Opening Night, Gielgud Theatre Review

Written by Franco Milazzo for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.

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With Ivo van Hove, one should expect the unexpected but the prolific Belgian director outdoes himself with a musical which sinks below all expectations.

Whether it is even a musical is debatable. Taking John Cassavetes’ 1977 stylish meditation on aging and layering in snatches of songs within and between conversations was always going to be a brave choice, despite having celebrated composer Rufus Wainwright on board. Even calling it a play with music like Standing On Sky’s Edge is somewhat of a misnomer.

The story itself is rich in dramatic potential. Famous actress Myrtle Gordon (Sheridan Smith) is preparing to star on Broadway in a brand new work called Second Woman yet can’t seem to shake off a mid-life funk. Adding to her mental turmoil is the death of a young fan called Nancy (Shira Haas) and having to act opposite her former partner Maurice (Benjamin Walker). Unable to accept her age, she declares an ignorance of how to play her menopausal character to the consternation of the writer Sarah (Nicola Hughes), director Manny (Hadley Fraser) and producer David (John Marquez). As opening night approaches, she chops and changes the script and becomes increasingly haunted by hallucinations of Nancy.

The staging itself is a serious misstep. In an era when theatre is in a losing battle with streamers, mobile phones and social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, designer Jan Versweyveld opts to have a large screen playing constantly above the stage with images mostly fed from live Steadicams as well as some pre-recorded footage. Van Hove has done this before including on his epic Kings Of War but nowadays it is commonplace with Sunset Boulevard, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and even Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical having used this technique. The screen itself is a huge distraction from what is happening below it with the open space minimalist layout often dissipating the dramatic tension.

And the messaging is vague and all over the place. The movie’s plot is clear enough but what exactly is van Hove driving at by reviving it nearly a half-century after its debut? Is he bemoaning the lot of middle-aged actresses? The allure of youth even when it has long gone? The difficulties of bringing female stories to the stage in a male-dominated environment? Whether mental illness and addictions can be considered an occupational hazard to those who cling onto their profession above all else? Or how hard it is for women to have careers and relationships? He could be trying to place Myrtle in a pantheon alongside the likes of Norma Desmond and Blanche Dubois but he needs to push that point harder if he is. 

Smith is significantly miscast and misdirected. The titanic timbre heard in Funny Girl has either left her or is deliberately played down whenever she sings. She never really convinces as a highly-strung starring Broadway actress despite some invigorating set pieces. Her chemistry with other characters is more water than wine and she herself rarely grabs at our sympathy even when in extremis. In her hands, Myrtle doesn’t so much descend into despair and madness as casually saunter into insanity.

Around her, the potential of the cast is largely wasted with the faked American accents ropier than a shibari convention. Walker is a wooden presence while Fraser exasperates as he plays a man who would apparently struggle to direct traffic in a one-horse town. Marquez does very well with what he is given as does Hughes while Haas is a wonderfully ethereal presence when she appears. Amy Lennox (who appeared in another van Hove dud, the David Bowie-inspired Lazarus) has a minor role as Manny’s wife Dorothy and shines in her solo guitar performance.

Amid van Hove’s dabbling and experimentation, the closing number of Opening Night is a dazzling reminder of what could have been as the cast joined together in an exuberant song-and-dance. Maybe it’s meant to gloss over the confusing and meandering shambles that came before it. Or maybe not. With van Hove, who really knows?

At Gielgud Theatre until 27 July.

☆ ☆