As the overture kicks in and the youthful company burst onto stage for the uplifting opening number, getting up at 9am suddenly seemed worthwhile. If only this initial surge could have been maintained over 90 minutes. There are good elements in this production of Maltby & Shire’s musical about three couples in different life stages hearing that they’re going to have a baby – some of the voices are beautiful, some of the live music is inspiring, and some of the performances are tremendous. Sadly in each case it’s only ‘some’, with no one area uniformly positive. Inaudible or overplayed voices, poor balance of sound levels and slightly limp acting keep creeping in to spoil things.
The standout performance is Will Barratt as Danny. The other cast would do well to pick up on the crispness and intensity of his performance, maintained at just the right level of hyper reality without falling into farce. The main problem with the show is that the stakes always seem relatively low – there’s a strange muted feel to the trials and tribulations that beset the couples. Barratt’s triumph is that even though he has the most implausible path of any of the characters, he still makes it seem the most convincing through his sustained conviction. His on-stage partner, Leonie Heaton as Lizzie, has a good voice but handicaps herself by playing a mousy character in a mousy way, sometimes losing focus and also vocal power.
As for the rest of the company, bar a couple of attention-seeking chorus players, nobody is particularly awful, but nobody particularly shines. The clunky set changes, continual blackouts, and the overall 1980’s American viewpoint make it uphill work to engage the audience, and although the cast are pumping out energy, the unfocussed direction means that we’re never truly drawn in.
3/5
Hugh Jones
