‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: (left to right) Nancy Allsop, Nicola Turner, Sophia Ally & Lara McDonnell. Photo: Joan Marcus.

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA
A new play by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Through December 22, 2024
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44^th Street
https://thehillsofcalifornia.com/

By Scott Harrah

British playwright Jez Butterworth has written stage sagas about England (Jerusalem) and Ireland (The Ferryman) and now he takes on America via the elusive dreams of a widow and single mother, Veronica Webb (Laura Donnelly). She hopes to turn her four daughters in Blackpool, UK into singing stars across the Atlantic in the poignant epic The Hills of California.

America is a running theme in The Hills of California. Veronica owns a struggling hotel in Blackpool called Sea View (although it has no view of the sea) and the rooms are named after U.S. states like Mississippi. The story is told in both the past and present, depicting two eras: 1976, during a summer heatwave, when three of the Webb sisters have gathered at their childhood home as their mother lies dying of cancer upstairs; and 1955, when Veronica is trying desperately to book her daughters as a singing quartet styled after the Andrews Sisters.

Most of the story, however, is told through the eyes of the sisters. Jill (Helena Wilson) is the only one who is not married and still lives at home. Her sisters include Gloria (Leanne Best) and Ruby (Ophelia Lovibond). They are waiting for their sister Joan (incredibly played by Laura Donnelly in a dual role)—the only one to move away from England—to arrive on a flight from California. The siblings are concerned about their mother on her deathbed, and anxious about whether Joan will even show up. Joan has been estranged from the family for more than 20 years.

Back in 1955, Veronica insists on getting her daughters to polish up their sister act. However, after a visit from Luther St. John (David Wilson Barnes), a Hollywood agent, Veronica and her daughters learn that Americans have moved on from the Andrews Sisters. The girls perform such oldies as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” The play’s title is derived from “The Hills of California,” an old B side by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers, a song the Webb sisters sing as an ode to the Golden State.

Fast-forward to 1976. Jill is a long-suffering spinster who is devoted to her dying mother.  Gloria is in an often-volatile marriage to her husband and has two kids, while Ruby, despite a great singing voice, never pursued show business, is emotionally fragile and plagued with anxiety.

Sister Joan finally arrives from America in a wave of cigarette smoke and hippie glamour. She now speaks in an American twang and seems like an outsider in her childhood home. She recorded an album in the States shortly after she moved across the Atlantic, but soon spiraled into a life of substance abuse. The true fireworks in the show truly explode toward the end of the nearly three-hour drama. The chemistry amongst the four sisters is amazing, and one really feels all the pathos and grief they are all experiencing about the impending death of their mother.

Director Sam Mendes extracts outstanding performances from the gifted ensemble. The Hills of California is a story of women in crisis and the family ties of sisters united in grief. The performances of Ms. Wilson as Jill, Ms. Best as Gloria, Ms. Lovibond as Ruby and Ms. Donnelly as both Veronica and Joan are consistently moving and packed with emotion. David Wilson Barnes is fittingly direct and menacing as American show-business agent Luther St. John.

The actresses playing the younger versions of the sisters, Nicola Turner as “Young Jill,” Nancy Allsop as “Young Gloria,” Sophia Ally as “Young Ruby” and Lara McDonnell as “Young Joan” are all first rate. These young women truly flesh out the sad backstory of the Webb sisters in the 1950s with sincerity and a sense of wistfulness.

Unless one is familiar with British regional dialects, the show can be challenging at times, especially in the beginning when the characters speak in rapid-fire Lancashire accents. It is hard to say whether the issue might possibly be resolved with tweaking the actors’ microphones but fortunately one gets used to the dialect as the story progresses.

The Hills of California is a challenging drama, but one ultimately worth the long running time. It is one of Jez Butterworth’s best plays yet. It is as complex as The Ferryman but more simplistic than Jerusalem, and is ultimately a timeless tale of grief and the ups and downs a family experiences throughout the years.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 14, 2024
Reviewed at October 8, 2024 press performance

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: (left to right): Lara McDonnell, Laura Donnelly & Sophia Ally. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’:(left to right) Helena Wilson, Laura Donnelly & Ophelia Lovibond. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: (left to right) Lara McDonnell, Nancy Allsop & Sophia Ally. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: Laura Donnelly. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: Helena Wilson & Ophelia Lovibond. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: (left to right) Adam Godley, Simon Russell Beale & Adrian Lester. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
By Stefano Massini
Adapted by Ben Power
Directed by Sam Mendes
Through January 2, 2022
Nederlander Theatre
208 West 41st Street
(877-250-2929), https://thelehmantrilogy.com/

By David NouNou

Once in a generation comes that elusive masterpiece; a play that sparks the imagination, grabs the heart, and hauntingly seeps into the subconscious and stays with you forever. A play has to seize your attention from the first image, and when we saw it in London in June 2019, it has remained with us till now.

The first image that appears in The Lehman Trilogy is of three men dressed in formal attire in a chromed high-rise office building, awaiting the funereal end of something.

Then Part I begins with the title “The Brothers.”

It is 1844 and Hayum Lehmann, (Simon Russell Beale) the son of a cattle merchant, arrives at New York’s Ellis Island from Rimpar, Bavaria. The immigration officer, not understanding the name, dubs him Henry Lehman who then settles in Birmingham, Alabama to open a general store. In 1847, Mendel Lehmann (Adrian Lester) arrives from Germany to join his brother and becomes Emanuel Lehman. Finally, in 1850, the last brother Mayer Lehman (Adam Godley) arrives to the firm which becomes the Lehman Brothers. They are in the business of buying and reselling cotton in the South. They are of Jewish heritage, with strict Jewish observances.

Now that the triumvirate is complete, the dynamics begin. Henry and Mayer base themselves in Birmingham while Emanuel’s restlessness for more moves him to New York. As their firm is growing, Henry, the eldest, dies in 1855 of yellow fever. The formal attire that costume designer Katrina Lindsay created is multipurpose. The actors wear the same articles of clothing throughout the play. In the opening scene these costumes represented outfits for bankers and brokers, in the beginning of the play it was the attire for that time period, and at Henry’s death, they are used as black suits, what mourners wear to sit Shiva for a whole week.

Part II is “Fathers and Son.”

The first part gave us the initial introduction to the three Lehman’s, the second part introduces us to the marriages and wives and the generations that came after them. All the ensuing characters are played by the same three above mentioned actors.  It is here that we meet Philip, son of Emmanuel, Herbert, the son of Mayer, and the astute and ruthless Robert “Robbie” Lehman, the grandson of Emanuel and thus the advent of greed and corruption begins. As the country gets closer to the 20^th Century, the more Lehman Brothers grows, exponentially, the avarice and lawlessness ensues. As Mayer dies in 1897 and then Emanuel in 1907, the Jewish observances and respect for Shiva dwindles lower and lower. The mourning period is shortened to fit for business duties. By 1929, the Lehman Corporation is becoming an investment company.

Part III is “The Immortal.”

As the country goes through turmoil: Wall Street crashes, the depression, World War II, Pearl Harbor, Lehman Brothers weathers all the storms and ultimately profits. In 1965, Robbie Lehman sets up a trading department at Lehman Brothers. By the time he dies, there is no mourning period; after all, banks and Wall Street do not close for mere mortals. In 1984, American Express bought Lehman Brothers and disposed of them in 1994. In 2007, Lehman Brothers was entangled in the subprime mortgage lending crisis, and in 2008, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. As hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped out in bad loans, the financial collapse in 2008 becomes the worst crisis since the depression.

The three men dressed in formal attire in a chromed high tower office building have seen the funereal end and the closing of Lehman Brothers.

Stefano Massini has written an epic play in scale and grandeur. It involves immigrants, Judaism, beliefs, family, work ethics, greed, monopoly, crises from the scaling up to the ultimate drop. It takes in consideration the people it affected and the lives it shattered.

Sam Mendes, with his formidable insight, has brought vision and focus to this formidable play on a massive scale. Between him and his set designer Es Devlin, they created a visual stunning world of glass, chrome, cubicles, representing, stores, banks, offices, buildings and skyscrapers. The set is constantly spinning or in motion to represent any place that the action takes place. Everything is magnificently lit by lighting designer Jon Clark to capture every mood and nuance of any scene.

Now, all this would serve the mind and the optics, but you need the actors to breathe life into these words and set the stage on fire. Still with us are Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and the new addition is Adrian Lester. What was once an intertwined, seamless unit now gives us pause. Mr. Lester has replaced Ben Miles, and this makes it more challenging to visualize them as three brothers coming from Bavaria and that they’re related. However, in theatre, one must suspend disbelief.  In the London production, one marveled at their precision, delivering their lines and playing off each other. They complemented each other magnificently. Now, you just have great acting; the seamless balance has been thrown off.

As a play, The Lehman Trilogy is still the masterpiece we saw in London.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 14, 2021
Reviewed at October 2021 press preview performance.

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: (left to right) Adam Godley, Simon Russell Beale & Adrian Lester.
Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: Adrian Lester & Adam Godley. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE LEHMAN TRIOLOGY’: Adrian Lester. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: Adam Godley. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

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‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles & Adam Godley in the National Theatre production, now back in London at the Piccadilly Theatre. Photo: Mark Douet

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
By Stefano Massini
Adapted by Ben Power
Directed by Sam Mendes
Through August 31, 2019
Piccadilly Theatre
16 Denman Street
London, United Kingdom
https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-lehman-trilogy-at-piccadilly-theatre
Broadcast on NT Live on Thursday, July 25, 2019. Info at  http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/72252-the-lehman-trilogy

By David NouNou

Once in a generation comes that elusive masterpiece to the theater, a play that sparks the imagination, grabs the heart, and hauntingly seeps into the subconscious and stays with you forever. I won’t add musicals to this list, although there have been many, as they have an innate ability to entertain. A play has to seize your attention from the first image.

The first image that appears in The Lehman Trilogy is of three men dressed in formal attire in a chromed high-rise office building, awaiting the funereal end of something.

Then Part I begins with the title “The Brothers.”

It is 1844. Hayum Lehmann (Simon Russell Beale), the son of a cattle merchant, arrives at New York’s Ellis Island from Rimpar, Bavaria. The immigration officer, not understanding the name, dubs him Henry Lehman. He then settles in Birmingham, Alabama to open a general store. In 1847, Mendel Lehmann (Ben Miles) arrives from Germany to join his brother and becomes Emanuel Lehman. Finally, in 1850, the last brother Mayer Lehman (Adam Godley) arrives to the firm which becomes the Lehman Brothers. They are in the business of buying and reselling cotton in the South. They are of Jewish heritage, with strict Jewish observances,

Now that the triumvirate is complete, the dynamics begin. Henry and Mayer base themselves in Birmingham while Emanuel’s restlessness for more moves him to New York. As their firm is growing, Henry, the eldest, dies in 1855 of yellow fever. The formal attire that costume designer Katrina Lindsay created is multipurpose. The actors wear the same articles of clothing throughout the play. In the opening scene, these costumes represented outfits for bankers and brokers; in the beginning of the play it was the attire for that time period; and at Henry’s death, they are used as black suits, what mourners wear to sit shiva for a whole week.

Part II is “Fathers and Sons.”

The first part gave us the initial introduction to the three Lehmans, the second part introduces us to the marriages and wives and the generations that came after them. All the ensuing characters are played by the same three above-mentioned actors. It is here that we meet Philip, son of Emmanuel, Herbert, the son of Mayer, and the astute and ruthless Robert “Robbie” Lehman, the grandson of Emanuel and thus the advent of greed and corruption begins. As the country gets closer to the 20^th Century, the more Lehman Brothers grows, exponentially, the avarice and lawlessness ensues. As Mayer dies in 1897 and then Emanuel in 1907, the Jewish observances and respect for Shiva dwindles lower and lower. The mourning period is shortened to fit for business duties. By 1929, the Lehman Corporation, is becoming an investment company.

Part III is “The Immortal.”

As the country goes through turmoil: Wall Street crashes, the depression, World War II, Pearl Harbor, Lehman Brothers weathers all the storms and ultimately profits. In 1965, Robbie Lehman sets up a trading department at Lehman Brothers. By the time he dies, there is no mourning period, after all, banks and Wall Street doesn’t close for mere mortals. In 1984, American Express bought Lehman Brothers and disposed of them in 1994. In 2007, Lehman Brothers was entangled in the subprime mortgage lending crisis, and in 2008 they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. As hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped out in bad loans, it is the worst crisis since the depression.

The three men dressed in formal attire in a chromed high tower office building have seen the funereal end and the closing of Lehman Brothers.

The show runs for 3 and 20 minutes, with two intermissions and can only be described as an epic masterpiece. A masterpiece comes once a generation. I will only go back to the year 2000, since the early masterpieces I have seen were as revivals, I can’t count those. The three I have witnessed firsthand are War Horse, a visual feast for the eyes, heart and mind; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a monumental achievement that arrests the mind and heart; and now The Lehman Trilogy that inflames the mind and soul of how did things get so out of hand? Ironically, all three are English plays.

Stefano Massini has written an epic play in scale and grandeur. It involves immigrants, Judaism, beliefs, family, work ethics, greed, monopoly, crises, from the scaling up to the ultimate drop. It takes into consideration the people it affected and the lives it shattered.

Massive in scale, and to bring vision and focus to all these words and pages a strong director with formidable insight and intellect was needed to give it shape and order. The man to do it was Sam Menses, who just recently won a Tony Award for Best Director of a Play for The Ferryman. Between him and his set designer Es Devlin, they created a visually stunning world of glass, chrome, cubicles, representing, stores, banks, offices, buildings and skyscrapers. The set is constantly spinning or in motion to represent any place that the action takes place. Everything is magnificently lit by lighting designer Jon Clark to capture every mood and nuance of any scene.

Now all this would serve the mind and the optics, but you need the actors to breathe life into these words and set the stage on fire. You cannot separate Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and Ben Miles; they are so intertwined as a unit, you cannot single one form the other. One just marvels at their precision, delivering their lines and playing off each other. They complement each other through and through.

The Lehman Trilogy started its run at the National Theatre in London in 2018, then came to the Park Avenue Armory for one month in New York in March 2019 where tickets were scarcer than hen’s teeth. It has now moved back to London at the Piccadilly Theatre for a limited run through August 31, 2019.

It would be worth it to fly to London to catch The Lehman Trilogy and then fly back to New York if you didn’t suffer any jet lag. Let’s hope this show eventually comes to Broadway for a regular run where people can enjoy this epic masterpiece of the ages and not just for the privileged few who paid a fortune to see it. It has to be seen by every theater-loving individual because this is the glorious stuff of which theatrical legends are made.

Can’t make it to London this summer? The Lehman Trilogy will be broadcast on NT Live on Thursday, July 25, 2019 at cinemas across America. Click here for more information.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 27, 2019
Reviewed at performance in London on June 12, 2019

‘THE LEHMAN’ TRILOGY: (left to right) Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles. Photo: Mark Douet

Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley & Ben Miles. Photo: Mark Douet

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: Ben Miles. Photo: Mark Douet

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’ (left to right): Adam Godley, Simon Russell Beale & Ben Miles. Photo: Mark Douet

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‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Willow McCarthy, Brooklyn Shuck, Genevieve O’Reilly & Matilda Lawler. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE FERRYMAN
Written by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.theferrymanbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Jez Butterworth’s third Broadway drama is also his most provocative. The Ferryman, which recently opened on Broadway after an Olivier Award-winning, sold-out run in London’s West End, is a complicated epic. With a running time of more than three hours, complete with actors speaking in thick Irish brogues, a storyline filled with Anglo-Irish political themes, multiple characters and a plot that sometimes delves into the metaphysical, it is not for the fainthearted or those seeking a light evening of theater. However, for those familiar with the past conflict between the Irish Republican Catholics and U.K.-loyal Protestants in Northern Ireland during the late 20^th century, Mr. Butterworth’s saga is a multi-layered, searing reminder of centuries-old animosities, exquisitely directed and produced.

The Anglo-Irish conflict in Northern Ireland, often called “the Troubles,” was at its worst in 1981 when the story takes place. As the play opens, three IRA goons are shown in a rural area of Derry ambushing a priest, Father Horrigan (Charles Dale). The leader Muldoon (Stuart Graham) tells the priest to keep quiet about a well-preserved corpse of the late Seamus Carney recovered in a nearby bog. This proves to be troubling because the priest knows the Carney family well.

The remainder of the show is set in the home of the Carney family farm in rural County Armagh. Quinn Carney (Paddy Considine) lives there with his ill wife Mary (Genevieve O’Reilly) and seven children, along with sister-in-law and Seamus’ widow Caitlin (Laura Donnelly), Uncle Patrick (Mark Lambert), cranky, chain-smoking Aunt Patricia (Dearbhla Molloy) and wheelchair-bound elderly Aunt Maggie Far Away (Fionnula Flanagan). The Carneys are preparing for the harvest while news of 10 Republican prisoners on a hunger strike disturbs the family, especially since British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refuses to capitulate to any of the IRA’s demands. Father Horrigan arrives to speak in private to Caitlin about the grim news of her husband’s body being found after a decade. When her son Oisin (Rob Malone) eavesdrops and hears the truth about his father, the rest of the play becomes a guessing game of what the ramifications might be. Should the English be blamed? The IRA? Others?

Mr. Butterworth weaves a complex spell in a story featuring more than 20 characters, a live goose and rabbit, a real infant, Irish dancing, revelry and pathos. Granted, some of what is presented here seems riddled in Irish clichés—drinking, quarreling, quoting literature and anti-English diatribes—but the narrative is often compelling and there is a haunting sincerity to the characters and their predicament. Rob Howell’s rustic set is all too real and the performances are consistently outstanding. Paddy Considine is first rate as patriarch Quinn, as is Laura Donnelly as the long-suffering Caitlin. Both Mr. Considine and Ms. Donnelly have the most difficult tasks in the story, displaying a wide range of emotions from joy to tragedy as the tale unfolds. In addition, the supporting cast’s performances are some of the show’s greatest assets, particularly Fionnula Flanagan as Aunt Maggie Far Away.  When she breaks out of her mental fog to deliver a soliloquy about the one true love who always eluded her, it’s one of the true show-stopping moments of The Ferryman. Justin Edwards is also noteworthy with his portrayal of the awkward English farmhand and longtime family friend, Tom Kettle.

Director Sam Mendes brilliantly directs the amazing ensemble of actors, which could not have been easy considering the many dialects depicted here. The Ferryman might be a hard sell to American audiences unfamiliar with the intricacies of Irish history and conflicts, but beneath the political veneer, Mr. Butterworth’s epic has all the elements of a great tragedy, centered on a family slowly losing everything, from love to trust and hope.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 25, 2018
Reviewed at October 24, 2018 press performance.

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Laura Donnelly, Genevieve O’Reilly, Sean Frank Coffey & Paddy Considine. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Niall Wright, Matilda Lawler, Justin Edwards, Mark Lambert, Fra Fee & Willow McCarthy. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Laura Donnelly. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Fionnula Flanagan & Mark Lambert. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Paddy Considine. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Fra Fee, Tom Glynn-Carney & Conor MacNeill. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Genevieve O’Reilly & Sean Frank Coffey. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Carla Langley, Brooklyn Shuck, Willow McCarthy, Matilda Lawler, Tom Glynn-Carney & Rob Malone. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Glenn Spears, Charles Dale, Dean Ashton & Stuart Graham. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Glenn Spears & Paddy Considine. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Willow McCarthy, Brooklyn Shuck & Dearbhla Molloy. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘The Ferryman’: Epic of Irish pathos & politics appeared first on StageZine.

WAITING FOR THAT ELUSIVE GOLDEN TICKET: The company of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ Photo: Johan Persson

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Based on the novel by Roald Dahl
Book by David Creig
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman
Directed by Sam Mendes
Choreography by Peter Darling
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Catherine Street
London, United Kingdom
(0844 858 8877), www.charlieandthechocolatefactory.com

By Scott Harrah

There have been three major incarnations of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, a whimsical moral fable, from the delightful cult classic 1971 film adaptation with Gene Wilder to the digitally infused, Tim Burton 2005 remake with Johnny Depp, and now this West End musical The effectiveness of the musical-comedy interpretation of Charlie falls somewhere in the middle of the two films: It lacks the charm of the 1971 movie, but adds many colorful touches not seen in both Hollywood adaptations, namely some spectacular production numbers that depict, with high-tech wizardry and Scott Wittman and Mark Shaiman’s effusive songbook, the classic tale of a group of children touring Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory.

The show, which opened in summer 2013, has been playing for more than two years now in London at the gorgeous Drury Lane and is certainly a staple for foreign tourists. Act one is a bit too long for its own good, but the second act more than makes up for it with songs and scenes depicting the dark, twisted fates of Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Mike Teavee and Violet Beauregard (played here by a rotating cast of child actors).

The most glaring flaw in this otherwise spectacular stage adaptation of Charlie is the length of act one and the way in which the scene with Charlie’s poverty-stricken family, all sleeping in one giant quadruple bed and so poor they can only afford cabbage soup, seems to go on incessantly. Of course, Grandpa Joe (Barry James) is featured prominently here. Should the show move across the Atlantic to Broadway, director Sam Mendes must seriously consider doing some fine-tuning to act one.

Once the scenes with Charlie’s family finish, it’s all uphill for the rest of the show as we’re introduced to the iconic kids who’ve won golden tickets, from spoiled rich brat Veruca Salt and her number “When Veruca Says” to gum-chewing Violet Beauregard’s “The Double Bubble Duchess” and TV-obsessed Mike Teavee’s “It’s Teavee Time.”

As with the films, the true excitement doesn’t really start until we visit the Chocolate Factory and Willy Wonka himself (played with charming aplomb by Jonathan Slinger, who seems to be channeling Tim Curry). Visually, the show is gorgeous, from the winsomely disturbing Oompa-Loompas (represented by both real actors and various puppets) to the clever, high-tech sets by video and production designer Jon Driscoll, puppet and illusion designer Jamie Harrison and lighting designer Paul Pyant. The team brings us everything from the bowels of the factory to edible landscapes and various contraptions in Willy Wonka’s factory in glorious, garish, cartoonish proportions. Some of the later numbers, such as “Vidiots,” have the gleeful, streamlined futurism of a pop music video or live arena show.

No, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn’t as cerebral as that other Roald Dahl musical adaptation, Matilda, but it is still a lot of fun, particularly seeing the warped ways that Augustus Gloop, Veruca, Violet and Mike face grisly retribution for being annoying, self-centered children.

The only song from the original 1971 film adaptation is “Pure Imagination,” and Scott Wittman and Mark Shaiman’s otherwise original score is bouncy and consistently vibrant, even if it’s not always memorable. Overall, however, director Sam Mendes makes everything work with Technicolor precision. The story of Willy Wonka and Charlie is timeless, and there’s no word yet on whether this production will cross “the Pond,” so Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is certainly a sweet trip and a show musical theater fans should catch when visiting London this year.

I’VE GOT A GOLDEN TICKET: Oliver Finnegan as Charlie in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ Photo: Johan Persson

THE DAPPER MR. WONKA: Jonathan Slinger as Willy Wonka in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ Photo: Matt Crockett

LIFT TO THE TOP: Jonathan Slinger in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Photo: Matt Crockett

CHARLIE & THE BUCKET FAMILY: Charlie (Oliver Finnegan) and the Bucket Family in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ Photo: Johan Persson

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 2, 2015
Reviewed at performance on June 17, 2015 in London

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