Upstairs at The Gatehouse Archives - Page 6 of 17

Elton John: It’s A Little Bit Funny

Upstairs at The Gatehouse

Reviewed – 20th February 2020

★★★★

“It’s poignant, entertaining, exciting and, often, ‘it’s a little bit funny’”

For the best part of fifteen years Elton John had made Vegas his second home until he gave it a memorable farewell last September with a spectacular and emotional three-hour retrospective gig. It’s part of his ongoing ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’, booking until next year, after which he will retire. Or so he says, Frank Sinatra’s farewell tour lasted twenty years. Leaving Las Vegas must have been a wrench. His ‘Red Piano’ residency ran for five years and the later ‘The Million Dollar Piano’ for seven years.

Imagine you are a devoted fan of Elton’s, growing up with his songs and learning to play the piano by listening over and over to the music. He is the reason you chose your perilous career as a musical performer. You’re doing okay at it. In fact, more than okay. You’ve got theatre, television and concert, recording and writing credits to your name, and you’ve now landed a job in a touring musical which, on its North American Tour, takes in some dates in Vegas right next door to Caesars Palace where Elton is playing. On a rare night off you’re hanging out late one night, doodling away at a piano in a hotel foyer, when Elton John walks in and joins in, starts chatting, buys you a cocktail, takes you gambling …

This is not imagination, but fact, for Martin Kaye, pianist, singer, songwriter and all-round showman. Well – almost. It is the whole truth – except the last bit might be made up. But it was a real possibility. Martin and Elton’s paths could so easily have crossed. And if they had… well, that is the show: “Elton John – It’s A Little Bit Funny”. It tells the tale of that night in Vegas. A night of confessions, anecdotes, jokes and songs.

Anybody expecting a ‘tribute act’ or Elton impersonator will be disappointed. Everybody else will be blown away by the musicianship of Kaye and his totally relaxed stage presence. A soft and cheeky Mancunian accent – the perfect voice for the self-deprecating one liners that trip off the tongue. Written by Chris Burgess this definitely has the feel of a collaborative labour of love. Over thirty of Elton John’s songs make up the set list. Many are extracts from which Kaye breaks away to pick up the thread of the story. It is a three-way conversation between him, the audience and Elton.

We don’t learn much more about Elton John’s colourful life than we already know, but the key facts are given a personal touch which are further emphasised in the music with their autobiographical context. Many of the old favourites are there; “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”, Candle In The Wind”, “Rocket Man”, “Tonight” and the poignant “Someone Saved My Life Tonight; but also some lesser known ones such as “Skyline Pigeon”, “Bitter Fingers” or “Feed Me” which give a deeper insight into the man.

Backed by a tight three-piece band, with Morgan Rickman on guitar, Johnny Wells on bass and David Talisman on drums, Kaye pounds and caresses his piano. He is a truly talented pianist who has both the technique and expression to make the instrument an extension of his own personality. Some of the songs are direct replicas of the original, but many are reinterpreted. His jazz-inflected re-phrasing of “Bennie And The Jets” is a stunning opening to the show.

It closes with “Your Song” from which the show’s title gets its name. It is a song which, over the years, has become a faded wallpaper to the music world. But, like much of Elton’s repertoire, Kaye strips it down and re-pastes it with a fresh sheen. This is far from an Elton John gig. This is a Martin Kaye gig. You certainly don’t need to be a fan of Elton to appreciate this show. It’s poignant, entertaining, exciting and, often, ‘it’s a little bit funny’.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ben Hewis

Elton John: It’s A Little Bit Funny

Upstairs at The Gatehouse until 1st March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Bad Girls The Musical | ★★★ | February 2019

Strike Up The Band | ★★★★ | March 2019

The Marvelous Wonderettes | ★★★★ | April 2019

Pericles, Prince Of Tyre | ★★★ | August 2019

Working | ★★★★ | September 2019

A Modest Little Man | ★★★★ | October 2019

I Do! I Do! | ★★★½ | October 2019

42nd Street | ★★★★ | December 2019

Click here to see our most recent reviews

★★★★

“we are swept along by the sheer feelgood factor built into the show, and the absolute precision and fluidity of this all-singing, all-dancing cast”

Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes, and the 1933 film of the same name, “42nd Street” is a Jukebox musical of sorts. There were barely five songs in the film, so the show ransacks composer Harry Warren’s and lyricist Al Dubin’s stockpile of numbers they had written for other films at around the same time. Whilst this is a bonus, there are moments when it appears obvious that these musical numbers were not written for this show, and they feel shoehorned into Michael Stewart’s and Mark Bramble’s whimsical and high-spirited script. But this is easily forgiven as we are swept along by the sheer feelgood factor built into the show, and the absolute precision and fluidity of this all-singing, all-dancing cast.

The show focuses on the efforts of celebrated but tough director Julian Marsh to mount the ‘greatest musical on Broadway’ during the Great Depression. He needs a hit and he needs the money, so he hires fading diva, Dorothy Brock, because of the investment pouring from her sugar-daddy. Meanwhile, out-of-town Peggy gate-crashes the auditions stealing hearts, and then the spotlight. An accident takes Dorothy out of the show and the rest is beautifully predictable and heart-warmingly uplifting.

The defining moment of the plot, just before Peggy steps in to save the show, occurs just before interval when the director cancels the performance and urges the audience to collect their refund at box office. A clever theatrical device that sets up the second act; but one that also reflects this particular production. Stylistically it is a show of two halves. Initially the pace is a touch laboured, lacking the light-hearted approach needed to do justice to the throwaway comedy of the dialogue. There are sparks, but the fire doesn’t quite catch. But, boy, the second act comes into its own, as do the cast. “42nd Street” depicts a bygone era, before reality celebrity and social media, when talent was what made a star. And Katie and John Plews have assembled a star-studded team. Each a triple-threat, they work together as a synchronised unit with barely a foot or a note out of place. Simon Adkins’ choreography could easily quickstep down Highgate Hill into the West End.

The show belongs to them all, the ensemble and principals alike. Kate-Anne Fenton’s Peggy is a light under a bushel, humble yet unafraid to be coaxed into living her dream. She is well complemented by the heartthrob voice and looks of Rory Shafford as Billy Lawlor. Tamsin Dowsett pitches just right the understated hamminess of Dorothy Brock, whose broken ankle fractures her career but heals her broken heart. Pulling the strings, though, is Alex Wadham’s commanding performance as the tough yet tender Julian Marsh. Still, the generosity of the leading players leaves the doors wide open for the minor characters to steal any scene they can. Charlie Burt is a ball of energy who lights up the stage, eclipsed only by the dynamic chorus trio of Helen Rose, Jessica Wright and Samantha Noël; their close-knit harmonies strikingly evocative of the period. An age brought even closer to us by Emily Bestow’s razzmatazz fashion parade of costume, and the array of well-known and well-loved showtunes, including ‘Lullaby of Broadway’, ‘We’re In The Money’, ‘Dames’, ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ and the eponymous ‘42nd Street’.

A little slow off the starting line, we forget by the time we’ve reached the rousing and moving finale. And the show is only at the beginning of its run. Like Marsh says to the blossoming Peggy as she’s seconds out from her Broadway debut; “You’re going out a youngster, but you gotta come back a star”, this show will undoubtedly grow into a sure-fire hit.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Darren Bell

Upstairs at The Gatehouse

Reviewed – 20th February 2020

★★★★

“It’s poignant, entertaining, exciting and, often, ‘it’s a little bit funny’”

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ben Hewis

Elton John: It’s A Little Bit Funny

Upstairs at The Gatehouse until 1st March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Reviewed – 13th December 2019

★★★★

“we are swept along by the sheer feelgood factor built into the show, and the absolute precision and fluidity of this all-singing, all-dancing cast”

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Darren Bell

42nd Street

Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 26th January

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: