United Kingdom Fairly Lady – The Musical: Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, 6.8.2024. (JPr)
What can I say? That is one more musical based mostly on a seminal movie I’ve by no means seen, Garry Marshall’s 1990 Fairly Lady starring Richard Gere and a younger – and the comparatively unknown on the time – Julia Roberts. I perceive that in adapting it for the stage Marshall and J. F. Lawton (who wrote the unique screenplay) have retained lots of the iconic moments from the film while including music and lyrics by Canadian singer Bryan Adams and his songwriting companion Jim Vallance.
Adams might be most well-known for ‘(The whole lot I Do) I Do It for You’ (written with Michael Kamen, and Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange), from the soundtrack of the 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Not one of the energy ballads in Fairly Lady: The Musical come wherever close to that, and the remaining is delicate rock, laborious rock and pure uptempo pop, to faucet your toes or briefly clap your fingers to. Though the music was brilliantly accompanied by a small unseen band of six (lead by Griff Johnson on the keyboards) and impressively sung by the complete solid, I imagine I’d have loved Fairly Lady simply as a lot as a straight play. As a substitute – and as with one other latest Richard Gere-inspired musical, An Officer and a Gentleman (overview right here) – possibly raiding {the catalogue} of iconic Nineteen Nineties songs might need labored higher.
Regardless Fairly Lady – The Musical is undoubted the musical I’ve loved most on the Cliffs Pavilion just lately. For 2-and-a-half hours simply overlook concerning the sordid tales there’s been about Hollywood fame-seekers, #MeToo and the predatory males you examine within the press on daily basis, together with one who’s working to turn into POTUS as soon as once more. He definitely can’t be far out of your thoughts within the rags-to-riches, Cinderella/Prince Charming, Pygmalion/My Honest Girl story of unscrupulous, morally bankrupt capitalist, billionaire with daddy points, Edward Lewis, who along with his gang of legal professionals needs to asset-strip an ailing enterprise, Morse Shipyard, and hearth its employees. Edward appears to have a historical past of treating his girlfriends very like the companies he offers with and missing firm in Los Angeles encounters a real ‘tart-with-a-heart’, Vivian Ward, on Hollywood Boulevard and after paying her first for instructions to his lodge, the Beverley Wilshire, then for an hour’s enjoyable, then the complete evening, he finally ends up negotiating $3,000 for Vivian to stick with him for his six days within the metropolis.
Ensconced on the Wilshire Vivian is blissfully unaware of the etiquette of being there, in addition to discovering herself out of her depth mixing with the luxurious individuals at a polo membership or failing to greatest the snobby assistants of a garments retailer on Rodeo Drive (although they do get their comeuppance in the long run). Presumably the everlasting optimist, Vivian by no means actually lets any of the slights she suffers overwhelm her and she or he is decided to satisfy life head on. And particularly as, regardless of Vivian saying ‘It was a enterprise doing pleasure with you’, she has a lot in the end to show Edward – who additionally realises he needs higher for himself – about life and love. In the long run each Vivian and Edward are emancipated, redeemed and adjusted eternally.
Somewhat like, I imagine, Clarence Odbody, the guardian angel character in Frank Capra’s 1946 It’s a Great Life (one other well-known movie I’ve by no means watched!), Fairly Lady’s ‘Joyful Man’ is nearly ever-present in a single guise or one other because the fairy godfather (!) guaranteeing love wins out in the long run. Within the opening ‘Welcome to Hollywood’ Joyful Man sings ‘Inform me what’s your dream, I do know you’ve obtained one. It’s like a map to your life, you’ll be misplaced till you’ve caught one’. Later we’ll hear from him how ‘You’ll see me right here and also you’ll see me there … You simply would possibly see me in all places’ which explains how the exceptionally gifted Ore Oduba lights up the stage each time he’s on it as Joyful Man or Mr Thompson, the Beverly Wilshire lodge supervisor, or whomever.
Oduba is a triple menace as comedian actor, singer and, after all, dancer and relishes the road ‘I was an expert ballroom dancer’. It is a reward for him earlier than the show-stealing tango of ‘Don’t Neglect to Dance’ – and a nod to Oduba’s time on Strictly Come Dancing – with the vastly partaking Noah Harrison as Guilio, the lodge’s bellhop, who merely can’t cease himself becoming a member of in all of the enjoyable each time he’s onstage.
The Nineteen Nineties costumes are vibrant, and I perceive are a nod to what’s seen within the unique film. The surroundings akin to it’s, because it principally neon-lit and garish, works properly – with the minimal of stage furnishings – to offer the backdrop to the varied scenes. Though usually framed by stylised LA palms bushes, nevertheless it was by no means actually tawdry sufficient for Hollywood/Sundown Boulevard or as opulent as Rodeo Drive or the Wilshire.
It’s astonishing to suppose that the corporate have been touring since final October as they carried out with such infectious joie de vivre and everybody deserves the best reward. Particularly noteworthy is that for this efficiency we noticed two understudies in main roles and so they had been so good it made you marvel why they didn’t have these roles within the first place.
Amber Davies introduced Vivian Ward to actual life and displayed her character’s true intelligence and tenacity. I imagine Davies is a real musical theatre star within the ascendency. One other high-quality comedian actor, Davies has nice stage presence, a powerful voice, and her vocal spotlight was a decided ‘I Received’t Go Again’. There was palpable chemistry with Ben Darcy as Edward Lewis (taking up from Oliver Savile). The tackle Lewis right here is that he’s not utterly evil however simply believes he’s in the precise till Vivian reveals him the error of his methods. Darcy is an excellent singer and you may hear each phrase he sang (not a given in musicals) and the burgeoning romance was clear for all to listen to in his ‘One thing About Her’ and ‘You and I’.
Nice performances elsewhere from the iron-lunged Natalie Paris as Vivian’s loyal flatmate and fellow streetwalker Equipment de Luca who longs for a greater life too; Stuart McIver as Philip, Edward’s unpleasant companion (the function Darcy often performs!); Chomba Taulo because the gentlemanly businessman David Morse; and at last Lila Falce-Bass and Josh Damer-Jennings because the La traviata singers within the opera home scene – their storyline echoes that of Fairly Lady – whose superb vocal agility had me questioning in the event that they had been miming, although I’m joyful to present them the advantage of the doubt.
With the viewers deservedly on their toes in the course of the curtain calls it was time to listen to Roy Orbison’s Fairly Lady title track that had been alluded to in the course of the present: it made for the proper finale.
Jim Pritchard
Featured Picture: Ore Oduba (Mr Thompson) and Firm © Marc Brenner
Creatives:
Music and Lyrics – Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance
Guide – Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton
Director and Choreographer – Jerry Mitchell
Unique Broadway Costume design – Gregg Barnes
Scenic design – David Rockwell
Costume design – Tom Rogers
Unique Broadway Costume design – Gregg Barnes
Lighting design – Kenneth Posner and Philip S Rosenberg
Sound design – John Shivers
Musical director – Griff Johnson
Forged included:
Amber Davies – Vivian Ward
Ben Darcy – Edward Lewis
Natalie Paris – Equipment De Luca
Ore Oduba – Joyful Man / Mr Thompson
Stuart McIver – Philip Stuckey
Chomba Taulo – David Morse
Josh Damer-Jennings – Alfredo
Lila Falce-Bass – Violetta / Bag Girl
Noah Harrison – Giulio
