Mack & Mabel

‘Mack & Mabel’ the musical, written by Michael Stewart and music by Jerry Herman, has had a very patchy history, with poor success on Broadway in 1974 only running for sixty six public performances. It also had a limited run in the West End in 1995. The show has been rewritten a number of times, to try and make it more publically appealing. The narrative revolves around the true story elements of ‘Mack Sennett’, who is one of the most important men in the history of film and comedy and his most famous leading lady ‘Mabel Normand’. The show is narrated by Mack, who is looking back over his days as a director and the love story of how he came to meet and then loose Mabel. The show is jam packed full of historical events and characters, with many of them being based on real people. Also the themed films which he had become famous for such as ‘The Keystone Cops’, the ‘Bathing Beauties’ and custard pies being thrown in people’s faces are all present within the show. Clitheroe Parish Church AODS chose ‘Mack & Mabel’ for their 2017 musical, which once again was performed for a number of sell out shows.

When the audience entered the hall, the stage was set with Sennett’s empty directors chair centre stage, lit by 2 crossing spot lights. This gave a powerful image which people could draw their own connotations from. Before the overture started the house curtains closed and the stage was reset, usually a preset stage would be preset to lead into the opening scene. It was unusual that this strong visual was changed to start the show. We were then treated to a video projection, during the overture, which was of good quality. For anyone who wasn’t familiar with the work of Mack and Mabel, this video set the scene perfectly and allowed the true story elements to resonate. It could be questioned, if the video gave a little too much away. It did allude to some of the content of a number of scenes throughout the show. This rolled into the very artistic opening, with the full cast that were already preset, as if furniture under white sheets. After Mack’s initial dialogue, setting the scene in this old studio, we went into ‘Movies were Movies’ and he uncovered the cast and they all sprung to life. This got the show off to a fantastic start. The cast were very disciplined, with holding so still for so long under the sheets, this all added to the impact the opening had. 

The show moved on with fantastic pace and scene changes happened swiftly. The use of costumed stage hands, who move scenery as part of the action definitely helped with this. The show from start to end had a nice feel and flow to it. We were introduced to more cast members as the scenes went on. The casting of the whole production is what can only be described as superb. The relationships between all characters were good, but the love and torment between Mack and Mabel was fantastic. In productions of this show it is often criticised that Mack is too old for Mabel and there is a lack of chemistry between them. In this production the audience could definitely feel the relationship and emotion between them. The age difference possibly helps the narrative, as it could be some of the reason why Mack feels he can’t display the affection that Mabel so desperately wants. This relationship enabled the show to go from just a musical with people dancing, singing and reading lines, to something all the more special.  It drew people in and enabled the audience to really connect and feel what was happening on stage. Within the cast we had Ms Baumann and Mrs Kessel which was a change in direction for this show. These characters were based on real people (Charles O. Baumann & Adam Kessel.) It isn't particularly fitting for the era as ladies at this point in history wouldn’t have been given the authority to make such important decisions. In addition to this in ‘Hit ‘em on the Head’ the two of them are clown type characters playing along with Mack which traditionally ladies aren’t clowns. This being said the parts were characterised very well and the pairing was considered bringing something different to the production.

The costuming of this show was good throughout, as the show progressed in time from 1910’s to the 1930’s, we saw a change in the attire from more formal style clothing to more Gatsby styles. The costumes had a lot of variation, were well fitting and colourful on stage. The development of Mabel clothing was also very well designed, she wore bright colours at the start of the show and virginal white when she got on the boat to leave Mack behind. Followed by her changing into black for the final scene where see passed away. This was very conceptual and very expressive. The developments in Mabel’s make-up also helped to display what happened to her with the alcohol and drug abuse. Once again making it clear to the audience and enhancing the standards that this production managed to reach. Some of the costumes, which did jar slightly were those of the bathing beauties. The mixture of materials and numerous styles, as well as some mismatched colours did make for a slightly messy appearance on stage. 

Throughout the show singing on a whole was good, as we have come to expect from such a talented group. In a couple of numbers, as the music has an awful lot going on and is very quick, it was difficult to hear the words. This was especially apparent during 'Hit 'em on the Head'. In addition to the singing we had some quality acting, making the relationships believable as mentioned earlier. The napkin ring used to visually represent Mack and Mabel's love was extremely well thought-out. Mack holding it in his hand at the end of Act 1 and at the end of the show giving it back to Mabel. Beautifully displayed how he was holding onto the love he had for her and then realising he had lost her, letting go. This created a tie with the audience enabling them to feel the emotions and helped to emphasise the lover’s situation. 

Choreography was once again superb, being very varied and easily achievable by the cast. Probably the most famous tap routine from a musical ‘Tap Your Troubles Away’ lived up to all expectations. It was very clean, precise which made it interesting and enjoyable to watch.  In a few of the full chorus numbers it did seem like people struggled to get through to the next shape and on a couple of occasions there were a few bumps and strange body angles. This said, fitting that many people onto a stage of its size is a great achievement in its own right. A lot of detail had been put into the routines with footwork, arms and hand placements and head and face direction, all obviously had been worked on.  The train influences during ‘Big Time’ when the studio travelled to Hollywood were easily seen and interpreted.

The set was very well constructed and painted, with the use of full stage cloths, that’s have not been seen in a number of years at this society.  The flies however were not very smooth and on occasion looked as if they were not going to get down or back up, but never the less they did. The 'Keystone Cops' which are named by Mack in a scene, had limited relevance as it wasn’t made clear in the staging that the studio was named ‘Keystone Studios’. Our favourite scene was at the back of the train on the way to California, this set was amazing. The cloth and truck created a superb effect utilising a vanishing point in perspective on the cloth and the way the truck fitted perfectly to the cloth was superbly designed. 

Overall this show allowed the society to once again display what they were capable of, showcasing talents in singing, acting and dancing. The emotions created allowed the show to resonate with many of the people watching and really tugged at the heart stings. The strong and relatively dark themes the show has at its heart, were all skillfully displayed and were well balanced in order to make this show a joy to watch. The society should be very happy with the end production they created. We are already looking forward to their play later on this year.  

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