It is on record here that I’m a massive Sondheim fan – his work always inspired and challenged me, and I continue to discover and embrace it. Recently I took another step in that journey as I returned to Southwark Playhouse for the first time since the European premiere of Working to catch the first revival of a Sondheim work since the great man’s passing: Anyone Can Whistle!
This is a musical I initially only knew by a handful of songs out of context, including the title number thanks to a favourite performer of mine. As such, I was unaware of its somewhat… infamous history on Broadway, where it premiered in 1964 and closed after a run of 12 previews and nine performances. Mixed reviews aside, the musical has enjoyed notable concert performances over the years and many of the songs are widely performed.
A social and political satire, Anyone Can Whistle tells the story of a town desperate for a miracle, and Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper who might just be corrupt enough to engineer one. Enter Fay Apple, a nurse who works at “The Cookie Jar”, an asylum for those deemed “other”, and J Bowden Hapgood, a doctor with a secret of his own…
To start in the spirit of honesty, I’m not entirely sure I completely understood how all the pieces of the plot, such as it is, are supposed to fit, and still have lots more questions than I do resolutions, but if you just run with it, the payoff is immensely good fun!
Director Georgie Rankcom seems acutely aware of how absurd the piece is, and their production doesn’t shy away from that: it fizzes with energy that both figuratively and literally leaps from designer Cory Shipp’s traverse staging, with wonderful pops of colour in her costumes as well as Alex Musgrave’s characterful lighting. Yet where the absurd lies, so to does a drive to explore the musical’s themes with a more modern and diverse sensitivity, and that’s wonderful to see play out: Rankcom has assembled a talented cast reflective of different ages, sizes, gender identities and ethnicities, which I commend not only for the crucial representation value, but the sheer joy in the fact that something about that makes this show, absurd though it is, feel relatable. Though at times I wasn’t sure if what I took away from it was the intent, take away from it I did: I saw reflections about self love and worth, and the freedom it can give you if you’re unashamedly yourself. Having my disability I still struggle with both of those at times so that to me felt really potent and meaningful, and more like the Sondheim I know and love.
Musically too, I loved that I could pick out shades of the works he still would have to come, and some he had done already at this point: new orchestrations from Charlie Ingles are handled beautifully by Natalie Pound’s tight knit five piece band.
With the energy and production design seemingly ramped up to 11, one longs for a cast that guides us easily through the sheer ridiculousness. As previously alluded to, the ensemble cast: Nathan Taylor, Kathryn Akin, Marisha Morgan, Hana Ichijo, Teddy Hinde, Shane Convery and Jensen Tudtud have energy and personality by the bucketload, breezing through Lisa Steven’s clever mix of choreography styles with ease and aplomb. As with my previous two outings to this venue, I was rather nervous about performer’s legs and shins in relation to my wheelchair’s footplate (I will advise that front row members watch their feet!) but in awe of how the space is used and how the intimacy serves the production well for its sense of fun and blurring lines!
In their professional debut, I was utterly charmed by Jordan Broatch’s likeable, effervescent Hapgood, and likewise intrigued by Chrystine Symone’s straight-laced, repressed Fay. In terms of the score I think they both had the most difficult jobs having the more familiar songs, and they work incredibly hard to make them their own, and do so beautifully, adding depth and nuance to two characters that, perhaps on the face of things feel a little underdeveloped by the book. There’s a sweetness to their chemistry and the way they play off each other that I enjoyed a lot, especially during “With So Little To Be Sure Of”.
There’s delightful work too from Danny Lane as Comptroller Schub, Samuel Clifford as Treasurer Cooley, and Renan Teodoro as Chief of Police Magruder, all three eliciting joyful belly laughs from me throughout. Anchoring them is Alex Young in a radiant comic turn as the corrupt Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper, who ekes out every millisecond of her stage time with bombastic, scenery chewing brilliance. It’s a fine line, to make a seemingly corrupt and villianous character likeable, but Alex has the audience rapt throughout, never moreso when she engages with us (gents in a certain seat, be warned!) and she and especially Danny, play off each other with remarkable warmth and assurity. I came to this show as a fan of Alex excited to see her play a totally different kind of role than the one I came to know her for, and once more, she didn’t disappoint!
To some it may feel like Anyone Can Whistle strikes a rather discordant note in Sondheim’s glorious catalogue, but this bold, bright, beautifully cast and utterly bonkers revival for me speaks of the joy that can be found if you, to borrow the words from the title number: “Relax, Let Go, Let Fly”.
Wheelie Stagey 