Review: COME FROM AWAY (UK Tour) @ Grand, Wolverhampton

 

Tragedy on the scale on 9/11 isn't immediately the starting point for a musical you would think.  But from the terrible events that unfurled on that day came humanitarian actions that almost harks back to the World War years. For one community in Newfoundland (Canada), the closure of the sky lanes above America would signal the arrival of 38 planes which were grounded and packed full of people from around the world, with no idea when they might be able to fly again.

This show by Irene Sarkoff and David Heim (who provide book, music and lyrics) takes the testimonies of the people on the 38 planes with the Newfoundlanders and weaves them into something brilliant.  An evening exploring the human condition of 7,000 passengers who found themselves frightened, lost and grieving in a place they probably never even  knew existed until the planes touched down on a long underused airport serving the remote communities of Newfoundland.  The show also celebrates the unswerving kindness and devotion of the communities of Gander and surrounding hamlets who gave up their lives to look after the sudden influx of travellers from around the globe.  

Having spent four years in the West End,  this multi award winning show has hit the road for its first UK tour.  The Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton is packed to capacity to experience the 100 minute journey (no interval!) of passengers and townsfolk on that fateful day in 2001.  In the wrong hands, it could have been a downer of a show. But it's not.  Its moving and joyful and a celebration of life.  Each cast member plays multiple roles on a simple set in which tables and chairs are swiftly moved around to indicate various locations.  Sometimes simplicity is best,  and director Christopher Ashley superbly keeps the action moving along with barely a beat as tensions rise and friendships are formed.  The show doesn't shy away from the suspicion of anybody from the Arab nations during that dark time, but somehow through the dark a ray of light is always to be found.

The touring cast are each and every one superb. Sara Poyzer (last seen being brilliant in Mamma Mia!) as airline pilot Beverley almost steals the show with her big song "Me And The Sky",  Nicholas Pound keeps things grounded as the no nonsense Mayor of Gander and Bree Smith pulls at the heartstrings as Hannah, whose firefighter son is missing in New York whilst she is stranded. Mark Dugdale and Kevin Yates as the two Gay Kevins offer an alternative perspective on being out of their comfort zone in more ways than one, Amanda Henderson's Beulah meanwhile makes sure the animals onboard the plane have safe passage.

 Complimenting this amazing ensemble are a nine piece band under the direction of Andrew Corcoran,  they invest the celtic folk orientated score with a zest and tenderness that give the evening its backbone. Thankfully they get the chance to shine at the curtain call with a 'Screech Out' which reminds us that whatever is thrown at us, life is for living, and we must all make the most of everyday.

In my 45 years as a theatre goer, I don't think I can recall such a speedy standing ovation from every single member of a 1200 strong audience. As soon as the last note was played, the audience was on its feet. Thanks to the fine playing of the cast and band, we felt we had connected with the people in the show and been on their journey, shared their joys and sadness. It is what theatre does best. Brings us all together for a shared emotional experience.   

Come From Away has won many awards, and you can see and feel right here on this tour why that is.  It is a unique story that demonstrates that out of great evil can come the best of humanity.  We laughed. We cried. We leapt to our feet. Go see it.

Rob & Ian

 

Further listening:

It can only be the amazing Original Broadway Cast recording from 2017. Click on cover to take you to purchase links. The original production filmed live on Broadway can also be streamed via Apple TV.

Review: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (UK Tour) @ Regent, Stoke

 

Four-Fendered Fabulousness

There are certain movies which transcend generations, and are loved by all ages. The 1968 movie adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1964 novel is certainly one of them. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a beloved movie which first became a stage musical in 2002 at the London Palladium and has toured in various versions across the world since.

This latest touring production comes courtesy of David Ian and the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.  The colourful world of Caractacus Potts is deftly realised by designer Morgan Large with a versatile set which leaps from the rural home of Potts to the Scrumtious sweet factory to the fairground and the nation of Vulgaria. Each vista conjuring up the jollity and dark menace of the piece as required, and  complimented by Ben Cracknell's superb lighting.  Choreographer Karen Bruce and director Thom Sutherland make sure the large cast keep on their toes portraying a wide variety of factory workers and fairground folk, in this energetic telling.  The movie's score has been extended by Richard and Robert, the Sherman Brothers.  So we get all the favourites:  'Toot Sweets', 'Me Ol' Bambo',  'Hushabye Mountain', 'Truly Scrumptious', 'Chu-Chi Face' and of course that infernally catchy title song which won't leave your head the minute you hear it.  

 

Leading the tour is former Tap Dog and all round musical theatre veteran Adam Garcia as inventor Caracatacus Potts,  his gentle sway helps keep the show grounded amid all the outrageous personalities on display. He's a triple threat, and the perfect leading man for this show. At the performance we saw Hadrian Delacey stepped in to play Grandpa Potts and didn't put a step wrong all evening,  his old jokes and eccentric demeanour proved a winner with the audience.  So too the comedy henchmen Boris (Adam Stafford) and Goran (Michael Joseph) whose pantomime-esque antics as Vulgarian assassins were Music Hall gold. Ellie Nunn made for a very likeable Truly Scrumptious and possessed a lovely singing voice to boot.  The role of the creepy Childcatcher was taken by The Vivienne, one of the winners of RuPaul's Drag Race UK and a promising acting talent,  they took the role and mined it for the sinister and nightmarish presence that Robert Helpmann had established in the movie. There were plenty of boos at the curtain call, so a job well done!  Martin Callaghan and Jenny Gayner as the Baron and Baroness were another comic double act, well suited as the pair flirted and preened their way through life.

The 10 piece band under the supervision of MD Jessica Viner rose to the occasion magnificently, and belted out the Sherman's score with finesse. We were certainly humming along to those melodies from childhood, and like the rest of the audience we left the theatre with a big smile.

In an era where touring productions cut corners for financial returns, it is pleasing to see a show whose values are still firmly on quality. This 2024 touring version of Chitty is the real deal,  spectacular in every aspect. And then there is the car herself.  The real star of the evening. She has leapt off the movie screen and manifested herself before us. But does she really fly?  Buy a ticket and find out. In the words of the song: "What a happy time we'll spend!"  

Rob & Ian

 

Tour details can be found at the OFFICIAL CHITTY ON TOUR WEBSITE

Further listening:

The original London cast album from 2002 is our recommendation. Featuring Michael Ball, Anton Rogers, a young Carrie Hope-Fletcher, Brian Blessed, Nichola McAuliffe and Richard O'Brien.

Review: BECOMING NANCY @ Birmingham Rep (preview)

 

A brand new UK musical, especially from the pens of such established composers as Stiles and Drewe, is to be celebrated particularly when the subject deals with such complex issues as coming out and racism combined with  kitsch nostalgia for the 1970s. Terry Ronald's 2012 novel Becoming Nancy has become something of a cult hit, with its vivid characters portraying a world of light and shade.

 

For those who haven't read the book,  the year is 1979 and a school in East Dulwich has decided to put on a production of Oliver!, the Lional Bart Dickensian musical.  For 16 year old David Starr, this means dreams of stage stardom, convinced he is going to get the lead role of Fagin.  However, things don't work out like that.  He is given the role of Nancy, due to him being the best singer in the school and Nancy having the best song. Already bullied for being a 'pansy', David is coming to the realisation he is gay.  It is a painful process, a secret he tries to hide from his Mum and bullish Dad.  His best friend is the fiery Frances, a black girl who has her fair share of racial intollerance from the local bigots. Luckily the colourful drama teacher Hamish McClaronon takes David under this wing and guides him towards a hopeful triumph in the school production. Into the fray enter a new boy at the school, Maxie Boswell, impossibly good looking and athletic captain of the football team. He is cast opposite David as Bill Sikes.  A chemistry develops between the two, but what is it?  With the battle lines drawn with National Front supporter Jason Lancaster and cruel PE teacher Bob Lord, the term is not going to be an easy ride.

And that my friends is the starting point, for a wonderful journey of love and self discovery blighted by the right wing violence and bullying that were sadly a part of the 1970s. But this is a musical about hope and that is its key. The musical had its world premiere in Atlanta during 2019 but now finds itself on home territory for this amazing new production directed by theatre legend Jerry Mitchell, the man who propelled Kinky Boots, Hairspray and Legally Blonde to Broadway megastardom.

The score is mostly by George Styles (music)  and Anthony Drewe (lyrics),  however Elliot Davies (book) and original author Terry Ronald also have a hand in the songwriting credits, so it appears a real team effort.  There are so many bangers in the score that it should be served with a helping of mash,  every ballad and up tempo moment are ear-worms that you can take from the theatre.  This might just be the score that takes Stiles and Drewe from industry respect to global appreciation.

 

And what a cast the Birmingham Rep have served up for the shows British debut. Lead by Joseph Peacock as David Starr,  he has a wonderful voice as he proved in The Osmonds musical recently and finds the teenage angst within David with which we can all associate.  He is matched by Joseph Vella as the charismatic sporty Maxie,  they convey a chemistry which has us all rooting from them throughout the show.  But this is a very much an ensemble piece.  Paige Peddie as Frances Bassey, with her weariness at the treatment she gets from daily racism, is a tour de force.  She has the voice of a diva and transforms herself into Donna Summer in an instant for the big disco number 'Ready To Be Touched'.  Rebecca Trehearn (so brilliant in Andrew Lloyd Webber's troubled Cinderella) is David's Mum Kath.  Her solo number 'About Six Inches From Your Heart' is a showstopper.  David's supportive Aunt Val played by Genevieve Nicole is a straight talking, down to earth rock that we would all want as our aunt. She miraculously transforms herself into a other wordly Kate Bush when the script requires, proving Nicole's star quality. Her duet of lost loves (with Daisy Greenwood as David's would be girlfriend Abigail Henson) 'On The Night Bus' has a real pathos. Stephen Ashfield as Hamish McClarnon, David's mentor and friend,  is another accomplished performance as he flounces around directing Oliver! and generally steering events in the school. Mathew Craig as David's boorish Dad Eddie is a difficult role, but manages that fine line which gives the character depth and not just bluster.  I could go on naming outstanding performances, but the entire ensemble deliver faultlessly.  The music is delivered flawlessly by Musical Director Sarah Burrell and her four musicians,  going from disco to reggae and show ballad when required. They meet the demands of the score with ease.

 

Although only in preview when we saw the show,  we instantly decided it was a 'returner'.  That is to say we want to see it again.  Becoming Nancy has the ingredients of a hit: great songs, great performances and a story that touches the heart. It's a risk worth taking.

Rob and Ian

 

Show details can be found at the offical BECOMING NANCY WEBSITE

A 6 track EP of songs from the show performed by the 2024 cast is available on all major streaming and download services.

Becoming Nancy Songs (highlighed songs available on the EP):

ACT ONE

Welcome To The Beat Of My Heart

Becoming Nancy

Look At Them

You Do You

The Play's The Thing

I Don't Care

About Six Inches From Your Heart

Big Night Tonight

Move Along

Is This Something?

 ACT TWO

Abigail Henson

On The Night Bus

My Skin

Where Do We Go From Here?

Just For Today

Ready To Be Touched

The Risk

Have You Ever Had A Love Like This?

DAME MAGGIE SMITH (1934 - 2024) - A Tribute

The outpouring of public affection since the announcement of the passing of Dame Maggie Smith has been significant and heartfelt. Maggie, revered by her peers as much as her viewing public, somehow touched us deeply with her waspish comedic skills and also her ability to reach the very core of a character which would have us close to tears.  It was a rare skill honed playing opposite her friend Kenneth Williams and also the theatre greats such as Edith Evans and most significantly Sir Laurence Olivier, into whose original National Theatre company she was invited.

With a career that started in 1952, we have had an incredible 70 years of brilliant performances on stage and screen.  Her stage appearances - mostly lost to time with no recordings available - are the stuff of theatre legend.  I myself was lucky to see the Dame several times giving breathtaking performances of comedy and tragedy.  The first occasion was in 1993 when she accepted the iconic role of Lady Bracknell in The Importance Of Being Earnest at the Aldwych Theatre. A dazzling display of looks and gestures made her instantly a harridan without having to go over the top with the role, and in the process raising gales of laughter from the audience by the merest gesticulation or glare. (Incidentally working with Maggie in this play was described as "the worst experience I've ever had in the business" by Richard E. Grant - Maggie could be formidable off stage as well.)  Later I saw her in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women and A Delicate Balance,  Alan Bennett's Talking Heads and The Lady In The Van and opposite fellow Dame Judi Dench, in David Hare's The Breath Of Life.  Masterclasses in stage performances.  I met the Dame several times at stage doors,  she was much as I expected friendly but slightly aloof.  She always had the aura of someone who stood outside the usual celebrity circus.  Celebrity was for lesser mortals.

DMS as Lady Bracknell in The Importance Of Being Earnest (1993)

 Dame Maggie's screen career started in 1955 with an appearance on the BBC's Sunday Night Theatre and from there moved into movies (1958's Nowhere To Go marked her first significant big screen role) and eventually reached the stratosphere as an Hollywood A-lister.   Her two Best Actress Oscars demonstrated her command of the big screen.  Her flouncy and fascist brainwashing of young girls in The Prime Of  Miss Jean Brodie shows both sides of the Smith arsenal: comedy and drama. The irony of winning an Oscar playing an actress nominated for an Oscar in 1978's California Suite was not lost on anyone,  Maggie's backbiting with her on screen husband played by Michael Caine is screen magic.  There are so many performances that rate a mention:  her lovelorn Miss Mead in the The VIPs (1963) trying to protect her employer (Rod Taylor) with whom she is secretly in love,  haughty social climber Joyce Chilvers forced to aquire a black market pig due to post-war rationing in Alan Bennett's magnificent  A Private Function (1984) and her scene stealing Constance Trentham in Julian Fellows' Gosford Park (2001),  a prototype for her role as the Lady Grantham in the phenomenon that is Downton Abbey (2010 - 2022).

For students of Dame Maggie Smith, wishing to enjoy her range and her power on screen,  I have a recommended list of five screen appearances that perhaps you might go and search out in tribute to Maggie and all she brought to drama and comedy throughout her career.

THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE (1969)

 

Maggie's first Oscar win and a blazing performance of manipulation and folly. Although Maggie employs her full comic arsenal as teacher Jean Brodie in 1930s Edinburgh, it is her chilling romanticising of the Fascist movement that is at the heart of the movie. Playing opposite her then real life husband Robert Stephens as the art teacher Teddy Lloyd with whom she is having an affair,  Jean's cosy world is brought to a halt when her loyal pupil Sandy spills the beans about the lessons leading to the final showdown with Celia Johnson.  Maggie Smith's command of the screen has never been greater,  and although some critics felt Maggie's comedy dilutes her politicial teachings, it does show how charismatic Jean Brodie is that her girls will follow her every word. 

 

THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE (1987)

 

For my money perhaps Maggie's greatest screen performance is as the Irish spinster Judith Hearne,  forced by circumstance to live in a run down boarding house run by Mrs. Rice and her troublesome layabout son Bernard.  Its here Judith meets Rice's brother James Madden (Bob Hoskins),  back from America with tales of high living and investment opportunities.  He comes to believe Miss Hearne may have some money to invest in his American diner fantasies.  Maggie's study of the introverted Judith Hearne, who longs for romance and is easy prey for the fast talking Madden,  tugs at the heartstrings.  Its a perfect study of longing and dreams,  and of course when things take a turn for the worse it is devastating to Miss Hearne as her gentle romance with Madden is the one thing that is stopping her from sinking.  Its hard to concieve that Maggie was never nominated for an Oscar for this role,  as the film company (struggling with mounting debts) simply forgot to enter the movie for consideration by the Oscar panel. If there is one Maggie Smith performance I could keep with me, it would be this one.

TALKING HEADS:  BED AMONG THE LENTILS (1988)

 Alan Bennett's celebrated series of monologues under the umbrella title of Talking Heads have become televison classics.  No more so than this entry for Maggie Smith as vicars wife Susan who is tired of the "fan club" as she calls them,  a group of devoted church goers who worship her husband Geoffrey as much as the Almighty.  To ease her burden, she takes to the bottle and is found buying wine at a grocers run by a young Asian named Ramesh.  It turns into an unlikely affair.  Maggie's weary performance hits every beat spot on,  all of Bennett's little comedic gems are given full utterance as Susan's tragic tale unfolds.  The quiet calm when it is revealed Susan's alcoholism has been cured thanks to her husband and Church circle (so they think) is unrelentingly bleak.  A truly brilliant search of the human condition.

 SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER (1993)

An adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play set in the deep south of America, 1936.  Maggie plays matriach Violet Venable whose son Sebastian is killed on a trip to Spain.  Sebastian's cousin Catherine arrives at the villa with the shocking story of how Sebastian met his fate, and Violet tries to get the doctor to perform a lobotomy in order to stop her telling her story.  Sebastian was a predatory homosexual who used Catherine to procure his victims, and fell foul of a grizzly fate.  Violet will stop at nothing to stop this story getting out.  Maggie is surrounded by a top notch cast in Richard Eyre's classy BBC production - Natasha Richardson as Catherine, Rob Lowe and Richard E. Grant all fawn around Violet as she spits fire against her neice. Maggie's southern drawl finds the dragon in the ailing Violet and it is a fascinating portrait of a deluded woman protecting the reputation of her only off spring. 

 

THE LADY IN THE VAN (2015) 

Maggie had played Alan Bennett's celebrated anti hero, the tramp lady Miss Shepherd in the 1999 West End stage production.  It took a further sixteen years before the director Nicholas Hytner and Bennett could bring Miss Shepherd to the big screen. The eccentric Camden resident who Bennett allowed to park her delapidated Bedford van in his drive is now something of a literary folk hero thanks to Bennett's memoir detailing the trials of living with her on a day to day basis.  The film delves into Miss Shepherd's surprising and colourful history, revealing the event which sent her over the edge, and living in squalid circumstances.  Maggie was born to play this role. Shepherd's tetchy personality which masked an underlying vulnerability is Maggie's forte. She illuminates the light and shade of Miss Shepherd's world brilliantly, and rightly brought Maggie Smith much acclaim, as the original stage performance had done.  Its not the perfect movie but Maggie's performance within it certainly is.

 

Just five performances which for me have stood out as being Maggie at her on screen peak, but there is no such thing as a poor Maggie Smith performance.  She brings a skill and a class to some movies which frankly need her to lift them from bathing in the average.  But when she is paired with material that is equal to her talent, she soars like a virtuoso. There are so many more I could nominate:  Mabel Pettigrew in Memento Mori, Lady Hester Ransom in Tea With Mussolini,  Daphne Castle in Evil Under The Sun,  Aunt Augusta in Travels With My Aunt...   As much national treasures as the Crown Jewels themselves.   Most of them are available via streaming or physical media,  I urge you to go and check some of them out.  Dame Maggie Smith may have left us but she has also left us a performance portfolio the equal to the greatest of 20th and 21st century thespians. Sleep well, Dame Maggie and thank you.

Rob Cope

Review: HAIRSPRAY (UK Tour) @ Manchester Palace Theatre

 

Woah, Woah, Woah... Hairspray is back on a UK Tour and we are feeling the beat. With big hair, big bootie and big tunes,  it really is a 1960s extravaganza like no other.

Originally released as an iconic John Waters movie in 1988 starring Divine and Rikki Lake,  it became a fully fledged stage musical in 2002 on Broadway.  Since that time we have had the 2007 John Travolta movie version and the fabulous 2016 Hairspray Live! on TV. The story of Tracy Turnblad and her peers really hasn't gone away in over two decades of high energy,  foot tapping, singalong greatness.

 

For those that may be unaware, we meet Tracy Turnblad in Baltimore, 1962. She has dreams of appearing on the Corny Collins Show with his glamourous troupe of fashionable dancers.  However Tracy is a plus size girl and when she gets the chance to audition she is given rather unkind treatment from producer and top bitch Velma Von Tussle, whose all American daughter Amber is a regular dancer on the show.  Also getting the bitch treatment from Velma is Little Inez, a talented coloured girl, who is the subject of the shows racist segregation policy.  Naturally as this is all inclusive musical theatre, we can't be having that so there follows a battle for Tracy and Little Inez to get recognised for the stars they are and for the people of Baltimore to become fully integrated as dancers and in love.  

The music and lyrics of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman really hit the mark with its homage to the productions of Phil Spector and Berry Gordy's Motown throughout.  The entire score is awash with earworms you just won't be able to stop humming as you leave the theatre:  'Good Morning Baltimore',  'It Takes Two',  'Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now' and of course the tongue twisting anthem of the show, 'You Can't Stop The Beat'.

This new UK tour has been blessed with a glorious cast.  Neil Hurst channels Harvey Fierstein as he brings us a big brassy Edna Turnblad,  gravelly voiced and the very heart of the show.  His performance as drab Edna discovers her inner glamazon is a joy.  He is matched with Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby as Edna's daughter Tracy,  making her professional debut she invests Tracy with the vigour and energy of youth and delivers Tracy's songs with gusto. Gina Murray's take on Velma Von Tussle is first class,  she is a stony faced bitch, a former 'Miss Baltimore Crabs' who is at the very centre of efforts to prevent anyone who veers away from an all American image appearing on the show. Murray nails it.  When it comes to vocals,  the biggest voice of the night is Michelle Ndegwa as Motormouth Maybelle,  self proclaimed 'big, blonde and beautiful' Mama. Her performance of the civil rights anthem 'I Know Where I've Been' took the roof of the Palace Theatre and she deservedly got an ovation.   The roles of Little Inez and Seaweed (Maybelle's children) are underwritten but thankfully Katlo and Reece Richards still found opportunities to shine, and made their mark on the show.   The show is blessed with good voices as Solomon Davy (Tracy's love interest Link Larkin) and Allana Taylor (Von Tussle's daughter Amber) prove throughout.  A word too for Dermot Canavan as Edna's devoted husband Wilbur,  their duet 'You're Timeless To Me' is a highlight of the show with both actors striving to keep a straight face much to the delight of the 2000 strong audience.  Richard Atkinson and his onstage band of seven make sure the music keeps pumping out, there is no finer sound in theatre than a great band in full flow. Thank you guys and gals. 

Jointly and expertly directed by Paul Kerryson and former Maybelle, Brenda Edwards with breathtaking choreogrpahy by Drew Mconie, this latest production delivers in spades and proves that Hairspray is set to remain one of the all time great musical theatre shows. Hairspray isn't just a frothy revisiting of the sixties, it reminds us of our need for inclusivity and the ongoing struggle for equality.  It genuinely has something to say about history and how we can continue to learn from it.  You certainly can't stop this beat, and frankly who would want to?  Beehived brilliance.

Rob and Ian

Venue and ticket information can be found at the official HAIRSPRAY UK Tour website.

Rob and Ian's recommended listening: the original 2002 Broadway cast recording on streaming and downloading services (plus of course CD for oldies like us!)