That it opened was first produced in 1962 and that it was composed by Sondheim inspired me to see just how ‘creaky’ this recent production by John Frost would be. Marvellously held together by the inimitable Geoffrey Rush, this musical is well worth seeing. Rush does as good a job as possible with the ham-it-up script and rather forgettable Sondheim songs (with the exception of ‘A Comedy tonight’).
There were moments when the stage resembled a drag show, humour included, and much of the hilarity was from silliness, such as the antics of the eunuchs and Magda’s frequent case of the giggles.
Some of the dialogue remains just as freshly vicious and clever as ever.
All in all, it has traversed millennium barrier quiet well. An audience does like a good laugh, after all.
Would it have succeeded without Rush? He is adorable. Across the road, More Sex Please We re British has failed and due to close. Sad to see a production founder. John Michael Howson is upset and blames poor publicity.
Wonderful legs on Rush, that could be the key. it looks a lot of fun.