"An exquisitely clever and funny romantic musical" is Alan Long's FIVE STAR review of High Society which is showing in Richmond Theatre until November 3rd 2018.
Details
Venue: Richmond Theatre
Dates & Times: 31st October - 3rd November 2018, 7.30 pm
Tickets: From £14.65 www.atgtickets.com
Our Verdict
An exquisitely clever and funny romantic musical in which love is treated ironically, lampooned and denied, but ultimately taken seriously and celebrated, as the heroine arrives at the truth about her feelings and her own imperfections. Cole Porter’s lyrics are a constant delight and many of his greatest and wittiest songs are woven into the story.
Tracy Samantha Lord, young, beautiful and wealthy is about to remarry at her family’s home, a mansion on Oyster Bay, Rhode Island. During the night before the wedding, she undergoes a series of discoveries about herself and her feelings for the men in her life: George, Dexter and Mike.
George, the intended husband, stolid, humourless, narrow-minded and censorious, is as wealthy as she is and has political ambitions. Dexter, her former husband, divorced because of his lack of ambition and excessive preoccupation with the design of yacht regrets the split and wants her back. Macaulay “Mike” Connor, accompanied by his partner Liz, poses as a friend of a long-dead member of the family but is really there on behalf of Spy Magazine in search of revelations to publicly embarrass Tracy’s father, Seth.
Comic highlights include a hilarious and farcical rendering of ‘I love Paris’ in the style of ‘Allo, ‘Allo by Tracy and her teenage sister Dinah, as they secretly mock Mike’s and Liz’s subterfuge. ‘Let’s Misbehave’ is another joyfully funny piece sung during a dance, led by a very tipsy Tracy while she attempts to elude George whose shortcomings as a romantic partner are rapidly becoming apparent to her.
Although the tone is light and humorous throughout, there are small but intriguing hints in some of the lyrics of potentially troubling undercurrents: wealth and inequality (“Who Wants to be a Millionaire” sung with subtle ambivalence by the impecunious couple, Mike & Liz); Uncle Willy’s drinking and its part in designs on women (“Say it with Gin”); unwanted sexual advances, Uncle Willy again, who is fended off by Liz as they sing, with serious intent on his part, but irony and derision on hers, “I’m Getting Myself Ready for You”; And Liz’s reluctant and stoic tolerance of her partner Mike’s open affection for, and courting of Tracy.
Outstanding performances are given by Nick Moorhead as Dexter Haven (great comic timing, lovely singing), and Heather Stockwell as Tracy (completely convincing in her move from sassy confidence through self-doubt to realisation and acceptance of the truth about her character). Their duet ‘True Love’ as the finale to the first act, is moving and beautiful.
The Singing (and dancing) Servants provide a chorus and an entertaining thread through most of the scenes. The dancing, which is choreographed with great attention to period detail, is a stylish and thrilling spectacle. And the music, singing by the cast accompanied by a live orchestra, is from start to finish, just wonderful. Altogether a highly pleasurable evening.
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