Theatre: Nine, Donmar Warehouse, London
Nine, Donmar Warehouse, London, WC2 (0171-369 1732) In preview, opens Thur
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.You know the trouble with Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan? They just won't listen. You or I could tell them that remaking George Cukor's camp, comic celluloid classic The Women is a dumb idea - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - but off they go, when any sane person would much rather watch Joan Crawford's cheap shopgirl behind the perfume counter, Rosalind Russell talking a mile a minute or Norma Shearer learning about men at the beauty parlour.
At last Julia and Meg are creating jobs for the girls. Arthur Kopit did the same when turning Fellini's 81/2 into a musical. Hang on... making a musical out of this cinematic milestone sounds like cause for the "if it ain't broke..." clause, but the result, Nine, ran 732 performances on Broadway and won a Tony for Best Musical in 1982.
Raul Julia played the lead on Broadway. In London, it's Larry Lamb. Apart from a quick croon to Janet Suzman in The Sisters Rosenzweig, this is his professional musical debut. He's surrounded by serious vocal talent, from Sara Kestelman - fresh from success in Sarrasine - to the sweet- toned Eleanor David and the explosive belt of Ria Jones, but he's quietly confident. When asked to play the film director and lothario Guido Contini, he listened to the recording and thought "I could do that... or at least have a bloody good go."
Lamb is the least "actory" of actors, but he's waxing unusually lyrical about this, singing its praises as "a piece of grown- up theatre. Rarely have I felt so inspired by something". He's also in thrall to director David Leveaux who has not only pruned the show of its cheap gags and innuendo, but delayed any kind of full run-through until late in the fifth week of rehearsal. "We were all terrified, performing it in front of the powers that be, but it was extraordinary. Afterwards, we were all a bit stunned. Everyone felt we could have gone straight in front of an audience."
The last time this venue produced a musical, they ended up with Company. Do you need any further incentive?
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments