Alexander S. Bermange gives us a bright, witty, pithy and, at times, cleverly waspish revue taking a joyful pop at all things musical. From painful singers to insufferable divas no aspect of musical theatre is left unridiculed and, in Bermange’s talented hands, we’re given an endearing smorgasbord of songs in the grand tradition of musical revue echoing those shows of the fifties, Flanders and Swan, perhaps - the like of which we rarely see these days.
It’s a joyful, happy show
Four highly talented triple threaters grasp the material by the scruff of the neck and deploy it with charm, charisma and style gliding through a litany of some of those eternal, infernal internal rhymes with practised panache defying their young years. Luke Harley, Hannah Taylor, Harry Winchester, Alice Ellen Wright coalesce into a unified quartet tasked with a vast array of characters, moods, tones and notes and all of which they tackle with aplomb.
It’s a joyful, happy show with clever ideas and original observations masterfully delivered. Whoever noticed Google also spells Go Ogle? Our writer and composer did and the show is packed with similar insightful and bright epigrams, puns and vibrant gags packed into some dazzling music.
And he plays the keyboard, too.
It’s a lovely, kind and endearing show which, while deftly skirting copyright laws, manages to name check nearly every musical in the Broadway canon and half the fun is spotting them. Do I get points for spotting a reference to The Most Happy Fella? It’s not all for musical geeks, like me, though. There’s more than enough material to satisfy those with only a passing knowledge of the subject.
All this together with Joanna Goodwin’s seamlessly perfect direction and choreography creates an evening of diverting and engaging joy, sharp satire and simply, undiluted fun. Go see!
