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Cheek to Cheek: Alan Birkitt as
Jerry Travers and Charlotte Gooch as Dale Tremont Top Hat
Birmingham Hippodrome
***** IT is hard to imagine a more elegant
musical than this. The Art Deco sets are magnificent, the 200 or so
period costumes stunning and Irving Berlin’s music transports you back
to Hollywood’s golden age from the opening notes. Add in sublime dancing
and singing, a 12 piece band and wit worthy of a Wilde or a Coward and
it’s heaven, you’re in heaven and your heart beats so that you can
hardly speak . . . see how easy it is to get carried away in a cloud of
nostalgia. The story, based on the RKO 1935 picture starring
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, is a simple one of romance and mistaken
identity with famous Broadway tap dancer Jerry Travers attempting to woo
the gorgeous Dale Tremont a . . . we never did find out what she did
apart from wear Italian fashion designer Alberto Beddini’s clothes. It was a musical comedy vehicle to showcase the
dancing talents of the two stars and 80 years on, despite the wonderful
sets, cast and music, it still needs talents to showcase, and it gets
them in the shape of Alan Burkitt as Jerry and Charlotte Gooch as Dale. Astaire’s daughter Eva has seen the show and
declared that Burkitt has the best feet she has seen since her father .
. . need we say more? He makes tap and dance look so elegant, easy and
natural that even people like me, with dyslexic legs, think it can’t be
that hard. Everything about him seems relaxed and he even has a singing
voice which evokes the sound of the era. He is matched by Gooch, who sings her bittersweet
solo Better Luck Next Time quite beautifully. Their dancing together is a delight, although
perhaps not something you should try at home without a chiropractor
standing by, and their dance to Cheek to Cheek is the highlight
of the second act – it even emulates the scene in the original film with
the feather trim on Dale’s beautiful white
The show-stopping number though closes the
opening act with the signature tune, Top Hat, White Tie and Tails
when Travers and the entire ensemble take to the stage in a massed tap
extravaganza. The initial production had Travers emulating
Astaire in the film, shooting down the other dancers with his cane. In
the film it was iconic, on stage, a mess which has, thankfully, been
dropped. John Conroy as Bates and Clive Hayward as
Horace Hardwick The show has matured, evolved and developed since
it was last at the Hippodrome in 2011 on its way to the West End. It was
good then and is even better now, deserving its opening night standing
ovation. Just about every song has feet tapping and
memories singing along with the likes of Let’s face the music
and dance, I’m putting all my eggs in one basket, Isn’t this a lovely
day (to be caught in the rain?) and Wild about you, which are
an enduring testament to the song writing talents of Berlin. There is excellent support from Sebastien Torkia
as Italian fashion designer, and torturer of the Queen’s English,
Alberto Beddini with his solo-cum-strip Latins Know How a comic
gem while Clive Hayward and Rebecca Thornhill are superb as Horace and
Madge Hardwick. Madge is the long suffering wife with a
wonderfully sweet manner hiding a neatly barbed tongue, while Horace
bumbles along through life as a genial soul not unduly burdened by
intellect, with the only mystery being how he managed to become so
wealthy. Both show impeccable timing and a wonderful bent
for comedy making even old jokes sound fresh and funny. And then there is Horace’s manservant Bates
played by John Conroy, sent undercover with all the disguise skills of a
colour-blind chameleon. Bates has a relative on every continent and each
has a homily more bizarre than the next in a wonderful comic
performance. With six strong leads and a wonderful ensemble
along with stunning choreography from Bill Deamer, the stage is set, and
set beautifully with Hildegard Bechtler’s design and Jon Morrell’s
glorious costumes. A mention too for excellent technicals from Peter
Mumford’s lighting to Gareth Owen’s sound. It is not easy making the distinctive sound of
tap proportionately audible over music in a large theatre and Owen has
managed it well with, apparently, a leg mic attached to tap shoes. The orchestra is large for a touring production
and it shows in the sound, rich and full under musical director Jae
Alexander, who manages to make the music seem both modern yet still
evocative of the 1930s. Director Matthew White, who along with Howard
Jacques, adapted the 1935 film for the stage, does the same, bringing a
clean, fresh and contemporary feel to a story set firmly in the 1930s.
This is as near as it gets to seeing Astaire and Rogers live, not to be
missed. To 21-03-14 Roger Clarke
10-03-15 If you want to know more about the original film
click here.
Remaining tour dates 2015: 31 Mar - 11 Apr: Norwich Theatre Royal; 14 - 25 Apr: Canterbury The Marlowe Theatre; 28 Apr - 9 May: Plymouth Theatre Royal; 12 - 23 May: Southampton Mayflower; 27 May - 6 Jun: Dublin Bord Gais Theatre; 16 - 21 Jun: Bromley Churchill Theatre; 24 Jun - 4 Jul: Sunderland Empire Theatre; 7 - 18 Jul: Woking New Victoria Theatre; 21 - 25 Jul: Eastbourne Congress Theatre.
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dress
gently shedding as she dances.