MY ONE AND ONLY. Piccadilly Theatre.
London
MY ONE AND ONLY
by George and Ira Gershwin, Peter Stone, Timothy S. Mayer
Piccadilly Theatre
Mon-Sat 7.30 Wed & Sat mats 2.30
Runs 2hr 30min One interval
TICKETS 020 7369 1754
Review Timothy Ramsden 26 February
Confection of trifles light as air raises quite a breeze.The Gershwin brothers wrote several fine musicals, and this isn't one of them. Doubtless it ought to be, so full of twenties newsline bric-a-brac is its storyline. But it had to wait till 1983 when Stone and Mayer formed and reformed it out of the Gershwins' Funny Face.
Ironically, for a show which is a star vehicle, that title song goes to the 'character' characters – Hilton McRae's comically sinister Prince Nikki (no Prince he) and Jenny Galloway's engineer with a secret, Mickey – not the twin stars of celebratory swimmer Edythe and aviation pioneer Billy Buck. With matching irony, it makes stars of Galloway and McRae.
In the perfection of eternity Edythe and BB would doubtless be sung, danced and romanced by Fred and Ginger (Funny Face partnered Astaire with sister Adele). But perfection in this sublunary world (yes, a moon looms large over the supposed desert island romance) takes the current forms of Janie Dee and Tim Flavin.
His prowess in such repertory is acknowledged and undimmed – Flavin has Astaire's sufficiency as actor and singer plus his miraculous hoofing qualities. Dee matches the vulnerability and resilience desirable in a romantic lead with a strong dramatic presence. Her Edythe is no wafer-thin waif. She suffers as Nikki's prisoner, radiates new-found areas of her personality in love with Billy Buck and even makes her retreat to a harem credible.
Which the plot isn't – from the star it nudges, prods, and to drive home the point, bludgeons you with its outrageous improbabilities and cliche manipulations. Lez Brotherston's art deco cinema set underlines the elaborate absurdities. Trains and planes, grand representatives of a speeding-up world, feature but only to transport us to a romantic neverland of skyscrapers and low dives.
Where we benefit from fine performances by Richard Calkin's Rev. Montgomery, preacher in the Ministry of Distillery, and Richard Lloyd King as Mr Magix, an early American makeover artist. Both offer fine choreographic outbursts. Though the talking point of Craig Revel Horwood's choreography will be the extended Flavin-Dee routine that builds from rhythmic beats in the sand to a cast and front-row spraying water fantasia.
Nice show if you can get a ticket. To be honest, 'smore. 'Swonderful. 'Sabsolutely marvelous.
Edythe Herbert: Janie Dee
Captain Billy Buck Chandler: Tim Flavin
Prince Nikki: Hilton McRae
Reverend J.D. Montgomery: Richard Calkin
Mickey: Jenny Galloway
Mr Magix: Richard Lloyd King
Rhythm Boys: Paul J. Medford, Omar F. Okai, Horace Oliver, Mykal Rand
Ensemble: Verity Bentham, Annabelle Dalling,
Heather Douglas, Ebony Molina, Rachel Stanley, Katie Verner, Chris Bennett, Michael John, James Leece, Corey Skaggs, Ben Tribe, Ian Waller
Swings: Kevin Brewis, Leigh Constantine, Nial Rivers
Director: Loveday Ingram
Design: Lez Brotherston
Lighting: Chris Davey
Sound: Fergus O' Hare for Aura
Music Direction: Derek Barnes
Music Supervision: Gareth Valentine
Choreography: Craig Revel Horwood
2002-03-02 00:39:17