The problem with this stage premiere of the 1939 Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers RKO picture is that’s its way too reverential. Most new stagings of 30’s shows (Anything Goes, Girl Crazy, On Your Toes, Babes in Arms…..) have scrubbed up fresh, but this feels like a visit to the RKO Musicals Museum.
It’s typical musical comedy fare. American hoofer Jerry Travers falls for Dale Tremont during a London run, but she thinks he’s producer Horace Hardwick. The mistaken identity unravels and resolves during a visit to Horace’s wife in Venice, where a rather cartoon Italian dressmaker Alberto Beddini gets caught up in the plot. It all ends happily (except for Alberto).
From Hildegard Bechtler’s lovely art deco sets & Jon Morrell’s accompanying costumes to the perfect wigs & make-up to the period choreography to the permanent smiles, it’s as if they set about recreating the film in colourful 3D. It felt like you’d dozed off on the sofa watching the movie in B&W on a Sunday afternoon and awoke disorientated with these people live in colour in your living room.
I found the leads a bit wooden; Charlotte Gooch is new, so she could be excused, but Tom Chambers has been doing it for 15 months. The smaller parts fared better, particularly Vivien Parry as Madge Hardwick, Stephen Boswell as Bates and understudy Paul Kemble as Horace Hardwick.
Director Matthew White has produced exciting revivals of Sweet Charity and Little Shop of Horrors at the Menier and choreographer Bill Deamer has produced fresh choreography for shows like The Boyfriend and Lady Be Good at the Open Air Theatre, so I’m a bit puzzled why they chose to be so conservative here. A disappointment.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 