Lorna Dallas: Stages – REVIEW

Lorna Dallas: Stages

The Crazy Coqs, Live at Zédel, London

Reviewed by Mark Sykes

Seen March 6th, 2019

★★★★

Lorna Dallas has had an illustrious career spanning many decades, but has only recently returned to the stage after a 20-year hiatus. From Broadway to the West End (and many locations in between); from Show Boat to Hello Dolly! (and countless others), Lorna Dallas has ‘been there, done that’  – and then some! The journey from being a small town girl in Illinois, to a world-renowned stage performer is what provides the setting in Lorna’s latest one-woman show called Stages.

The show sees Lorna on stage alongside her Musical Director on piano, Chris Denny. Stages begins its journey in Lorna’s childhood years in Illinois and her parent’s initial disapproval of her having any thoughts of a singing career. Her opening number of “There’s No Business Like Show Business / A Glamourous Night” instantly proved that age hasn’t dampened those soaring soprano vocals and Lorna immediately had the audience (sprinkled with some familiar showbiz faces) enthralled.

The show, directed by Barry Kleinbort, was littered with songs written by some of the most famous names in music, such as Irving Berlin, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Kurt Weill, Kander & Ebb, etc. What stood out for me though was many of the songs were not the usual fare that you would usually hear in this type of show. Each song had been perfectly curated to fit Lorna’s life story, both on-stage and off, with each having a specific personal meaning to her. 

The singing career of Lorna Dallas really began when she won a singing contest whilst still in high school. With 20,000 contestants participating, that first showed the pedigree that she had and which would provide the initial foundation for the lengthy career that was to follow. 

Songs such as “Blues In The Night” (by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer) and Cole Porter’s “Never Give Anything Away” (with additional lyrics by show director Barry Kleinbort) continued Lorna’s journey. Songs were interjected by fascinating stories and anecdotes, many amusing but with some striking a more personal note. “Poor Little Hollywood Star / At The Crossroads” was another song for Lorna to display her vocal skills, and it was here that she impressively proved that she could still hold a note.

There is certainly an eclectic mix of song choices in Stages, but it was obvious that much thought had gone into their selection. I suppose none more so that Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse’s song “London, Dear Old London” from their 1922 musical comedy The Cabaret Girl. This fitted well with Lorna’s 2-year stint in Show Boat starring alongside Cleo Laine, and a time that she fell in love with this great city.

The highlight of the evening for me had to be Lorna’s performance of Larry Grossman & Hal Hackaday’s “Empty”. It was a stunning rendition of such a beautiful song; unbelievably, the song was cut prior to the opening of the 1970 Broadway show Minnie’s Boys. Lorna also sang one of my personal favourites, “Teach Me Tonight”, written by Gene de Paul and Sammy Cahn. Whilst the song was written in 1953 (well before I was born!), Lorna’s interpretation still feels fresh – and it also provided the opportunity to shine the light on Chris Denny’s keyboard skills with a lovely solo spot. 

The raw emotions of the evening came to the fore with Ivor Novello & Christopher Hassall’s “My Dearest Dear”. The song has a deep personal meaning for Lorna and it left a deep imprint on the hearts of the audience as well. It was a special moment of the evening.

The evening ended with Anthony Newley & Herbert Kkretzmer’s “If All The World’s A Stage”. It was a perfect way to round off a wonderful journey through time. From a small town in Illinois, to shows such as The King And I and even a Royal Variety Performance in front of Her Majesty, the Queen Mother, Lorna Dallas has come a long way. For me it was as much about the personal tales used to segue the song choices as it was the actual songs being performed; but putting them together lead to perfect combination of music and chat.

The fact that Lorna can continue to deliver shows like Stages to sell out audiences, and importantly provide a fresh interpretation on songs that go back to the early decades of the 20th century, is proof of her pedigree and staying power – the likes of which is such a rare commodity in the 21st century.

Hamilton – REVIEW

Hamilton

Victoria Palace Theatre, London

Seen December 7th, 2017

Reviewed by Jade Prince

★★★★★

Five stars. And the rest. Indescribable. Get tickets (if you haven’t got them already, why?!) and see this show. The end.

Alice’s Adventures Underground – REVIEW

Alice’s Adventures Underground

The Vaults, London

 

Seen on September 14th, 2017

Reviewed by Jade Prince

★★★★

On Thursday evening I took a little tumble down to the vaults and into their enchanting world of Wonderland. The hour and a half immersive experience takes you to every possible destination in Wonderland to meet the iconic characters everybody knows so well but DON’T TOUCH THE TARTS! This unique immersive theatre experience is back due to popular demand after its successful run last year and is inspiring a whole new world of immersive theatre.

Heading into the venue you were really transported to Wonderland. The theming was great from the onset. My friend and I had decided to get there early as we wanted to enjoy what was on offer in ‘The Wonderland Bar’. However, disappointment quickly set in. I like to make my reviews of the whole theatre experience as honest as possible and this is what I shall continue to do for this review. As we collected our tickets we were informed that we had to drop all coats and bags off at the cloak room, which was expected. The only issue being was that we then had to pay for this service. I found it very wrong to inforce a £1 per item charge for something that was required. I paid and put this issue to the side. To the bar for cocktails! More disappointment. The drinks menu looked great and I was so ready to try one of the themed cocktails. I ended up paying £9 for a small glass of squash instead of a cocktail. Watching the bar tender pour the drink and it only fill half the small glass which was then rectified with…more ice! There was no thought or care in making the drinks. I felt rather cheated. Which is a shame because the cocktail menu looked brilliant with magic elements to each cocktail. It wasn’t until we bumped into Rhea (FOH manager) that the night started to improve. She was so helpful. Had all the information we were looking for regarding the bar after the show. You could tell she was a great person who really loves her job! Thank you, Rhea!

Right, enough with the bar and on with the show! I really liked the way that an announcement was made through the bar when calling the people through for the next time slot. The Vaults are very strict on their ‘no late comers admitted’ policy so did everything and more to make sure that you were there for your entry time. Multiple announcements, projection images/clock on the main wall by the box office and even stage management and FOH running around gathering the stragglers. The way Alice’s Adventures Underground works is that throughout the evening performance times are staggered at every quarter of the hour where a new group will enter the show. The last group of the night were called forward and we headed into our waiting pen. The excitement grew as we had no idea what to expect and this excitement was fuelled further with the little glimpses of the entrance tunnel. Wow! Is all I can say about the first room/pre-show room. 10/10 for the theming. We had a little time to explore the whole room. It was so interactive, there were books to pick up, pianos to play, teddy bears and so much more. There were some elements of distortion which really worked well for the beginning of the transition from reality to Wonderland. Holograms of a girl appeared in different locations around the room when the show was about to start just to add a little more to the disorientation.

Then the real adventure down to Wonderland began! Into a life size zoetrope, the story telling continued. We then finally came into contact with the first of many actors. It was great to actually be given the choice as to which way we went through the maze: eat me or drink me! At this point the group split in two, red and black. We were taken through to the next section (Wonderland Boarding) and given some of the maze rules, obviously all in keeping with the theme and slipped into the script wonderfully. Then it was time to be split further, into our suits. It was really cute how we were all handed an individual card from a pack which obviously stated our suit and number. I personally found that the experience worked a lot better when we were in these smaller groups. It enabled a lot more interaction and a lot less pushing. It was a much more comfortable size in comparison to the larger group initially which was far too big.

We were taken threw the warren of rooms and I won’t go into detail with all of the rooms as it will make this post much longer than it is already, also, I don’t want to spoil all the fun! My personal favourite room was Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. That room was completely unexpected and very daunting to enter. Two giant cribs with both characters stood motionless on them as we were instructed to sit on the teeny tiny benches. And then the fun began. My jaw was on the floor that entire scene!

Whilst in these smaller groups, we had the same ‘joker’ leading us around and this was a great opportunity to get involved. The improvisation from the actors was wonderful and the attention to details made the whole experience. People in the group would say something at the beginning and sure enough later on in the experience the actor themselves would make reference to it. In one of the earlier rooms my name was revealed and boy, did they play on that! Just a lovely personal touch that made you feel part of the show, very memorable.

The groups were slowly brought back together later in the show for certain scenes of a more complex nature. The first being the mock turtle which was based in a really elaborate, beautiful set. This section in particular was initially very slow but picked up towards the end of the song when the rain effect started. Again, very unexpected! Just like the rest of the show, everything was so unexpected. There was no way I was able to predict anything that would happen next. Another great element I loved was that it did not matter where you were positioned in the group, you were still very much part of the action and did not miss anything. Between rooms there was a great deal of movement so this positioning was altered all the time. Sometimes I was towards the front; other times in the middle of the group and never felt excluded at the back.

At the end of the show the whole group came back as a whole for the finale. What a finale it was! Details from everyone’s show were revealed as we didn’t all have the same experience! A beautiful piece of puppetry work was witnessed (but to be honest all the puppetry throughout was stunning!). It was a great location for everyone to come together and for the final bows to be taken. That was one thing I was concerned about, that the cast would not get the recognition they deserved after the show but this was no issue and they most certainly received it. And then our journey into reality began. This was such an epic experience!

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been done so many times however this version’s style had a whole new spin on the story and I felt like I was experiencing it all for the very first time. So refreshing! The adventure isn’t around for much longer so beg, borrow and steal to get a ticket!

It only has a limited time left and is booking until September 23^rd. Do not miss this one! https://www.thevaults.london/alices-adventures-undetground

I cannot wait to see the next immersive experience at The Vaults, Hair the musical, opening this October for its 50^th anniversary. I am very intrigued to see how a musical will work in this type of theatre. https://www.thevaults.london/hair-the-musical

Be sure to check out The Vaults as they have so many incredible events on: https://www.thevaults.london/about-c10fk

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill – REVIEW

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill

Wyndham’s Theatre, London

 

Seen on July 15^th, 2017

Reviewed by Jade Prince

★★★★★

Be transported from the hustle and bustle of Leicester Square to Philadelphia’s Emerson’s Bar & Grill. The story follows the dramatic life of Billie Holiday (Audra McDonald) as she ventures back to Philadelphia, a state with much history for Holiday herself.

As well as an incredible stage presence throughout, McDonald is also accompanied by a three piece jazz band (Shelton Becton, Frankie Tontoh and Neville Malcolm) playing the mellow score featuring songs such as God Bless The Child, Crazy He Calls Me, Easy Livin’, Strange Fruit and What A Little Moonlight Can Do.

I was mesmerised from the onset by McDonald’s performance for a number of reasons. I was taken on an emotional rollercoaster. Initially I was concerned as she came staggering through the audience and up the stairs (I went into this show blind and had absolutely no idea what to expect!)It did not take too long before I started feeling empathy for her as you realise she is a tough woman who has had a lot of misfortune in her life but has repeatedly gotten up and continues walking, all be it with her own coping mechanisms. By the end of the show I just wanted to give her a huge hug.

This whole show was fabulous. I am actually struggling to find words. In the programme, Lanie Roberston wrote:

“The image of the world’s greatest jazz singer being so undervalued at the end of her life and career was an image that has always haunted me. Writing Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill was an attempt to rid myself of that.”

Well, I most certainly walked out of that theatre haunted by the stunning performance and story.

It is clear to see that Audra McDonald has a fair bit of experience. I had seen a few of her film and TV appearances however I had never seen her on stage and was very excited to witness this. I am just in complete awe. The ability to maintain that performance standard but be so comfortable with it to interact with the audience up close. A true chameleon of an actress!

The set by Christopher Oram was wonderful. I really felt like I was in a Philadelphia Bar & Grill. I was sat on one of the front tables in the stalls so I am not too sure whether this feeling was consistent throughout the theatre. I also loved the use of the audience on the stage. It just brought everything much closer and so much more intimate. Another great element which made the show feel more intimate was the fact that it was not restricted just to the stage. One of the front tables (my table for the night!) actually had props on and the main entrance and exit was through the side of the stalls to the front of the stage which was used a number of times during the show by McDonald herself and Jimmy Powers (Shelton Becton)

I feel a moment is needed to appreciate a key member of the show…Tilly! Tilly played Pepi (Billie’s Chihuahua) and was far too adorable. A little diva who did not seem the slightest bit fazed over the spotlight but made the whole audience weak when, as if on cue, placed a few kisses on McDonald’s face!

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill is certainly one to see. It stands head and shoulders above anything in the West End currently. All the hype is definitely correct!!

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill is currently booking until 9^th September 2017. Tickets and more information can be found at https://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/tickets/lady-day/