It’s a bit of a stretch for any actor who has never appeared in a stage musical to star in the revival of a Broadway classic. But that is precisely what Adrian Dunbar – most recently seen dealing with corrupt coppers in Line of Duty – does in this musical reassembly by Sam and Bella Spewack and the inimitable Cole Porter of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.
Applause greets Dunbar on his entrance as Fred Graham, actor/producer/director of a touring theatre company who casts himself as Petruchio opposite his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi (Stephanie J Block) playing Katherine in a musical version of Shakespeare’s play. Keep up at the back!
It takes a good actor to play a bad actor convincingly and Dunbar doesn’t disappoint; he gives what might be described as a relaxed performance at the beginning – not so much laid back as horizontal – before revving up as the show progresses.
He may not be a natural born dancer and his singing voice is leagues away from the Broadway blast merchants who usually lead these affairs but his approach is subtle and ultimately satisfying. In fact, he is the antithesis of the teeth ‘n’ smiles gang, softly crooning through his songs with a quiet, unshowy confidence that doesn’t deflect from his character’s predicament. Bolstered by a cast that can blitz their way through Porter’s drop dead fabulous numbers – Another Op’nin’, Another Show, Wunderbar, Kiss Me, Kate – Dunbar effortlessly sustains a presence of flesh and blood without the artificial carapace of his US counterparts.
Making her UK debut as Fred’s embittered ex-wife, Broadway superstar Stephanie J Block is a fluid, powerful performer even if she over-relishes the I Hate Men number like drowning a hamburger in too many condiments.
Anthony van Laast’s choreography strikes sparks in the ensemble scenes, particularly Cantiamo D’amore and It’s Too Darn Hot which welds Jerome Robbins’ finger-clicking West Side Story with Bob Fosse’s sinuous sexuality even if the number has absolutely nothing to do with the plot; scarlet corsets, stockings and suspenders surround star-in-the-making Jack Butterworth.
Our very own Charlie Stemp as Bill the gambling addict gets his chance to shine in the tap dancing number Bianca that makes the most of Michael Yeargan’s towering chameleon set that revolves to reveal backstage, dressing rooms, theatre sets and painted maps, though the positioning of the orchestra pit seems unnecessarily perilous.
The farcical play-within-a-play plot satirizes and celebrates the art of theatre as well as its practitioners and reality is left at the stage door as a result.
Nice work, too from Georgina Onuorah as Bill’s gf Lois Lane and old school Broadway singer Josie Benson. Nigel Lindsay and Hammed Animashaun as the oddly erudite Damon Runyon-styled gangsters stop the show with Brush Up Your Shakespeare which has rarely seemed funnier.
Director Bartlett Sher’s singular expertise in enhancing Broadway classics with a modern sensibility while remaining faithful to their traditional roots is very much in evidence. Dunbar and Block may make an odd couple and the sluggish first act needs sharpening but once the motor’s running, it’s a gas gas gas.
