Lillian Baylis Studio Theatre,
Sadler’s Wells, Sunday 13 April 2008
Review by Emma Shane
© April 2008
Despite the Discovering
Lost Musicals Charitable TrustTM having lost one of its staunchest
background supports (Dick Vosburgh) last year, Ian Marshall-Fisher does
it again! A well cast production of an amusing undiscovered musical comedy. As
usual the afternoon’s entertainment starts with the producer/director’s
introduction, during which he plugs the next show in the series (this is to be Sail
Away, written for Elaine Stritch). Cast already on-stage, but
none who would attempt any upstaging. Ian Marshall-Fisher sets the
scene, explaining the show probably got lost through having been written during
the “devil may care” period but not put on until afterwards.
On to the show, the cast
includes a number of regular members of ‘The Gang’, such as Peter
Gale, several more who seem to be becoming regulars. such as: Elizabeth
Counsell, Valerie Cutko, David Firth, and, David O’Brien;
along with just one of the ‘magic quintet’ (most Lost MusicalsTM
do manage at least one member or another of that quintet), on this occasion James
Vaughan. All mixing well with several newcomers (well new to performing in Lost
MusicalsTM).
Tomorrow Is The Time, sung by Anatt Bass and the women kicks
off the show, in splendid style, complete with a quote from Gilbert &
Sullivan, a reminder of what an appreciation lyricist Ira Gershwin
had for G&S. New team-member, Stephen Carlile as Ned enters,
and with Helen Anker’s Madge duets For The Life Of Me, a
sweet love song. Funnily enough just before launching into it, Mr Carlile had a
strange look on his face that was extraordinarily reminiscent of the expression
he wore before launching into Sounds Familiar in Matthew
Strachen’s musical Next Door’s Baby, at The Orange Tree
a few months ago. Ned and Madge are to be married, by a Bishop the following
day.
Enter leading lady Elizabeth
Counsell as Sybil (Madge’s mother). This is one of those musicals where the
moment the Leading Lady makes her first entrance, one immediately knows this is
the Leading Lady, at least if the said actress has a strong enough presence to
carry the moment off properly, as Elizabeth Counsell certainly
does. Sybil introduces current Husband,
Ogden played by David Firth, and then Husbands three and two and their
current wives, played by John Rawnsley, Terence Bayler, Andrea
Miller, and, Valerie Cutko respectively. Thereby bringing about the suggestion
that all three stepfathers might try to walk Madge down the aisle. How shades
of Sophie’s Under Attack nightmare in Mamma Mia can
you get? Yet this was over fifty years earlier!
Completing the group, Madge’s
Father, Richard Nelson and current wife Betty, played by James Vaughan,
and, Nuala Willis respectively; with Madge’s father angrily walking into
a croquet hoop and thus rubbing his shin. Everyone else departs, leaving Sybil
and her four husbands to sing about their relationships The Due Was On
The Rose. All four men turn out to be excellent singers, and neat
movers, yet it is Elizabeth Counsell who quite rightly leads the cast on
this splendid number, about knowing when to end a relationship, a little
premature perhaps, but hey that’s the kind of characters Sybil and co are, in
some ways quite honest. Perhaps this show was rather ahead of its time, or at
least in the wrong time.
Just to give some balance, a
trio for the other three wives, Don’t Be A Woman If You Can. This
is a fast moving hilarious comedy number, which needs putting across
effectively. It’s just perfect for Valerie Cutko’s vocal talents, and
for that matter Andrea Miller. Both, while capable of leading shows if
they have to, are at their best when being very strong supporting plays, not in
the background by any means, having parts that are big enough to give them
scope to make something of them, but free of the responsibilities of carrying a
show. Their roles this afternoon suit them tremendously well. This song is a
fine one for them. Nuala Willis seems the least easy of the trio, at
least in this number, vocally she appears a trifle ill at ease. By no means
bad, but not as well suited to the number as the other two.
Mr Meachem, a lawyer, played
by a reliable Lost MusicalsTM old hand, Peter Gale,
calls on Sybil, to discuss some “waterfront property”, she is planning on
divorcing again (to marry Freddie Coleman), her usual lawyer is busy, hence Mr
Meachem who usually deals in marriages rather than unmarriages is
handling the case. They are interrupted at intervals by several of the others,
who will be wanting to see him later. Mr Meachem suggests Sweet Nevada
would be a good place for the case to be heard in. Both sing like the
accomplished professionals that they are, though the song is pleasant but not
particularly memorable.
Meanwhile Ned worries that
with Madge’s family background she won’t take marriage seriously as being for
life, she says she thinks her parents are settling down now (and might stay
married to their current spouses), so also reassures him There’s No Holding Me.
Again both singers do a decent job, of a less memorable song.
Sybil breaks it to
Anatt Bass opens the second act with Hope For The Best,
a sort of bitter reprise of Tomorrow Is The Time.
Madge, distraught at losing
Ned, unsuccessfully attempts to explain to her parents how Ned feels about
them, while they attempt to tell her he’s not worthy of her, and rhapsodies
about the kind of man they think ought to be Madge’s first husband, My
Son In Law. All three sing well, as one would expect (when people like Elizabeth
Counsell and James Vaughan have anything to do with it) and the song
has its comical moments. Though I did find myself wondering how many songs are
there in the world about in-laws (including potential and hypothetical ones),
now what on earth sparked off that idea?...
The Butler approaches Mr
Meachem, because he and Cook are thinking of getting divorced, they’ve been
saving up for it ever since they were married. But he is rebuffed being told
that divorce isn’t for people like him. One of the other men, was it Charles or
Reggie? I think it was Charles, chances
to overhear this, and wonders how many people in the country are unhappily
married but can’t afford a divorce, would it be possible to make divorce
cheaper, and therefore more available to people, like Ford cars? It’s a
business idea he begins to share with the other three, Land Of
Opportunity. They are all keen on making money, the song is one of the
funniest, tuneful, catchiest, and in the current economic situation most ironic
numbers in the entire show. It is also terrifically well performed, more than
one of the men get to lead a verse, because there’s one about the stock market,
and one about horse racing. The former really being a case of Ian
Marshall-Fisher doing it again, in terms of getting rather unintentional
irony into the show, this often seems to happen in Lost MusicalsTM
concert staging. It is in this number too that James Vaughan really
comes into his own as one of the very best comic singer-actors in the Lost
MusicalsTM gang; he knows exactly what he is doing with this
sort of number and does it in a manner that is just typical of him at his best
in these shows (complete with his funny little trick of moving his eyebrows). A
forgotten gem of a number.
Meanwhile, it is Betty Nelson
who finally contrives, thanks to similes with Lassie, to get across to
Sybil how Madge feels about Ned; and what needs to be done. Sybil agrees to try
and stay with Ogden, at least for the next few months, so that Ned will marry
Madge. The big question is will the others agree to stay with their respective
spouses? Myra, Reggie and Elsa are talked round, trouble ensures with Charles,
who has found someone else. A tour de force of comic acting on Elizabeth
Counsell’s part has Sybil frantically ringing various people to convince
them to halt this round of musical husbands, all so that Ned will marry Madge.
When at last she succeeds, Ned returns to be reunited with Madge, Goodbye
To All That. And then who should throw a spanner in the works, but
Richard Nelson, turning up with Carole Benswanger, whom he wants to marry!
Judicious questioning on
Sybil’s part, eventually unearths the truth about whose daughter Carole is, and
when Richard realises, he too is horrified at what he nearly did, and edges
away from her as quickly as possible, back to Betty, to whom he says “You’d
better keep a very close eye on me in the future”. James Vaughan may
be acting the role of a complaining buffoon, but in this scene he gives the
character a much greater degree of humanity, without which the role would have been
a mere caricature, rather than a convincing character.
Having cleared up all the
problems, now Ned can marry Sybil, and then, who’d have thought Ned would
spring a surprise, while Sybil was sorting out Richard’s narrow escape from
incest, Ned and Madge have been married by Mr Meachum (rather than the Bishop),
with Betty and possibly the Butler as their witnesses. So now everyone can Stay
As We Are, and all ends happily for the time being. This being a
cynical sort of musical, although it has a happy ending, we know that given
this set of characters in the words of Stephen Sondheim “ever after
can mean one week”....
All in all a very interesting
rediscovery. George S Kaufman and Nunnally Johnson devised a
quite witty book, with some innovative ideas. Arthur Schwartz’s score is
pleasant and enjoyable, with one or two catchy numbers, though no showstoppers,
while Ira Gershwin’s wonderful lyrics up are to his usual high standard
of wit and craft. It’s obvious this show just appeared at the wrong time to be
a hit. Yet knowingly or otherwise there are ideas in it that have turned up
subsequently, sometimes in quite successful shows. For example the
show-within-a-show in Merrily We Roll Along is “all about
divorces”, it’s even titled ‘Musical Husbands’, and it’s a hit.
In another Sondheim musical Do I Hear A Waltz it’s quite
obvious that “happy endings can spring a leak”. While the idea of
several (in fact three) dads trying to walk the bride down to aisle surfaced to
great effect in Mamma Mia, a worldwide hit, as Louise Gold
(Tanya in London Cast 2 &3) so aptly put it “As a bank closes in
America, a production of Mamma Mia opens”.
Perhaps in more enlightened times, such as now, it might be right to
revive Park Avenue properly, for a limited run perhaps, and one
of the smaller West End theatres?
Another problem musicals can encounter, besides just being at the wrong
time, is being put on in the wrong sort of theatre, or even the wrong country.
A hit on the fringe will not necessarily be the right show for the West End (Tim
Luscombe and
When rediscovering a show, it helps to have a good cast. This afternoon’s was a splendid one. Helen Anker and Stephen Carlile made jolly fine juvenile leads. If Mr Carlile looked at times a little awkward, well that fitted in perfectly with the character. Nicholas Cass-Beggs, Anatt Bass, and, David O’Brien all did satisfactorily in their small but notable parts. As two of the other three socialite wives: Valerie Cutko, and Andrea Miller were perfect casting; Making strong support players, but in roles where they can really concentrate on playing their parts will, without getting out of their depth as performers. The only criticism I have of them is Valerie Cutko’s costume, which didn’t entirely suit her (a black evening dress with very thin shoulder straps and a grey stole), if only her stole had been a cape to cover her shoulders properly it would have been fine (she just looks better with her shoulders covered). Of this trio Nuala Willis, appeared vocally to be the least well suited to her part. However, she made up for this to some extent with her acting, particularly in Act 2. John Rawnsley and Terence Bayler also made good strong supporting players, well balanced with Valerie and Andrea. Meanwhile David Firth proved himself to be a capable actor, who played his part with conviction, and made the audience want to like him. However there are three actors who really stand out in this afternoon’s production, all of whom have done Lost MusicalsTM before, and one would expect them to give a reliably good performance, and all of whom lived up to that expectation. Peter Gale is one of those performers who one can always trust to make a good job of a part, which he certainly did. James Vaughan is another reliable performer, and one of the magic quintet who’ve always brought something extra special to the Lost MusicalsTM. He has been in quite a number of the shows now (not as many as Myra Sands, but slightly more than Louise Gold). During the first act he seemed underused, and a little wasted as a character actor, that all changed early in the second act, when his part emerged as one of those brilliant comic roles he is so good at playing. As a television actor his work generally fails to capture his gift for comic acting. A gift well used in the Lost MusicalsTM. This afternoon ended up being just typical of the kind of super comedy part he is so good at playing. A goofy buffoon, maybe, but one played with total seriousness and conviction. I heard it said that one young gentleman apparently described his performance as “very silly”, that certainly hits the nail on the head, as a good summation. However, good though all the actors are, the show would not work well without a capable leading lady. Elizabeth Counsell is accustomed to playing leads, and in terms of commanding the stage she’s up there with the best of them. She may be a little old for the character, but acts so well that this really doesn’t matter in the least (after all if Louise Gold when in her early 40s could play a 27 year old ‘old maid’ in a Lost Musical, 110 In The Shade in 1998) then Elizabeth Counsell can certainly play Sybil Bennett in Park Avenue. Excellent casting is one of the best things about this afternoon’s show. Although the Lost MusicalsTM often to quite well, I have seldom seen a show, where the casting was so right for the show. All the actors occupied positions in the show that were generally right for them in relation to the strengths of their fellow performers, so the balance of power between the characters was absolutely right, and all played their parts convincingly. I have sometimes seen Lost MusicalsTM productions where the balance wasn’t quite right.(the most striking example being Of Thee I Sing, and to a lesser extent Silk Stockings), but this afternoon everything was so well balanced. A funny, silly, well performed afternoons entertainment, there was even some characteristically unintended irony. To be sure Ian Marshall-Fisher has done it again.
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The Discover Lost Musicals Charitable TrustTM’s Official Site: http://www.lostmusicals.org/
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