The Highs and Lows of High Society

David Cradduck awards 4 stars out of 5 to the Music and Lyrics production of High Society – presented in association with Venue Cymru Llandudno - at The Mayflower, Southampton, Tuesday 7th May (opening night)

What a treat for Cole Porter and classic movie/stage fans – a colourful, all-singing, all-dancing production of a show made famous by the likes of Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra (the 1956 film of the same name with Cole Porter score, plus Louis Armstrong on trumpet) and Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart (its predecessor The Philadelphia Story, a play and film written especially for Katherine Hepburn who was suffering a period of career doldrums at the time).

The Mayflower played host to this, the second stop in a 10 week/11 venue UK tour, taking in such far flung places as Glasgow, Eastbourne and Belfast. The set, which travels with them, is a clever arrangement of revolving rostra, doors and pillars – in the first half at least, with a semi-nautical backdrop and there is many a twirling of doors, pillars, performers – some of whom move the set whilst they sing, dance and act their way through the multiple scenes.

For my liking the whole effect was stunning and very much in the right genre, but it got a little bewildering and on the odd occasion I wished the rotating doors and pillars would stop to let me catch breath and stop feeling slightly dizzy. Or was I sitting too close to the stage?

The lighting, too, was effective and no performer was ever under lit, but I would have thought that more could have made to differentiate the scenes. They all seemed a bit uniform in lighting terms and the transitions from front parlour to tennis pavilion to swimming pool all melded into one for me and I had to check with the programme to see which scene was set where.

This was a fairly lavish production, with glitzy costumes (although sporting the odd puckered seam at close range), full band accompaniment which was faultless and well balanced, an ensemble of established and accomplished actors, dancers and choreography and, of course, that music score which underpins everything.

Many a tune had people tapping along and whispering ‘I know this one!’: ‘Just one of those things’, ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ – don’t start me on the old BBC Family Favourites which was where I certainly remembered it from – and ‘Well, did you Evah?’ You may not recognise all the titles but most people over a certain age will certainly remember the songs when they hear them.

There was no doubt that the second half was an improvement on the first, partly because the songs were more memorable and partly because the plot which is, let’s face it, a bit thin, based on the unrequited girl-marries-boy-and-divorces- him-but-shouldn’t-have theme, becomes more interesting.

In fact the final scene is really quite cleverly constructed with some interesting mind games going on between the various principals – he who should have married her, he who wanted to marry her, he who really should have, she who wants someone else etc. Yes, this was a game of two halves and the second half scored more goals.

The acting and singing were, without doubt, professional and competent – but there were some stars that shone a little brighter in my eyes. Leading lady Sophie Bould played heroine Tracy; with a varied portfolio of big show and intimate theatre productions behind her, she was delightful, sang and acted beautifully but was equalled by her on stage sibling Dinah, played by 17-year-old Katie Lee, fresh out of Sylvia Young Theatre School and already with more confidence and precociousness than Shirley Temple.

Michael Praed as Dexter Haven was also extremely competent and had great stage presence from the moment he arrived on stage but either he had a slight cold or his voice didn’t quite match his superb acting. At least not compared with the stunning singing voice of  Kieron Crook playing the idiotic new fiancé, whose character was so silly that I wasn’t sure if it is was the role or Crook’s inability to match his acting to his voice.

The other two bright lights were undoubtedly Teddy Kempner as Uncle Willie who managed to steal the show with his comic timing, brilliant double takes and amazing dancing skills and the understated Liz Imbrie, played skilfully by Alex Young.

As for the scene stealer, it has to be the kitchen scene in Act 2, when tap dancing meets Stomp to create a memorable, foot tapping, big show number with a difference. Upturned giant saucepans, cooks playing timpani on rows of smaller utensils, dancing on table tops and a visual/audio delight will be with me long after the spotlight on the big chorus scenes have faded in my memory.

Cast and crew will all be exhausted by July, but I’m sure they won’t play to empty houses judging by the reaction from the opening night audience at the Mayflower.

(Until 11th May at the Mayflower and then on tour throughout the UK, ending in Guildford in July 2013)