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Last year Cameron Mackintosh co-produced Dempsey and Rowe's latest work with the Donmar Warehouse. Now, First Night Records lets us all hear what the shouting was about, and there certainly was a good deal to shout about. Touted as something of a "rock" musical, this score is likely to surprise those who expect Rent or even Tommy. While rock's drive and energy contribute some of the glue that molds pieces from many different musical types into a unified score, this is really a pastiche of many standard musical theatre types.
Act One opens with a rock-like exposition song ('One, Two, Three') which telegraphs the fact that this score won't stick in any one pigeon hole when, about two thirds of the way through, it pauses to insert a hovering aside with a lyric about as far from a rock image as possible: "Desperate chords, desperate harmonics, desperate dominance, on two desperate tonics/desperate rhymes for your desperate pleasures, 'cos desperate times call for desperate measures."
Along the way you will encounter pure vaudeville ('Two Guys At Harvard') rousing gospel ('Simple Words') classic country/western hard luck lament ('The Ballad of Bobby 'Cracker' Barrel') and a saloon torch song ('Lonely Is a Two-Way Street').
There's even a raving breakdown number that has more in common with Sondheim and Styne's "Rose's Turn" than anything the Rolling Stones ever tried. Then there is the anthem that is a troublingly effective campaign speech ... troubling because it doesn't mean anything. But that's the whole point.
The performances here are full of energy and personality. John Barrowman is vibrant, energetic and passionate. Philip Quast delivers shivers in his Olivier winning role. Krysten Cummings is a truly tempting temptress while Kathryn Evans burns in her moments of dementia.
The band of two keyboards, percussion, one bass guitar and one lead guitar is led through Steve Margoshes' orchestrations by Musical Director Colin Wellford at a pace that emphasizes intensity. The sound is immediate and intimate but surprisingly full for the size of the ensemble.
The package is well designed and the insert includes both a plot synopsis and the lyrics which is something I always appreciate.
