Featured Post

Take me to the world: Hide and Seek @parktheatre

Image
In a small town where everyone knows everyone, if you don't like it, you might feel that the only logical thing to do is to disappear. Especially if you think it will help your social media rankings. The loneliness and isolation of youth meet influencers in the wild in Tobia Rossi's Hide and Seek. And while events take a darker turn, the humour and the intimacy make this piece about youth on the edge (of trending) fascinating and enjoyable. It's currently playing at Park Theatre .  Mirko (Nico Cetrulo) is exploring a cave with his camera when he stumbles on Gio (Louis Scarpa). Gio has been missing for a while, and the town has been looking for him. But Gio is more interested in how much he is trending on TikTok. He also had a crush on Mirko. Soon, they establish a friendship and a bond. In the cave, they explore feelings they would not dare share outside. However, things turn darker when Gio is confident enough to leave the cave, while Mirko doesn't want his double life

Patter songs: I Love You You're Perfect, Now Change

A short run of the show I Love You, You're Perfect Now Change at the Riverside Studios Hammersmith is a pleasant enough diversion, although you get the feeling it is more fun performing it than watching it.

Performers must love it as the cast of four manage to sing in a variety of styles from country to cantata. They  also run through a variety of roles from young nervous daters to old Jews at a funeral home (well, it is set in New York). This cast are great and manage to make the most of the material and the comic possibilities. But after awhile it becomes clear there isn't much variety in the work and each song tends to blend together. For the most part they are trite and forgettable. There is an occasional gem such as a ballad in the first half when the girl who finally manages to land a date proclaims, "I will be loved tonight" with such such desperation you are left wondering about her fate. In the second half there is an amusing song about being a bridesmaid, but it is all rather tame - even for show written in 1996 - and the endless scenes of women pretending to be interested in their dates, parents over excited about their babies feels quite dated now.

It might have worked better in a smaller space than the Riverside studios... And a space with less furniture... It seems to be an awful habit of these sorts of shows to make the actors work as if they are furniture movers. Future productions would be better off skipping that trip to Ikea or borrowing whatever they find backstage at Riverside...

Nevertheless it is a successful Off-Broadway show that has been translated into many languages... But then again so is the Fantasticks. Most interesting as an early work of writer Joe DiPietro (who has gone on to bigger things in the musical theatre world) and composer Jimmy Roberts. It is also no doubt essential viewing for any musical theatre student as well...

It runs through to Sunday... Go with a notebook... The views from the jaded (with Johnnyfoxlondon) follow...

Popular posts from this blog

Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre