“Porgy and Bess”

Savoy Theatre, London • 25 November 2006 • 7:30pm

“A new musical production by” George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin.
Adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn. Music adapted by Gareth Valentine. Choreography by Jason Pennycooke. With Clarke Peters (Porgy), Nicola Hughes (Bess), Cornell S. John (Crown), O.-T. Fagbenle (Sporting Life),…

It’s amazing that the opera that sometimes was accused to be a musical in disguise is now officially presented as a musical. Trevor Nunn has made the show shorter, has replaced the recitatives by spoken scenes taken either from the original novel, Porgy, by DuBose Heyward or from the non-musical play Heyward co-wrote with his wife Dorothy. Gareth Valentine has reduced the score for 20 musicians. And, of course, there is amplification.

The result, I have to say, is spectacular. The score shines throughout and benefits in places from the “lighter” treatment. Some pieces that never made it into the 1935 score, like a funky prologue, are wonderful discoveries. The staging is magnificent, with superb visuals and great choreography. Good performances from the cast and orchestra.

Another proof that, whether as an opera or as a musical, Porgy and Bess is truly a masterpiece of the musical theatre.

“Little Shop of Horrors”

Menier Chocolate Factory, London • 26 November 2006 • 3:30pm [preview]

Book and lyrics: Howard Ashman. Music: Alan Menken.
Director: Matthew White. Musical Director: Alan Berry. With Sheridan Smith (Audrey), Paul Keating (Seymour), Barry James (Mushnik), Jasper Britton (Orin Scrivello et al.),…

It seems to me that the theatre at the Menier Chocolate Factory cannot do anything wrong. After the remarkable production of Sunday in the Park With George and a very nice staging of The Last Five Years, the Menier goes into a completely different territory with Little Shop of Horrors. Does it get it right? You bet! This is first-class theatre. Once again, the limited space seems to work wonders. David Farley, who already designed Sunday in the Park With George, has provided a wonderfully gritty Skid Row, in many ways more successful than that of the recent Broadway offering.

Director Matthew White, already responsible for The Last Five Years, has assembled a great cast, led by a superb Sheridan Smith as Audrey (nobody can replace Ellen Greene, but Smith comes pretty close) and West End veteran Barry James as Mushnik. Interestingly, James played the part of Seymour in the original London production of Little Shop and hence comes full circle, so to speak. White’s staging is full of imagination and adds quite a lot to the fun of the libretto.

I loved every second of it.

“The Sound of Music”

London Palladium • 25 November 2006 • 2:30pm

Music: Richard Rodgers. Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II. Book: Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.
Director: Jeremy Sams. Musical Director: Michael Lloyd. With Connie Fisher (Maria), Alexander Hanson (Captain Von Trapp), Lesley Garrett or Margaret Preece (The Mother Abbess), Sophie Bould (Liesl), Ian Gelder (Max), Neil McDermott (Rolf), Lauren Ward (Baroness Schraeder)…

Apparently it has become a rule that every new stage production of The Sound of Music has to be a bastardized version shifting the songs around and incorporating the two songs that Richard Rodgers wrote for the movie, “I Have Confidence” and “Something Good.” The songlist of this new London production is much closer to that of the 1998 Broadway revival than to that of the original production, even if there are some differences still: Maria and The Mother Abbess sing “My Favorite Things” in Scene 2, and “The Lonely Goatherd” is in the first act.

One of the strongest moments of the show is the very beginning, when the nuns give a mind-blowing rendition of the a cappella “Preludium.” Then the show has ups and downs. Maybe it’s a bit too sugary for the 21st century. Maybe there’s a general lack of charisma in the cast, starting with Connie Fisher, winner of the “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” TV competition, who doesn’t have much presence. I have no idea which actress I saw in the part of the Mother Abbess since I couldn’t find the information anywhere.

And yet, the show looks glorious, with some of the best sets (by Robert Jones, of Lautrec fame) I’ve seen in a while. And it does pick up steam pretty nicely in the second act. During the music festival, the auditorium is covered in nazi regalia, a rather effective and blood-curling moment (slightly reminiscent of Jérôme Savary’s staging of Cabaret, when svastikas appeared during “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”).

The ending is quite successful, with a nifty piece of staging allowing the Von Trapps to escape in the mountains while at the same time facing the audience for the final image.

“Follies”

Royal & Derngate (Royal Theatre), Northampton (UK) • 4 November 2006 • 7:45pm

Music & lyrics: Stephen Sondheim. Book: James Goldman.
Director: Laurie Sansom. Musical Director: Jonathan Gill. Choreographer: Nick Winston. With Louise Plowright (Phyllis), Julian Forsyth (Ben), Jan Hartley (Sally), Alex Giannini (Buddy), …

The Royal & Derngate has chosen to stage Follies to celebrate its reopening after a thorough refurbishment. The Royal Theatre and the Derngate Auditorium are now linked by a spacious and well-designed lobby, and both auditoria have been completely renovated. The Royal Theatre is spectacular: a gem of a Victorian theatre restored to its original glory.

I have seen several productions of Follies over the years, and each of them seemed to bring fresh ideas to the show. The much-publicised characteristic of this production is the use of local amateur performers for the string of secondary roles, which works really well. The real strong point of this version, however, is a strong directorial work on how the ghosts of the past should interact with their older selves. There’s even an extra character: Young Dimitri Weissman!

The quartet of leading performers is outstanding. I was most impressed by Louise Plowright’s Phyllis and by Julian Forsyth’s Ben. “The Story of Lucy and Jessie” and “Live, Laugh, Love” were absolutely remarkable. Too bad the choreographer decided that Phyllis should be replaced by her younger self for most of the song’s dance section. I thought Sally and Buddy were very good, too… except that Jan Hartley added a most unbecoming high note at the end of “Losing My Mind.”

As for the music, well, the trumpet player took a long time to warm up, which resulted in a somewhat disappointing orchestral performance at the beginning of the show. But things got better after a while.

“Crazy For You”

Royal & Derngate (Derngate Auditorium), Northampton (UK) • 4 November 2006 • 2:30pm

Music: George Gershwin. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. Libretto: Ken Ludwig.
Presented by the Northampton Amateur Operatic Company. Director/Choreographer: Martyn Knight. Musical Director: Paul Truman.

I have a very special relationship with Crazy For You, one of the first shows that I saw in London, in 1995. I was overwhelmed then by the luscious Gershwin score (enhanced of course by Bill Brohn’s orchestrations), the superlative production values, the inexhaustible inventiveness of Susan Stroman’s choreography (I can still feel my eyes get misty the moment those spotlights pinned the girls-turned-basses in “Slap That Bass”) and even by the cleverness of the libretto. To this day, Crazy For You remains one of the CDs that I will play when I need to cheer myself up.

I saw two other professional productions after the original London production (one in Millburn, New Jersey and the other one in Amsterdam). It came as a surprise when I heard that the Northampton amateur operatic society would be doing the show right when I was there to catch a much talked-about production of Follies (see next post).

I think I’d only ever seen two amateur productions in my life (not counting France), both in Windsor, Ontario: Once Upon a Mattress and The Wizard of Oz… so I didn’t really know what to expect, especially since C4U (as it’s also known) is a demanding show.

There was no need to worry. The minute the orchestra started playing the overture, I knew I was in for something special. The sound coming from the pit was spectacular… with one significant exception, the ugly synthesiser used to replace the string section (there was a real double bass, of course). Ten excellent brass and reed players, most of them playing two, three or even (it seemed) four instruments. And these guys are amateurs?

The overall scenic design was great and allowed for the smooth scene changes that the show requires. There were only two awkward scene changes in the whole show, which is a feat. The sets were greatly enhanced by a lighting scheme that seemed to bathe the stage in rather spectacular swashes of colour.

The acting and singing was mostly of near-West End caliber, with some especially strong performances (Lisa Simpson as Irene Roth, for instance). What was lacking, sadly, is the dancing. Sure, you can’t probably expect amateurs to be first-class dancers, but Crazy For You was designed as a showcase for Stroman’s choreography, and when everything else is of such great quality, well, you tend to become demanding. Most of the dance scenes, especially those involving Bobby, seemed to have been choreographed in slow motion.

But that orchestra was really something…