"Funny Girl" by Erewash Musical Society.
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.
The film, which starred Barbra Streisand was made 55 years ago with the original stage version opening on Broadway on 26 March 1964.
After meeting Nick Arnstein, a handsome and charismatic gambling man with a gentle side, Fanny immediately falls in love. And with her big break in the Ziegfeld Follies on the horizon, the stardom she has always longed for is within her grasp. Her only problem… the elusive Nick Arnstein, ignorant of her affection, is always leaving town on some “business” venture.
After a romantic meeting in Baltimore, Nick and Fanny finally confess their feelings, and Fanny boldly abandons the Follies to follow Nick across the ocean.
When Nick wins a bankroll, the newly-wealthy couple get married. No honeymoon lasts forever, though, and Fanny has to choose between the brilliant show business career she loves, or the adored husband who increasingly resents her success.
Megan O'sullivan takes on the role of Fanny who says “That’s where I live, on stage” and how true is that one sentence because Megan comes alive on stage in this role. You could physically see the transformation from the young fame-hungry girl all the way through to the successful star, not only in the way she looked but in the whole attitude. But what really strikes you is Megan's voice. the gentleness of "People" and then the song that closed the first act, "Don't Rain On My Parade" was like a boxer punching his opponent. There was power, punch and purpose in the delivery and gave me my first tingles of the night. Fanny "isn't pretty", well this Fanny is.
Phil Deakin is gambler and con artist Nick Arnstein. Phil has a wonderful voice for classic musicals; he also has a look that fits in so well with period pieces like this. For me, Phil brings a certain vulnerability to Arnstein; the vulnerability of being in love, and seems to be torn between his gambling ways and Fanny, and the gambling won. I love the costumes for Arnstein, especially the black and grey striped suit, but all of his costumes were so well suited, if you'll pardon the pun!
Hayden Fletcher plays Eddie Ryan, and it is so good to see Hayden back on stage. Ryan is a song and dance man and Fanny's mentor, the man who taught her everything. The role was well cast with Hayden. You can see the choreographer in Hayden with the way that he turns his hands out, something some male actors forget to do, and something I always look for. Brilliant characterization and a lovely constant accent as well.
Sue Hagan played Fanny's mother, Rosa Brice. I like this character, and you know how much I like accents, and I enjoyed the softer Yiddish accent that Sue played to so well. there's always a tendency to "overdo" the accent, but not in this case.
Mrs Strakosh, who is constantly amazed that fanny is succeeding and moving up in the world, is played by Karen Robbins. Wonderfully brash and rude, and I imagine a joy to play such a character.
John Fletcher plays Florenz Zeigfeld, a character that always seems to be shouting at first, but calms down when he gets to know Fanny better, and is also friendly with Arnstein. A good, strong powerful persona created by John.
Natalie Austen plays Emma, Fanny's right hand woman. I couldn't remember Emma having such a smoky voice, so I am assuming that Natalie may have a sore throat, or some other malady. Natalie soldiered on with the mantra of the show must go on. What an absolute trooper, and I wish you a speedy recovery. After that, wouldn't it be completely embarrassing for me if Natalie wasn't poorly and she intended for Emma to sound like Marlene Deitrich?
A speedy recovery also to Gill Cooke who should've played Mrs O Malley but was too ill. Stepping into the breach was Laurie Trott who delivered Mrs O Malley's lines as well as her own character's Mrs Meeker. What I love about Laurie is that she gives everything to a character, seeing her dance across the stage is such a joy.
There is a big ensemble, some who deliver cameo roles, so here goes.....James Christian, Martin Briggs, Laurie Fitch, Joel Dawson, Hayley Wood, Emma Barnes-Marriott, Megan Asher, Barbara Bostock, Drew Boswell, Kay Buck, Vicky Byrne, Jane Freeman, Andrea Kemish, Elise Sanders and last but not least, Louisa Ward.
The ensemble is a vital part of any musical and in "Funny Girl" this lot created the atmosphere of a theatrical setting perfectly and really made the choreographed pieces come alive.
On Directing duties is James Bowden and he made sure that the fun in this musical was evident. There was a lovely light and shade aspect which made the whole show bounce along with great pace. The first act was just a smidge under ninety minutes but with direction and pace such as seen tonight, that hour and a half flew by. There were show stopping ends to both acts which you don't often get in musicals, but James and the cast left us wanting more after the curtains closed on act one. I also loved the staging of the show, with actors entering through side doors and down the central stairs of the auditorium onto the stage via a small set of steps stage central.
Musical director for "Funny Girl" is Emma Kerrison. I remember seeing Bilborough College's "Les Miserables", which was performed in the round, if my memory serves me well, and Emma was the MD for that show. Now, eight years later, she has taken on another musical theatre classic for her debut MD role for Erewash Musical Society. The sound, and arrangements, have that classic feel about it, not only for the hauntingly beautiful "People", the massive "Don't Rain On My Parade" but also with songs like "You Are Woman, I Am Man" - the classic duet by Nick and Fanny, and the earworm of a tune "Rat Tat Tat Tat", which I still can't get out of my head.
Choreographing the show is Sophie Robbins. Now I keep using the word "classic" but everything about this musical is classic, and that includes the choreography. I love a good tap dance routine and here we had several, including the brilliant routine for the aforementioned "Rat Tat Tat Tat" and "Cornet Man". Another which really stood out for me was the choreography for "Sadie Sadie". Now I can see where Beyonce's inspiration for the choreography for "Single Ladies" came from! Some excellent group pieces, but I did feel that the choreographed piece for "You Are Woman, I Am Man" was slightly restricted, especially as the curtains were closed to allow for scene setting. It would also have been nice to see more smiles from the dancers. I saw few of the ensemble dancers looking as if they were enjoying performing the choreography because of a lack of a smile. Those that were giving it "eyes and teeth" looked gorgeous and created that Hollywood feel for me.
The sound tonight was operated by Dave Dallard and Jack Clark. People often say that I am always a bit of a Debbie Downer in this area of production, and I know that sound is not at all easy to get spot on; I acknowledge that the sound operator should be half octopus. There were a few sound cues missed, but I only missed a couple of the lines from the script. Looking at it from another angle, maybe the actors whose lines I didn't quite hear should project more! I've every respect for the sound crew in all theatres. This was opening night and I can forgive most things. A couple of missed cues does not a musical mar to me.
The lighting was the main area of my concern because the spotlights were more like search lights, searching for the actor on stage. At one point the speaker on the wall, stage right, was in the spotlight instead of the actors and several of the actors were delivering lines in the shadows. What I do know is that the Duchess Theatre has had new lighting installed, which looks amazing on stage. This may take some getting used to in operation, especially if you're not using the light operation desk on a regular basis. Even the little old lady sat next to me commented on not being able to see the actors talking! Ok, Debbie Downer is back in the box and bolted in. Apart from these lighting meanderings, the illumination of the stage, and especially the mini staircase strip lighting looked fabulous. I know that this will be all corrected for Wednesday night's performance because I have faith in Richard Chaberlain.
The Scenery Design worked well as we were taken backstage, as well as on stage and into the streets, designed by Mark Robbins.
Absolutely loved the costumes; I've already mentioned Arnstein's superb apparel. Everything is so smart, suited and booted, and of course the ladies costumes are so glamorous, including the dancing girls' outfits - totally glamorous and thanks to Triple C Costume Hire, Alex Tavener, Anna Fitzpatrick and Kathi Ludlow.
Oh no! Debbie Downer has escaped again!! There was quite a bit of noise coming from backstage with props being dropped and bangs and crashes during the show. Maybe it was just nerves for first night, I don't know, but they were audible over the stage action, and shouldn't be.
Look, as a reviewer I am programmed to pick up and notice things that other audience members may not even notice, like when Hayden missed the cue for the first line of one of his songs and came in halfway through the third lyric, they probably didn't notice, but I'm not here to rain on anyone's parade. Everything aside I loved this production, the soundtrack is wonderful, I love the campness about the show, I love the vocals, the glamour and I love the dance numbers. And you will too. No two shows, even in professional theatre, are ever the same, and first night is where the nerves are and mistakes can be made, not always. The second night is normally perfect, or as close to perfect, so go get those tickets - there were very few empty seats tonight - and be prepared to be entertained by classic musical fare.
"Funny Girl" will put a smile on your face at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 7 October.
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