YOUR LIE IN APRIL at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

★★★★

“Frank Wildhorn’s sumptuous score sweeps through the auditorium with its rousing ballads”

Midway through Act Two of “Your Lie In April” something extraordinary happens. Zheng Xi Yong, as the young musical prodigy Kōsei Arima, places himself at the piano and delivers an impassioned and outstanding solo. A moment during which the music demonstrates its unique power to lift us out of the world that surrounds us. Quite rightly it brings us to our feet as the final chords melt away into a brief silence before the applause. The emotion is heightened in the context of Yong’s character. A child prodigy, Kōsei Amina has a mental breakdown following the death of his mother. Although his hearing is otherwise unaffected, he is no longer able to hear the sound of his own piano.

For years he doesn’t touch the piano. Until he meets Kaori Miyazono, a free-spirited violinist who coaxes him back into playing. Miyazono teaches Arima that it is okay to occasionally deviate from the score; to let the music truly express the emotion rather than to seek the perfection that crippled him and that was instilled in him by his overbearing mother. Rumi Sutton gives us a polished performance as the manic Kaori, concealing her love for Kōsei with a lie that gives the musical its title.

The other shining star in this show is featured violin soloist, Akiko Ishikawa. Spotlit each time she underscores Sutton’s mimed recitals, it is a smart device. No director in their right mind would expect their leading lady to act, sing and play the violin simultaneously. Director and choreographer Nick Winston has eked out fine performances from the couple, mixing splashes of comedy with their story of unrequited love.

It is a fairly simple premise – but perhaps fleshed out too much – based on Naoshi Arakawa’s Manga series of the same name. Frank Wildhorn’s sumptuous score sweeps through the auditorium with its rousing ballads, interspersed with the odd, quirky upbeat number. Wildhorn demonstrates his skill at throwing in the unexpected just at the right moments and just as we think the score might become generic, we are met with some gorgeous modulations and chord changes. Sutton’s voice handles this all with ease and emotional strength.

Jason Howland’s musical arrangements call on an expansive ensemble that, despite yielding rousing choruses, is perhaps unnecessarily large for the show’s material. Likewise, we are offered a subplot that, although necessary for the understanding of the relationships, feels coincidental and secondary. There is a heart wrenching intimacy to the story that gets lost occasionally in the fanfare and flourishes. The detail is in the romance; the friendships and selfless sacrifices, and the broken hearts. And we want to look up close at the human element, rather than from up in the Gods through a wall of sound.

But, with credit to the committed ensemble company, we are still drawn in, and we feel for the protagonists. She, who only reveals her love when it is too late and he, who cannot hear his own music. He learns, however, to listen to it in his heart. We, the audience, are lucky enough to have one up on him. “Your Lie In April” is a musical that touches our hearts, but we also get to savour each and every note delivered with masterful vocals.