#dtah

So having seen Death Takes A Holiday a few times I thought I should now sit down and discuss my thoughts on the show. I will try not to post spoilers for those who don’t know the story or who have yet to see the show.

Well firstly it’s a Maury Yeston musical directed by Thom Sunderland and produced by Danielle Tarento, I consider these three the magic trio for I have loved their previous work I’ve seen and anything they do is sure to be a hit with me. The score is completely stunning and the musical themes running through the show are so beautifully played by the orchestra, directed by Dean Austin. The company which Danielle has put together execute the show so well. The vocals on the hugely talented cast of 14 are outstanding and it creates a powerful wall of sound when they are all singing together. Thom’s direction is genius and with those three names attached to any show it makes it simply unmissable theatre.

One of the great things about the show is the pairings of people and their relationships with each other and the other characters. Evangelina and Dario, played by the brilliant Gay Soper, whose comic timing is faultlessly perfect, and Anthony Cable bring such a warmth to the stage; December Time is a gorgeous number and the story they portray in it is wonderful. Brilliant acting throughout from them both and Anthony does, what I like to call, a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment in the show. During Pavane Evangelina calls Dario Mario again and the spark in Anthony’s eyes dimmed a little and the small look of sadness there at having go back to how it was before that weekend was heartbreaking to watch. That was a genius touch, you can’t teach stuff like that.

Kathryn Akin and Mark Inscoe bounce off each other so well as Stephanie and Vittorio Lamberti. Adore watching them on stage, Kathryn’s solo is stunning, it really hits you that this family is still grieving for the loss of their son and no matter how much time passes a mother can never get over the death of a child. Mark’s reactions are top notch, so natural and believable. Loved his interaction with Ken throughout the show, thought they were well matched as the head of house and the head of the staff, shared some great looks between one another. Helen Turner who plays Alice Lamberti is a joy to watch. Her vocals are out of this world and I love watching her dance in Shimmy Like They Do In Paree and Life Is A Joy, she really catches your attention and you find yourself watching her perform with a smile on your face.

Zoe Doano as Grazia is quite possibly one of the best castings I have seen to date, if ever. What makes me say that? Well allow me to explain. Zoe has such an organic, natural quality about her acting. Nothing about her performance feels forced and all the acting decisions she makes have been well thought through and her interaction with the rest of the characters in the show is great. When I watched the More and More promo video I knew that Zoe’s beautiful soprano would be shown in the brightest of lights in the show. Songs such as How Will I Know, Who Is This Man and Alone Here With You, really allow Zoe to use a wide variety of her vocal range. I love how fiesty and strong Grazia is and the journey which she goes on is brilliantly portrayed by Zoe.

I wanted two things from James Gant as Death. A solid vocal and a load of energy in Alive! He delivered both, effortlessly! Like with Zoe, Yeston’s score showcases James’ range to the max and allows him to put that fabulous belt to full use. Alive, packed with energy, and I Thought I Could Live were strong and powerful. Loved the little vocal slide (glissando is the proper technical musical term but more people know it as a slide) during the first section of More and More. He has great on stage chemistry with Zoe and the acting flowed well, very natural. I also loved the slightly dangerous edge he had as well which he filtered into his tone at particular moments during the show, it very clearly said he was not a man to be messed with. Nicely done Mr Gant! However, this being me I found something I would have liked corrected. (Well he can’t be perfect on his first show, he’d have nowhere to go otherwise!! :P) His right thumb was sticking up when in hold during Life Is A Joy. Although, if that’s the only criticism I have, it says a lot about how much good was in his performance.

The whole company delivers strong performances but two people who steal the show every time are Scarlett Courtney as Daisy and Sophie-May Feek as Sophia. Scarlett’s reactions and what she says in the show subtly links into her story so well which you see come to a head in the second act. Her duet with Ashley Stillburn is heartbreakingly beautiful and the end of the number the look in her eyes would break the hardest of hearts. Scarlett has a beautiful voice and her acting through song is exceptional. Even when she may not be the main focus of the scene Scarlett pulls attention and you find yourself drawn into her story. She has great comic timing. Sophie has a great stage presence about her and she plays the fun, flirty maid of house so well. Acting and comic timing is en-pointe and her dancing is brilliant. Sophie has excellent lines and a lovely elegant poise about her, when she dances, in Life Is A Joy at the end Sophie and Samuel Thomas share a lovely moment of togetherness. After they stop dancing everyone is standing watching the last part of the number and Sophie and Sam stayed in their own unique bubble they created which was a really sweet moment, then looked at each other, got a bit embarrassed and moved away. It was such a great touch to add and it was like they were the couple of the household staff. (I do now want to know the entire backstory of this so Sophie and Samuel be prepared for me to ask you about this! :P)

Sophie, Trudi Camilleri and Matthew McDonald play the household staff led by Ken Christiansen as Fidele. As a little team they all work together so well and in the moment in Pavane and the reprise of Life Is A Joy you get the sense they are a little unit and have a lot of fun together onstage. As a side note I love that Lorenzo goes from chauffeur to footman to gardener to mechanic and seems to be doing every job possible. I liked it a lot!

I have to mention Samuel and his solo, Roberto’s Eyes, which he sings as Major Eric Fenton. Wow. I’m so in awe. Everything about it is perfection from the acting through song to the vocal which he absolutely nails. I didn’t want the song to end, one of many highlights for me during the show!

In my opinion you’d be mad to miss Death Takes A Holiday. A musical like no other I’ve ever seen. It runs at the Charing Cross Theatre until 4th March.