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Amara Okereke as Dale Tremont and Phillip Attmore as Jerry Travers Top Hat Birmingham Hippodrome ***** Spring is upon us . The cold of winter is starting to recede - surely a cue for some old-style, Hollywood glitz? If you like song and dance, particularly tap dance, then this is your show. Visually it is a sparkling, frothy, fizzy cocktail of mistaken identity and razzle dazzle. The story is merely a loose framework for episodic spectacle, showcasing some of the best of Irving Berlin’s timeless melodies, namely: Top Hat, White Tie and Tails, Cheek to Cheek, Puttin’ on the Ritz, and Let’s Face the Music and Dance. Stephen Ridley’s musical direction is impeccable. The choreography is immaculate, featuring dazzling solo dance and stunning unison tap dancing from this wonderfully talented cast. With great songs, you need great dance. The sparkling choreography, and the syncopation in full cast tap dancing numbers is flawless, courtesy of Kathleen Marshall framed by a superb, memorable set, design by Peter McKintosh. It features revolving Art Deco clock-like motifs , incorporating frantic scene changes from bedrooms to bars then hotels to aircraft. Tim Mitchell’s lighting adds a glamorous veneer. The band , complete with boisterous horns, is a delight. Costumes by Yvonne Milnes and Peter McKintosh are shimmering and sharp. My recollection of the original story was of the 1935 RKO motion picture where Astaire and Rogers set a defining standard with impossible precision and effortless chemistry, blurring the distinction between acting and dancing. Their feet talk. It would be unreasonable to ask for that to be replicated. It isn’t, instead we are offered something different. Phillip Attmore (Jerry Travers) is a convincing tap dancer, supple but sharp, opposite him plays Dale Tremont (Amara Okereke). Okereke is visually great with strong vocals and dance but the comic sub plot delights no less. Producer Horace (James Hume) and his wife Madge (Emma Williams ) are at the centre of the comedy. Williams is brilliant as Madge, with Hume her hapless foil. Belly laughs on a Tuesday evening in Birmingham are difficult to come by but Williams and Hume succeeded time and time again. Their partners in crime are almost as hilarious. Horace’s manservant, Bates (James Clyde) is witheringly dry, and a fine looking woman in drag. Alex Gibson-Giorgio’s gloriously outrageous chef Beddini is superb. You cannot beat Astaire and Rogers. This production does not aim to. The triumphant opening Putting on the Ritz sets an impossible to standard, yet the ensemble deliver the remaining classics with enthusiasm, vim and verve. This show excels at farce and is hugely enjoyable for it, a celebration of the diversity and allure of musical theatre. Richard Pitts’, resident director, breathes life and humour into a libretto which is now ninety years old- and is still funny. Quite an achievement. Runs until Sat 7th, then continues on nationwide tour. Gary Longden 03-03-26 |
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