Loading summary
Transcript10 lines
- [00:00]
A
Summer smells like salt in the air and warm sand. Restore your sense of place with Pura's new Summer Fragrance Collection. Discover transportive clean scents@pura.com close your eyes. Summer smells like sunshine, fresh citrus and salty air. What if your living room could feel just like that? With Pura's new Summer collection, it can restore your sense of well being with fragrances designed to move with your day. From bright, energizing mornings to soft, relaxing evenings. Make the invisible unforgettable this season. Visit pura.com to find your new favorite summer scent.
- [00:39]
B
When it's time to scale your business it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want. Like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha chings from every channel right in one spot and turn real time reporting into big time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today. So in spite of the fact that High Society as a stage musical isn't produced particularly frequently in the United Kingdom, I somehow managed to see it every single time that it is because in my 15 year history of theatre going, this is my fourth high society. I have seen regional tour High Society, I have seen intimate dinner theatre High Society. I have seen London in the Round High Society and now Barbican High Society bigger than any of those other productions and well did you ever what a swell musical this continues to aspire to be. To find out whether or not it is and how it compared to those previous productions. Stay tuned. But just before that, a quick introduction to me for those of you meeting me for the very first time. Oh my God. Hey. Welcome to my theatre themed YouTube channel or hello to those of you listening to this theater review on podcast platforms. My name is Micky Jo and I am obsessed with all things theater theatre. I am a critic and a content creator here on social media and this evening I was lucky enough to attend the press night performance of High Society at the Barbican Theatre in London, produced by Trafalgar Entertainment. And this was an exciting one. Not just because there is a special place in my heart for this underappreciated show, but also, like I said, this is one of the most substantial productions of High Society that has perhaps been seen on stage since it was first produced on Broadway in The very late 1990s, with the creatives having returned to the film, having returned to the classic celebrated Cole Porter songbook in order to further enhance the thing and basically try and deliver a brilliant, all singing, all dancing spectacle of a show on the same scale as Trafalgar's previous hugely successful transfer of Anything Goes, the giddy high and financial prosperity of that summer being something they've been chasing for years now. And make no mistake, it does seem as though they are trying to replicate that success by building another similarly joyful and triumphant Cole Porter revival. But does it all work? And is High Society the show with which to do that? Stay tuned. I'm going to tell you exactly what I thought of this show and this production as well as this stellar cast. But of course, if you have already had the chance to see it for yourself, or indeed if you've seen a previous production of High Society, I would love to know all of your thoughts in the comments section down below. And as always, if you enjoy listening to my review and would like to hear more of them, then you can find so many others wherever you are seeing my face or hearing my voice. You can also find me on podcast platforms or or to stay up to date with every single piece of content I share in my theatre going. You can sign up for my free weekly email substack newsletter. In the meantime though, freelancers do it. Arts editors do it. Even self employed know it alls like me do it. Let's Review a Musical. So here is the timeline of High Society, and given that this has a full Cole Porter score, given its classic sensibility, you would assume that this is a classic show written for the stage in the same era as anything Ghost. However, it isn't. This started its life as a film in, I believe, the 1950s high society, which itself was based on a 1939 play called the Philadelphia Story, which had also been adapted for the screen. It has always been something of a female star vehicle, the Philadelphia Story, having originally starred Katharine Hepburn in the role of wealthy socialite Tracy Lord. The film notably starred Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra on either side of leading lady Grace Kelly. And it would be more than 30 years before high Society would arrive on the Broadway stage, around a decade before it had been adapted for the stage in London. But it's the 1998, I think, Broadway version that would become the de facto theatrical adaptation, and it's that version that I have seen a handful of different iterations of in the past decade and a half. However, there are always slight and subtle differences with slightly different configurations of songs. This new production, however, deviates more than most, and as well as excising previous sung material, they have also added in new, different Cole Porter songs. The score back in the 1990s already having been fleshed out for the Broadway stage by incorporating songs from other less known, lesser produced Cole Porter scored musicals. And this production seems to have taken a really thorough overview of the history of High Society. In some ways they have returned to the film, they've paid close attention to the source material here, and it's a pretty valiant effort of sort of expanding a show that is often best enjoyed in a more intimate setting into something larger and full of dance breaks and a vast company on stage and trying to make it more comparable to the ever successful Anything Goes. There are, however, enduringly a handful of differences between the two. I actually think High Society, possibly thanks to the Philadelphia Story, has the stronger plot and the more compelling characters. At its core, Anything Goes is ultimately just a lot of flirting on a boat, and this one has a more intriguing interconnected set of romantic possibilities with backstory and with divorced tension. Its commencement is a little Much Ado about Nothing. Its development is a little Mid Summer Night's Dream because we have Tracy Lord, the eldest daughter of a very wealthy family living in Newport, Rhode island, readying for her wedding to the admittedly unremarkable George Kitteridge. However, it is at this exact moment that her ex husband, C.K. dexter Haven, arrives via yacht, bringing with him news of an imminent tabloid takedown of the Lord family due to their father's philandering in New York. In an attempt to curtail this bad press as a favor to the family, Dexter has promised that two reporters, a writer and a photographer, will be allowed to secretly attend Tracy's wedding. They are Liz, she's the photographer, as well as Mike Connor, he's the writer. And though they initially bulk at all the wealth on display, especially when Tracy and her younger playful sister Dinah deliberately put on a show of pompous superiority, Mike soon enough ends up being seduced by Tracy's singular charm. And so on the eve of her perhaps misguided wedding, she finds herself with three different men in her orbit. And she isn't the only character courting romantic possibilities. As we head into a drunken second act, everyone bathing in champagne and singing let's misbehave. So there is really an intricate play at the heart of this, and these characters do have fascinating depth. And in the creative choices of this production under director Rachel Kavanagh, which we'll discuss a little later on, the whole thing has been expanded and overblown, particularly in its design, in its scale, in its choreography. They add in two attempts at sort of show stopping dance Numbers similarly placed to those in Anything Goes, which I am going to continue to mention. But also in Kiss Me Kate there's a sort of a jazzy end to the first act rather than the romantic duet that would often bring the curtain down before intermission. There is also, towards the beginning of the second, a very Blow Gabriel Blow or Too darn Hot reminiscent staging of let's Misbehave. That being said, I think the thing that is going to keep this from being utterly comparable to that other Cole Porter musical is the fact that these songs just aren't numbers in quite the same way. And there is more to the book here, don't get me wrong 1 Originally written by Arthur Kopit with additional material provided by Bob Martin. But these ballads, though they be romantic, aren't quite delovely. These uptempo numbers, though they be playful and witty, aren't quite. You're the top. One of the smarter choices the show has made is to add in a really recognizable song with I've got you under my skin in the second act. This now belongs to Liz Embry, sort of lamenting her unrequited love. Which isn't to say that society didn't contain any well known songs to begin with. One of its best known is perhaps well did you ever? What a swirl party this is. My issue with this on stage has always been the same and I long for the day that someone is going to rectify this because the name of this song is well did you ever. And fair enough, the memorable hook of the lyric is what a swirl party this is. But the title is well did you ever. And it boggles my mind that for perhaps 80, 85% of this song, they don't really sing well did you ever. At least in the stage adaptation we don't hear them singing, well did you ever? Instead they'll go through and be like, I have heard among this clan you are called the forgotten man. And then they do this little bit of like vaudeville double act esque banter between the two of them. Occasionally they might say like, oh well did you ever? I didn't. What a swell party this is. And often there is so much dialogue jumbled into these very brief moments before they have to come back in with what a swell party this is that you can't really hear what they're saying anyway. And a la a song like Brush up your Shakespeare in Kiss Me Kate, another Cole Porter musical, you kind of have to do the bit before you riff on the bit. And I think they just start riffing on it way too soon. I think we need at least a couple goes round of the melody where they actually sing well did you ever? What a swell party this is. Before they start to do all their like, have you heard of Cousin Blanche? Blah blah blah, Avalanche, whatever. And then they'll be like oh really, I hadn't heard that. And then they start to put in the punchlines. But you can't do it from the beginning. And every production seems to try and do that. I can only assume that that is what is written in the material. And I hate it. By the very end we eventually get a well, did you ever want a swell party? A swell party? A swellegant elegant party this is. And you know what? While I'm complaining about lyrics, I do have another few notes for the deceased legend that is Cole Porter. Honestly, who do I think I am? I don't necessarily love the perpetual ensemble song. Hi hi hi hi hi society. And I promise you it will be in your head when you're leaving the Barbican Theatre. And I know it isn't the only musical that sings its title. In moments of transition between scenes, Merrily We Roll along does the same thing, but often when a title is sung in a musical, I just can't escape the roll credits feeling of it all. And so it doesn't feel like they are singing about high society as a concept. They may as well be singing Ghost the Musical. Like that's what I'm hearing in that moment. Then when we transition from the first half of that as an opening number into riding High Tracy a couple of times as she's fronting this big company number, it's very high energy. She is insisting on her own joy in the days leading up to her wedding, she sings I'm so happ halfp. I'm slap happy. And fair enough. This is an actual expression. Does anyone really say that anymore when they're not actually talking about hitting someone in the face? Just a thought that I have finally on the Rhode island versus boat of it all. Those moments of transition when they sing the title song are performed by the ensemble. And I just think that High Society doesn't quite have the same quality of ensemble character. As an anything goes, you really can't compete with tap dancing sailors. And by the time in the second act they are all fatigued overworked staff reacting to these drunken wedding guests staying up until 4 o' clock in the morning. That's a little more fun than them being the generic party guests themselves. And yet unconvinced as I was at this attempt to discernibly fit a square peg into a round hole. I do think the enlarging of this show was generally pretty successful. I'll tell you more about my feelings on the production a little later on, but on the subject of these characters and their shenanigans, let's talk about the performance
- [12:29]
A
Summer smells like salt in the air and warm sand. Restore your sense of place with Pura's new summer fragrance collection. Discover transportive clean scents@pura.com you didn't start
- [12:42]
B
a business just to keep the lights on. You're here to sell more today than yesterday. You're here to win. Lucky for you, Shopify built the best converting checkout on the planet, like the just one tapping ridiculously fast acting, sky high sales stacking champion of checkouts. That's the good stuff right there. So if your business is in it to win it, win with Shopify. Start your free trial today@shopify.com. win. So Leading the company in the intoxicating role of Tracy Lord is Helen George. Well known for her work on screen. She was perhaps most recently seen on stage doing musical theater as Mrs. Anna in the King and I in the West End, another ball gown clad classic, and certainly she feels very at home within that particular tone of musical theater. She characterizes the very nuanced and layered Tracy as frosty, but with considerable heart and vulnerability. I always think there is just one or two sentences, even one or two interactions, lacking in a full insight into this character. We get glimpses at her resentful relationship with her philandering father and the comment that he makes about her being as cold as a brass statue. But that doesn't predate the questionable choices that she's already making. So there are other things that we can't quite connect all of the dots with about her character, but we don't get a full insight into that. Instead, we see her drinking a lot of champagne and recklessly celebrating and enjoying whatever affection is immediately available to her, whether that's a very safe choice of a husband or her naive, newly arrived suitor, Mike Connor. Certainly it isn't her emotional sparring partner, her ex husband Dexter, who knows her altogether too well. And Helen manages to establish great believable chemistry with all of these, as well as a charming frustration with her prying younger sister Dinah. What I really enjoy about her performance is when she gets to figuratively let her hair down and literally kick her shoes off, which she does in the middle of a big dance number that she then fronts in the second act before giving way to all of Tracy's urges and inclinations. And she so delightfully plays the drunken chaos and slight twinge of sadness that follows. She sings the Cole Porter classic It's All Right With Me singing It's the wrong time and the wrong place. Though your face is charming, it's the wrong face, it's not his face. While sort of draped over the side of a swimming pool, she always looks gorgeous on stage. The casting of this production I think really speaks to the history of high society with these gorgeous classic movie stars. And that really explains the casting of Helen George and Julian Ovenden and Freddy Fox as Mike Connor. Because in no other reality would you align Freddy Fox as the working class outsider to a wealthy dynasty. It just doesn't make sense for him. But because we're not doing Chekhov at the National Theatre and because this is a glistening piece of musical theater, we get away with it. And this unbelievably is Freddy Fox's first foray into musicals. Though he is exceptionally good at it, he maintains a robust characterization throughout and he does the thing that a lot of great st screen actors seem to struggle with when they first do musicals. A lot of really brilliant established actors struggle to maintain the characterization and the acting through song. But that's one of his biggest strengths here. I'm very excited for Freddy Fox to hopefully continue doing a bit of musical theater. I'd like to see his MC in Cabaret and his partner in all of his early scenes like a triple threat driving instructor there right next to him is the incredibly reliable, vastly talented Carly Mercedes Dyer, who returns to the stage of the Barbican once more singing Cole Porter songs after her Olivier nominated performance in Anything Goes. She's playing another standout supporting gal here. But this time it is the not even long suffering, the perpetual suffering Liz Embry. A role that really sees Carly at her sarcastic Swift talking best. But it's this torch song that she sings in the second act, where they've got you under my skin that really shows her off. Naomi Paquette, in the gift of a role that is Dinah Lord makes the most of every scene that she has. Nigel Lindsay is an inebriated delight as Uncle Willie and Felicity Kendall is a husky voiced icon as Tracy's mother, constantly issuing these frank one liners with a withering mid Atlantic delivery. Someone else I would like to highlight though from amongst the hugely hard working ensemble is James Hume and as Chester the Butler. And whether it's a little classical vocal moment, an exasperated line delivery or simply A single raised eyebrow. He's doing great work. The highlight of this production though, and the reason why it bubbles with joy whenever he's on stage is Julian Ovenden as CK Dexter Haven. Not only is he in resplendent voice, bringing classical tone you didn't know that you needed to a lot of these Cole Porter songs singing it was just one of those things with a sense of sorrowful frustration. But he's also so full of charm that you cannot for a second wish that Tracy might end up with anybody else. And in a courtship of perseverance, that could come off as a little appropriate if played wrongly. I think that's important. Quite honestly, when the man's singing like that, I don't know why she takes two acts to get there. Finally. Then, let me tell you a little bit more about this scaled up production and the choices of this creative team.
- [18:17]
A
Summer smells like citrus in the sun. Turn your home into a daily getaway with Pura's new summer collection. Find your flow and fragrance and explore the scents@pura.com.
- [18:36]
B
Now. I had the opportunity to see a little preview of the production and chat with some of the creatives a few weeks ago, and director Rachel Kavanagh described the process of bringing this to the stage as being not unlike building a new musical. And that feels very much in line with the scale of undertaking that can be seen here. And given how vast this has all become and the amount of moving pieces on stage, figuratively and literally, the fact that it plays as effortlessly and slickly and smoothly as it does is a tribute to the wonderful work that she has done here with the direction. It's maybe my favorite Rachel Kavanagh direction that I've seen on stage. With shows like this, I arrive anticipating joy. I describe the best versions of these as feeling like a glass of champagne, and this feels like about half a bottle of it. It is an easy, glitzy, gorgeous watch. Thanks to Rachel and many more individuals, including choreographer Anthony Van Language. Now, a big part of the identity of a Kiss Me Cater in Anything Goes is the choreography and these extended dance moments, which have never been as closely associated with a high society, and they found the right places to inject them in. Particularly what's happened with let's Misbehave and the new expanded dance break that they have. It is electrifying. It's in this instrumental dance break that they first interpolate the melody of let's do it, let's Fall in Love, another Cole Porter classic that bears a striking resemblance to let's misbehave. They then segue into those lyrics at the end of the song. They get reprised for the curtain call later on. But it's a really brilliant moment of choreography from Anthony Van Last. And it's high energy, it's enthusiastic. It feels like a wedding celebration. It feels of the era. The way in which the regal upper class elegance that has become the dance language of the ensemble gives way to something a little more heady and lustful is brilliant. And I also appreciate that there comes for a few moments at the center of all of this little queer dance duet that I think is so easily done in ensemble choreography, but not often enough. I've got to tell you about this set design from Tom Rogers. It is this palatial mansion setting. The way in which it is first revealed to us is so classic. It's such a throwback to golden age musicals. We see on a flat curtain as we enter into the auditorium what looks like a postcard. Greetings from Newport hi society. With an image of this gorgeous house. We then hear the stirring of the overture. And then this is lit in different ways, but it's only at the end of the overture when a curtain rises behind this. It turns out this is gauze. It's translucent. And we can see the actual set behind it. That is basically the same image as the facade that was shown on the curtain. It's just a lovely little introduction to this world. And it's beautiful in every single rendering because we keep basically the same set piece, but we bring on other things, things in front. There's a different flat that is lowered in front of it in order to turn it into the swimming pool. There is a tree that lowers down to transport us outside. It is so stunning. There is a table that is wheeled on, full of taxidermy and antiques and trinkets. Arguably, the twin curved staircases, which are the central feature of this set, are a little underused. But it looks so stunning. I also want to talk about John Morrell's stunning costume design alongside the wigs, hair and makeup. Makeup by Helen Keane for Campbell Young Associates. Tracy's dresses are, unsurprisingly, the most stunning, particularly her party dress heading into the second act with this bodice with a sweetheart neckline and this asymmetrical front seam heading down to a high slit. Among all of this taffeta in the skirt, it's the perfect dress for her to hike up and cause chaos in as she's running around with a man who isn't her husband. Or should I Say, her husband to be. Perhaps in this party moment, there are choices I really love and choices I find a little peculiar because Liz Embry, who is a committed outsider to this world of wealth and less charmed by it all than her partner Mike turns out to be, is in fact wearing the most sensational ball gown of any of these party guests. Like she comes on in this floor length ball gown with these gorgeous sleeves. I think, oh, everyone's about to look so stunning, but they are wearing. Wearing just gorgeous Dior style dresses that fall a few inches above the floor. And she looks like the most expensive person on stage, which doesn't necessarily make sense. However, what I do really love is that they've given Dinah a little tuxedo. I think that's so in keeping with her character. Felista Kendall looks stunning. The decision that they've made to emulate her own excellent hair in her wig is a great one. I also really love the men's tailoring at its best in the outfits worn by Julian Ovenden and Freddy FR Fox. But I really like the sort of ochre yellow smoking jacket that Uncle Willy wears at one point as well. There's just so many gorgeous things being worn on this stage. I would love to spend a day in this costume department stealing it all for myself. But all of the design is, as we find in the best classic musicals, lavish and characterful at the same time. It allows the production to feel nostalgic, even though it's all been newly built and much of it newly reworked and constructed, conceived. The biggest creative triumph, though, here might just be the music. And when you're doing Cole Porter, this is where the expectation rightfully is. These songs are, I suppose, the treasure of this material. And we must celebrate the work of musical director and musical supervisor Stephen Ridley, but also Larry Blank and Mark Cumberland for the orchestrations and Gareth Valentine for the new arrangements. It all sounded, again, I'm going to use all of the same adjectives, but stirring and classic and lush and romantic and gorgeous. You can get lots of lost in these orchestrations, in these songs, in the sound of an overture, in these extended instrumental dance passages. It is just gorgeous. And while, you know, I did have my reservations about the potential of this show to be somewhat lightly metamorphosized in this way, when you're listening to these songs, you just forget to care. So to conclude then, what a swell revival of high society this is. And it feels less like a revival, more like a rebirth, more like a roadmap for how this show can be produced. In the future. And it makes an awful lot more sense for this show to be beckoned onto large stages by large regional houses, not only around the United Kingdom, but regionally in the United States. In many ways, this feels like it could be be the highest version of High Society into which it has been waiting to evolve. And if you are any kind of a fan of the Cole Porter Songbook and who Among Us Is not, if you are a fan of Golden Age musical theatre gorgeous shows like these, you must go and check it out at the Barbican. This is one of, I think, the most delightful and joyous shows that has been seen on its stage since Anything Goes. Of course, if you've seen it already, I would love to know what you thought in the comments section down below. Let me know all of your thoughts about this production and any previous productions of High Society that you may have seen in the meantime. Meantime, thank you so much for listening to my thoughts. I've enjoyed sharing them with you. If you enjoyed listening and would like to hear more of my reviews, you can find so many of them right here. Or you can subscribe here on YouTube for more reviews coming very soon. Like every single day at the moment. You can also find me on podcast platforms, other social media platforms, or you can sign up to my Substack newsletter. It's free, it's weekly. It's a little email that tells you all the shows I've been seeing and all of the content that I've been creating. I have been Mickey Jo and as always, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day. Subscribe
- [26:26]
A
Close your eyes. Summer smells like sunshine, fresh citrus and salty air. What if your living room could feel just like that? With Pura's new Summer Collection, it can restore your sense of well being with fragrances designed to move with your day. From bright, energizing mornings to soft, relaxing evenings, make the invisible unforgettable this season. Visit pura.com to find your new favorite summer scent. Summer smells like citrus in the sun. Turn your home into a daily getaway with Pura's new Summer Collection. Find your flow and fragrance and explore the scents@pura.com
- [27:07]
B
Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.
- [27:14]
C
A photographer in Texas earns an extra $47,000 a year shooting Star wars cosplay portraits. A teacher in Maryland turns her woodworking hobby into a five figure side income without leaving the classroom. And a couple in Pennsylvania will rent you backyard chickens for the season so you can try the egg laying life without commitment. My name is Chris Guillebeau. I'm the host of side Hustle School. I share these kinds of stories every single day, in detail, with full transparency about the numbers. The point isn't just to inspire you, it's to show you what's possible. Proof that ordinary people are quietly building extra income in surprising ways, including a few ideas you can borrow less than 10 minutes a day, every day. Subscribe or follow side Hustle School wherever you get your podcast casts or find us directly@sidehustleschool.com Acast helps creators launch, grow,
- [28:04]
B
and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.