High Society at Alexandra Birmingham Review
Image: Pamela Raith
High Society is a musical comedy that follows the life of an Oyster Bay socialite, Tracy Samantha Lord, who is planning an extravagant June 1938 wedding to dull accountant George Kittredge. The story follows as Tracy's plans for the society wedding of the year descend into chaos when her ex-husband, Dexter Haven, arrives to disrupt the proceedings. A reporter and photographer from Spy magazine are also attending to cover the wedding as the family tries to avoid publishing a scandal concerning Tracy’s father.
The piece is based on the screwball comedy The Philadelphia Story, which first showed on Broadway in 1939, adapted into the movie High Society in 1956, with the first theatre performance in 1998. Featuring songs from the movie adaptation by Cole Porter alongside additional songs from his back catalogue, with additional lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. The live orchestra provided for the piece really brought the songs to life. The musicality is top tier in this performance.
The impressive set design by Tom Rogers really sold the feeling to the audience of being in an upper-class 20th century house. The inclusion of the pool set was an easy addition to provide another set for scenes while maintaining the high quality.
Helen George embodied leading lady Tracy Lord well, showcasing the life of a socialite woman, with an air of refinement and class, while also showing a quick wit and ferocity. For this piece, the audience had George Bray in the role of George Kittredge, and he really stepped up to the task, with Bray’s performance capturing the meek and uncertain character excellently. Julian Ovenden provided an outstanding performance as ex-husband Dexter Haven and is possibly the best performance from the piece, showing strong charisma, complex humour and playing excellently across from Helen George as the ex-husband who still knows all the buttons to push. Carly Mercedes Dyer provided a memorable performance with her rendition of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin’’ in her performance as Liz Imbrie. Freddie Fox, making his musical theatre debut as Mike Connor, was able to hold his own with the rest of the cast and provided a charismatic Mike. Dyer and Fox had great chemistry and have been cast well for their respective parts. Naomi Pacquette as Dinah Lord provided a performance as the younger, mildly irritating sister that is relatable to us all.
‘’Now you have Jazz’’ stands out as a musical piece alongside ‘’Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ’’. Both for different reasons. The level of performance displayed within ‘’Now you have Jazz’’ with an all-out cast choreography by Anthony Van Laast demonstrated the energy at a high-class soirée. The high level of vocals and intimate nature of ‘’Who Wants to be a Millionaire’’ is strong enough to speak for itself.
High Society is an enjoyable night at the theatre for everyone. It is a great way to spend a few hours watching a high quality, comedic and accessible piece.
High Society is showing at The Alexandra Theatre until 22nd August.
★★★★
Written by Charis for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
