As it's Sharon, it's a role she is revisiting! Susie McKenna - the revival's director and Sharon's partner - staged a short run of the show in 2014 and has looked for an opportunity to get it back onstage so when the recently revamped Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn - now renamed the teeth-grindingly pretentious The Kiln - made McKenna an associate director, the chance appeared to get Sheldon Epps' musical back before an audience, it's first London appearance in 30 years.
Now Constant Reader, you will remember that in my ongoing blog series of my '50 Favourite Musicals', BLUES IN THE NIGHT made it in at #47. Following on from similar jazz and blues revue-style shows like BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR, AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' and ONE MO' TIME, with BLUES IN THE NIGHT creator Sheldon Epps changed the format from a night-club setting to a run-down hotel so the songs play more as a musical than an out-front recreation of a cabaret show. Three women: an ingenue, a weary sophisticate and an older touring blues singer all interact with a man who seems to connect them through classic songs written by Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Ida Cox and Harold Arlen among others.
It's a simple format that works because of the exhilarating song choices and having a tightly-focused quartet and I still remember the pure pleasure I got from the show when I saw it at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1988. What I didn't know back then was that the marvellous US actress Carol Woods who played The Lady of The Road was understudied by a 22 year-old performer called Sharon D Clarke! How spooky is that?
An atmospheric live cast recording immortalized the excellent original Donmar Warehouse cast of of Clarke Peters, Woods, Maria Friedman and Debby Bishop and their sizzling renditions have kept the show alive for me down the years so it was interesting to see it afresh. I cannot say McKenna's production completely blew me away but it was good to see it again - and any chance to see Sharon D Clarke turning it out is a welcome one.
Unsurprisingly it was very much her show, and the combined talents of Clive Rowe, Debbie Kurup and Gemma Sutton all seemed a bit at sea with her galvanizing personality. It must be a daunting prospect to share the stage with such a powerful performer and the others didn't really seem willing to take it on. Indeed Rowe and Kurup tended to over-sell their numbers while Gemma Sutton occasionally saw fit to just turn up the volume a little too much. They all had moments to shine which they certainly seized but seemed to retreat when Sharon strode forward to belt out a number; although I must say - given her dominance of the piece - it was a disappointment that they have dropped the character's version of "Take Me For A Buggy Ride". They did all come into their own, especially in the group numbers, particularly thrilling in Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer's mighty title song.
Sharon had two torch solos in each act which were natural high points, "Lover Man" and "Wasted Life Blues" - she put them over so strongly they were still travelling when they hit the back wall! The quartet were also joined by two male dancers who lurked at the back of the set and stepped forward occasionally to show off their lithesome steps - there was again a slightly surprising moment when they kissed during one of the numbers which drew a few quiet gasps from the Kilburn cognoscenti.
I did like Robert Jones' atmospheric hotel set with it's multi-level platforms representing the women's rooms and Neil Austin's equally mood-setting lighting. The onstage band were in tearing form under pianist MD Mark Dickman, setting perfect musical backgrounds to the tales of love and loneliness as sung by the cast. All in all, I really enjoyed singing the show again - and who could possibly argue when Sharon's character says "Honey I ain't gettin' older... I'm gettin' better!" Say amen somebody.
Another show that has Sharon D Clarke's dabs all over it is the 1990 Broadway musical ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Our Sharon appeared in the original UK production in 1994 and was nominated for an Olivier Award for playing the earth goddess Asaka and she played the role again in 2009 in a short tour than culminated in a run at Hackney Empire. I had never seen it before so when I saw it popping up at the Southwark Playhouse as part of the The British Theatre Academy's summer programme of productions for amateur youth performers, I jumped.
The lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens (who also wrote the book) with music by Stephen Flaherty, the couple behind the wonderful score for RAGTIME and the musical won the Olivier for Best New Musical in 1994 and last year won a Tony for Best Musical Revival on Broadway. The show is only 85 minutes long and, on the basis of the production directed and choreographed by Lee Proud at Southwark Playhouse, feels that it's just the right length for such a wispy fantasy but also maddeningly short so you never fully invest in the characters.
Based on a book by Trinidadian writer Rosa Guy, it tells of an island people in the French Antillies whose lives are interrupted by tropical storms and the whims of the four gods of the islands. After a particularly devastating storm, a young orphaned girl Ti Moune is found hiding in a tree and adopted by an older couple, Euralie and Ton Ton. The island is divided between the descendants of the original darker islanders and the fairer-skinned descendants of French planters and Ti Moune grows up wondering what the rich people are like.
Her life changes when she discovers the crashed car of Daniel Beauxhomme, the badly-injured son of a wealthy planter family. Ti Moune falls for him and nurses him slowly back to health but when Papa Ge, the demon of death, arrives to take Daniel, Ti Moune offers to exchange her life for his. The demon is taken aback by her love but threatens to return one day to claim his prize.
Daniel is taken back to his mansion but Ti Moune is determined to follow him and sets off helped by the guiding presence of Asaka the goddess of the earth. Ti Moune is reunited with Daniel who is still recovering but is captivated by her innocence and love, however he is betrothed to the haughty Andrea Devereaux who gleefully informs Ti Moune that they are to be married soon. Ti Moune is thrown into despair, just as the demon Papa Ge appears, determined to have one of their lives...
As you can see there is a lot to pack in to it's 85 minutes running time but when it ended it felt not enough time had been invested in any character, it was all very odd. Director/choreographer Lee Proud however kept the action flowing with the company rushing along the central playing area and as you are never too far from a song, there is also plenty of energetic and exciting choreography which is punched over by the young company.
The non-professional cast certainly put their all into it - maybe too much as quite a few of them were frequently inaudible including Jonathan Chen as the earth goddess Asaka - Sharon D Clarke's role - who has the big production number "Mother Will Provide" but sadly the lyrics were lost in an attempt to just belt it out. There were however some delightful performances which would grace any West End production: Aviva Tulley as the goddess of love Erzule was well partnered by Martin Cush's menacing demon of death Papa Ge, while Marie-Anna Caufour was a warmly sympathetic mother Euralie.
The best performance came from Chrissie Bhima as an impassioned and loving Ti Moune: she had an exceptional singing voice and while the character might have been a bit milque-toast she was never less than charismatic. Sam Tutty as Daniel was hardly her match but he sang his big number "Some Girls" well and with feeling.
Ahrens and Flaherty's lovely Calypso-flavoured score sounded great and certainly deserves further exploring; it was well played by Chris Ma's six-piece band and I am happy to report that despite the occasional misfire, it was a delight to see the cast and the show itself. The British Theatre Academy offers young amateur performers the chance to train and develop alongside professionals for the Academy's summer season of four or five productions. It's a great idea and hopefully some of the ONCE ON THIS ISLAND cast will pursue a career in performing. Who knows... there might just be a future Sharon D Clark in there....
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