"High Society"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Based on the play "The Philadelphia Story" by Phillip Barry, the musical follows glamorous socialite Tracy Lord as her wedding plans unravel thanks to an ex-husband, Dexter Haven, a persistent reporter, Mike Connor, and a cascade of champagne-fuelled complications. It has to be the most glamorous and classy of touring productions.

I have never seen this musical before but what a musical this is! I remember watching the original 1956 film starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly with my parents, sat on the settee on a Sunday afternoon, after dinner as a child. so this brings back some lovely memories for me, and the storyline of the musical follows the original film story, with a few additional scenes. The musical is fleshed out with songs from other films and musicals that Cole Porter have written, making this, in reality, a Cole Porter jukebox musical, and let's face it, Cole Porter is one of the masters of writing musical theatre classics, which is why his songs are performed still today.

Tracy Lord,  a Long Island socialite, is played by Helen George, who you'll recognise from one of my favourite TV shows, "Call The Midwife". Helen has a gorgeous voice which does not go unappreciated by the audience on Tuesday night in the duet with Julian of "True Love". Helen is no stranger to the stage, which shows in the confidence she exudes throughout. There's also a love of dance  with Helen, and that shows in this dance heavy musical.

David Seadon-Young plays George Kittredge, who is engaged to Tracy and is Tracy's Father's accountant. A wonderfully geeky performance who was great fun to watch.

Freddie Fox plays the reporter Mike Connor. I've only seen Freddie in dramatic roles on TV, so it comes as quite a nice surprise to hear that he can also carry a tune on stage, and dance remarkably well. A really charismatic performance and really nice to see another side of this talented actor.

Julian Ovenden is Dexter Haven, a well to do and rich yacht designer, who was once married to Tracy. Here is another brilliant character driven role by Julian, who I last saw four years ago in "South Pacific". Julian, like Freddie, really know how to present a character to an audience. Pair that with the triple threat element of acting, dancing and singing, and these two leading men make a musical like this fly. 

Nigel Lindsay plays the party loving Uncle Willie, who brings that joy with the fun "Now You Has Jazz", backed by an onstage six piece band. An exciting and explosive way to close the first act, and what a masterclass in musical theatre choreography for this scene.

Malcolm Sinclair is Seth Lord, the father of Tracy and estranged husband to Margaret Lord. There's a lovely case of forced mistaken identity with Seth and Uncle Willie near the beginning, almost as if in a Shakespearian play, which allows another comedy section between Malcolm and Nigel. There's also another lovely section near the end of the show with Seth and Margaret where they nearly become "un estranged"

Mother Lord, Margaret, is played by Josefina Gabrielle, who is all in favour of her daughter's engagement to George. This is a brilliant character, portrayed brilliantly by Josefina; great fun to watch.

Dinah Lord, Tracy's younger sister who disapproves of the engagement, is played by Naomi Pacquette. Oh what a performance, and I loved the scene as a French mime artist along with Helen. 

Carly Mercedes Dyer is Liz Imbrie, a photographer for a newspaper. What a voice this lady has, particularly well highlighted in "I've Got You Under My Skin", which gave me the tingles again.

James Hume plays Chester, who is the butler of the Lord family. A nice little vocal section for James in "I Love Paris".

This is a big musical, and, rightly so, has a large ensemble made up of Bethany Adamson, David Austin-Barnes, Jabari Braham, George Bray, Andrew Coshan, Jordan Crouch, Frances Dee, Aarn Elijah, Tosca Fischer, Jacob Fisher, Heather Jackson, Aoife Kenny, Nell Martin and Isabel Snaas. 

Imogen Bailey, Maddie Harper, Thomas Inge, Robin Kent and Lucy rise make up The Swing with Thomas and Lucy also being Dance Captains.

Directed by Rachel Kanabaugh this show is a powerhouse of a show. Thanks to the rapid scene changes, this musical rips along at a great pace. All of the characters are really well defined, which makes the story so easy to follow.

The choreography is by Anthony Van Laast. For a musical fan like myself, the choreography is one of the things that I look for, and from the big ensemble opening number of "High Society" to the closing ensemble of "Let's Do It" the choreography zings, it's typical Metro Goldwyn Mayer magic. 

Musical Director is Stephen Ridley with arrangements by Gareth Valentine and orchestrations by Larry Bank. What a joy as well to hear a live orchestra with this show.

With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, the score is truly iconic, including American Song Book classics like “True Love,” “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and “Well, Did You Evah!” from the original film soundtrack. Alongside these are other Porter classics to flesh out the score. Songs like "Be a Clown", "I Love Paris", "It’s All Right With Me", "Just One of Those Things, "I’ve Got You Under My Skin" and "Let’s Do It’ (Let's Fall In Love)" to name just a few.

Set Design is by Tom Rogers and consists of a double staircase that bears a strong resemblance of being marble, leading up to a splendid balcony. This is a static design with various other rooms, and a poolside scene, which is extremely realistic and impressive, shown by amendments of furniture to distinguish the individual settings. the set is the first thing that hits you and makes such an impression, enough to make a jaw drop.

Costume Designer is Jon Morrell. I would not expect anything other than stylish glamour of the period from the costume design, and that is exactly what I got. Gorgeous and colourful costumes for all actors, to highlight the Socialite scene.

The Wig, Hair and Make Up Designer is Helen Keane, another element of this Production Team that shines and takes you back to the heady 1940's. 

Lighting Designer is Howard Hudson and Sound design is by Adam Fisher, the complete package to bring the best visual excitement from this wonderful musical.

It's one of my favourite musicals, a lovely fun story, a classy score where I knew every single song performed, a great fun cast, excellent choreography and one of the best set designs for a musical.

"High Society" is the most swellagant, elegant party that you'll attend and is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 7 November.