A quirky, joyous adaptation that more than matches its cinematic predecessor says, Jane McGowan...
OUR VERDICT
If Amelie the Musical was a shop, it would be a cornucopia of chic 20th-century objet d’art cushioned in the streets of Montmartre. For all Parisienne, cool lurks here – from the beautiful ingénue of the title to her hesitant-but-handsome bespectacled lover, via beret-wearing accordion players, asthmatic tobacconists and… Princess Diana.
Based on the 2001, multi-award-winning movie Amelie, which made a star of its young leading lady Audrey Tautou, the musical version is a delight in its own right. Directed by Michael Fentiman, the story of the love-starved only child who finds joy in committing random acts of kindness, is beautifully brought to life by a multi-talented cast who not only have acting and vocal talent in spades but also expertly play a range of instruments from piccolo to piano.
The story begins with Amelie’s birth before we are introduced a wide-eyed puppet version of the child who is uniformly ignored by her doctor father and an uptight mother. The latter, who after praying for God to send her a son as recompense for having such a peculiar daughter, meets a messy end and spends the rest of the show interred in a garden gnome. And so, the tone of laughter, tears and more than a touch of surrealism is set as Amelie embarks on a life providing pockets of happiness for some the city’s forgotten people.
French Canadian Audrey Brisson excels as the ingénue – her spiky physicality perfectly capturing the essence of this highly original script and score. Unlike some of her co-stars, whose accents occasionally slip into ‘Allo ‘Allo territory, her French (as you would expect) is flawless, as are her vocals which soar impressively in the finale of Act 1 (this is a wonderful scene which sees Amelie serenaded at her imagined funeral by Sir Elton John, a la Princess Diana).
Danny Mac does well enough as her would-be lover Nino, but I must admit, it would be nice to see a touring production that doesn’t have a Strictly star pinned to it. Judging by last night’s audience, many of which looked Avante-Garde enough to have walked directly off the stage, they were there as aficionados rather than reality star spotters.
That said, the company as a whole is fantastic. The production is slick and assured without losing any of the warmth or gawkiness of the plot. The set by Madeleine Girling perfectly captures the smoky-hazed backstreets of Paris, as cast act as crew adeptly sashaying scenery and props into place as required.
The show is heading to other theatres on our patch and I would highly recommend it – not only for fans of the film but to anyone who is looking for a musical with that added je ne sais quoi!
Amelie the Musical is at The New Wimbledon Theatre until May 25; The New Victoria, Woking, Aug 27-31; Reading Oct 8-12. Visit: ameliethemusical.com
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