In these troubled times sometimes it is bliss to wallow in the froth of musical theatre and it doesn’t get more spectacular than this big money touring production of Top Hat.
Massive sets and wonderful dance routines from a big cast of 31 – set to some of the greatest show tunes ever written from Irving Berlin – makes Top Hat a must see for fans of good old fashioned musicals.
This is the first ever stage production of the classic song and dance movie that made superstars of hoofers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
The story – such as it – revolves round the frantic efforts of American tap dance star Jerry Travers to claim the hand of the winsome Dale Tremont. He chases her across Europe through a fog of mistaken identity and corny gags.
Strictly Come Dancing winner Tom Chambers gives Jerry the right dollop of cheesy charm, and while he is no Astaire his tapping is top drawer.
The real star of the show is triple Olivier nominee Summer Strallen who takes her underwritten role by the scruff of the neck with an effortless and classy performance.
The supporting cast are uniformly excellent – none more so than a very dry Vivien Parry, delivering a superlative Hepburn-like turn as cynical rich divorcee Madge Hardwick. Stephen Boswell channels Charles Hawtrey as the hapless manservant Bates, and Richardo Afonso is gloriously over the top as jilted designer Beddini.
They all make brilliant use of an incredibly flexible set that takes us from New York to London, and then through various bedrooms to Venice.
But the real stars of this show are Berlin’s timeless classics and they came thick and fast. A touching ‘Isn’t it a lovely day to be caught in the rain’, a defiant ‘Let’s face the music and dance’, and the beautiful ‘Cheek to Cheek’ which sees Tom and Summer enraptured.
But the highlight is ‘Top Hat, White Tie & Tails’ which closes act one. Watching eleven men in black tie – with canes – in perfect unison tapping out an incredibly complex routine remains one of the all time great musical moments.
A full house suggests locals are keen to pay provincial prices for a West End standard show, so it’s time to brush off your tails and beg, steal or borrow a ticket for this joyous celebration of Hollywood’s golden age.
- Tickets are on sale now priced from £15 to £42.40. Book by calling Leeds Grand Theatre Box Office on 0844 848 2700 or online at www.leedsgrandtheatre.com.