1 October 2025
Last Friday we were at Milton Keynes Theatre to see the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Irving Berlin's 'Top Hat'. The show is based on the 1935 film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, adapted for the stage in 2011 by Matthew White and Howard Jacques, and is directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall (who was also responsible for the glorious Barbican production of 'Anything Goes' by Cole Porter, reviewed here in September 2021). It's a feast of Irving Berlin songs, including 'Puttin' On the Ritz', 'Let's Face the Music and Dance' and 'Cheek To Cheek' as well as 'Top Hat, White Tie and Tails'. There is nothing more joyous than an old-fashioned tap-dance musical and the big dance numbers are brilliantly performed by a large cast, squeezed onto a relatively small stage. Phillip Attmore (as Jerry Travers) is a stunning dancer - incredible in the fast tap numbers but equally graceful in the ballroom dances. The prototype romcom plot is typically slight and forgettable, and the book is desperately in need of a modern rewrite, but you can just wallow in the beautiful costumes, stylish set (by Peter McKintosh) and an amazing display of dancing.
No comments:
Post a Comment