LONDON TRIP REVIEWS

Dec 97

London is always a cornucopia of exciting theatre. There is never a shortage of fine performances. What follows is a very brief report of those which I saw, in no particular order.

SATURDAY NIGHT at the Bridewell Theatre is the world premiere of Sondheim's first musical for which he wrote both music and lyrics. It never reached Broadway due to the death of its producer. Just seeing and hearing it is a real treat--even though we know several of its songs from various recordings. Little or no work was done on existing materials so the show has an unfinished, unpolished feel to it. The first act runs for 95 minutes of which quite a bit might be cut without hurting the storyline or loosing any of the songs. But the songs make the evening a must for anyone lucky enough to be in London during its run.

I had seen JONATHAN PRICE as Fagin in OLIVER! shortly after this production opened at the Palladium in 1994. I was not wild about either Price or the production, but wanted to see JIM DALE in the role before it closes next month. Sadly, DALE seems to be walking through the part and the entire show lacked any charm or sense of purpose. It will be replaced by SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER this spring.

CINDERELLA is Matthew Bourne's retelling of the story as it might have taken place in London during the blitzkrieg of 1940. The Prince is a fighter pilot and the action takes place in the shadow of the war as it was felt in London. Prokofieff's ballet music was perfect for setting the time and mood. I thoroughly enjoyed this production, but it does not have the pizzazz of Bourne's SWAN LAKE which was also at the Piccadilly Theatre a year or so ago.

BUGSY MALONE which is having a season at the Queen's Theatre is giving a tremendous opportunity to a great number of students (ages 11 to 16) involved with the National Youth Music Theatre to get professional, big time experience acting and singing in a West End theatre. There was an earlier West End production of Paul Williams score, and a successful movie made of the story which is a slight trifle about gangland life in the US during prohibition. Its forthright showing of drinking, prostitution, and murder being acted out by kids of this age might raise a few eyebrows for American audiences, but it seems to go down well with the London audiences--mostly children at the performance I saw. The cast recording of BUGSY is available on TER.

From my limited viewpoint, the attempt to musicalize STEPPING OUT was totally unnecessary. Whenever a song starts the show stops, cold, and it never gets going fast enough to recover any former motion. I often felt it might stop altogether for lack of interest by either the actors or the audience. A lot of talent has been wasted in this effort: JULIA MCKENZIE as director and LIZ ROBERTSON as the lead seem out of touch with the vehicle they are foisting on the theatregoing public. I heard nothing about a cast recording of this show--but it has been running since October so who knows. That would be the final blow, I am afraid.

Seeing IAN RICHARDSON (well known to Masterpiece Theatre viewers as the Prime Minister in House of Cards, its sequels, etc.) as the lead in Pinero's farce THE MAGISTRATE has to be one of the high points of current London theatre. Nevermind that much of the story about the confusion of an adopted son's age simply does not hold water, this Victorian farce is a joy to watch unfold. The cast is superb in every respect.

A totally unexpected treat was CIRCUS OF HORRORS. which is a hybridization of CARRIE, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, ROCKY HORROR SHOW, SIDE SHOW, and CIRQUE DU SOLIEL--taking some of the best parts of each in the process. Almost anything you can imagine happens during this production which is currently at the Roundhouse in North London. There are magic acts, high wire acts, bungi (sp?) jumping acrobats, auto racing, and lots of blood and guts (all in good form, of course). It is a musical with songs by Haze Vs The X Factor--and there is a cast recording as well. Don't miss this one if you are anywhere near London!

It was a treat seeing UTE LEMPER as Velma in CHICAGO at the Adelphi. Her slight German accent gives a nuance to the role that added a great deal, for me. RUTHIE HENSHALL is good as Roxy, but it is simply impossible to believe that this sweet girl murdered anyone. The production is a carbon copy of the current Broadway version--and no matter what anyone says it is still a semi-staged concert that cannot be compared to the 1975 original.

Another less-than-advertised event was the new English National Ballet's production of NUTCRACKER of which the less said the better, perhaps.

Xmas time in the UK means panto, and a friend took me out to the Theatre Royal in the Stratford East section of London to see a very good panto of HANSEL AND GRETEL. While the performance was fine, the more interesting thing for me was to see the theatre where JOAN LITTLEWOOD (who still owns the theater, I understand) mounted so many of her famous productions before they moved to the West End--FING AIN'T WOT THEY USED T'BE, MAKE ME AN OFFER, etc. This classic theatre, a century old, is much the way it was built under its many layers of paint. It is now closing for a major renovation, but it is promised that the house will remain the same.

Can you imagine a production of the SOUND OF MUSIC with one set that is manually manipulated to some degree, relatively poor lighting and sound, played with audience on three sides, and a cast where the adults are equity but the kids are all local kids with no acting experience? This describes the Battersea Arts Company (BAC) facility and production quite accurately. Yet as Ben Franklin says in BEN FRANKLIN IN PARIS, "The damn thing works!" It was a thoroughly enjoyable retelling of the story, with a lot more emphasis on the Nazi threat than I recall from either the original production or movie. Maria was played by a very talented young actress named PENNY-BELLE FOWLER, who must be a clone of Maria Friedman, looks-wise. This production of SOM was entirely sold out for its run at the BAC, and rightfully so. It was one of the highlights of my time in London.

The RSC's production of CYRANO DE BERGERAC is now playing at the Lyric. Antony Sher who won all sorts of honors including the Olivier and a Tony for his portrayal of the title role in STANLEY a year or so ago is superb as the longnosed wonder.

Filmwise, I highly recommend WILDE which is set to open sometime soon in the US. Stephen Fry is superb in the title role and Jude Law is marvelous in the difficult Bosey role. [Law may being typecast since he plays a similar role in the current MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL.] On the American Airlines flight home the movie was THE FULL MONTY--my third time seeing it, and it is the first time I have ever heard general laughter in the economy cabin of a Boeing 767. We also had the privilege of seeing a European marketing showing of Tarantino's JACKIE BROWN--an enjoyable change from his last two movies, altho I liked PULP FICTION.

( Dec 97 / Warren seamans seamans@MIT.EDU