Starting Here, Starting Now
Waterloo East Theatre
Reviewed – 1st July 2021
★★★★★
“that good, old-fashioned thing—an entertaining, relaxing evening in the theatre”
Waterloo East’s latest production is a delightful revival of Maltby and Shire’s Starting Here, Starting Now. This musical revue, first produced in 1976 in New York, is an economically staged three hander that has lost none of its relevance in the past forty five years. Not surprisingly, its subject is that perennial favorite — love. But it’s not a loose collection of songs about love, or even a story about a star crossed pair of lovers. Instead, Maltby and Shire group their songs by theme. The evening starts off with a collection of songs about the joys (and frustrations) of looking for love in the city; moves on to the sorrows of those unlucky in love, and concludes with eternally hopeful lovers looking for a fresh start. The revue opens and ends where it began — with a spritely rendition of the title song, “Starting Here, Starting Now”. Even without an overarching story to this revue, however, audiences will still relish the dramas that unfold in each song. They range from the ironic to the tragic; from triumph to loss as the seasons turn. There’s even a song about more mundane matters, such as the way in which crossword puzzles can drive a couple apart.
But what makes Waterloo East’s revival of Starting Here, Starting Now worth seventy five minutes of your time is its powerhouse performers. Director Gerald Armin is to be congratulated for putting Nikki Bentley, Noel Sullivan and Gina Murray on stage together. Their combined experience, together with that of musical director Inga Davis-Rutter, means the audience can sit back and relax, knowing that they are in very good hands. Nikki Bentley, last seen as Alphaba in Wicked, is particularly good at the torch song numbers, but she can also be sly and funny, such as the makeover song where she promises to make Gina Murray “beautiful like me.” Gina Murray’s acting chops, in addition to her lovely voice, are seen to great advantage in this show. Good examples are her comic foil to Noel Sullivan’s overconfident suitor in “We Can Talk To Each Other”, and the way in which she packs the small stage with energy in “Watching the Big Parade Go By.” Sullivan, by contrast, doesn’t have quite the range of his fellow performers, but we’re talking about a seriously talented cast here. All three work well together as an ensemble, and together with Inga Davis-Rutter on the keyboards, move effortlessly through the evening.
Starting Here, Starting Now is that good, old-fashioned thing—an entertaining, relaxing evening in the theatre. Perfect for date night, and as an added bonus, you are getting a West End experience at Fringe prices. I call that a very good deal.
Reviewed by Dominica Plummer
Photography by Gareth McCleod
Starting Here, Starting Now
Waterloo East Theatre
Five star shows this year:
Shook | ★★★★★ | Online | February 2021
Bklyn The Musical | ★★★★★ | Online | March 2021
Preludes in Concert | ★★★★★ | Online | May 2021
Reunion | ★★★★★ | Sadler’s Wells Theatre | May 2021
Overflow | ★★★★★ | Sadler’s Wells Theatre | May 2021
Cruise | ★★★★★ | Duchess Theatre | May 2021
In My Own Footsteps | ★★★★★ | Book Review | June 2021
The Hooley | ★★★★★ | Chiswick House & Gardens | June 2021
Bad Days And Odd Nights | ★★★★★ | Greenwich Theatre | June 2021
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