Evita was the definite highlight of my recent London theatergoing experience. The production is truly inspired and I am so excited for it’s Broadway run. You can read my rave HERE.
But I did see a few other shows.
The Girl from North Country, at The Old Vic, was quite moving, with excellent work by the entire ensemble led by the amazing Katie Brayben and Colin Bates. Managed to see it the night before it closed.
Matthew Bourne’s rousing and wonderfully dark revival of Lional Bart’s Oliver!, at the Gielgud, felt like a real music hall production with songs I forgot were a part of the show–because they’re not contained in Sir Carol Reed’s terrific Oscar-winning film (although Reed used “Oom-pah-pah in the most ingenious, way that forwards the plot).
There’s a much greater emphasis on certain secondary characters and a lean into comedy in this version, it’s also the most fascinating and unnerving when it comes to the relationship between Fagin and Dodger and the boys. This was the first time I felt that something gay might be going on. Spoiler: The show ends with Fagin and Dodger going off arm-in-arm.
Looking at the piece from a modern perspective it’s angering that Nancy must die. If we’re rewriting classics now, why can’t she save Oliver and then kill Bill Sykes? Just a strong suggestion!
What makes this production soar so high are the performances beginning with the masterful, Olivier-nominated Simon Lipkin as a most nuanced and conflicted Fagin. It’s a tour-de-force turn. As a boy I saw the great Ron Moody play the role on Broadway, 16 years after the film. Casting the much younger Lipkin adds so much to the story and to that queer vibe I mentioned above. And his “Reviewing the Situation” is a master class in genius song interpretation.
Shanay Holmes is a terrific Nancy and brought the house down with “As Long As He Needs Me.” Aaron Sidwell is the nastiest of nasty as Bill Sikes.
The limber Billy Jenkins is everything The Artful Dodger should be and more. He’s a lovable rogue thief with charisma and swagger to spare. Jenkins, who played the young Prince Charles on season one of The Crown, has the makings of a star.
If producers were smart they would bring this one over to New York–with Lipkin and Jenkins!
Two new musicals based on movies are also currently on the West End boards and have quite a bit in common, The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion and Burlesque at the Savoy. Both are built around supreme diva performances, impossible to replicate (I mean Meryl Streep and Cher, come on!). Both have young female leads we are supposed to sympathize with. Both have gay, Black scene-stealing man-divas. And both have big, loud spectacular musical numbers galore.
Devil holds pretty close to the original, Oscar-nominated film’s narrative, and simply adds songs. Burlesque reimagines the (now cult) film for the stage in mostly rich and inventive ways. Both are worthwhile, but it’s Burlesque that truly soars.
Devil has Vanessa Williams in its corner as Miranda Priestly, basically playing a variation on her Wilhelmina Slater character on Ugly Betty, but putting her own stamp on the line, “That’s all.” Williams, as always, is a joy to watch, I just wish they’d given her character more shadings and an eleventh hour number.
The songs–lyrics by Shaina Taub & Mark Sonnenblick, music by Elton John–are mostly pretty good, but often the lyrics are a bit too banal and on the nose. John’s score is excellent–as opposed to his recent work on the debacle, Tammy Faye.
Kate Wetherhead’s book disappoints, since it feels the need to simply regurgitate all the lines we loved so much from the movie and replicate it almost scene for scene.
Georgie Buckland’s Andy leave a lot to be desired. She’s a good belter but hasn’t much charisma. I never cared about her at all.
The lone Olivier nomination was rightly for Amy Di Bartolomeo as the ambitious assistant Emily. She overdoes the Emily Blunt-speak but also steals the show when it will let her.
Nigel, the Stanley Tucci character, is still gay but now played by Matt Henry, in ‘Yas, Queen’ mode—so WAY gay.
The biggest problem with this incarnation is that we are lured into believing the world of fashion and grand balls is a wonderful place to exist in but then told it’s empty and shallow. Must we always pander to obvious and tired notion that living a working-class life (and there’s nothing wrong with that, my parents were working class) is so much better than being rich and famous? Come on, people! Does it always come down to this? And which would you choose?
You’ll really enjoy this production if you imbibe in a cocktail or four before the show and during intermission!
You don’t need drinks to love Burlesque—although some ear plugs may help. Not to Patti LuPone about it, but the show is just too bloody loud. That said, it’s also fantastic!
This production immensely improves on the Cher-Christina Aguilera flick in so many ways, but the biggie is that Tess and Ali are now mother and daughter. I won’t say more about it.
Steven Antin, the film’s writer-director, who started as an actor (he was one of Jodie Foster’s assaulters in The Accused), does a remarkable job with the book revising and updating. It is now super contemporary, bitingly satiric and goes to some dark places. The plot gets a bit convoluted in Act 2, but then redeems itself.
The music is composed by Aguilera, Sia, Todrick Hall, Diane Warren and Jess Folley, retaining some of the film’s songs but writing a few fabulous new ones. I was disappointed that the Golden Globe winning ballad, “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,” didn’t have prominent placement and was only partially sung.
Triple-threat, Todrick Hall manages to up-spectacle-ante one number after another as the director and choreographer of this puppy AND he delivers a divine and show stealing turn as the sassy gay lounge manager–and Tess’s bestie. (Once again the Stanley Tucci role is reinvented.) He also, hilariously, plays Ali’s gospel teacher.
The choreography is out-of-this world magnificent.
Orfeh, like Williams, must play a fierce, hard-ass for most of the show, but is allowed to soften late in the piece. She does know how to commands the stage.
I was initially unsure of what I thought of Jess Folley as Ali. She starts off quite tentative, before she blows the frikkin’ roof off the Savoy with her mad-killer vocal chops. OMG, she’s glorious! And she has amazing chemistry with Paul Jacob French, who plays the head bartender, Jackson.
French is funny, incredibly gifted and sexy as fuck and has one particular moment where he sensually touches Folley in a particular place—the women in my audience went nuts!
The entire supporting cast shines with a particular shout out to Asha Parker-Wallace’s deliciously villainous Nikki.
Burlesque deserves a Broadway transfer. It’s grand entertainment, naughty as hell and makes some wonderful statements about love, family and acceptance. Just turn down the volume a tad…
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