SOUTH PACIFIC at Sadler's Wells - In a land far, far away...

As Lt. Cable sings, you have to be carefully taught.  For many years I had an active disinterest in  Rodgers & Hammerstein. The only show of theirs I had seen on stage was CAROUSEL which I found dreary, and despite seeing the films of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, THE KING AND I and OKLAHOMA!, still I never sought out their work; my baptism in stage musicals coincided with discovering Stephen Sondheim so I kept their perceived excessive sentimentality at bay.  Any liking I had for them was thanks to Barbara Cook, Nancy LaMott or Bernadette Peters cds. But all that changed in 2010 on a trip to New York when I saw Bartlett Sher's acclaimed Lincoln Center production which vividly illustrated a respect for the sub-plots of lonely people, unchallenged prejudice and the irretrievable loss of the future that war brings - and of course showed off their score magnificently!

Thanks to COVID, we had to settle on seeing Daniel Evans' production at Chichester online but here we are a year later, seeing it onstage at Sadler's Wells and how nice it was to see again. It reinforced how remarkable the show's score is when you see the show onstage: all those standards seem fresh when you see the characters' lives that they were written to illustrate.  

The original 1949 production won 10 Tony Awards - every one it was nominated for - as well as the Pulitzer Prize.  Seeing the show onstage again brings to mind the challenge Rodgers and Hammerstein faced when writing the score: Broadway sweetheart Mary Martin had been cast as Nellie opposite opera singer Ezio Pinza as Emile which worried her as she felt she would not be able to compete vocally with him in duets so they composed Nellie and Emile's "Twin Soliliques" so they take a verse each but as sung thoughts.

Based on James H Michener's 1947 novel TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC (which also won a Pulitzer Prize), nurses and sailors in the US Navy find love on an island in the South Pacific during WWII,  Nurse Nellie Forbush falls in love with French plantation owner Emile de Becque while Lt Joseph Cable falls for Liat, the young daughter of Bloody Mary, a wily Tonkinese peddler, but the happiness of all four founders on the perceptions of race from within and without.

One can only imagine how the plot twist of Nellie's racism was received by audiences 73 years ago but it is true that YOU'VE GOT TO BE CAREFULLY TAUGHT where Cable sings of his disgust at his own capitulation to racist thinking was nearly dropped from several productions of the show but the composers stood firm against it and it's 1949 national tour was threatened with boycotts and cancellation in the South.

There are still rumblings about the show - only now it's being questioned for the representations of Bloody Mary and Liat; here's what you do - go write your own musical... and see if it is still around in 73 years.

Daniel Evans has sought to intigrate the character of Liat more into the action; difficult when she hardly has any lines but by featuring her in the productions opening and closing moments and making Bloody Mary less of a stock character - but if the actress playing the role is any good she can seize the character's changes in the second act anyway.

The cast felt capable but Julian Ovenden was excellent as Emile, his rich voice suiting SOME ENCHANTED EVENING and THIS NEARLY WAS MINE, the latter only spoiled by the over-emphatic orchestra; but his charisma and easy playing style made Emile the central figure of the show.  Gina Beck was ok as Nellie, she just doesn't have the star wattage needed to make her memorable after leaving the theatre but she certainly sang the songs well.

Joanna Ampil and Rod Houchen were also ok as Bloody Mary and Cable singing their songs well, they just didn't have that extra spark to make them memorable.  Douggie McMeekin as the eternal chancer Luther Billis left hardly any impression.

Daniel Evans' direction and Ann Yee's choreography kept the show moving along on it's perfectly constructed wheels until the moment the show always stalls towards the end when the battalion chiefs listen in to the radio reports from Emile and Cable on a deserted island behind enemy lines; it is a dead sequence visually with a lot of exposition going on.

But it was still a great experience to see SOUTH PACIFIC onstage again where it really lives and breathes.

SHOW BOAT - Another visit now it is docked in London!

When I had to decide what show should be my birthday night event it was an easy choice - a return visit to Daniel Evans' revival of the game-changing 1927 musical SHOW BOAT, which has now slowly steamed into dock at the New London Theatre.

Finally!  A production has appeared at the New London Theatre that I want to see.  Since I became a 'proper' theatre fan in 1982 - apart from the transfer from the National Theatre of WAR HORSE - the New London Theatre has been home to a run of shows that I would walk a mile in tight shoes to avoid, but now I could visit safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't be seeing a dud.  To be honest the New London reminds me of any number of regional theatres I have been in - definitely a cross between Chichester and Sheffield with a similar 1970s feel of carpet and concrete.  Nice big bar area though!

We saw and loved SHOW BOAT back in January in it's Sheffield home but now it is gracing the West End with it's glorious score by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II and Evans' elegant production that guides you through the plot's decades.  In the journey from Sheffield to London, the production has lost it's two male leads but this has not sunk the ship, in fact it has made it a smoother journey.

In Sheffield Michael Xavier played Gaylord, the raffish gambler who falls for heroine Magnolia, while Allan Corduner was the affable Cap'n Andy, owner of the Cotton Blossom Showboat but these they have been replaced by Broadway import Chris Peluso and the always-dependable Malcolm Sinclair respectively.

Xavier was better than the role to be honest - it gave him very little chance to shine as it is quite a strait-jacketed role but it suited Chris Peluso but dear God... all through the show, through whatever decade, the tab at the back of his boots stuck out from under his trouser hems - It was profoundly irritating!  No such problems with Malcolm Sinclair who was a total delight as the hen-pecked but tender-hearted owner of the Cotton Blossom.

The strength of Evans' production is in the casting of the three central female roles: a majestic triumvirate of Gina Beck's sweet-natured Magnolia, Rebecca Trehearn's tragic Julie and Sandra Marvin's imperious Queenie with Trehearne coming out on top of them all thanks to having the two best songs in the score: "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and "Bill".

Lucy Briers has grown in the role of Parthy Ann Hawks, the battle-axe of the Cotton Blossom and the good news is that Emmanuel Kojo is still toting barges and lifting bales as he belts out a passionate and emotive "Old Man River".  I was particularly happy to see again the bendy dancing of Danny Collins as Frank Schultz who turns choreographer Alistair David's routines into something quite thrilling.

It was a huge delight to see this production again to enjoy Lez Brotherston's spare but evocative designs, David's physical choreography and Evans' direction that spills out into the auditorium at times.

SHOW BOAT was the show that in 1927 proved that a musical could be more than just a string of numbers and comedy scenes, it could actually tell a through story with characters you care for while also dealing with serious themes.  If you have never seen it now is your chance to - and if you have, then see it again!

SHOW BOAT at the Crucible, Sheffield - back to the beginning...

Last Saturday we took a long journey up to the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and also journeyed back to the first milestone of the American musical, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's legendary SHOW BOAT.

I had previously seen the show once before in 1991 when Ian Judge directed an Opera North revival at the London Palladium with a memorable cast of Jan Hartley (Magnolia), Bruce Hubbard (Joe), Marilyn Cutts (Julie), David Healy (Cap'n Andy), Karla Burns (Queenie) and Margaret Courtenay (Parthy).  Nearly 25 years later I can still remember the production well.

But Daniel Evans - soon to be the artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre - has directed a fine production which smoothly moves through the show's timespan of 40 years.  It's a shame we do not see this show produced more often because it's one of the best Broadway shows which boasts a stunning score including "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin Dat Man", "Bill" and "Why Do I Love You?" among other classics.

The show, based on Edna Ferber's novel, broke the mould of previous revue-style shows and operettas, by telling a story which touched on serious themes with it's musical numbers allowing the story and the characters to develop.  Indeed Hammerstein's book, although admittedly thin on character development, does indeed touch on the racism that the black workers on the Show Boat faced from their overseers, which of course lend "Ol' Man River" a greater weight when seen within the show's context.

Through the timespan, apart from the travails of Magnolia's love for gambler Gaylord, we also see the times changing for the Show Boat performers too - song-and-dance team Frank & Ellie evolve from low comedy performers to headliners until they reveal in the final scene that they have moved to Hollywood.

Lez Brotherston's set design makes good use of the Crucible's thrust stage and his minimalist Show Boat was hugely evocative - although the cast probably could do without all those stairs!  The great lighting designer David Hersey has also given the show a glowing vitality and kudos too for Tim Reid's video projections which helped the years melt away within the show.

There are sparkling performances from Evans' handsome cast - Michael Xavier was in excellent voice as the raffish Gaylord Ravenal (although Owen did note that ultimately his character could be given more to do), Gina Beck was a delightful Magnolia (although at times her strong operatic soprano lent too hard on the notes), Allan Corduner was (and appeared to have) great fun as Cap'n Andy and was well-partnered by Lucy Briers' scowling Parthy Ann.

Emmanuel Kojo nearly stopped the show with his rousing "Ol' Man River" and he too was well partnered by Sandra Marvin's no-messing Queenie.  As you will see, it's interesting how there are so many couples within the show, another being the song-and-dance team of Frank and Ellie and they too were well played by Danny Collins and Alex Young - Collins energetic, athletic dancing betrayed his extensive work with Matthew Bourne.

Although initially partnered with Bob Harms' Frank Baker, Rebecca Trehearn as Julie LaVerne always suggested her character's inner solitude.  Julie is the star of the Show Boat cast until a jilted co-worker tells local lawmen her secret: Julie has been hiding that she is a half-caste.  She has to leave the boat which starts a downward spiral ending up as an alcoholic club singer.  Trehearn sang my two favourite songs in the score "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and "Bill" and gave a haunting, quietly tragic performance.

It was wonderful to experience this show on stage again, and it proved that a historical milestone from 1927 can be as vital, touching and entertaining as ever.