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ARCHIVE PAGE FOR - High Society (Open Air)

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Open Air Theatre: Previewed 22 July, Opened 24 July 2003, Closed 13 September 2003

Musical by Cole Porter with book by Arthur Kopit, directed by Ian Talbot, choreographed by Gillian Gregory and designed by Paul Farnsworth.

Wealthy, elegant and priggish, Tracy Lord is about to embark on her second marriage to a successful but stuffy businessman. Her first husband, notorious socialite Dexter Haven, reappears attempting to win back his wife. Meanwhile, little-known tabloid reporter Mike Konner, also falls for Tracy while covering her nuptials for his magazine. Tracy must choose between the three men.

Familiar to most from the classic 1950's film starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, this classic musical features such memorable Cole Porter tunes ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire', ‘True Love', ‘You're Sensational' and ‘Swell Party'.

Cast includes: Tracie Bennett as 'Liz', Bridget Forsyth 'Mother Lord', Annette McLaughlin 'Tracy', Dale Rapley 'Dexter' and Hal Fowler as 'Mike'.

News about the show

On 19 July 2003: An extra 8 performances - from 8 to 13 September 2003 - where announced.

Extracts from the reviews:

"High Society is a perfect summer hoot in Regent's Park, using the 1997 Arthur Kopit stage version of the old movie, with a handful of fine, rare Cole Porter songs to bolster the ones we know so well... The second half, with the weddding guests chasing each other round the (offstage) pool, works a treat as an outdoor night-time adventure in the leafy park. Ian Talbot's production is truly graced by gorgeous Annette McLaughlin... and there is superb support from Hal Fowler and Tracie Bennett..." The Daily Mail

"Cole Porter's musicals have inevitably dated. But as Ian Talbot's buoyant production of High Society suggests, they ertain an ageless, bitter-sweet appeal... Paul Farnsworth's rather basic set with a long, white table the main prop, is hardly atmospheric. But the second half, in the nocturnal aftermath of Tracy's eve-of-marriage garden party perfectly suits the Open Air setting... The singing is not that accomplished, though the little band plays with spirit and Tracie Bennett - as the journalist Liz, who fends off Brian Green's wonderful, sexually ravenous Uncle Willie - boasts a big, sweet voice. And Annette McLaughlin's tall, well-tailored Tracy runs a fine gamut from alcoholic confusion to lust in the delectable It's All Right With Me. What a strangely poignant musical!" The London Evening Standard

"...This is a buoyant production, which, using Arthur Kopit's new book, works in a few extra Porter songs along with the expected favourites... The singing throughout is not of the best. But there's a fabulous performance from Tracie Bennett, who steals the show as the tough little photographer, Liz. Not vintage champagne then, but dry and bubbly enough to raise the spirits." The Financial Times

"...It gives me no great pleasure to report that there is such a thing as an unclassy High Society, and this is it. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest move to watch the 1956 film - starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra - before I came to this account of the 1997 American stage adaptation... Passing the time with Annette McLaughlin's Tracy, Dale Rapley's Dexter and Hal Fowler's Mike, on the other hand, feels more like sitting in a dinghy, praying it doesn't capsize... Gillian Gregory's choreography is so lacklustre, with the household's silver-tray-carrying servants often doing no more than basic synchronised shuffles, that you feel you're being palmed off with paste jewellery rather than the genuine glittering article. You can never hear Porter's songs too often, but even so, this is a bland disappointment." The Daily Telegraph

 
 
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