Road Show. Music & Lyrics by Steohen Sondheim, Book By John Weidman. Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village, London until 12 January 2025, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.
Photo Credit: Simon Jackson.
Road Show. Music & Lyrics by Steohen Sondheim, Book By John Weidman. Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village, London until 12 January 2025,
4☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.
“Splendidly performed.”
A first rate cast led by Reece Richardon and Oliver Stanley as the Mizner, Addison and Wilson, brothers living the American dream and firm direction from Amanada Noar makes this latest production of the Sondheim show that never made Broadway a dazzling additon to the Gatehouse's long list of splendid Christmas musicals. In its present state the show is alleged to be the musical the pair set out to write way back in 1998 when it was called Wise Guys, then in 1990 it became Gold and in 2003 Bounce. It was in 2008 that finally it became Road Show. First staged here at the Menier Chocolate factor a couple of years later one major difference from its predecessors was that Addison's love song The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened was turned into a duet with a young man he had collected on his travels in Florida, It was a sign of changing times.
Road Show is not undiscovered and it is not a first rank Sondheim show but it is witty, clever, moving and the look at how the American dream can be a nightmare is stimulating and here gets the prodiution it needs to make the most of its qualities. The brothers are told by their stingy father to go out there nake their wat in the world which they duly do in the gold rush where Wilson (Reece Richardson) is revealed a risk taking con man of the first degree while Addison (Oliver Sidney), more a mummy's boy, is the one who has second thoughts although we discover in time that he is just as good at deceit to achieve his own ends as his brother. They keep splitting, Addison looks after Mum, beautifully song by Katharine Strohmaier, and ends up on a train to Florida – he meets an ascetic you man called Hollis Bessemer, played by a lissom Rhys Lambert who comes from a wealthy family but dreams of setting up an artists' colony there. Addison, who has discovered a talent for architecture, becomes the designer of the moment for the filthy rich of Palm Beach and the two fall in love. But, as he keeps doing, brother Wilson, turns up and has bigger ideas and a great property scam for a new town called Boca Raton is launched. One result is that we discover the encounter with Hollis on the train was not accidental – Addison planned it to get access to his wealthy relations and his aim to become the architect of choice. In other words the brothers are two sides of the same coin and it is not one of the purest metal.
There is a stylish simple set, a first rate band under Harry Style to do justice to the score, and the splendid cast – everyone gets a chance to shine and takes it with relish. Road Show may not be perfect but it has something to say about how the American dream curdled, about falling in love and having a brother you cannot escape.
Cast
Reece Richardson – Wilson Mizner
Oliver Sidney – Addison Mizner
Robert Finlayson – Pap Mizner
Katharine Strohmaier – Mama Mizner
Rhys Lambert – Hollis Bessemer
Emily Friberg, Folaris Akimmade, Madeleine Morgan – Ensemble
Creatives
Director & Choreographer – Amanda Noar
Musical Director – Harry Style
Set Designer – Ruby Boswell-Green
Costume Designer – Holly Louise Chapman
Lighting Designer - Simon Jackson
Sound Designer – Phil Stannard
Intimacy Coordinator – Aimee Leigh
