The Best of Times

Jerry Herman was a genius. That much is a given - indeed, he's our second favourite composer in the musical theatre world, after Stephen Sondheim (inevitably).

And so it was that I whooped for joy when I found out that his self-penned revue [and every showman simply has to have one of those!] Jerry's Girls was coming to a fave haunt of ours the Menier Chocolate Factory - so Madam Arcati, Hils, Crog and I trolled off to see it last Saturday!

It was a superbly-crafted show, and everything we could have wished for. From a review by Daz Gale at All That Dazzles:

Created by Jerry Herman and his collaborator Larry Alford in 1981, Jerry’s Girls opened off-Broadway before enjoying a national tour and a Tony-nominated run on Broadway. This musical revue crams in more than 30 of Jerry’s songs from eight classic shows including Mame, Mack & Mabel, La Cage Aux Folles and Hello, Dolly! as well as two new songs for this revue. This is done through a loose narrative that sees three performers getting ready in their dressing room for a performance and ultimately moving to the stage (and beyond, in some cases here).

The original concept by Jerry Herman, Larry Alford and Wayne Cliento is a clever way to incorporate the songs and make it feel cohesive. Though there is still an element of it being shoehorned in, having scenes move from the dressing room to the stage and back allows for a lot of fun and flair to be told in these songs, with elements of storytelling in several of the more emotive numbers. Hannah Chissick’s direction executes this flawlessly, with no shortage of ideas on how to make each number differentiate from the last and best use the versatile space of the Menier. This is elevated by Matt Cole’s always sensational choreography as we witness three of the very best of Jerry’s girls bring his numbers to life in spectacular fashion.

And what of those girls? This was a three-hander show, with the magnificently-talented combination of Julie Yammanee, Cassidy Janson and Jessica Martin, portraying the three ages of Vaudeville showgirls - the ingenue just starting out, the powerhouse current star, and the long-experienced trouper. In combination and each with their solo numbers, they were all utterly breathtaking!

Stand-out ensemble numbers - and there were so many! - included Before The Parade Passes By, Tap Your Troubles Away [on typewriters!], the Just Go To the Movies/Movies Were Movies segment [where we had Miss Janson, as one of the three "usherettes", sat in the row in front of us for a time], La Cage Aux Folles and Hello, Dolly!, Miss Jansen and Miss Martin also "trapped" Miss Yammanee in a trunk to do a marvellous version of Bosom Buddies, and the three of them were especially good in the utterly hilarious Take It All Off - in which Miss Martin was really able to exercise her "comedy chops".

In the absence of any Menier cast videos, here's Miss Dorothy Loudon's version of that number [I have also featured Miss Lorna Luft's version before]:

Dorothy Loudon - Take It All Off

Miss Yamanee got her moment in the spotlight with rollicking versions of That's How Young I Feel and Look What Happened to Mabel...

... while Miss Janson got many of the big torch-song numbers like I Won’t Send Roses, If He Walked Into My Life, The Best Of Times and Time Heals Everything...

Here's Miss Bernadette Peters' version:

Bernadette Peters - Time Heals Everything

...and Miss Martin, too, had some tear-jerkers of her own such as I Don’t Want to Know, And I Was Beautiful, I Am What I Am and the eternally poignant Song On The Sand.

Here's the laste, great Miss Mazzie's version of that:

Marin Mazzie - Song On The Sand

We were overawed by the whole evening, to be honest - even the unfamilar numbers - and it just reinforced my opening sentence.

A fitting tribute, by a hugely talented trio of singers. What more could anyone ask for?

To conclude, from Jonathan Whiting for Musical Magazine:

Special mention must go to the band under Music Director Sarah Travis; bar the keyboard/piano, the band is completely acoustic, which adds a rawness and an intimacy to the production. Travis’s orchestrations are incredibly versatile, often feeling much grander than a six-person band might typically sound.

The final number, Jerry’s Girls celebrates all the luminary women who have graced the stage in a Herman musical, from Ethel Merman and Bea Arthur to Angela Lansbury and Carol Channing, culminating with the names Cassidy Janson, Jessica Martin and Julie Yammanee. That they have been added to this list of legends feels absolutely right here – it’s difficult to imagine this show being performed by anyone else.

Amen.

Jerry's Girls is playing at the Menier Chocolate factory to 29th Jun 2024.

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