There may be trouble ahead, but while there’s moonlight, and music, and love, and romance … Let’s face the music and dance.
The Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of Irving Berlin’s classic musical Top Hat is the Christmas – New Year treat at Southbank’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. It’s bright and breezy, easy on the eye, and beautifully presented. This is a classic musical comedy, full of old-school glamour. Yes, it’s a paper-thin story of mistaken identity but it’s tied together with a playlist of timeless songs that will have you singing along for days.
From the opening notes of the overture, played enthusiastically by the 11-piece orchestra under conductor and musical director Stephen Ridley, to the exuberant tap finale, Top Hat is good old-fashioned fun. It looks wonderful with a great set and delightful costumes. Acclaimed American director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall, whose recent production of Anything Goes won many awards, is at the helm of this polished production.
Based on the classic 1935 film with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, this stage adaptation has been around since 2011 and has gained numerous awards along the way. Broadway star Phillip Attmore, who has won the prestigious Fred and Adele Astaire Award, steps into the top hat and tails as leading man Jerry Travers. He’s a superb dancer, all fluid moves and flirtatious stage presence. Amara Okereke is delightful as Dale Tremont, the sassy leading lady whose confusion about who’s who leads to all the silliness at the heart of the story.
They are ably supported by two well-established players, Clive Carter as the old-duffer Horace Hardwick and Sally Ann Triplett as his demanding wife Madge. James Clyde almost steals the show as the adaptable valet Bates, especially as he goes ‘under cover’ in a variety of disguises, including a marvelous ‘aging but not unattractive dowager duchess’. Alex Gibson-Giorgio is also a treasure, camping it up hilariously as volatile Italian fashion designer Alberto Beddini.
Top Hat is really just a champagne cocktail fizzing with memorable songs from the opening number Puttin’ on the Ritz to (When we’re Dancing) Cheek to Cheek, Let’s Face the Music and Dance, Top Hat White Tie and Tails, and Isn’t This a Lovely Day (To Be Caught in the Rain). The big Top Hat number makes a fabulous finale to Act 1.
Combine these with beautiful costumes by Yvonne Milnes and Peter McKintosh and an impressive half-moon revolving set, also by McKintosh, and you have a show that looks as good as it sounds. The leading lady’s silver and white feathered gown, with full swishing dancing skirt, is just divine. The lighting, designed by Tim Mitchell, also goes a long way to creating the right atmosphere.
It’s a small set, on the relatively compact main-stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, so this does make some of the bigger ensemble numbers feel a bit crowded. The inherent weakness of the plot means the show can feel a little flat at times.
When there’s a moving duet or a Hollywood-style dance full of feathers and high-kicks, it all moves along wonderfully; between those high-points it loses some of its sparkle. It feels like the whole show just needs tightening up a notch or two to keep us fully engaged and tip-tapping into the finale.
Ultimately, Top Hat doesn’t disappoint. It delivers wonderful songs, good looks and old-school glamour, in a sparkling, feel-good production. Enjoy!
