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The Menier production is at its strongest when it is dealing with the battered emotions contained in this unconventional family as they prepare to meet their nemesis in-laws. The loving bond between Georges (father) and Albin (mother) is real and palpable and during the course of the show weathers many storms and shocks.
They are a gay couple living in a time when public shows of affection between men were still frowned upon. When they allow only their fingers to touch on a street cafe table during one heartfelt exchange, it is moving, but when that exchange is Jerry Herman's romantic song of first love remembered, 'Song on the Sand', it is almost unbearably so. Douglas Hodge and Philip Quast as Albin and Georges are wonderful at presenting this gay relationship as a fully formed, warts and all, love match, which quite obviously sits at the core of each man's life.
Equally as strong is the bond between parents and child. When an ungrateful Jean-Michel complains about his 'mother' Albin, he is upbraided by Georges with the beautiful song, 'Look Over There', another Herman classic. This song is reprised with great emotional effect right at the dramatic crux of this family's story. It is sentimental, impassioned and shattering at one and the same time, and a perfect example of why, sometimes, there is nothing quite like musical theatre.
© R&V
