“a thoroughly entertaining evening and a wonderfully fitting homage to Whitney Houston”
Presented by Showtime Australia, The Greatest Love of All is billed as a live concert honouring the talent, music and memory of Whitney Houston. The show has already been introduced to audiences worldwide and, this time, it was London’s turn to experience two hours of Whitney hits.
Whether you’re a fan of Whitney Houston, or perhaps not as familiar with her music, Belinda Davids ensures a great evening. From the moment she takes to the stage, she has the audience in the palm of her hand, belting out those high notes and nailing the softer moments in songs. We are encouraged to get up from our seats during some of the numbers, including “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, which the majority of the packed out London Palladium does without much persuasion. Davids’ energy and enthusiasm never falters in the time she is on stage and she maintains a powerful presence throughout, as well as being personable.
Accompanying the vocals are a six-piece band and the National Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, who are on stage throughout. This generally works well, although the musicians did appear to overpower the vocals at the start of the show. One musician gives an especially notable performance, playing the saxophone, flute and keyboards at various points. The saxophone solos are particularly effective and give an enhanced energy to an already lively show.
There are some nice visual elements to the show. Lighting design fits in with the moods of the songs, with colourful lights for the upbeat numbers and spotlighting for the emotion-fuelled ballads. Visual effects include vibrant designs and sequences (some best described as kaleidoscopic) shown on screens either side of the stage and a main screen at the back. Far from distracting from the vocal performances, this element complements the whole show and is amazingly effective.
Director Johnny Van Grinsven has clearly put a lot of thought into a production that could quite easily have turned into just another tribute show. Alongside a stunning performance from Belinda Davids, there are talented musicians, dancers and fantastic visual design all combining to create a thoroughly entertaining evening and a wonderfully fitting homage to Whitney Houston.
“built on its flawless singing and orchestrations, and the set can afford to be barely an afterthought”
Perhaps there’s no bad time for a revival of The King and I. Amid themes of relations between cultures, what it means to be a woman and what it means to lead, this story and the questions that it asks may never cease to be relevant. That said, if no time is the wrong time, this feels like the perfect moment. As the world continues to turn outside the walls of the London Palladium, the King’s frustrated cry of “sometimes I wish I could build a wall around all of Siam” and his referral to Anna as a “difficult woman” hold onto a grim relevance that Rodgers and Hammerstein couldn’t have predicted.
For all its new pertinence, it’s clear that the London revival is making a great effort to maintain the classic nostalgia, with very few changes from the Broadway version, even down to having the same two brilliant actors in the lead roles. Kelli O’Hara’s portrayal of Anna makes it blatantly obvious how she has become so iconic in this role. She has a light and unassuming presence on stage, but underneath this there lies great power and tenacity. She perfectly captures the constant balancing act of existing as a Victorian widow, living outside the safety of the British empire. However, she doesn’t hide the exhaustion that this would bring: the moments when Anna’s carefully curated image cracks are some of the piece’s most powerful.
Likewise, Ken Watanabe’s King absolutely fills the stage by himself. While a few of his words were lost at times, this only served to remind me that the character was functioning in his second language and was constantly struggling to be understood, on both linguistic and personal levels.
When reviving this musical, an awareness of its history is key. When both the original Broadway and film casts were all too white, approaching this version with sensitivity is absolutely paramount and was clearly at the forefront of the creative team’s minds. For example, by staging a number with the King’s wives navigating the horrors of Victorian dresses before turning to look straight at the audience and inform us, directly and with obvious anger, that “Western people funny”, the balance of power is changed. We as a Western audience are accused of hypocrisy and self aggrandising, and this criticism cannot be ignored.
It would be impossible to discuss this musical without at least touching on the ensemble. Flitting easily between roles with an ever present energy, their talent is unmistakable. At times the sets felt as if they jumped between the opulence of the castle and something a little more unfinished, but this piece really doesn’t rely on the set. It’s built on its flawless singing and orchestrations, and the set can afford to be barely an afterthought.
While this revival had relatively little new to offer, the overwhelming sense is that they know what works, and they’re happy to stick to it.
