MUSIK at Leicester Square Theatre - is it or isn't it?

We saw the very short run of MUSIK a few weeks ago, fresh from it's Edinburgh Festival debut and since then I have wrestled with quite a few questions - is it theatre?  Should I blog or not?  As it was only an hour long I will finish this off in a few paragraphs.

The 2001 show CLOSER TO HEAVEN made #37 in my ongoing list of favourite musicals, primarily for the Pet Shop Boys score and for some of the performances in the original production.  It had been meant to run from May till September 2001 but initial sold-out houses made the producers extend it to January 2002, however the subsequent negligible press reviews and declining audiences made them close in October.  The cast recording remains a favourite with it's mix of PSB bangers for the club scenes and big ballads for the characters: the millstone around the show's neck is the facile book by Jonathan Harvey.

What made that original production memorable - despite the score - was the barn-storming performance of Frances Barber as the nightclub star Billie Trix.  A legend in her own mind, Billie was a former leading light of the 1960s art scene who has ended up in a tawdry gay club, surviving on drugs and ego.  She is such a memorable character - especially as played by Barber who seemed to be channeling Anita Pallenberg - that it is a surprise it has taken 18 years for the Pets and Harvey to revisit the character in a new show.   MUSIK is Billie's latest incarnation, an hour-long cabaret based on her life -- which oddly doesn't include her referencing the CLOSER TO HEAVEN years.

Barber first appears cloaked, with an eye-patch - "Madonna stole my idea" - and a bizarre fascinator that looks like a bat mating with her head, singing the first of the six Pet Shop Boys that punctuate the piece "Mongrel" about her conception in the ruins of Berlin by a rapey Russian soldier and her teenage mother.  After a minor folk hit in East Germany "Cover Me In Calamine", Billie escapes to the West  and gains an entrée to Andy Warhol's Factory where of course she suggests he paint soup cans.

It's odd that what takes Jonathan Harvey and PSB an hour to do, Stephen Sondheim accomplishes in just over 5 minutes with "I'm Still Here" from FOLLIES as they are essentially telling the same story of careering "from career to career".   Where they differ is Carlotta Campion is in on the joke, Billie Trix is too deluded to notice the appalling reviews and the insults: she proudly says her Mother Courage was judged "incomprehensible" or that Jean-Paul Satre found her pretentious.

So Jonathan Harvey sends his character rattling down the years like a bagatelle, through her art-house classic "The Masturbation of Race" where she played Norway, her disco years, her down and out years in London living in a Soho telephone box - shades of Marianne Faithfull and her drug years of sitting on a wall in St Anne's Court - and her friendship with Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin who she met when Emin pissed up against her telephone box.  That's kind of the level of Harvey's script which again is desperately thin but Barber makes bricks from his straw.

Once again Frances Barber inhabits Billie Trix like a possessed creature... growling and prowling the stage, chopping up lines and spitting out her lines between bawling like a fishwife or chuckling huskily to herself.  I have to give it to her that she perfectly sang the Pet Shop Boys songs, husky and raw, making "Friendly Fire" and "For Every Moment" perfect anthems.  It again illustrated the eternal question of whether you can separate the person from the performance.  It was a close-run thing.

The PSB songs are fine for the show although ultimately they feel like b-sides cobbled together apart from CLOSER TO HEAVEN's "Friendly Fire" and the final song "For Every Moment" which is suitably anthemic.  Director Josh Seymour just about kept the tension running through the hour - it dipped noticeably towards the end during Billie's 'telephone box' era.

I am glad I saw it - Neil Tennant attended the night we went with David Walliams - and the PSB songs are living on after I downloaded them, but Harvey's gossamer-thin contribution is fading fast from memory.

One of the most enjoyable experiences last year was seeing the pre-Edinburgh tryout of GUTTED: THE REVENGER'S MUSICAL at the Riverside. Owen had got tickets as his Streatham Rock God Jim Bob from Carter USM was appearing in it so I had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for, but it was a delirious treat from start to end - the only thing I can liken it to would be KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS meets THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. A cult hit in waiting for Danielle Ward (book & lyrics) and Martin White (music).

So when we saw it was playing one night at the Leicester Square Theatre we jumped at it! This time however it was just a rehearsed reading with The Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra who took up most of the stage. I was a bit disappointed as I hoped for a proper staged production - at the Riverside there had been enough to suggest a full production.
The other reason for disappointment was that Helen George was no longer playing the lead role as at the Riverside she was terrific. I saw that she is cast in the Landor's upcoming production of BY JEEVES so maybe that explained her non-appearance. Instead the character of Sorrow was played by Isy Suttie who might fit the other's stand-up comedy style but she had a voice like a goose farting in fog and wasn't as sympathetic.

However it was easy to overlook her contribution and marvel instead at the comic timing and improvisational skill of Colin Hoult playing the five members of the Bewlay famly that Sorrow takes great delight in bumping off in ever-more outlandish ways. He was great at the Riverside and he was just as good here - real comedy gold.

The cast bristles with eccentric comedy turns: David Reed, Humphrey Ker & Thom Tuck (aka The Penny Dreadfuls) have great fun as the Furies who pursue Sorrow and Michael Legge was a lipsmacking treat as the fruity local Vicar, happy to take the wedding photos although he's blind! At the Riverside he also had the most memorable line "When you sin it's like God sticking his finger up your bum and you have to smell it for the rest of your life" but this time it was changed to "When you sin it's like God bumming your Mum and putting it on YouTube". Funny but not as good as the former.

With delightful support from Jim Bob as the Wedding Singer, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Sara Pascoe as the Bewlay's grudging servants and the charming Doc Brown as Sorrow's possible happy ending boyfriend, the show had me laughing out loud and clapping equally as loudly at the end. Allegedly it was filmed from the back of the auditorium but I suspect that was for promotional use and I suspect that with their own stand-up schedules any future performances of GUTTED will be few and far between. But if you see it on a schedule I cannot recommend it highly enough.

On Monday the cold weather was swept aside for a few hours by immersing in the sunny warmth of David McAlmont's voice at a special gig at the Leicester Square Theatre being filmed and recorded for future release on dvd/cd.
I have been a fan of David's for a while now having seen him twice before as McAlmont and Butler when he and Bernard were touring their great BRING IT BACK album and I was lucky to see him two years ago doing a short set of Harold Arlen songs at the Festival Hall. However recently I have become more involved in his music since becoming part of his Facebook army of fans.

Realizing that the music business has changed beyond what artists have been accustomed to, David is seeking new ways of connecting with his audience and certainly has taken to the immediacy that Facebook offers - it is genuinely thrilling to connect with him personally as opposed to a page which is managed by PR companies.

David certainly made a jaw-dropping entrance on stage, appearing like a male Grace Jones in huge feather boa, dark silk suit, a black lace domino mask with vertical feather detailing and a headdress of gold autumnal leaves - oh and more flashing, glittery jewels than you could shake a stick at! When you are in the front row that's a lot to take in.

You gotta have something to bring to the table to make this outfit seem natural and McAlmont certainly has that. Drawing on all areas of his 18 year career, he gave us a memorable show with a marvellously thought-out setlist with some telling covers sprinkled throughout.As I said before David is seeking new ways of connecting with his audience - he said he had always hated the natural divide that being on stage brings - so he came up with the idea of everyone getting a number which corresponded to a question eg. Who? What? Why? Where? etc. and occasionally at the roll of a dice these questions could be asked as to the next song. It was certainly an interesting experiment in hearing his thoughts on certain songs and as to why they had been included. There were occasional longueurs but these can be forgiven when what is being attempted is so new.

He was complemented wonderfully by Guy Davies on piano, John Miller on drums and Neville Malcolm on bass with several appearances by surprise guest Bernard Butler - it was a particular joy to see them on stage together again. When they careened into their classic YES I was blinking back some very happy tears. It was great also to see them laughing and joking when David kept going off-piste during FALLING.The whole show was a highlight but among the songs that made me glad it was being recorded were SNOW, LOSE MY FAITH, WHO LOVES YOU. I'M A BETTER MAN, PLACED ASIDE and DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.

Shirl was also returned to when he performed AS GOD IS MY WITNESS which he co-wrote for Bassey's THE PERFORMANCE album as well as a heartfelt version of NEVER, NEVER, NEVER which had him climbing off the stage and singing to the mother of a friend in the third row!

After leaving the stage to a standing ovation he returned to give us a final cover, a lovely version of Tom Waits' GRAPEFRUIT MOON which he sang as he slowly dressed to leave us with a scarf, overcoat, hat and gloves. The song ended with him slowly opening an umbrella and sauntering offstage - who says a gig can't be theatre too? Like Owen I was just a little disappointed that the opened umbrella didn't rain down glitter!

We are seeing him again in a few weeks time for a seasonal evening in a space that seats only 80 so I cannot wait to see him in an even more intimate space. Oh and the cherry on the evening's cake? Having my picture taken with David in the foyer before the show when he had his friend William Willcox ready with a camera to photograph him with his 'peops'.

Oh I'm all getting all behind. Matron.

Last week Owen and I went to see the unpredictable Macy Gray at the Leicester Square Theatre. It was the third time we have seen her and the venues are getting smaller - Shepherds Bush Empire, IndigO2 and now the Leicester Square Theatre.
I was thrown by the support act - I read the name spelled out at the front of the stage as Tinashe. Oh thought I... a transsexual act if ever I heard one. Um... no it was Tinashé a young singer/songwriter originally from Zimbabwe. Oops. Actually him and his drummer mate made a nice sound and are definitely worth a listen.

Macy appeared in a white dress with diamonté detailing that dazzled the eye and launched straight into the Glitter-stomptastic KISSED IT from the new album The Sellout".

It got the show off to a rip-roaring start and the funky stuff didn't let up as Macy, her tight band and two delicious-voiced backing singers Mika Letts and Maiya Sykes kept it coming, love!
Macy kept letting us know that she liked being with her London sexy people *blush* but the intimate auditorium inhibited us from getting up and showing her how sexy we really were but eventually it was impossible to remain seated and all were up and giving in to Macy's crazysexycool vibe.

With a later costume change from the glamour to the practical by wearing a suit, Macy was always a hypnotic presence on stage. From the opening number with everyone on stage wearing huge afro wigs to the crazy freak-out of OBLIVION with high-kicking singers, a guy doing a Bob Dylan peeling off pages of lyrics the funky fun never stopped.

We were treated to an extended mix of songs from her first album including a glorious reggae version of STILL along with WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME and DO SOMETHING. She also sang GLAD YOU'RE HERE and a fierce GHETTO LOVE from the Big album, RELATING TO A PSYCHOPATH, SEXUAL REVOLUTION and SWEET BABY from The Id and from the new album we had a lovely version of THE SELLOUT, LATELY and BEAUTY IN THE WORLD. She also did her usual great cover of Radiohead's CREEP (a perfect song for her) and ended with an extended rousing version of I TRY.I hope she is back soon... nothing like some Macy Deep Soul Craziness to get your ass shaking, head nodding and singing along!