The Plot: Magnolia is the naïve daughter of a showboat
captain who falls in love with a handsome gambler, Gaylord. At the same time,
her best friend and star of the show, Julia, has to leave the boat because of
her negro blood.
The Cast: What can I say of the cast? This is a terrific
ensemble, where everyone has a chance to shine and I felt they were all
emotionally connected with their characters. Every one of them have strong
beautiful voices and it’s a pleasure to hear their rendition of songs. My
favorites were the girls: Gina Beck is a perfectly innocent Magnolia, Rebecca
Trehearn a sensual and beautiful Julie, Sandra Marvin a true winner as Queenie
and Alex Young shows great comic timing as Ellie. As for the boys, Tosh
Wanogho-Maud delivers a deep and strong “Ol’ Man River” as Joe, Malcolm
Sinclair is a terrific Captain Andy, Chris Peluso as Gaylord has the matinee
looks of a movie star, last but not least Danny Collins reveals great dancing
and comic skills as Frank.
The Score: Wrote in 1927 by Jerome Kern and Oscar
Hammersmith II, this is still one of the most beautiful scores of all times. The
operetta style songs like “Only Make Believe” or “You Are Love”, mix perfectly
with the likes of “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”, “Bill”, “Life Upon the Wicked
Stage”, “Hey, Feller” and the highly emotional “Ol’ Man River”. Personally, I
always loved this score and it’s a pleasure to be able to hear all these great
songs live on stage. The truth is, today no one writes songs like this and we
are all poorer for that. There’s nothing like a Jerome Kern melody and this is
his best work.
The Show: Many years ago, I was lucky to see Harold
Prince/Susan Stroman’s big revival of SHOW BOAT and loved every second of it. I
never dreamt that I would being seeing a new production of this show, but I did
and I enjoyed it. Director Daniel Evans gives us an intimate staging of the
show, more centered on the drama of its characters and less worried with giving
us big production numbers. Sometimes the action is a little bit too slow for my
taste, mainly in the more operatic moments, and I miss Susan Stroman’s more
dynamic musical staging. But I liked the fact that sometimes the show happens
all around us and the arrival of the boat is a big magic theatrical moment.
Above all, Evans is excellent at directing the actors and takes full advantage
of their talents. Choreographer Alistair David dances may not be very inventive
or even exciting, but sometimes they can be pretty contagious, specially in
“Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”. The dramatic story always brings a tear or two to
my eyes and in the end I surrendered to the simple charms of this classic and
to the talented cast. It may not be a great SHOW BOAT, but it sure is an
enjoyable one!
Cast: Gina Beck, Chris
Peluso, Malcom Sinclair, Sandra Marvin, Tosh Wanogho-Maud, Rebecca Trehearn,
Danny Collins, Alex Young, Lucy Briers, Leo Roberts
Creative Team: Music by Jerome
Kern • Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II • Book by Oscar Hammerstein II •
Choreography by Alistair David • Directed by Daniel Evans
Photos: Johan Persson
My Rate: 7 (from 1 to 10)
Hi Jorge! I loved Show Boat. I saw it two weeks ago and it was the first musical I've ever seen in the West End (I saw Sunset Boulevard in April but it was at ENO, an opera house). Of course I knew the music and saw the movie but on stage is always another thing. The singers were amazing. I prefer classics so I hope I will see soon Guys and Dolls. But maybee I will change my mind after reading your London musical reviews. Of course, I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good intimate production and the cast was terrific. I saw a different production of GUYS AND DOLLS several years ago in London; this new one looks colourful and the score is one of the best ever written for a musical.
ReplyDelete