Last Wednesday I found myself with a free afternoon and I thought what better thing is there to do than head to a matinee in the West End, so I ended up seeing Show Boat! Spanning 40 pivotal years in American history, this epic musical follows the lives and loves of three generations aboard a show boat as it plies the Mississippi River. One of the most romantic musicals of all time, this lavish new production is directed by Daniel Evans and features classics of musical theatre including Make Believe, Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man, and the landmark Ol’ Man River. Whilst originally written in the 1920's, this production feels so fresh and is an outstanding revival of an old classic. The New London theatre is the perfect venue for this show and the stage is the perfect size. Cast members who stood out were Gina Beck as Magnolia Hawks, Chris Peluso as Gaylord Ravenal, Victoria Hinde who was understudying as Julie La Verne, Leo Roberts as Steve Baker and Jim Greene, Tosh Wanogho-Maud who was understudying as Joe, Sandra Marvin as Queenie and Danny Collins as Frank Schultz. You could tell the cast were working so hard to put on a good performance and it certainly worked! The show is excellently staged so that even from the sides of the audience, you can see the stage. The sets and costumes were both really well designed. I really loved all the music, especially 'Ol Man River' and 'Till Good Luck Comes My Way'. There haven't been any announcements of a cast recording, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! The show was originally running until January next year, but will sadly be closing in August. This is a real shame as I feel this stunning revival will be closing far too early. It is such an entertaining piece of theatre and is so unique. The only negative I have about the show are the accents. Some of the cast seemed to struggle with the Southern American accents and it could occasionally be hard to hear what they were saying. Apart from that, this is such a well-done revival!
The featured star of Show Boat is, drum roll please... GINA BECK!
Gina has such a lovely voice and gave a really solid performance and showed a lot of emotion in the part. I'm really happy that she transferred from Sheffield with the show so the West End could be lucky enough to see her performance.
Now for my final verdict on Show Boat. I give Show Boat...
Show Boat is a show that I believe would be suitable for all the family, however there are some scenes young children may find upsetting and I would look at Wikipedia for more information. It's such a shame that Show Boat is closing in August and it would be great if the show toured as I imagine it would do really well regionally.
Think it should have got a higher rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.
Join me next time when I will be reviewing Motown the Musical.
Thanks for reading!
-The Reviewer
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