The Regents Park Open Air Theatre 70th
Anniversary Gala
Regents Park Open Air Theatre, Sunday 1 September 2002
Review by Emma Shane
© September 2002
What an incredible line-up! To
mark the 70th Anniversary of The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
artistic director Ian Talbot certainly gathered together a bunch of
names, including: an Operatic librettist, and a Dutch Baroness,
along with one of Britain’s foremost puppeteers, and that was just his
1997 Kiss Me Kate cast! The glamorous line up assembled for this
gala also variously include: at least three major British television
voice-artistes, some notable (or perhaps not so notable) comedians,
a Blue Peter dare devil, two notable portrayers of
Eliza Dolittle, a Donmar Diva, two honorary citizens of Memphis
Tennessee, a Broadway lyricist’s widow, several famous film
actors, and a large number of major West End performers, among the
latter Judi Dench’s 1991 The Boy’s From Syracuse representatives
alone included amongst their number two Ex-Mamma Mia dynamo’s
(the original Rosie, and the actress who “improved” Tanya).
The gala started with The
Fantastics, played by Catherine Jayes (referred to throughout as
“Cathy”) and her team. Then on comes Ian Talbot leading a
selection of the company in a performance of Comedy Tonight from A
Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. It has to have been one
of the truest renditions of the line “hundreds of actors out of sight”,
(if you include the various people who introduced numbers as well as those
actually singing) the company in this production numbered about 70. To open Ian
started with himself, and was joined during the first half of the number by a
selection of about ten or so members of the company. These included: reliable Jessica
Martin, mad-cap Su Pollard, and bouncy Louise Gold. The
latter seems to be making a habit of singing Sondheim this year (what
with including him in her cabaret act, then Follies and now
this). Comedy Tonight is an excellent choice for an opening
number (for a start it has opened not only Sondheim’s first completely ‘own’
show, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, but also, David
Kernan’s fabled compilation, Side By Side By Sondheim). It is
particularly funny to see the company look en masse at Su for the line “She
plays Medea later this week”, but overall I felt Ms Pollard was a little
too much over the top. A far far better example of how to be extrovert, but
without descending too far into becoming camp, can be seen in the performance
of the delightfully enthusiastic Louise Gold (dressed in a red top,
jacket/blouse, and stylish black trousers), both her manner and her timing are
marvellous, I particularly liked the way she showed off her (clothed) buttock
for the reference about something bawdy.
Having had an introductory
number Ian Talbot gets down to introducing the evening, and the only
joke of his in the entire evening that was completely unconvincing, he said
that the cast had been locked in here for a week. It fell flat, not least
because two of them (including one of the opening number’s performers) were
appearing at The Royal Festival Hall in the last night of a three-week
run of Follies only last night. Then he introduces a girl, who
first came here on ‘work experience’, to bring Cathy some flowers, and
on comes Dame Judi Dench (referred to throughout most of the evening as “Jude”).
Now it is time for a number, and as he has to rush off to catch a train, first
up is Clive Rowe in the role of Gus Esmond, singing Bye Bye Baby
from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, as his Lorelei isn’t here, Jude
stood in, briefly. He sang the number quite well, as one would expect from a
performer of his reputation.
Next we had the first of the
evening’s guest speakers, Natasha McElhone, to talk about her film roles
and introduce the next number, Liz Robertson and Brian Cox as
Marin Paroo and Harold Hill singing Till There Was You from The
Music Man. Actually it was not Brian Cox but Harry Burton,
a point which the two performers had to adlib their way round. Meanwhile the
display board at the back of the stage had managed to flash up a photograph
from The Card rather than The Music Man. Liz
Robertson sang the lyrics well, although she did not seem to be in quite
the same key as Catherine Jayes. However, Ms Robertson, successfully
captures the feel of the show as being a Broadway musical from the era
immediately post My Fair Lady.
Having had some possibly
accidental mis-haps, Ian Talbot proceeds to act out a tale about the
early days of using radio mikes at the open air theatre. For this he enlisted Judi
Dench to play the role of the actress (I think she’s supposed to be
Carol Royle) singing My Funny Valentine, while he himself
went off-stage to play the role of the (unnamed) off-stage actor whose radio
mike was still on. Returning to the stage he also recounted a story about how
that same year in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania ad-libbed “Jesus
Christ” into one of the floating mikes, at the end of a speech. It is nearly
time for another number, and to introduce it two more guests, Mr Medwin and
Judi Dench’s goddaughter Rachel Kavenagh. At last we get Jessica
Martin as Bunny Byron, to sing The Lady Is A Tramp from Babes
In Arms. Jessica starts by telling us that her character Bunny, would
have absolutely hated a luvvie gala event like this, but she’ll sing the
song anyway. This proves to be one of the very best singing performances of
the evening. Jessica Martin is a wonderful singer. She also has a
genuine gift for accents, and by and large knows how to incorporate this into a
song. Tonight she did it perfectly, using accents for emphasis where
appropriate, but not overdoing them. She is one of those wonderful performers
who doesn’t just sing a song, but becomes the character singing it. Tonight it
was made all the more special by the updating of some of the lyrics, with
references to OK magazine, and Regent’s Park lake. I’d love to
know who did the excellent rewrites, could it have been Jessica herself? Those original Lorenz Hart lyrics
that do remain are also brilliant, especially: “I love the theatre, but
never come late” a reference to the fact that in the 1930’s there was a
custom amongst Society people to arrive late to the theatre, so that the entire
audience would see what they were wearing. An understandably annoyed Cole
Porter insisted I Get A Kick Out Of You appear very early in
Anything Goes, so that people would miss it if they were late. Come to
think of it, that could be a means of linking these two songs, for example in a
cabaret or on a radio programme. Another lovely lyric in this song is “I
don’t go to crap games with Barons and Earls”. (I can’t help thinking that
lyric would go wonderfully in this song if it was sung by a good down to earth
singer, such as Jessica Martin, or Louise Gold, with say Issy
Van Randwyck and Timothy Bentinck as backing singers - well it’s an
idea?). But whatever ideas one has about how this song might be done, it has to
be said that Jessica Martin’s performance tonight was perfect anyway,
and very well suited to the occasion.
Ian Talbot next tells us about touring their 1994 musical The
Card. The tour went Warwick, Moscow and Edinburgh. Their Moscow visit
managed to coincide with a diplomatic scandal, when Yeltsin touched The
Queen’s bum. On with the show, we have another guest, Haley Mills,
telling us about her mother, Mary Haley Bell’s attempts at playing
Peasblossom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regents Park, over sixty
years ago, unfortunately she wasn’t much of a dancer. On with the music, we
have Jenna Russell as Nellie and Peter Duncan as Denry Machin
singing Opposite Your Smile from The Card. They
sing passably well, and that born actor Peter Duncan (he grew up with
Britain’s last travelling theatre companies) really can do a cockney accent.
Another guest, Saeed
Jaffrey has a few things to say about civilised acting jobs, and, Bollywood
directors not knowing anything about Shakespeare, and then it’s time for
a bit more culture, Gilbert And Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance.
The Open Air Theatre has had several touring companies for this show, so
tonight they have an amalgam of these, starting with two major generals, Paul
Bradley and David Alder to duet A Modern Major General,
which they do with great enthusiasm, and just about pull off. This was followed
by Lucy Quick and Mark Umbers as Mabel and Frederick singing Fa
La La, which was quite pleasant, and then the tempo stepped up a pace,
as various Pirates came on to sing With Cat Like Tread. This
company apparently included: Su Pollard and Gay Soper as two
Ruth’s, Jimmy Johnson and Gary Wilmot as two Pirate Kings, and, Joshua
Dallas and Mark Umbers as two Fredericks, however, I didn’t notice Gay
Soper, because she slipped on and switched places with Su Pollard
very unobtrusively. Flashed up on the screen at the back are various
photographs from the production, from which it is clear that the costumes they
used were just like the ones in the 1982 film version.
Samantha Spiro is the next guest to do an introduction, though not
dressed as a canary, as that costume has mysteriously disappeared. But she does
introduce an extract from Lady Be Good. First the extremely
talented Joanna Riding, as Susie Trevor, performs Fascinating
Rhythm, and she really does perform it, dancing and singing her heart
out, so much so that on entering the stage, veteran performer Bernard
Cribbins says “I’m surprised you didn’t sing I Could’ve Danced All
Night”. Then he, as Wally Watkins, takes over, assisted by Joanna for the
title song, Lady Be Good. I have long admired Bernard Cribbins.
In fact I grew up hearing his wonderful voice-work, and I think it gave me an
appreciation for really good voice-artistes (such as Jessica Martin, Louise
Gold, and, Jerry Nelson), so it is a real thrill to see Bernard
Cribbins in person, and he is such an old pro he does not disappoint. It is
really something to see him singing live on stage. Like every excellent
voice-artiste he knows just when to use his gifts to make the song that bit
more interesting, and when not to.
The first half ends with Paint
Your Wagon, and an introduction from Paula Wilcox, who was in
it. I’m only surprised, as it was such a stellar occasion, they didn’t get the
lyricist’s widow to do the honours, since she was taking part in the show.
First up we have Claire Carrie as Jennifer Rumson to sing I Talk
To The Trees, which she did nicely. Then Tony Selby as Ben
Rumson, leads a selection of the company’s men in a rousing performance of Wandering
Star, which they dedicated to the late Gavin Muir.
The second half opens with
various maidens and police from The Pirates Of Penzance singing Go
Ye Hero’s, most notably Karen Evans as Mabel and Giles Taylor
as the Sergeant. Of this group Giles Taylor’s performance stood out as
the best, but I’m afraid the others, though they did well, did not to my mind
quite live up to the amazing Joseph Papp/Wilford Leach film version, this
was perhaps be coloured by the knowledge that the actress who played Edith on
the screen twenty years ago just happens to be somewhere backstage tonight.
Gary Wilmot enters, and proceeds to warn us that the second half
won’t be as good as the first, and so gets the audience to take a vow of
enjoyment. Somehow, I don’t quite believe him, we haven’t had the Shakespeare musicals
yet. Then Su Pollard tells a joke that was not only pointless but rather
cruel. This is followed by Christopher Biggins recounting the time he
was “The best Puck in the park”, and a tree on the stage caught fire in
middle of his performance (it reminded me of hearing a WWII amateur actress’s
account of a rehearsal where incendiary bombs came through the roof). On with
the show, we have Donmar Diva Janie Dee as Sandy to sing My
Heart Stood Still from A Connecticut Yankee. This is a
another of the great female singing performances of the evening, by one of
those woman who might have been made for singing sweet 1920’s and 30’s musical
songs. Whether it’s Porter or Gershwin or Rodgers
she does it well. What could possibly follow it?
What in fact followed proves
to be a real delight. Denis Quilley came on to do the introduction,
recalling his experience in the original London production of the same show,
and then “Here to sing for their supper Gillian Bevan, Jenny Galloway, and,
Louise Gold”. On the trio come, as
Luciana, Luce and Adriana respectively. Louise Gold is now wearing that
black dress with the ra ra-like frill. Funnily enough it’s the same dress she wore
last time she did this song in a charity gala, A Lost Musicals Occasion.
Only there she didn’t have her original The Boys From Syracuse
co-stars, but two other singers. The very special thing about tonight was how
many winning teams from past Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre productions
were reunited, to perform one more time whatever their speciality was. In this
number tall magnificent Louise Gold dominates the action, leading the
trio with her sheer energy, enthusiasm, and vibrance. Here she seems as fresh
and funny as ever, waving her clever hands about, as if they too are joining in
the close harmony trilling. Comically the shortest, and well used to being in
that situation, Jenny Galloway too makes herself noticed. I found the
bit where she tried to step forward only to be pulled back by Louise Gold’s
strong hands on her shoulders particularly funny. Gillian Bevan is the
least remarkable of the three. She is a very good performer, but it is perhaps
unfair on her that she has to co-star with Galloway and Gold, for she gets rather
overshadowed. The only downside to the number was Louise Gold’s radio
mike (which did not seem to be exactly one of the best) and Emma Laxton’s
sound design, but Ms Laxton was making it up as she went along, and overall we
just swept up by the wonderful performance, and the chance to actually witness,
Louise Gold, Jenny Galloway and Gillian Bevan perform
their famous showstopping version of Sing For Your Supper. It is
one of the highlights of the entire evening.
Throughout the evening Judi
Dench has had the task of reading out the details of which Regents Park
musicals were nominated for Olivier awards. Now she comes to Kiss Me Kate
and that show’s three nominations (Best Actor In A Musical, Best
Supporting Actress In A Musical, and Best Musical Revival). I still
can’t help feeling that that show’s wonderful leading lady, who we have just
seen performing so excellently in The Boys From Syracuse extract,
gets rather left out here. Rhys Ifans then does a dreadful job of
introducing Andrew C Wadsworth singing Where Is The Life That Late
I Lead (I think that was the worst introduction of the entire evening).
By contrast Andrew C Wadsworth’s performance as Petruchio is among the
best, possibly even better than when he actually did the number five years ago
in the show! Dressed in an outfit of his own choosing he also looks rather
handsomer than he did on stage as Petruchio, and all in all it was a thrilling
reminder of Kiss Me Kate, and sort of appropriate as the previous
number, though from another Shakespeare musical, had included his shrew.
From one Kiss Me Kate number to another, Maria Atkin comes
on to introduce “a lot of names, Issy Van Randwyck, Paul Bentley, Graeme
Henderson, and , Paul Thornley in Tom, Dick And Harry”; I am only surprised
she did not include the Baroness’s title amongst all of that! The number, as
one would expect from performers like these, compared very well to their
performances five years ago, as Bianca, Gremio, Lucentio, and, Hortensio. Of
course some of the lyrics are a little unbelievable out of context, after all Issy
Van Randwyck is hardly likely to give a social lift to her position by
marrying.
This is followed by one of
the best linkage pieces of the evening, Carol Royle reading her poem
about playing Titania in The Park. I love poetry that is accessible in its
subject matter, about something one can understand. So this was just super, and
a very fitting contribution to the evening, she even included a reference to
the problems using microphones, which linked very nicely with Ian Talbot’s
earlier story. Camoron Blackey’s performance, as Charley, of Once
In Love With Amy, from Where’s Charley, though well sung
did not quite follow on from the last three showstoppers, or it’s introduction,
perhaps it suffered from being placed in the wrong place in the running order,
an inherent danger in these sorts of compilation shows.
It is sometimes appropriate
in compilations such as this to end up to date. So in this case the gala ended
with an extended excerpt from their current musical, Oh What A Lovely War.
Somehow I did not think the scene extract, performed by John Hodgkinson
as the Drill Sergeant with Daniel Crossely, Dominic March, Tatu
Mutu and Harry Peacock quite worked out of context. At last it was
over and they were joined by a selection of the Oh What A Lovely War
company to sing the title song. They departed the stage, Ian Talbot said
a few words, and then the entire company marched on stage for the finale, a
reprise of the song Oh What A Lovely War (well the only other
song that could have been appropriate was Brush Up Your Shakespeare,
as they are The New Shakespeare Company, but really Oh What A
Lovely War was a fitting enough finale). Some of the past cast members
seemed to outdo the current ones in their march on. From where I was sitting I
could see that Louise Gold marches on firmly, in a manner that might be
showing the Pirates girls how they should have done it in Go Ye Hero’s.
All in all it was a glorious evening, and so thrilling to have such an incredible
line-up, giving their all. There were some downsides, but by and large this was
outweighed by the good bits. It was also a wonderful chance to see some of the
highlights of the last dozen years of musicals in Regents Park,
recreated by the very same brilliant performers who did them in the first
place. A fitting way of marking 70 years of Open Air Theatre in Regents Park.
Return To Site Guide | Return To Charity Concerts | Return To Regents Park 70th Gala