by The Production Company
at Regent Theatre until October 27,
2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
The Gilbert and Sullivan Show is a
light-hearted, delightful night. Director, Roger Hodgman, creates a musical
salon atmosphere on the Regent Theatre stage as the exceptionally skilled
orchestra and singers present songs from favourite G and S shows.
Iolanthe,
Gondoliers, HMS Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance, The Yeomen of the Guard,
Patience and The Mikado are all represented. The ensemble of musical and
operatic stars features Dennis Olsen, Roxane Hislop Tiffany Speight and Gary
Rowley.
Olsen,
in his inimitable fashion, cavorts and gambols about the stage as he sings When
I was a Lad and I Am The Monarch of the Sea as Sir Joseph Porter (Pinafore). He
is an electrifying and comical presence on stage throughout the night. Each
character, even in this truncated concert version, is fully developed and
hilarious.
Tiffany
Speight has a bright and moving soprano. She is magnetic and manages to be both
gloriously seductive and sweetly innocent in roles including Josephine from
Pinafore (Sorry Her Lot), Yum-Yum from Mikado (The Sun Whose Rays) and as Mabel
in Pirates singing the sweet and compelling Poor Wandering One.
Roxane
Hislop is in fine voice singing I'm Called Little Buttercup and as Phoebe from
Iolanthe when she sings When Maiden Loves.
Gary
Rowley is a wonderful Captain Corcoran (Pinafore) and David Gould's strong bass
provides a very funny Police Sergeant in Pirates.
Other
supporting roles are sung superbly by Barry Mitchell and Troy Sussman.
The
orchestra captures the tone of S and S and is magnificently directed by Guy
Noble.
The
evening finishes with a trio of finales from Pinafore, Mikado and Gondoliers.
The entire show has flair, joy and a punchy larrikin feel to it in spite of its
stylish 19 century salon design ( Leon Salom) and its decorative costumes.
(Hugh Colman)
Gilbert
and Sullivan have reached a wider audience recently with the release of Mike
Leigh's movie, Topsy Turvy which deals with the creation of The Mikado.
Popular
music buffs may scoff at G and S songs as old-fashioned, elitist, silly or
middle-class. However, Sullivan was a classically trained and gifted composer
while Gilbert was a phenomenon in the creation of complex and comic rhyming
lyrics. This pair was a match made in musical theatre heaven.
By Kate
Herbert
for 2
pages:
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