The Boys From Syracuse - Upstairs at the Gatehouse

[fossil]

Rodgers and Hart’s The Boys From Syracuse

Upstairs At The Gatehouse

5 Sep 2024 until 29 Sep 2024

[capybara]

Opens tonight apparently. Anyone going?

[Steve]

Saw this tonight, and felt the singing was entertaining but the comedy wasn't, so a mixed bag for me.

Some spoilers follow. . .

When I see a comedy, I ask two questions: "Did I laugh?" and "Did everyone else laugh?" and by and large, the answer to both those questions was "Infrequently."

There are two performers with funny bones on stage, but their comic skills aren't sufficiently utilised:

(1) as the Duke and a Policeman, Enzo Benvenuti resembles David Tennant in antic mode, fully embodying the farcical comic attitudes of his characters, and is very funny, but his roles are unfortunately too small;

(2) as Adriana's sister and a couple of other characters, Georgie Faith equally embodies the full comic attitudes of her characters, but unfortunately, her main character's principal attitude is serious, so her superb comic skills are mostly used peripherally, albeit very humorously.

Other than these two, Karen Wilkinson as brash bulldozer wife Luce, and Brendan Matthew as her camp cowed husband, Dromio, make comic efforts that pay off occasionally, which was appreciated.

But overall, this is a very hard comedy to pull off (famously powerhouse comedy duo, Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Corbett apparently couldn't pull it off either in its London premiere, which flopped) and this production, at least in previews, isn't funny enough either/yet.

I wish I'd seen the Regent's Park version, directed by Judi Dench, which was a big comic hit, perhaps because Dench already understood where the laughs are, having appeared in "The Comedy of Errors" for Trevor Nunn.

Anyhow, John Faal, as the lead, Antipholus of Ephasus, although not particularly funny, is tremendously likeable, resembling a dozy Julian Ovendon, seemingly doped up on downers.

As his other half, the lead female, Adriana, Caroline Kennedy has a dazzling soprano singing voice, and listening to her sing fabulous numbers like "Falling in Love with Love" is one of my main highlights of this production. I fell in love with her voice.

By and large, the best thing about this production is that the entire ensemble pull off the musical numbers, which are gorgeous melodically.

I'd give this production three stars, buoyed by two natural comedians, 8 accomplished singers and a small but energetic and feisty orchestra.

PS: This production certainly does not outstay its welcome, running at 2 hours, including an interval.

[capybara]

Set in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus and based on William Shakespeare’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’, director Mark Giesser has had his work cut out to make this piece work in the confined space that is Upstairs at the Gatehouse.

Originally performed with a cast of 49 actors, he has managed to streamline it to work with a company of eight, multi-roling performers.

As one would expect from any Shakespeare comedy, this is a tale of mistaken identity, held together with subtle word play and less subtle elements of farce.

How well this humour translates 86 years on from the show’s opening is a matter of opinion but, although the broader strokes appear to have been lost in the midsts of time, this cast manages to eke out comedy in more delicate ways; a sly glance here, a lingering moment there, for example.

George Abbott’s book scenes do drag in places, however. Although the story bobs along relatively nicely in this two-hour (interval inclusive) production, the dialogue can often feel drawn out between numbers, for a contemporary audience at least.

But Rodgers and Hart’s score overshadows the rest of the piece by far. From well-known songs like ‘Falling In Love With Love’, ‘This Can’t Be Love’ and ‘Sing For Your Supper’ to the likes of ‘The Shortest Day of the Year’ and ‘Oh, Diogenes!’, this musical is absolutely stacked with flowing melodies.

And those numbers are performed wonderfully by a talented cast, none more so than Caroline Kennedy (Adriana/Tailor), whose voice soars across the auditorium beautifully. Together with Georgie Faith (Luciana/Fatima/Apprentice) and Karen Wilkinson (Luce/Corporal), the trio give the audience a genuinely show-stopping moment in Act Two with ‘Sing For Your Supper’.

Meanwhile, the combination of John Faal and Brendan Matthew, playing both sets of twins, is a joy to watch, both in respect of their comedic numbers and chemistry in the book scenes.

Unfortunately, the plot itself does have limitations but the main reason that people should come to see The Boys From Syracuse is that this is a score that must be heard.

Jared Hageman’s choreography complements Giesser’s direction well, while Denisha Parmenter’s set is wonderfully detailed and makes the most of what is a rather tight performance space.

Three stars.

[pws]

I enjoyed this last night. It really zips along and there are some laughs.
Excellent singing and a fantastic band.
Probably worth it if you can, before it closes.

[max]

Seems London gets some version of this show every 10 years.

Crazy that it's 21 years since the Rodgers estate granted rights for Theatre Royal Stratford East to sample and remake the score of 'The Boys From Syracuse' for the Hip Hop muisical 'Da Boyz' (2003). The reviewer for The Independent (Rhoda Koenig) hated it, but two of the ideas she mentions here raise a smile:

"The locale is indicated, on a set whose only other decoration is chain-link fence, by the text-message version of the city: FSS. The fat female comic, instead of complaining, as per Lorenz Hart, of "acres and acres of beauty going to waste," puts a glottal stop in "beauty" and shakes it."

I saw the un-mashed up version at the Union Theatre in 2013 - didn't love it, but interested to see the original show again at Upstairs At The Gatehouse.

[artea]

This has 3 great songs which is 3 more than Opening Night, Next to Normal and London Tide had at least before their intervals. As noted above, sing for your supper is very well performed and the highlight of the show. It's the score that matters; the wisecracks would need more American pizzazz, more Groucho Marx , to pull them off. It's very polite. Good to be so close to everything in a small room (a bit airless and stuffy though) but miking caused some slightly painful sounds occasionally. 3.5 stars.