Prepare to be swept away by this hilarious musical that has finally made it to London's West End after opening on Broadway almost ten years ago. The show was nominated for several Tony Awards, with Broadway veteran Norbert Leo Butz taking home the award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. For those of you that don't know, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a musical based on the 1980's film of the same name, starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin. Set on the Côte d'Azur, it tells the story of a con-artist, Lawrence Jameson, who leads a luxurious lifestyle with the money he has scammed out of affluent women. When rookie con-man Freddy Benso arrives on the scene, Lawrence quickly realises the competition and, in a bid to out-do one another, they make a bet involving a wealthy heiress that has a hilarious outcome. Robert Lindsay and Rufus Hound have natural comedic chemistry together and it was a pleasure to see them share the stage. Katherine Kingsley, who is a goddess, plays the role of Christine Colgate to perfection and Darren Bennett (who was understudying the role of Andre Thibault during the performance I saw) was phenomenal. Whilst I enjoyed Samantha Bond's acting, I felt like there was work to be done with her singing as she wasn't vocally up to the same standard as the rest of the cast. I was in shock to find out that Lizzy Connolly, who plays the Oklahoma oil heiress Jolene Oakley, was making her West End debut. Her song 'Oklahoma' is a top highlight of the show, and the actress blew me away with her performance. She certainly has the talent to become a huge theatre star in the future. As for the ensemble, they carry the show with an incredible amount of ease and I could not fault a single one of them. David Yazbek has created a score that is highly smooth and slick, and fuses together traditional-style musical theatre elements with a variety of different styles. For example, "Ruffhousin' Mit Shuffhausen" is a waltz whilst "The More We Dance" has a samba feel to it. The opening number "Give Them What They Want" is sleasy and scandalous, summing up the character of Lawrence completely, whilst Freddy's main number "Great Big Stuff" equally matches his personality. Overall, the score is fantastic and I think its' wit matches that of the hilarious book. The impressive set designs symbolise luxury and immersed you into the story completely. The bright-coloured theme made it feel like you were actually in the fictional town of Beaumont-Sur-Mer on the French Riviera. As Lawrence Jameson sings in the opening song "leave them wanting more". This is a perfect description of how I felt after the cast had taken their bows. __________________________________________________________ Rating: ★★★★ Comment: It has electric show-stopping numbers and numerous plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat praying for it to never end. Have you seen Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? Do you agree or disagree with any of the points I have made? If so, I'd love to here from you so send me a message! DISCLAIMER: All photo's are courtesy of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | |
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Hello there, friend!Welcome to my blog. I tend ramble on a bit about theatre, books and Disney. Archives
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