Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre 12 – 30 October. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
All Star Productions’ Wonderful Town is one of those shows where everyone leaves with a big soppy smile on their faces.
This chamber production hits all the right notes and, under Tim McArthur’s inspired direction, celebrates the fact that this is an extremely corny and frankly bonkers story, and very much of its time.
Sisters Ruth and Eileen Sherwood arrive in New York from Ohio with ambitions to be a writer and actress. They rent an apartment in Greenwich Village and soon all the local men are falling for Eileen, whilst Ruth meets newspaper man Bob Baker, but just can’t stop herself from saying all of the wrong things. An array of bizarre neighbourhood caricatures complicate matters but the girls end up with the right guys in the finale. Ben Hathaway’s simple set design – all newspaper print and McArthur’s favourite hanging frames adds to the cartoon feel of the show and McArthur has created a slightly edgy but very nostalgic production that delivers all you could wish for.
With music by Leonard Bernstein, you’re on to a winner, and musical director Aaron Clingham is obviously having the time of his life on the piano playing (expertly) some of Bernstein’s more light-hearted tunes. Choreographer Ian Pyle has done a superb job, with the talented dancers doing things that shouldn’t be possible in this tiny space. Swing is a wonderful routine, with shades of the Jets and the Sharks having a party instead of a rumble. The rhythms created by the piano and the dancers’ bodies and voices are breath-taking. Give that man an Offie.
Some of the musical numbers’ lyrics don’t showcase Comden and Green at their best, but One Hundred Easy Ways To Lose A Man is the song you’ll recognise from this show, performed by the fabulous Lizzie Wofford as Ruth – making the most of a rare leading role for the lower register. Wofford and Francesca Benton-Stace, as Eileen, are an enchanting double act – playing their roles with knowing humour and plenty of gusto. Aneurin Pascoe is charming as Baker, with a beautifully judged and delivered rendition of A Quiet Girl being his standout moment. Hugo Joss Caton as Frank is delightfully clumsy and sweet, and Simon Burr and Francesca Pim are a hoot as footballer Wreck and his fiancée Helen.
The entire cast give energetic and funny performances, with pastiche Greek, New “Yoik” and Irish accents aplenty. The Irish policemen are hysterical in the scene where they serenade Eileen after arresting her, with Jon R Harrison seemingly modelling his character on Rory Brown – brilliant!
I can understand why Wonderful Town isn’t revived very often, as its plot and lyrics haven’t aged well. But when it is given the Tim McArthur treatment and performed with such joy, the show is simply fantastic.
Go on, take a selfie as you leave the theatre – Wonderful Town will turn you into a grinning loon.