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The unintended irony at the start of Terry Johnson's revival of his musical based on a French stage play could not be greater. After a highly polished opening drag scene set in a Riviera nightclub, Philip Quast as the MC becomes increasingly panicky as he asks "where's Zsa Zsa?" or "where's Albin?"
The missing character is played by Douglas Hodge, whose serious illness twice delayed the opening of what was supposed to have been the Menier's Christmas musical but has become their New Year extravaganza.
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When they demand to meet the in-laws, this gives Quast and Hodge the opportunity to show off their skills. First, there is the evening's comic highlight as Georges gives Albin a hilarious lesson in masculine deportment. Then, as things begin to fall apart, the drag queen is forced into playing the part of her life as "mother". Hodge is superlative until an inadvertent slip gives the game away.
© Peter Lathan 2008
