HIGH SOCIETY touring
HIGH SOCIETY: Cole Porter (Music and Lyrics) Arthur Kopit (Book)
Touring
Runs: 2h 40m, one interval
Review: Rod Dungate, 1 February 2005 Birmingham Hippodrome
High class revival of a high society musical romanceIt's elegant, charming, good humoured and has a host of classic numbers. But this would be nothing, I guess, without the warm and energetic performances the team give nothing touring and tired about this production.
In case you don't know the story here it is . . . Rich Tracy Lord is about to be married to rough George Kittredge though she used to be married to Dexter Haven who turns up at the celebrations and she ought to be married to him again. Not too taxing, that then; but it's all in the telling . . .
Katherine Kinsgley is lovely as Tracy; her first appearance, returning from horseriding, accentuates her grace and charm. The show gives her chances to show off some able comedy as well and she doesn't miss them. SOCIETY isn't strong on psychology but Kinsgley mines what there is watch her struggle with her confusing emotions as, falling for writer Mike Connor, she sings 'they're not his lips but they're such tempting lips it's alright with me . . . ' Great stuff.
Her sister, Dinah, is played, totally engagingly, by Lara Pulver; it's wonderful to watch them put I LOVE PARIS into its ironic context (which also shows how flexible the song is!)
Strong casting throughout including all the servants. Specially worth seeing though, are Royston Kean's outrageous Uncle Willie SHE'S GOT THAT THING and SAY IT WITH GIN and Ria Jones's Liz Imbrie. Jones succeeds in making Liz the most sympathetic of all the characters and she sings and dances superbly. Her opening of WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE is a totally riveting moment.
My only qualm is about the show's construction and there's not much the production can do about that. The first half has a strong narrative (such as these things are!) and a host of great numbers. But about a third of the way through the second half the strong structure sags and really never recovers. It's as if Cole Porter and his book man Arthur Kopit ran out of energy. Ah well, you can't have it all I suppose.
2005-02-02 09:59:22