Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
10th-14th November 2015
The Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
10th-14th November 2015
I heard so many good things about Dirty Rotten Scoundrels the Musical from friends who had seen it in the West End; one friend described it as ‘the perfect antidote to a bad day in the office’. He told me, “If ever I needed cheering up, that would be my go to show”. Sometimes you hear so much hype about a show and have so much expectations as a consequence, you can often be disappointed when you finally get to see it. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels guarantees lots of laughs, a fabulous score and the promise to be transported back to the golden age of the classical musical. It didn’t disappoint.
The musical which ran for a year in the West End, is based on the hugely popular 1988 film of the same name starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin as Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson. These roles are taken on by Michael Praed and Noel Sullivan respectively.
Handsome con man Lawrence is in cahoots with the chief of police, Andre Thibault, played by Gary Wilmot, and between them they are doing a very smooth job of playing all the rich millionaire heiress’s for every penny they can get whilst living a life of luxury as a consequence, all within the decadent setting of the French Riviera. Along comes brash American con man, Freddy Benson, to try his luck and with the two swindlers’ paths crossing, they soon realise that there isn’t enough room in the town for the both of them. They make a bet - whoever can successfully con fifty grand out of soap queen Christine Colgate, played by Carley Stenson, will stay on in the town, with the loser having to leave.
Michael Praed is perfect as Lawrence, the preening, confident, vain, suave and sophisticated con man who, until Freddy turns up, has the run of the place. With Gary Wilmot, as his undercover partner in crime “Give them What They Want”, is a great number to kick the show off with.
Gary has great stage presence and I loved that writer, Jeffrey Lane, has tweaked the storyline so as to include Muriel Eubanks (Geraldine Fitzgerald) more in the production; the Andre and Muriel subplot worked fabulously with some wonderfully funny dialogue between the two.
However, Noel Sullivan as Freddy is the one who steals the show for me. He really is a revelation. The characterisation and physicality that he puts into his performance is brilliantly played and had the audience in stitches. “All About Ruprecht” where Lawrence invents a disturbing brother for Freddy to play out, in order to scare off an over keen ‘girlfriend’ is just hilarious.
Sullivan, as Freddy, excels himself in one scene where he is sitting in a wheelchair and pretending to be numb from the waist down. The urge to resist corpsing in this particular scene must be an absolute nightmare for all the actors on stage. First night audiences were certainly given a treat with Michael Praed really going off on one in this scene, much to our delight - just what is it about corpsing that makes us giggle? “Ruffhousin’ Mit Shuffhausen” has to be one of the funniest songs in the show, although “Love is My Legs” with Freddy and Christine is also right up there.
The musical which ran for a year in the West End, is based on the hugely popular 1988 film of the same name starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin as Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson. These roles are taken on by Michael Praed and Noel Sullivan respectively.
Handsome con man Lawrence is in cahoots with the chief of police, Andre Thibault, played by Gary Wilmot, and between them they are doing a very smooth job of playing all the rich millionaire heiress’s for every penny they can get whilst living a life of luxury as a consequence, all within the decadent setting of the French Riviera. Along comes brash American con man, Freddy Benson, to try his luck and with the two swindlers’ paths crossing, they soon realise that there isn’t enough room in the town for the both of them. They make a bet - whoever can successfully con fifty grand out of soap queen Christine Colgate, played by Carley Stenson, will stay on in the town, with the loser having to leave.
Michael Praed is perfect as Lawrence, the preening, confident, vain, suave and sophisticated con man who, until Freddy turns up, has the run of the place. With Gary Wilmot, as his undercover partner in crime “Give them What They Want”, is a great number to kick the show off with.
Gary has great stage presence and I loved that writer, Jeffrey Lane, has tweaked the storyline so as to include Muriel Eubanks (Geraldine Fitzgerald) more in the production; the Andre and Muriel subplot worked fabulously with some wonderfully funny dialogue between the two.
However, Noel Sullivan as Freddy is the one who steals the show for me. He really is a revelation. The characterisation and physicality that he puts into his performance is brilliantly played and had the audience in stitches. “All About Ruprecht” where Lawrence invents a disturbing brother for Freddy to play out, in order to scare off an over keen ‘girlfriend’ is just hilarious.
Sullivan, as Freddy, excels himself in one scene where he is sitting in a wheelchair and pretending to be numb from the waist down. The urge to resist corpsing in this particular scene must be an absolute nightmare for all the actors on stage. First night audiences were certainly given a treat with Michael Praed really going off on one in this scene, much to our delight - just what is it about corpsing that makes us giggle? “Ruffhousin’ Mit Shuffhausen” has to be one of the funniest songs in the show, although “Love is My Legs” with Freddy and Christine is also right up there.
Michael Praed, Noel Sullivan & Carley Stenson - trying not to corpse
Carley Stenson certainly proves that she has the power within her tiny frame to belt out some fabulous numbers and she plays the part of Christine with plenty of vigour. Michael, Noel and Carley work really well together and look like they are having the best time up there on stage.
The production is also supported by a fabulous ensemble, with a special nod to Phoebe Coupe, who does a great job as the slightly deranged rich cowgirl, Jolene Oakes in the “Oklahoma?” number.
There are lots of elegant dance numbers, beautiful costumes and some truly decadent sets to keep the traditionalists amongst us happy. This show has a 1950s feel to it, with all the glamour and sophistication of the classic musical but has a definite contemporary twist provided by the humour of the piece. Composer, David Yazbek’s score is possibly one of the wittiest I’ve come across since The Producers. The music isn’t instantly memorable but the lyrics certainly are.
This production is delightfully daft and yes, I can definitely confirm that my friend was spot on; if you’ve had a bad day at the office or anywhere else for that matter, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the perfect remedy to get you back on track.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is running until the 14th November at the Cliffs Pavilion - don’t miss it!
www.southendtheatres.org.uk
The production is also supported by a fabulous ensemble, with a special nod to Phoebe Coupe, who does a great job as the slightly deranged rich cowgirl, Jolene Oakes in the “Oklahoma?” number.
There are lots of elegant dance numbers, beautiful costumes and some truly decadent sets to keep the traditionalists amongst us happy. This show has a 1950s feel to it, with all the glamour and sophistication of the classic musical but has a definite contemporary twist provided by the humour of the piece. Composer, David Yazbek’s score is possibly one of the wittiest I’ve come across since The Producers. The music isn’t instantly memorable but the lyrics certainly are.
This production is delightfully daft and yes, I can definitely confirm that my friend was spot on; if you’ve had a bad day at the office or anywhere else for that matter, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the perfect remedy to get you back on track.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is running until the 14th November at the Cliffs Pavilion - don’t miss it!
www.southendtheatres.org.uk
ASK THE AUDIENCE
Megan Clark, 20, Southend-on-Sea
"I thought it was brilliant. I loved it. I've never seen the film or the show before and I was really pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I loved it when they corpsed. The Oklahoma song and Ruprecht were my favourite numbers in the show."
Dawn Clark, 55, Southend-on-Sea
"It was so good. I really enjoyed it. It was better than I thought it was going to be as I had no idea what to expect or even what it was about! Michael Praed was amazing - I didn't realise he could sing so well!"
"I thought it was brilliant. I loved it. I've never seen the film or the show before and I was really pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I loved it when they corpsed. The Oklahoma song and Ruprecht were my favourite numbers in the show."
Dawn Clark, 55, Southend-on-Sea
"It was so good. I really enjoyed it. It was better than I thought it was going to be as I had no idea what to expect or even what it was about! Michael Praed was amazing - I didn't realise he could sing so well!"
Watch our interview with the cast below