THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Music & Lyrics by Irving Berlin; based on the RKO motion picture. Adapted for the stage by Matthew White and Howard Jacques.
Chichester Festival Theatre, West Sussex until September 6, 2025
Based on the effervescent classic 1935 movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, this stage adaptation’s original West End production won the Olivier Award in 2013. It’s now hit Chichester as their summer musical but with an interesting US catch; multi-Tony and Olivier winner Kathleen Marshall from Broadway both choreographs and directs, and she’s brought over one of the finest young American talents, Philip Attmore, to star.
He’s a ‘triple threat’, as is Lucy St. Louis. Yeah that’s her name, even more theatrical than her character’s. It’s great to see the lead roles in a musical this demanding being cast for dancing and singing talent rather than just recognizability from TV.
The challenge here is how do you even bother following Fred? The answer is you don’t, but it’s important to acknowledge that Astaire, when filming, could start and stop and do it again. Here, they need to recreate it live, eight times a week. Marshall’s choreography eschews all the obsessive pattern shapes of the movie in favor of a more micro-focus on the tap and some tight ensemble work and all of it is scintillating. Marshall is brilliant at providing a strong ensemble but also dancers who are vivid individually. She’s also great at incorporating the comedy characters into the dance numbers.
The point here though is the songs. There were only six in the movie, including ‘Top Hat, ‘No Strings’, ‘Isn’t It a Lovely Day’, and, of course, ‘Cheek to Cheek’. All were huge hits and the film functioned as a series of pop videos for them.
The plot – Broadway star Jerry Travers arrives in London to open a new show and crosses paths with model Dale Tremont, whose beauty sleep is rudely interrupted by his tap dancing in the hotel suite overhead. Instantly smitten, he vows to abandon his bachelor life to win her heart. Attmore has the perfect light touch for Jerry and St Louis has the spark and the stage presence needed for Dale. Her singing, in particular, is exquisite.
Also embroiled in all this are Jerry’s harried producer Horace Hardwick (Clive Carter) and his formidable wife Madge (Sally Ann Triplett). Both of these veterans are a total joy, providing an object lesson in comic timing. Triplett gets all the killer gags. Carter gets slapped around a lot, not knowing why – his befuddled double takes are priceless. James Clyde is a joy too as the wearied butler Bates, who gets to don various disguises and effectively becomes the running gag.
The book for films/shows of this era was mostly a hanger for the songs but this one holds up well as a farce in its own right, being built on miscommunication, misinformation and people in disguise. But the adapters’ faith in it strains a bit in Act Two when all the farcical loose ends all have to be tied up. The energy sags a bit as the plot gets in the way of what we all want – more musical numbers.
The other issue here is that the songs from Berlin’s huge library, which were added to pad it out, are not his best. ‘Latins Know How’ could have stayed in a drawer, however Alex Gibson-Giorgio, as Dale’s thwarted lover Beddini, turns it into a three act opera and plays a compendium of every stage Italian ever invented. It’s all done with a wink, so he pulls it off.
The production values are Broadway standard. Peter McKintosh’s Art Deco recreation of fantasy London and Venice for Chichester’s tricky thrust stage are a visual feast, lit to perfection by Tim Mitchell. The costumes, by McKintosh and Yvonne Milnes, continue the luxury theme and are witty in their excess. There’s one small misstep, however – that famous feather dress from ‘Cheek to Cheek’ is recreated but is rather let down with a base of silver lamé. A case of ‘lamé-ing the lily’ there.
Overall Top Hat continues Chichester’s tradition of excellent summer musicals and is a total tonic.