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The London Stage in 2008 (4)Dateline: 28th December, 2008West End MusicalsOne year ago, I was fearful of the demise of straight theatre, as musicals began to take over the West End. It is therefore hard to know whether to be happy or sad about what has been a thin year for the musical in London. There have been both fewer musicals opening and not nearly as many must-see sensations as in the last few years. This trend could well continue through the credit crunch, as a combination of wary producers, audiences who are trying to economise and the lack of source material from the United States, where the problems seem even worse, means that multi-million pound extravaganzas are likely to be few and far between. It would be wonderful to be able to report that either of the two big musicals seen at the New London this year was breathing fresh life into the genre. Sadly, Gone with the Wind was ridiculously long and generally no more than mildly entertaining, while the Warsaw ghetto musical, Imagine This was only notable for the vast sum of money raised to put on a production that was so obviously going to nosedive. If the amount of effort, money and enthusiasm that had been lavished on these two works had been invested a little more wisely, London could be enjoying something of a musical boom. Instead, even some of the old favourites like Spamalot and Avenue Q are now putting up closure notices. The pick of the year without doubt was the somewhat delayed West End transfer of Jersey Boys. This is a life affirming biographical tale of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, featuring a standout performance from Ryan Molloy in the leading part. It turned out to be the one evening of the year when every visitor to the theatre would come out not only humming one of a selection of great tunes but (quite simultaneously) also talking about a rags to riches tale of boys from the wrong side of the tracks. Lindsay Posner's revival of Carousel had a lot going for it. William Dudley's computer-generated design was to die for, while the dancing and much of the singing, in the latter case led by Lesley Garrett, was also of the highest quality. La Cage Aux Folles made its West End transfer from the Menier to great acclaim, not only because a fully fit Douglas Hodge proved to be a delight but also for the quality of the comedy. The Menier tried out a couple of other musicals this year on home ground, They're Playing Our Song proved to be a tricky second show for Connie Fisher, although more because it was not worthy of her prodigious talents than due to her performance. A Little Night Music had a very mixed reception with five-star reviews and others which suggested that Sir Trevor Nunn had not quite got the low-budget musical right. The Harder They Come is one of the first black musicals to make it into town in a big way but will not be the last. This reggae musical that moved from the Theatre Royal Stratford East to the Barbican and then the Playhouse was a really lively evening packed with hummable music and a Caribbean tale that ultimately proved moving. Zorro is still running, thanks to an upbeat liveliness and appealing storyline that has perhaps made it one of the West End's more surprising successes of the year, as it ignored the big names that are so often required to make any musical a hit. Marguerite and Piaf were based on similar stories, with the latter proving more successful thanks to stronger music and the voice of Elena Roger. It is hard to know where opera starts and musicals stop but this seems as good a place as any to note a rather good Mikado in the short Gilbert and Sullivan season at the Gielgud and two events in opera houses. Making a change from his normal stage productions, Robert Lepage brought The Rake's Progress to Covent Garden, setting it in the American Midwest, while Leonard Bernstein's Candide, last seen at the National Theatre received an enjoyable revival by the English National Opera at the Coliseum during the summer.
Philip Fisher
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