourself before introducing Oliver, and the audience to Fagin. Much like Steven Spielberg makes his audience wait before unveiling the shark in Jaws, so too does Bart allow almost an hour of the show to (gloriously) pass by before revealing this most complex of characters.

Simon Lipkin's Fagin brings an earthy, magnetic, Sephardic interpretation to one of musical theatre’s most frequently caricatured Jews. Bourne skilfully avoids any classic antisemitic tropes in this Fagin, with Lipkin displaying an intriguing, enchanting presence in his performance. Vocally he is magnificent, owning the Festival Theatre's massive stage in his Reviewing The Situation, with a subtle klezmer-esque nuance to some of the musical arrangement of the number. Lipkin also offers inspired moments of physical comedy, and study him closely for just a hint of Max Bialystock's tragi-comedy in this most glorious of Fagins.

Shanay Holmes is Nancy with a take on this intriguing woman that almost explains her love for such a violent partner as Bill Sikes. Holmes brings power, passion and pathos to the role, wonderfully taking Chichester’s roof off (twice) with As Long As He Needs Me. Opposite Holmes, Aaron Sidwell brings a chilling menace to Sikes.

Under the stage, Graham Hurman’s orchestra of 13 make glorious work of the rich score. 

This fantastic show, with one hit song following another, sees Mackintosh and Bourne open up the genius of Bart’s writing to dive even deeper into the composer/lyricist’s understanding of Dickens, London and above all the human condition. With musicals most frequently being set in the USA, stories steeped in English culture are few and far between. This Oliver! is amongst the finest.

Never before has this show offered more!

Runs until 7th September

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Old Friends - Review

 Gielgud Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Devised by Cameron Mackintosh

Directed by Matthew Bourne and Julia McKenzie

The company of Old Friends

Much of Old Friends, Cameron Mackintosh’s lovingly curated tribute to Stephen Sondheim is a masterclass in musical theatre. Over 2 1/2 hours and 40 songs, some of the West End’s finest sing a selection of Sondheim’s compositions that spans decades.

Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga have been flown in from the USA to headline the show. Salonga of course won numerous awards creating the role of Kim in Miss Saigon in London back in 1989 and later in New York. Since then however, her impact over here has been muted. Peters, albeit a Broadway legend and arguably Sondheim’s one-time muse, is less well known in the UK outside of musical cognoscenti and other than as a sincere and profound tribute to the composer it is hard to understand her bill-topping status. There are moments in the evening that leave one reflecting that some of Peters’ numbers could perhaps have been better delivered by other members of this star-studded ensemble.

If Arthur Miller was America’s leading light in late twentieth-century drama, mercilessly exploring and exposing the human condition, then Sondheim was his match in musical theatre. Interestingly and notwithstanding Sondheim’s genius, he never created (nor possibly may have never sought to create) a show of the juggernaut, franchisable or (as Stephen Schwartz may have called it) “popular” status garnered by say Cats, Phantom of The Opera, Les Misérables or Wicked. That being said, when Old Friends is at its best it offers magical moments of perfect performance. 

Highlights of the evening include: a gorgeous pairing of Salonga with Jeremy Secomb as Mrs Lovett and Sweeney Todd for a selection of that show’s favourites; an outstanding ensemble take on A Weekend In The Country with a shout-out for Janie Dee’s brilliant interpretation of Countess Charlotte Malcolm, nailing the comic potential of her few lyrics perfectly. Joanna Riding, with superb support from Damian Humbley cynically sparkles in Getting Married Today as does Bonnie Langford’s in a breathtaking I’m Still Here. Clare Burt, a late arrival to the cast, gives a magnificent irascibility to The Ladies Who Lunch. The first half ends with an uplifting full-ensemble delivery of Sunday from Sunday In The Park With George, with Peters assuming the position of the parasol-bearing Dot. Considering that Sondheim possibly created that role with Peters in mind, the moment and the staging is one of a rare and special theatrical beauty.

Kicking off the second half, the overture from Merrily We Roll Along offers another glimpse of Sondheim’s musical talent, while a seamless segue into a small medley from West Side Story reminds us of his skill way back as a much younger writer. The Gypsy inclusions of You Gotta Getta Gimmick and Everything’s Coming Up Roses are also delightful.

Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear direct and choreograph respectively, coaxing immaculately presented iterations of each song. Julia McKenzie, another of Sondheim’s close and wise associates is co-credited as director. The whole affair is staged with a smart simplicity, Alfonso Casado Trigo’s orchestra elegantly placed upstage.

Opportunities to see a company of this calibre do not come along often. Go see Old Friends!

Runs until 6th January 2023

Photo credit: Danny Kaan

The Story of Bart - Review

Mirth, Marvel and Maud, London


****

Written and directed by Simon Hanning

On the hottest weekend of the year so far, it says much for the combined talents of John Barr and the much missed Lionel Bart, that Walthamstow’s quirky Mirth, Marvel and Maud venue was sold out to hear Barr’s take on the man who was to become one of England’s most successful composers of the last century.

Simon Hanning’s debut play is a meticulously researched biopic with Barr assuming the role of the songwriter throughout. The evening’s first half charts Bart’s rise from writing songs for Tommy Steele (Little White Bull anyone?) and Cliff Richard (Living Doll) through to the acclaim of the West End, Broadway and Hollywood that was to come from Oliver!

The script is sprinkled with as many songs as anecdotes – who knew for example that Bart could not write music? He would hum out a tune on his kazoo, while his good friend Eric Roberts (who was to score most of the Carry On movies) transcribed the melodies to written manuscript.

Bart’s compositions were (for the most part) inspired and in Barr, whose stage debut aged 12 had been in Cameron Mackintosh’s 1977 revival of Oliver! and who was himself to meet Bart on several occasions, the casting is as inspired too. Barr’s love for Bart’s work is almost tangible and when he dons one of the evening’s many hats, he truly inhabits the man’s persona.

It’s not just a one-man show however. While Barr is virtually onstage from start to finish relating all the narrative, there is sung support from Oli Reynolds as an impressive Cliff Richard, from Sophie Isaacs whose vocal beauty in copying Barbara Windsor was breathtaking and finally from the always excellent Jodie Jacobs who from time to time pops up either covering Judy Garland’s Maggie May or else as a show-stopping Nancy. 

It’s worth noting here that Barbara Windsor who knew Bart well has worked closely with both Barr and Hanning in the show’s development. There is also a further remarkable coincidence - Jodie Jacobs is a cousin of Georgia Brown who in 1960 had created the role of Nancy on the London stage. 

The show’s second half profiles Bart’s decline. The fortune that he’d earned from his 60’s success having been squandered on drugs and partying – with perhaps the most heartbreaking revelation being that, in dire straits, Bart sold the rights to his catalogue royalties to Max Bygraves for a paltry £1,000 with Bygraves soon to sell them on for more than a million. Underlining the tragedy, Barr sings a plaintive Who Will Buy? that strips back the Oliver! classic to reveal a previously hidden pathos and reduces the audience to tears. Barr went on to relate that when Cameron Mackintosh re-staged Oliver! at the London Palladium in 1994, he generously cut Bart in for a share of the show's profits, as an act of sheer kindness. 

Bart also composed the title song for the Bond movie From Russia With Love. Famously recorded by Matt Monroe, there was a truly magical moment in the evening as Barr played the Monroe recording allowing it to seamlessly fade and segue into Barr himself taking over the number with musical director Noam Galperin picking up the melody.

The production wrapped up with a rousing Oliver! sung-along tribute from the full cast with Galperin’s band, who had been on immaculate form throughout, sending the audience on their way with toes tapping.

There is talk of the show taking a limited tour of the UK. Putting it simply - this has to happen. The gig may still be a little rough at the edges but nothing that can’t be sorted.

In the hands of John Barr, The Story of Bart is nothing short of sensational musical theatre.

Half A Sixpence - Review

Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester


****



New music and lyrics by George Stiles And Anthony Drewe
Original songs by David Heneker
Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh
Book by Julian Fellowes
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Devon-Elise Johnson and Charlie Stemp

Half A Sixpence headlines Chichester's summer season this year and with Cameron Mackintosh co-producing, it's a rather grand re-working of Beverley Cross and David Heneker's 1963 musical. The original numbers have been reworked by Stiles and Drewe with a few new songs added too, in what is a light-hearted and delightfully dated snapshot of the English class system and its social mores around the turn of the 20th century.

The show remains based on H.G.Wells' novel Kipps: The Story Of A Simple Soul but these days no respectable take on the Edwardian era would dare show its face without Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey's esteemed progenitor, popping up somewhere in its DNA. Fellowes has been dutifully hired to re-write the book and to be fair, he's made a decent fist of it. But with one eye perhaps on a transatlantic export/transfer and the potentially short attention spans of our American cousins, the storyline has been kept tissue-paper thin.

Set in coastal Kent, Arthur Kipps is a humble working class lad who falls in love with the equally lowly Ann Pornick. Upon inheriting a fortune he finds himself escalated to the “above-stairs” world, where a new romance emerges with the wealthy Helen Walsingham. Trials and tribulations follow, before an ultimate marriage to one of his paramours, all played out to a relentless moral backdrop that true love is more precious than material wealth. 

Originally a vehicle for the 1960's idol Tommy Steele who played Kipps, nearly every song featured his character and the reworked show upholds this premise. Charlie Stemp, an actor who has only played featured parts to date, is thrust into his first leading role and he shines. Fine in both movement and voice, Stemp is on stage virtually throughout and truly leads the cast. All of his songs are a delight, however the tender charm of his first half opener (the title song) along with the rumbustious romance of The One Who's Run Away which kicks off act two, display the range of the man's talents.

Devon-Elise Johnson's Ann is an Essex-infused delight. She was first reviewed on this site in 2013 where (as a supporting performer) her starring role potential was clearly visible even then. Johnson is a marriage of cockney charm alongside musical theatre excellence - a highlight being her take on Heneker's Long Ago, a beautifully reflective piece. 

As the quintessentially proper Helen, Emma Williams is, as ever, magnificent. Vocally gorgeous, Williams also offers the evening's briefest of dips into poignant pathos. Offered one of the newer songs to shine in, Believe In Yourself, throughout Williams re-asserts herself as one of the leading ladies of her generation.

Emma Williams and Charlie Stemp

Fresh from playing alongside Williams in Mrs Henderson Presents, Ian Bartholomew turns in a cracking cameo as Chitterlow a writer who more than loosely mirrors Wells himself. Bartholomew has the presence and panache to drive the role along with a particularly corny chapter of the narrative magnificently, bringing an overstated flamboyance that complements the show like a fizzing cocktail and is entirely in keeping with his character.

Downton enthusiasts will love the waspish sparking between dowagers Mrs Walsingham and Lady Punnet (Vivien Parry and Jane How respectively). Fellowes is no fool and has been wise to replicate the acid style of the TV series’ clashes between Maggie Smith/Penelope Wilton, which make for fine entertainment.

Stiles and Drewe's input is a curate's egg. Their contributions to (a lengthy) act one don't compare well to Heneker's original numbers of 50 years ago and if one or two of those compositions were dropped it would be no bad thing. However, after the break, their work is revelatory. Their song Pick Out A Simple Tune is the closest thing to a showstopper seen in new musical theatre writing, offering an anarchic beauty (largely fuelled by Andrew Wright's outstanding choreography) that as each new verse and key-change reveals itself, leaves one wishing the song would never end. It really is that good!

Rachel Kavanaugh's direction is masterful, playing her company well on the concentric revolves of Paul Brown's set. Truly charming, Half A Sixpence is flawlessly performed and well worth a seaside jaunt to Chichester.

Runs until 3rd September
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Les Miserables - Review

Queens Theatre, London 


*****

PROLOGUE 

It has been a while since I'd last seen Les Miserables in the West End, but every now and then a show’s casting proves so irresistible that it cries out to be seen again. 

Firstly, there is the wonderful Carrie Hope-Fletcher's take on Eponine. Having seen Carrie perform at a couple of concert events I had long hankered after catching her acclaimed interpretation first hand. And then there’s Rachelle Ann Go’s Fantine. I’d adored her Movie In My Mind in Miss Saigon, but on hearing Rachelle sing I Dreamed A Dream at Hugh Maynard’s Hippodrome gig a few months ago, she simply set spines tingling.  

However, both of those yearnings were eclipsed by the announcement, earlier this year, that Phil Daniels was to play musical theatre’s ultimate scum-meister, taking over as M. Thenardier. 

Virtually a national treasure, Daniels etched himself into the nation’s psyche in the 70s and 80s. Along with a youthful Ray Winstone he offered a brutal perspective on British borstal life in Alan Clarke’s controversial movie, Scum – if you haven’t seen that picture, download it and find out why Winstone has been known forever since as The Daddy. And from then on, including The Who's iconic Quadrophenia and later film and stage performances, Daniels’ work has been nothing sort of exceptional. 

And so it was, that with this cast, Les Mis moved back on to my “unmissable” list…

REVIEW

Author/Dramatist ALAIN BOUBLIL
Book & Music CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG
Lyricist HERBERT KRETZMER
Adaptation & Direction TREVOR NUNN
Adaptation & Direction JOHN CAIRD

Les Miserables has long impressed me, not just for having such a stirring libretto, but also for the cheekily economic creativity of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg that was able to hang quite so many different songs on just a handful of (oft repeated) melodies! Herbert Kretzmer deserves handsome credit for the lyrics. Kretzmer has compressed Victor Hugo's panoramic vision of 19th century France into 3 hours of sung-through genius, with a wit and nuance perfectly tailored to the modern idiom.

On the night of this review Adam Bayjou was standing in for Peter Lockyer as the eponymous ex-con Jean Valjean. Youthful but nonetheless assured, Bayjou mastered the gravitas of driving the show, stirring and inspirational as needed and touching souls with an exquisite Bring Him Home.

Hunting him across the years is Jeremy Secomb's Javert. Secomb, with the full built frame of a cop, pound for pound probably outweighs the more diminutive Bayjou whose lifting of both cart and carcass through the show as required defies probability. Secomb though brings just the right amount of dour, booted, gravitas to the lugubrious lawman including a thrilling delivery of Stars. And as Javert grapples with Valjean's divine mercy that he simply cannot comprehend, this talented actor displays a truly tortured soul. 

There can never be a great deal to write about Fantine, perhaps one of theatre's most underwritten leading ladies, but Rachelle Ann Go carries the pride of the Philippines with her as she re-defines the role, making I Dreamed A Dream truly her own.

Carrie Hope-Fletcher's Eponine must surely have proved an inspired casting over the last couple of years. She embodies her character's sincerity with beauty, coquettish charm and a voice of amazingly youthful power. And as her coat falls open to reveal that bloodstained blouse, even seeing the show for the umpteenth time one can't hold back the tears. For Hope-Fletcher her Les Mis time is running out and one looks forward to see how her talents will next be deployed.

Perhaps the toughest roles in the show are those of Cosette and Marius - their love is sincere, but where Eponine is endowed with a tragically romantic death, these youngsters see their finale wedding overshadowed first by the Thenardiers' thievery and then Valjean's demise. Tough gigs indeed, but Zoe Doano, as ever, defines enchanting as she falls for her handsome student, filling the role with a passionate credibility and a celestial voice. And if Rob Houchen's Marius is a slightly understated gem, at least it’s well polished.

And then there's Katie Secombe and Phil Daniels as the ghastly Thenardiers. The pair's timing, acting and song are a masterclass in bitter-sweet grotesque. Blessed with comedy in her genes Secombe's Mme T is every inch a Lady Macbeth of her time, keeping her performance just the right side of pantomime. Daniels simply lives up to expectations. With his park life voice that’s been dredged from somewhere east of Tilbury, Daniels defines the red-nosed brigand perfectly. It will take some double act to match this monstrous couple.

Above all, the credit for Les Mis' continued excellence has to lie with its producer. Cameron Mackintosh may have elevated this particular show to the level of a global franchise - but he's never sacrificed a moment of its quality, Amidst John Napier’s ever revolving designs, the show’s details remain finely honed. And whether it is (simply by way of example) Adam Pearce's immaculate multi-role ensemble work, or Alex Parker's pinpoint musical direction, Les Miserables remains an example of world class excellence.

Now booking into 2016

Hugh Maynard - Something Inside So Strong - Concert Review

London Hippodrome

***** 

Hugh Maynard - inset Rachelle Ann Go and Kwang-Ho Hong

Every now and then a gig comes along that not only marks a performer's talent, but also evidences their status in the industry and even more rarely, a remarkable generosity of spirit. So it is with Hugh Maynard, currently playing John in the West End’s revived Miss Saigon, who on the night he launched his debut solo album Something Inside So Strong not only sang sensationally but also chose to share his stage with a talented corps of Miss Saigon colleagues. It all made for a memorable night at the Hippodrome.

In front of his 5-piece band (MD Liam Holms) and on his own Maynard sparkled, covering Seal’s Kiss From A Rose in a distinctly fresh interpretation that still retained a hint of the writer’s hallmark edgy tenderness. When A Man Loves A Woman offered a further glimpse of the controlled power of Maynard’s belt, whilst in a disarmingly brave choice for a fella, his take on Brenda Russell’s Get Here (a smash hit for Oleta Adams) showed the full range of his tenor magnificence.

Maynard’s big number in the Boublil and Schoenberg epic is Bui Doi, an impassioned plea on behalf of Vietnam’s “dust of life” kids, the mixed-race progeny fathered by long absent GIs. A neat twist saw a 7-strong ensemble of Miss Saigon’s finest give a stunning, cheeky twist on the number, referring to the "spice of life" and sung a-capella no less, conducted by Maynard and gloriously led by the show’s Carolyn Maitland.

Making the short trip from the Prince Edward Theatre to guest for Maynard, his featured colleagues Rachelle Ann Go and Kwang-Ho Hong both sung solos from Les Miserables. Each famous in SE Asia, both guests offered proof, if any was needed, of Cameron Mackintosh’s ability to source talent from across the globe. Hong’s Bring Him Home along with Go’s I Dreamed A Dream set spines-tingling. Their song  choices may have been well worn favourites yet each electrified the Hippodrome crowd before going on to duet with their host. 

One night was not enough and Hugh Maynard needs to return to the cabaret stage soon. Until then he remains a living reminder of the excellence to be found in London’s musical theatre today.

John Owen-Jones - In Cabaret At The Hippodrome, London

Hippodrome, London

****

John Owen-Jones giving it everything at the Hippodrome

For over 15 years John Owen-Jones name has been inextricably linked with those two Cameron Mackintosh behemoths, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Very few can match the combined performance count of the youngest ever Jean Valjean and the longest running West End Phantom.

So it is perhaps unsurprising that his cabaret evening at the Hippodrome centred around his Mackintosh years, both in terms of song choices and in repartee with the audience, in which he revealed his (feigned) animosity for the ‘younger, better looking’ Ramin Karimloo. Backed by an excellent seven piece band under musical director John Quirk, we were treated to ‘Music of the Night’, ‘Bring Him Home’, a fine rendition of ‘Til I Hear You Sing’ - Love Never Dies’ stand out song – and the recent addition to the Les Mis songlist, ‘Suddenly’. And the epic musical theatre anthems didn’t end there, with ‘This is the Moment’ and ‘Anthem’ also getting outings. It is easy, I suppose, to be sniffy at such a list of over-performed classics, but it was clear that this was what the audience had come to hear, and very few people can sing them better than Owen-Jones. 

It did mean, however, that there was a slightly relentless quality to much of the evening which wasn’t helped by how loudly both singer and band were miked for the relatively small room. Owen-Jones has a wonderful, powerful voice, and he could have been miked a quarter less loud and still easily have carried above the band. It may have been giving the audience what they wanted, but at times one was left wishing for an introspective moment, if only to give the ear drums a rest!

And in fact, what introspective moments there were, were very lovely. Queen’s ‘Love of My Life’ (accompanied only by a solo guitar), the Bacharach-esque ‘Dangling’ by Maury Yeston, and Joe Cocker’s ‘You Are So Beautiful’ were all beautifully sung highlights. 

Aside from his years on the West End, the one other key influence on the night was made clear the moment he opened his mouth to speak: ‘In case you don’t know…I’m Welsh!’ he cheerfully announced. And easily the best moments of the night were the two songs from the back catalogue of his great hero, Tom Jones. Both ‘Thunderball’ and ‘Delilah’ were delivered with such a joyous relish and vocal power that suddenly the sound levels felt exactly right. Relentless it may have been at times, but when the singing is that good, who’s complaining?

John Owen-Jones - Profile Of A Star

John Owen-Jones

As John Owen-Jones brings his first ever solo cabaret to the West End this week, I took the opportunity to grab a coffee with one of musical theatre’s leading men and to find out a little more about the talented Welsh tenor. With more appearances under his belt (or mask) than any other Phantom and having performed Jean Valjean on both sides of the Atlantic, Owen-Jones occupies a respected and lofty viewpoint from which to comment upon theatre today, as well as to offer some choice reflections upon his career to date.

There’s a hint of romantic good luck that surrounded his early days in the business. Leaving the (as was) Central School of Speech and Drama in 1994 Owen-Jones was the only actor to graduate without having secured an agent. What followed however was that rare turn of events that saw his exceptional abilities combine with some remarkable moments of good fortune. After an initial couple of roles in Yorkshire, an ensemble part in the West End’s Les Miserables swiftly followed, that in turn led to an invitation to join the National Theatre company to play the Liebeslieder in Sean Mathias’ acclaimed A Little Night Music. The stellar cast of the National production included Judi Dench as Desiree Armfeldt (her reprisal of the show’s Send In The Clowns being one of the highlights of the RNT’s recent 50 year anniversary celebration) and Owen-Jones valued the opportunity to work in a leading theatre company alongside industry greats. He observes however how cossetted the subsidised NT’s rehearsal process was, or is, in contrast to the harsher regime that faces commercially staged productions.

As well as offering him a chance to work close up with Stephen Sondheim, his stint at the National saw him well placed to be pitched into a return to Les Mis when his South Bank time was up. Working back at the Palace Theatre and cast in the minor roles of Factory Foreman and Grantaire as well as First Cover Valjean, a terrible road accident rendered Phil Cavill (the incumbent Valjean) out of action. Owen-Jones was called to step up to the part, Cameron Mackintosh was impressed and almost immediately the young Welshman was cast as the youngest Valjean in the show’s history. Owen-Jones reflects even today upon how it was due to Cavill’s misfortune that he was catapulted into stardom, sanguinely acknowledging that one has to grab opportunities as they arise.

From Les Mis, Owen-Jones was put up for auditions for Phantom Of The Opera and whilst he was expecting to be cast in the modest role of Piangi and auditioning against John Barrowman, he was surprised to be offered the lead. There began an association with Lloyd Webber’s gothic, tragic anti-hero that was to last for almost 12 years. It was a part that Owen-Jones loved, though whilst he acknowledges that he could one day be tempted back to Cameron Mackintosh’s barricades, (maybe as Javert?) his days in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera are on hold. Married (to a schoolteacher) and with children of 10 and 12, Owen-Jones found the demands of a lengthy Phantom tour conflicted with family life, convincing him to hang up that particular mask for a while.

Owen-Jones as the eponymous Phantom

Aside from Phantom, recent years have seen the performer promote his international reputation and indeed our coffee had been held up as he negotiatied some complexities with Japan. With two solo albums under his belt, he has also worked with fellow Phantom Earl Carpenter and an original Christine, Rebecca Caine in creating the touring Three Phantoms, a concert of show-tunes that spans the years but nonetheless retains a re-assuring bias towards the modern day triumphs of Les Mis and Phantom. Seeing Owen-Jones perform in the Three Phantoms in Cardiff a couple of years ago was a treat. His evident pride in his local roots and the returned warmth shouted back at him from the crowd was a joy to witness. Owen-Jones has a comfortably relaxed air in concert and cabaret, the assuredness of man who is both excellent at his craft yet one who is profoundly aware of that excellence with, a confidence that is as modest as it is talented. In a business often crowded out by oversized egos, his is a humility rarely encountered.

Keeping in touch with modern developments on stage, Owen-Jones speaks in awe of the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin and refers to his kids (who not surprisingly have already seen a fair amount of musical theatre!) as having sat through the show “open-mouthed” in amazement. He wonders though if there is a talent-base broad enough on this side of the Atlantic that could see the show, famed for its combination of breathtaking circus skills alongside outstanding song and dance, successfully open in London. He loved I Can’t Sing!, though acknowledges that the show’s tunes were not memorable and that whilst he and his wife were crying with laughter, his kids were baffled by it. Supporting lesser known writers too, Owen-Jones has sung twice with New York composer Scott Alan in the American’s recent London gigs, once at the O2 and more recently at the London Hippodrome, engendering a warm respect between the two men, with Alan speaking warmly of his admiration for the performer, not just as an outstanding vocalist but also as a kind and compassionate man.

A spectacularly open individual, with much sage comment upon both his colleagues and the business, much of what Owen-Jones had to say had either a frankness or an irreverence that demanded that it remains off record. Unquestionably a star of the modern stage, his erudite observations on the entertainment world are the thoughts of an individual who will not suffer fools, yet commands an air of relaxed gravitas. There is not a hint of arrogance to Owen-Jones at all, just quiet, outstanding ability.

It is to the Hippodrome that Owen-Jones returns this Saturday night. With a set list that bears a nod to Joe Cocker and Tom Jones, as well as signature tunes Bring Him Home and Music Of The Night, the evening’s patter is likely to be as revelatory as the songs will be sparkling. Almost sold-out, a few tickets still remain for what is sure to be one of the capital’s most exciting cabarets this summer.

John performs in the Matcham Room at the London Hippodrome on Saturday 21st June

For tickets, visit www.hippodromecasino.com/whatson/john-owen-jones-in-concert/

Miss Saigon

Prince Edward Theatre, London

****

Book and lyrics by Alain Boublil

Concept, book and music by Claude Michel Schonberg

Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jnr

Additional lyrics by Michael Mahler

Directed by Laurence Connor

Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer

Cameron Mackintosh is the consummate showman. His re-launch of Miss Saigon, some 25 years after it first landed on a London stage has already recouped its reported £4.5million investment and it appears that not a penny has been wasted. His excellent cast is large and immaculately rehearsed, whilst the design and technical wizardry of his creative team is further evidence of the capital's world class reputation in stagecraft. 

The show re-works Puccini’s classic tale from Madam Butterfly, setting it amongst the melee of the fall of Saigon in 1975, and introducing The Engineer, an (anti) hero Eurasian pimp and one of the finest characters to be written for musical theatre in recent years. A man whose only loyalty is to himself and to whom knowing and exploiting the weaknesses of all men is second nature, he dreams of a new life in the USA. His portrayal in this production by US actor Jon Jon Briones is a revelation. Briones holds the audience in the palm of his hand throughout, with his act two showstopper The American Dream being a glorious comment upon Western greed and cynicism. 

Eva Noblezada plays Kim, the virginal Saigon bar girl caught up in a whirlwind romance with GI Chris, and who falls pregnant just as her lover is flown out of Vietnam with the US withdrawal. Noblezada, who incredibly is making her professional stage debut in the role, is gorgeously convincing and fabulously voiced as she evolves from timid country girl to fiercely protective mother. Her character’s story is not as striking as her performance however and there is too much of her journey that is clichéd melodrama, with plotlines that defy credibility. 

The beauty of this show though lies in its staging and in the talent that Mackintosh has assembled on one stage. Bob Avian’s original choreography has been re-worked and the clarity of his vision is no better demonstrated than in the phenomenal routines of a flag waving communist army in act one’s The Morning Of The Dragon, contrasted with the dollar-bill and Cadillac extravaganza of the second half’s The American Dream, both numbers being sensational. Amidst much (occasionally tiresome) musical motif repetition, other tunes stand out, notably The Movie In My Mind, sung by Kim and fellow bargirl GiGi a perceptive performance from Rachelle Ann Go,  whose plaintive lyrics speak too of the dream to flee their Saigon poverty and build a new life in the USA, the land of the movies.If The Engineer is the show’s best creation, then this number is arguably one of its best songs.

Miss Saigon also bears a nod to the legacy of the Bui Doi, the mixed-race kids that feckless GIs left behind. Act two opens with Bui Doi, an anthemic number that champions these youngsters’ cause and in which, 25 years ago, John played by Peter Polycarpou broke hearts at Drury Lane as he sang. Today’s John is played by Hugh Maynard and the song is a disappointing rush, set to a beat that is at odds with the melody’s pulse. As with Boublil and Schonberg's Les Miserables, the entire production is set to music, with nearly every line of dialog in rhyme which often proves a naïve distraction. Along with the 2 minute gimmick of an on-stage helicopter these are a reminder of just how far audience expectations have grown over the last two decades. Gimmicks are out and strong songs are in – hence the rise of the juke box musical across both Broadway and the West End. Audiences want to tap their feet.

Immaculate to look at for sure, no doubt Miss Saigon will provide employment for many and will also channel much tourist wealth into both the London economy and the (deserving) coffers of Mackintosh whose philanthropic support of musical theatre is nothing short of remarkable. It’s not a must see by any means, but it is undoubtedly one hell of a show!

Booking until 2015

Frances Ruffelle - Paris Original

Crazy Coqs, London

*****

“You can’t have too much of a good thing” is the phrase and Frances Ruffelle is the proof. Barely four months after selling out London’s Crazy Coqs, she’s back with her Paris Original set and yet again the tickets are gold dust. Ruffelle believes in giving her audiences value for money and for the best part of two hours, with a five piece band and at least four costume changes, to say nothing of a set that smoothly links from jazz to rock to iconic Piaf with a sprinkling of musical theatre classics for good measure, she does just that.

Throughout, Ruffelle sparkles with an impertinent brilliance. Embodying the entente cordiale and opening with the ethereal romance of Un Homme et Une Femme, Ruffelle sets a coquettish style that’s simply way out of President Francois Hollande’s league. Her knowledge of Parisian culture and colloquialisms are a delight and whilst some of the Parisian connections to her material may be obscure, it doesn’t really matter. That her song selection includes segued nods to Boublil and Schonberg as well as Paul Simon and The Clash gives but a hint of her glorious un-conventionality and when talented daughter Eliza Doolittle sings a beautifully understated Chanson D’Amour, perched on a stool by the bar, it simply proves that every now and then even perfection can be improved upon. The young pop-star (who had loaned her mother some heels for the show!) did not upstage Ruffelle in the slightest and the kiss blown from mother to child after the cameo slot was fondly appropriate yet bursting with loving pride. 

The Piaf moments continue to wow and with schoolboy soprano Cole Emsley reprising his Jimmy Brown, Ruffelle’s sublime Non Je Ne Regrette Rien and Hymn To Love (the audition piece that won her the chance to create Eponine on stage), tears flow. There has been talk of Ruffelle’s 2013 Piaf touring, though in the turbulent world of theatre finance this has yet to be arranged. With the singer packing out the Crazy Coqs so emphatically, producers need to wake up. Frances Ruffelle attracts theatrical royalty (even Sir Cameron Mackintosh had brought his mum) and in front of such a star-studded audience Ben Atkinson’s musical direction and Romano Viazzani’s accordion grace the moment perfectly. 

Whilst this week may be sold out, Ruffelle can be seen on stage later this month in new musical The A-Z Of Mrs P that opens at the Southwark Playhouse. She only knows excellence in performance so its likely to be an outstanding show. 

Runs until 8th February and sold out. Contact the venue for returns.

The Witches of Eastwick

Watermill Theatre, Newbury

*****
Based on the novel by John Updike
Book and lyrics by John Dempsey
Music by Dana P Rowe
Directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood

Alex Bourne (lucky devil) with l-r Poppy Tierney, Joanna Hickman and Tiffany Graves

Driving along the M4 through a horrendous storm, a vivid streak of forked lightning over Newbury suggests a good omen for the opening night of Craig Revel Horwood’s take on The Witches Of Eastwick. And indeed on approaching the Watermill Theatre, set as its name suggests amongst some of Berkshire’s finest wetlands, the evening was to prove an enchanting first commercial revival of the show in five years.

An initial visit to The Watermill finds the auditorium surprisingly small for such a regional centre of excellence, yet the stage is designed thoughtfully and with an attention to detail that smacks of outstanding production values notwithstanding the budgetary restrictions that are probably imposed upon such a modest venue. Actually, “outstanding” is the one word that sums up this show.

Revel Horwood is a gifted director, not only for the movement and choreography he envisions, but more importantly for the performances that he coaxes from all of his talented cast. The three leading ladies are Tiffany Graves, Poppy Tierney and Joanna Hickman, all accomplished actresses who not only bring depth and nuance to each of the women they portray, but also excellence in their acting and vocal work. The story is pure comic-book fiction, yet each actress portrays her two dimensional character with canny three dimensional depth. Billed as a musical comedy, these performers work their seductive skills upon the entire audience and in an unashamedly sexual staging, Revel Horwood extracts performances from his Witches that lustfully sizzle, yet remain on the right side of decency throughout the show, just. The act two opener, Another Night At Darryl’s, led by a smouldering Tierney as sculptress Alexandra, with its suggestions of mud wrestling as the three women daub each other with her wet clay, has to be seen to be believed. Similarly with Sukie Rougemont's (played by Graves) steamy act one number Words. The song is a singer's minefield, demanding fast and complex lyrics to be delivered whilst Sukie is being seduced and made love to. Graves nails it.

Joanna Hickman fiddles furiously as Alex Bourne seductively strums

Three witches of this calibre demand a devil that is up to their strong characters and Alex Bourne’s Darryl van Horne is perfectly cast. In a show where the performers are all required to play an instrument, (a delightfully long-established economic policy of The Watermill) Bourne’s sex fuelled rebel naturally plays the electric guitar. The actor brings perfect gravitas and presence to van Horne and his Dance With The Devil is but one example of a performance that will please many women in the audience.

The baddy of the piece is local townswoman Felicia Gabriel. It is usually wrong to compare castings from different productions, but let’s make an exception. Rosemary Ashe who created this harridan at Drury Lane in 2000 reprises her monstrous character and like a fine Scotch whisky, she has wonderfully matured over the years. When early on in the show an indignant Felicia proclaims “I am Eastwick”, Ashe aint kidding!

Rosemary Ashe leads the (washing) line in the wonderful Dirty Laundry ensemble number

Licensed by Cameron Mackintosh, this show represents by far and away the best musical revival to be staged out of town this summer and the producers would do well to consider how its glorious spirit can be transferred to London come the autumn.

The ingenious effects of Revel Horwood's staging are not smoke and mirrors. Close up, we can all see how everything’s done, but for once, that really doesn’t matter. The magic of this show lies not in its special effects, but rather in the crafted talent and beauty that Revel Horwood has inspired his entire company to deliver. You won’t see a better cast this year.

Runs until 14 September 2013. Booking details here

To read my profile of composer Dana P. Rowe, click here

Barnum

Festival Theatre, Chichester

***

Music by Cy Coleman

Lyrics by Michael Stewart

Book by Mark Bramble

In a Revised Version by Cameron Mackintosh and Mark Bramble

Directed by Timothy Sheader

This review was first published in The Public Reviews.

There has rarely been a venue more site specific than the sumptuous Big Top that Chichester Festival Theatre have erected to stage their 2013 season’s flagship show, Barnum, the Coleman and Stewart take on America’s 19th century circus legend who came up with The Greatest Show On Earth.

The tent is stylish, air conditioned and comfortable. A pre-show read of the thoughtfully designed programme finds praise heaped upon producer (and co-reviser of the book) Cameron Mackintosh and numerous references to Jim Dale who created the role on Broadway in 1980 (though strangely, for such a thoroughly historical essay by book writer Mark Bramble, no mention of Michael Crawford who was to premiere the role in London one year later). So before the lights go down, expectations are set to high.

The opening movements of both acts are spine-tingling with suggestions of spectacle along with company work that is superb. These wow moments however turn out to be rare and short lived. Leading man Christopher Fitzgerald is an American actor of excellent drama pedigree and gifted with extraordinary credentials in movement and circus abilities that include the famous tightrope walk that closes the first half. But as a musical theatre Leading Man he struggles. His voice, albeit melodic and tuneful lacks punch and presence and fails to expand to fill the cavernous tent. In Museum Song, arguably one of the toughest lyrical tongue twisters penned, speeding up scarily through the stanzas, the final verse written to be sung at ridiculous speed has Fitgerald blurring, slurring and crashing his words. His character has a line in the song Black And White “Nobody does show-business better than me”. Sadly, not here and not now. Whilst that adage could even recently have been applied to Mackintosh, the legendary producer who certainly knows what makes for a stunning image has apparently lost his casting mojo. Technical improvements are required too. Sat in Row U, some big-number lyrics are barely audible, whilst the lighting plots often leave dancing members of the ensemble in virtual darkness.

Tamsin Carroll is an adequate Chairy Barnum in perhaps one of the weakest roles for a female lead in the canon, though Aretha Ayeh’s Joice Heth and Anna O’Byrne’s Jenny Lind both deliver performances that are as vocally magnificent as they are entertaining to watch. It’s a shame that both their cameos are so modest. Credit too to Adam Rowe’s 15 piece band, heavy on the brass, whose work is a treat throughout. 

The real star of this show though is the company. Sheader together with co-choreographers Liam Steel and Andrew Wright have extracted brilliance in the ensemble’s dance and movement. The footwork is impressive with an amazing routine in Thank God I’m Old and a finale that dazzles with circus skills and flying people. It would have been lovely to have seen more circus themed direction throughout, especially during the tedious dialogues between Barnum and Chairy that cry out for more pizazz.

Mackintosh is unquestionably one of the world’s greatest showmen, but on this showing he’s humbugged the good people of Chichester.

Runs to August 31 2013

Maria Friedman Sings Lenny & Steve

The Pheasantry, London

****

Maria Friedman

Maria Friedman makes a welcome return to the intimacy of a London cabaret run in this her first ever residency at Chelsea's Pheasantry.

The Lenny and Steve are of course Bernstein and Sondheim, the latter of whom has established a relationship of renowned mutual respect with Ms Friedman. Having now tackled most of Sondheim's leading female roles, the ease with which this honey-voiced singer extracts feeling and nuance from the often complex numbers defines her almost innate connection with the material

Both the writers are of course indelibly linked with New York and so Friedman’s  opening song, What More Do I Need, from Saturday Night, is a loving tribute to the Big Apple. Its brash melodies evoke the noise and buzz of the city and who other than Sondheim could write the line “A two ton child running wild upstairs” to cleverly capture the apartment/tenement style of Manhattan life. Segueing seamlessly into Company’s Another 100 People, the New York tone of her set was sealed.

100 Easy Ways To Lose A Man saw the singer’s funny side and her ability to work the wit of Bernstein’s lyrics was assured, providing one of the evening’s many masterclasses in acting through song. The respect that Friedman commands within her industry was underlined with her anecdotal tale of Cameron Mackintosh asking her to perform a set of songs, each selected from the works of Sondheim, Boublil & Schonberg, Lloyd-Webber etc at his recent birthday celebrations, and in the presence of these esteemed composers who would all be guests at the party. The tale was honest and amusing, and for all Friedman’s modest self-deprecation, one suspects that she astounded.

A mark of the diva's steel was her interrupting her (beautiful) interpretation of Being Alive, to request that an elderly front row diner kindly put his cutlery down until the song was over. The song was indeed sublime, and she courteously kissed hands with the hungry fan at its conclusion, but her focus and resolve in that episode provided a glimpse of the standards that she sets herself. Jason Carr on piano provided accomplished accompaniment throughout and it was evident how comfortable these two performers are in working with each other.

Losing My Mind was another soulful yet searing performance, whilst Send In The Clowns was given a moving and respectful interpretation, that was greeted with almost hushed reverence by the packed audience.

Make sure to cheer for an encore. She gave two on her opening night with an at times singalong Officer Krupke that was riotously brilliant. That she was battling and conquering a throat infection made her performance all the more remarkable and when she shakes the virus off, the remainder of her gigs (book NOW, some are already sold out) will provide simply stellar interpretations of these wonderful songs.

In residence to March 10 2013