DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN To 19 April 2008.
London.
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN
music and Lyrics by Blondie, book by Peter Michael Marino.
Novello Theatre To 19 April 2008.
Mon-Thu, Sat 8pm Fri 8.30pm Mat Fri 5pm, Sat 3pm.
Runs 2hr 10 mins One interval.
TICKETS: 0870 950 0921.
www.seeking-susan.com
Review: Geoff Ambler 16 November 2007.
Blondie at odds with the plot but, one way or another, still having a good time.
Based on the 1985 movie, Desperately Seeking Susan attempts to meld Blondie’s back catalogue into the film's plot and from this union to magically create a musical. While shows have focused on previous bands' hits, they have then constructed a story around them, maintaining as much a possible a narrative and musical marriage; Susan set itself an additional challenge, taking a movie to set the music to. While this seems to miss more than it hits, there is still great Blondie music, energy and a pretty good story to enjoy while finding this out.
Set around punkish Susan, a wild child with a nasty nicotine habit, unfeasibly unruly hair and a heart of lipstick on her personals. It also features bored suburban housewife Roberta, who seeks the excitement alluded to in those personal ads through a day as an amnesiac, entering Susan’s world of danger, night clubs and an escape from those awful Seventies outfits the rest endure. For some reason Susan is dressed in the Eighties - possibly an eighties shop where Madonna had an account.
Both of these roles are spectacularly well cast, with Emma Williams and Kelly Price. Williams, never anything less than a dream on stage, whose artistic range is as broad as her biog suggests, is every bit the rock/punk chick delivering powerful upbeat numbers with élan and with eyes that flirt in a glance to the back row. Price is a wonderful repressed romantic, with a true musical gift and bringing a Roberta who is an attractive opposite to the wild side.
Kaisa Hammarlund’s Crystal, Susan's near blind magician's-assistant friend, gives this perennial ensemble a chance to display a penchant for comedy, in addition to her usual discreet brilliance. Steven Serlin as orthodontist Larry Stein gets some hilarious one-liners with his Seventies nerd and Jonathan Wrather as Roberta’s straying husband Gary Glass impresses despite his wardrobe.
A cast overflowing with talent, music, heaped both in recent nostalgia and modern energy, and Tim Hatley’s NY set design, all allow a music and plot that mixing like olive oil and balsamic vinegar, to be overlooked. And its flaws should be overlooked because Susan is, a great night out, and a great night out with Ms’s Williams, Price and Blondie should not be missed.
Roberta Glass: Kelly Price.
Leslie Glass: Leanne Best.
Vito/Ray Sunshine/Sgt Shannon: Alex Gaumond.
Susan: Emma Williams.
Bell-hop/Ensemble: Matthew Boulton.
Bruce Meeker/Larry Stein/Fritz: Steven Serlin.
Alex Verne: Stephen Houghton.
Maria: Victoria Hamilton-Barritt.
Tara Mars/Matron/Vickie: Christine Holman.
Gary Glass: Jonathan Wrather.
Crystal: Kaisa Hammarlund.
Jay Shea: Mark McGee.
Sheila/Ensemble: Chloe Campbell.
Tina: Paul Hazel.
Dez: Alec Newman.
Cabbie/Ensemble: Matt Flint.
Jenny/Flo/Ensemble: Twinnie-Lee Moore.
Egyptian Ambassador/Ensemble: Lucy Banfield.
Ensemble: Toussaint Meghie.
On-Stage Cover: Laura Scott, Lincoln Stone.
Swing: Chris Piper, Gemma Whitelam.
Director: Angus Jackson.
Designer/Costume: Tim Hatley.
Lighting: Hugh Vanstone.
Sound: Bobby Aitken, Brian Beasley.
Orchestration: Martin Koch.
Musical Director: Matt Brind.
Choreographer: Andy Blankenbuehler.
Illusions: Paul Kieve.
2007-11-19 08:51:47