Isn't It Something?

We went to see the much-vaunted new Sondheim musical Road Show at the fabulous Menier Chocolate Factory on Thursday. Mere words cannot sum up what a magnificent and breathtaking evening's entertainment it was!

The product of more than a decade's unsuccessful tinkering (the show was originally conceived in 1999, and first produced as Bounce way back in 2003), the indefatigable combination of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman have finally let the acclaimed British director John Doyle (he of the award-winning productions of Sweeney Todd, Company and Mack and Mabel) loose on it. Unusual amongst musicals, he decided to let it run seamlessly (without an interval, a prospect we were originally a bit uncomfortable with) for ninety minutes, and, in the spirit of its new title Road Show, every scene runs into the next with very little time even for applause...

The story is based on the true lives of the pioneering entrepreneur brothers Addison and Wilson Mizner,who grabbed hold of the concept of "The American Dream" and shook it for all it was worth in a succession of crazy (and often shady) money-making deals that drew the attention of the rich, the famous and the media of the early 20th century.

From the early scene of Papa on his death bed singing to his sons about the prospects the new century could hold for them (It's In Your Hands Now), through the wild adventures of the Yukon Gold Rush (Gold!), gambling, fixed boxing matches and horse races (The Game), and travels across the world (Addison's Trip), the pair (and their dying but extravagant mother) finally reunite in the middle of the property boom in Florida where all the billionaires are vying for the bigger and better houses that architect Addison can offer them (You!).



En route Addison falls in love with Hollis, the wealthy son of an industrial magnate, and there is a glimmer of hope that this "wild child" may find a more settled existence, but soon the brothers begin to "revert to type" with the next big scam (Boca Raton) and everyone begins to realise that the real thing that drives the brothers is not their ability to help build America, but their insatiable and selfish desire for wealth. The show closes as it opens, with Addison on his own death bed being visited by the spirit of the dead Wilson.

With all these death-bed scenes you'd think Road Show would be really dark and gloomy, but it is far from it! The breakneck speed of the whole thing perfectly captures the energy of the brothers in the style of the Vaudeville/silent movie acts of the time. The cast of David Bedella (as Wilson), Michael Jibson (as Addison), the gorgeous John Robyns (as Hollis), Gillian Bevan (as Mama) and Glyn Kerslake (as Papa) - and the whole supporting ensemble - were outstanding.

The humour and the pathos are beautifully balanced, and the choreography and staging (in the round) is simply genius. We were in the third row - just in front of actor Scott Bakula and across from Michael Cashman, incidentally - and it was almost like being inside the show at times. Throughout the performance the audience is showered with handfuls of hundred-dollar bills, and we had laps full by the end!



Some of the showpiece numbers are absolutely stunning - most notably Mama singing about the (by now on the run) Wilson Isn't He Something?, and Addison and Hollis's love duet The Best Thing That Ever Happened.
[Both songs were originally written as "straight" love songs between a man and a woman in the original incarnation, which gives them much more of a typically Sondheim-esque twist in this production.]

So, just one word - BRILLIANT! We couldn't stop enthusing about it...

Sondheim's Road Show

Sondheim's Road Show - The Best Thing That Ever Happened

Sondheim's Road Show - Isn't He Something?

You really must see this show!

It runs until 17 September 2011 at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Book your tickets here. I rather hope it will follow the lead of the Menier's previous productions and get its transfer to the West End!