LONDON TRIP REVIEWS

May 97

My first visit to London in 25 years last January, and the recent one in May (less than 6 months later!) is, I suppose, a good example of extreme travel behavior. But I was persuaded to that second visit for two reasons: 1)I had a glorious time re-discovering the city in January, and 2)there was a full-fledge production of LADY IN THE DARK at the National, a show that I had assumed I would go to my grave with only fantasies of what it might be like to see on stage. The fulfillment of my expectations on both counts proved to be more dissapointing than not.

LADY IN THE DARK, from years of listening to the Rise Stevens studio recording (recently released in a very nice CD package with bonus tracks of Danny Kaye performances in several numbers) has always struck me as one of the real breakthroughs in the form of Musical Theatre. The recent production at the National was a valiant attempt at giving life to this complex and elaborate piece, but I felt that the creative team made the wrong choice in 3 crucial departments:

*The look of the show: If ever there was a musical that could be termed "baroque," this is it. The idea of fusing Freud and fashion in a 1940s setting suggests to me rich and voluptuous settings and costumes, and lighting that would participate as much as any character in the show. The National Theatre's sets were very modern and hard-edge, devoid of any emotional visual impact, except the kind you get from a very efficient industrial show. Unforgiving was the decission to have all 3 women, leaders of a fashion publication, wear one outfit each for the entire show! I cannot sympathize with budget considerations, my feeling being that if you're going to commit to mounting something like this, then do it right or do it in concert.

*The sound of the show: All might have been forgiven if at least I could have tripped on Kurt Weill's phantasmagorical score. But what came out of the pit was tinny and flat. Again, one of those details you would assumed would be impeccably handled in a professional production like this. When I asked the sound person at intermission why things were sounding so poorly, his amazing response was that the aim was to reproduce exactly the kind of sound that an audience in 1941 would have heard in the theatre! *Success* of this kind really enrages me, because it is achieved at the cost of doing a great disservice to a great score that falls on deaf 1997 ears used to much richer and compelling sound.

*The casting: The problem here is the same problem I felt undermined the ENCORES! concert production in New York two years ago. Some shows really require the magnetism of a star. The role of Liza Elliot needs to embodied by someone who can make you believe this woman (whatever her psychological problems) is worldly and compelling, someone you would really notice if you ever met her in real life. I'm willing to believe Maria Friedman (she of the great reputation, but my first viewing here) could have created this illusion, but perhaps she was simply misdirected. For me, what she conveyed was less Gertrude Lawrence and more Florence Henderson.

Other dissapointments (I'll get to what I enjoyed in a minute: always leave them happy) were LADY WINDEMERE'S FAN and MASTER CLASS. Both were beautiful productions to watch, especially the second act of the former, with its atmospheric "decadent" setting. But I guess I learned a lesson in assuming that just because I was seeing Oscar Wilde done by an English company all would be guaranteed. It is a damn good play, his best, I think, right after EARNEST. But many of the actors seemed to be working on no different a wavelength than if they'd been doing BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS. There was very little feeling for style and scope of character from anyone, and I was left with that annoying feeling of having been promised a feast and instead been served an appetizer. MASTER CLASS was for me no more than further proof that Terrence McNally's talents are vastly overrated. Being a playwright myself, I do envy anyone who is prolific, but I'm not sure I would trade the pace at which I write for the sake of product quantity. I also found cheap and condescending the way all the characters that were participating in Callas' class were portrayed: arrogant and/or stupid. As for Ms. Lupone, the less I say the better, lest someone starts thinking I'm a hopeless misanthrope.

On a positive note (you didn't think I had it in me, did you) I thoroughly enjoyed Pam Gems' MARLENE, a welcome exception to the unwritten rule that one-person (more or less) shows of famous personalities must always leave something wanting. What makes this work, aside from Sian Phillips entrancing performance, is having an actual climax to top the evening (something aggravatingly lacking in MASTER CLASS). It's quite a trick to attempt a recreation of Dietrich's show for a finale, but, amazingly, it works both on its own terms and as a satisfying ending for the evening.

And a satisfying evening I also found at TOM & CLEM, a wonderful play by Stephen Churchett, both moving and hilarious, and graced with platinum plus turns by Michael Gambon and Alec McCowen. The rest of the cast, Sarah Woodward and Daniel de la Falaise were no less pleasurable to watch. I was disheartened to read reviews for this play that could only be described as damned with faint praise. It was a superior piece of writing, beautifully realized and with a first-rate cast. And, while relentlessly entertaining, it said one or two very important things that still apply, especially in England. All the same, I count myself lucky for having seen it.

And I'll be back for more next year. But, aside from fluctuating results in theatregoing, I found London more challenging to navigate this time around, mostly due to the weather (which turned out to be more of a "problem" in May than in January -- go figure) and from the seemingly hopeless task of finding a comfortable hotel room at a reasonable rate near the West End. I know there's not much one can learn about coping with the weather, but any suggestions that would point to a more comfortable stay next time around would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards

Alfred Zelcer
Email : alfredoz@earthlink.net