THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS: THE MUSICAL! To 14 January.
London
THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS: THE MUSICAL!
music by Eric Rockwell lyrics by Joanne Bogart book by them both
King’s Head Theatre To 14 January 2007
Tue-Sun 8.30pm (except 24 Dec 6pm) Mat Wed & 29 Dec 2.30pm 17 Dec 4pm
Post-show discussion 12 Jan
Runs 1hr 40min One interval
TICKETS: 020 7226 1916
www.kingsheadtheatre.org
Review: Timothy Ramsden 15 December
The Song of Songs – The Show of Shows - now the Musical of Musicals: and it’s no anti-climax.
Here’s a show about rent (if not Rent), a single plot idea subjected to developments in 5 narrative and musical styles. Rodgers & Hammerstein cracker-barrel philosophy, angst-ridden Sondheim, glam-glam Herman, er, consistency of musical style and magnificence of scenic spectacle in Lloyd-Webber, or Kander and Ebb’s lurid low-life (Cabaret shifted to a Speakeasy in Chicago): rent-day was never so varied, or so much fun.
The invention in Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart’s pastiche/parody lies in its wealth of knowledge combined with a depth of understanding that (generally) admires as it mocks. Rodgers & Hammerstein open with prairie optimism, a caveat-filled love-song, dream sequence and self-conscious soliloquy (though most of these show an inwardness contradicting the first), Oklahoma and Carousel being the chief, though not sole, R & H targets. They do hammer and roger the style, yet there’s also appreciation of the originals’ originality, of the invention and risk-taking in what’s now familiar.
Similarly, the identification of Jerry Herman with gay icons who’re stars because they’re stars, something so important that the generally bare stage is invaded by a truncated staircase to suggest the star walkdown. Or the Kander & Ebb fascination with squalor-glam (Rockwell beautifully varies the famous Cabaret rhythm here).
But it has to be Sondheim, cleverest and most intellectually subtle of the subjects, who provokes the most brilliant response, for he provides the richest dramatic material. A Little Complex compares unlike with unlike, mixing Sunday in the Park with George (“Che sera, Seurat”) and Sweeney Todd. Sunday’s opening fragments cue descriptions of Sondheim’s discord and angst; the melodic phrase naming the back-passing years in Merrily We Roll Along is used to identify characters’ apartment numbers.
Both in its overall grip of what makes each writer, or writing-team, tick, and in its brilliantly opportunistic use of detail, Musical of Musicals wins through by its knowledge and skill; Rockwell and Bogart never seem like also-rans snapping at their masters. They’re doing something different, but they (like inventive director Julian Woolford and his uniformly spot-on cast quartet, moving easily in and out of exaggeration) are at the top of the game.
Corn:
Willy: Ian McLarnon
June: Julie-Alanah Brighten
Jidder: Paul Baker
Mother Abby: Susannah Fellows
A Little Complex:
Jitter: Paul Baker
Jeune: Julie-Alanah Brighten
Billy: Ian McLarnon
Abby: Susannah Fellows
Dear Abby: Auntie Abby: Susannah Fellows
Junie Faye: Julie-Alanah Brighten
William: Ian McLarnon
Mr Jitters: Paul Baker
Aspects of Junita:
Junita: Julie-Alanah Brighten
Bill: Ian McLarnon
Phantom Jitter: Paul Baker
Abigail Von Schtarr: Susannah Fellows
Speakeasy:
Jutter: Paul Baker
Juny: Hulie-Alanah Brighten
Villy: Ian McLarnon
Fraulein Abby: Susannah Fellows
Director: Julian Woolford
Designer: Ben Stones
Lighting: Emma Chapman
Musical director: Richard John
Choreographer: Steven Harris
Costume: Rodney Worth
2006-12-17 20:54:11