High Society

This show has a long and interesting history. It originated in 1938 when a successful play ‘The Philadelphia Story’ by Philip Barry, starring Katharine Hepburn, came to Broadway. This was adapted into the 1956 film ‘High Society’ with Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, with music by Cole Porter. The play and film were then adapted by Arthur Kopit into a stage musical, ‘High Society’ which opened on Broadway in 1998, with the action moving from Philadelphia to Oyster Bay, Long Island. The story centres on Tracy Samantha Lord a pretentious Oyster Bay socialite. It is the day before her second wedding to equally pretentious executive George Kitteridge, her ex-husband arrives with the news that he has invited two reporters to cover the wedding to prevent their Magazine from publishing an article about Tracy’s father having an affair with a dancer, but they will pretend to be invited guests. He also intends to give the happy pair the yacht, ‘The True Love’, which he designed for himself and Tracy, as a wedding present.

The staging of this show was interesting; it was a black and white art deco fixed box set to emulate the classic black and white film. The band was positioned stage right and across the back, with a grand piano upstage centre. There were no set changes, change of location was shown with atmospheric lighting; paintings and chandelier being flown in; and the cast bringing on and removing furniture, or changing its position and changing or removing cloths and other items. There was a staging block with a white top, with steps leading up to it, in front of the main stage, which gave extra entrances.  As there were no obvious set changes, good lighting was extremely important to help define where the action was taking place. It had been well designed and was effective, particularly in lighting the white staging block to give the effect of being by the swimming pool. The sound effects were all well cued and appropriate. All the furniture and extensive props were suited to the period. The costumes hairstyles and makeup reflected the period and each characters position in society.  

On arrival into the Theatre we saw the servants preparing for a party and actually carrying packages through the auditorium. Gradually the band drifted in greeted each other and settled down in their places, and before the show started the ‘servants’ had a party of their own with a ‘sing song’. It certainly created a party atmosphere, which made the audience feel they were included as guests at the party.

The show has a wide age range of roles, with the servants of no determined age thus giving opportunity for everyone to be involved. It was nice to see some very experienced performers amongst the ‘Staff’ as this added depth and balance to the show.

All the principals were confident in their roles and gave lovely performances. Tracy Lord, the bride to be, was every inch a rather snobbish socialite, whose marriage to George would have been a complete disaster, as, although he was rich, he was not of her social circle, and she was obviously still in love with Dexter. She worked well with Dexter, George and Mike and her decline into inebriation was gently done. She has some lovely songs and did them full justice. T K Dexter Haven was the level headed ex husband, who again is still in love with Tracy, and tries to guide her away from making a huge mistake. This was a relaxed and memorable performance; I particularly liked the rendition of ‘True Love’. George Kitteredge, the groom to be, conveyed his ‘stuffiness’, controlling ways and lack of compatibility very well, you felt they had both had a lucky escape. Mike Connor and Liz Imbrie, the two reporters, made an excellent duo, with Mike falling for Tracy and having a few gentle flirtatious moments with her, although perhaps not so gentle, as they go skinny dipping together and he puts her to bed when she collapses into a drunken stupor; and Liz having to ward off the amorous advances of Uncle Willie. Their duet ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ was a delight, and they come together at the end. Mr and Mrs Lord, Tracy’s parents, balanced each other, and were reconciled in time for the wedding. Uncle Willy was a disreputable character, with his love of gin and eye for the ladies. Dinah Lord was well portrayed as the bothersome, young teenage sister, who knows everyone’s secrets, and keeps getting in the way.  The duet with her and Tracy ‘I Love Paris’, accompanied by accordion and violin was fun. All the servants had developed individual characters and were a very important part of the show, with their singing, dancing and scene changing. All the drunken scenes were well controlled and convincing with no one going too far.

The choreography was well suited to the period with some lively, well-executed routines, particularly in ‘She’s Got That Thing’. Everyone was well co-ordinated and confident in their moves. What a stunning moment when Musical Director Lucas Bailey left his piano during ‘What a Swell Party’ to entertain the party guests, and audience, with an energetic tap routine.

The decision to put the band on the stage meant they were an integral part of the show which was great fun, but it did mean that Musical Director Lucas Bailey may not have been totally aware of the sound balance, as there were a few places where the music overpowered the voices and we lost the words, particularly at the beginning. Having said that the music was excellent with a very talented group of musicians, ending with a fantastic Jazz ‘play out’ which none of the audience wanted to miss, so remained in their seats until it was finished. The singing was of a high standard from everyone. There were some lovely solos and duets from the principals and good harmony singing from the chorus.

Director Judy Couch had chosen her cast well and had worked with their strengths to produce a well-timed, pacey show, which delighted the audience. The Director and Musical Director had obviously worked well together and with the cast to deliver an excellent evenings entertainment.

Congratulations everyone.

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