Me & My Girl

Originally produced for London’s West End in 1937, the musical’s book received a revision by Stephen Fry with Mike Ockrent in the 1980s, breathing new life into this classic musical. The revived adaptation opened in the West End in 1985, receiving two Laurence Olivier Awards before transferring to Broadway and going on to win three of its eleven Tony nominations.

The true success of ‘Me and My Girl’ must be credited to the memorable music by Noel Gay and its original book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose.  Though written in the 1930s, the classic songs don’t sound dusty - In fact, the songs are as lively as ever, meaningful, and fun.

Paul Hancox as Bill Snibson, the cockney chancer who strikes it rich, has brilliant comic timing and seemed completely at ease with the mechanisms of cockney rhyming slang, having a laugh, sorry, "bubble bath", with the audience from start to finish - he handled the songs appropriately and overall, Paul presented a well-polished, very visual and highly energised performance.

Rosie Plummer was delightful as Sally Smith, the splendour of her singing and the poignant honesty she brought made up for the lack of the usual feisty and a little rough around the edges Sally Smith people expect. None-the less, Rosie has a quality and attractive charisma about her even though I feel we’ve yet to see her at her best!

For me, this show was stolen by Joy Siddall as the Duchess, her held back vitality is enthralling which beautifully  counterparts Bills forceful energy making the pair a delight in their scenes together.    
Louise Coffey as the flirtatious Lady Jacqueline who simply cannot resist a good-sized fortune is another one who has a striking presence on stage, her physicality and stature never fails to draw your eyes to her, I did feel that her songs were a little out of her comfort zone yet she ploughed through and never failed to give us what she’s got!

Directed by Sheryl Haydock-Howorth, busy and demanding shows like these come with additional challenges which, on the whole, were handled well.  The balance of the fine line between the show’s comedy and its romantic heart was on the nose. I did feel that some performances could have done with reining in a bit as some people had the tendency to go too over-the-top for cheap laughs which wasn’t really necessary for a show already so comical. More attention would have benefited being given to the technical fields which seemed to lack much directorial input, particularly the lighting.
Understanding how much of a struggle it is to find a set for this stage and having to make do with whatever fits, I cannot ignore that this set is probably the best I've seen in this venue.
Choreography by Debbie Wood had some dazzling moments and I very much enjoyed the majority of the movement she set though the not so ‘dancey’ numbers translated as a little false and over stagey for the intended mood.   
As is the case with such productions as these, we had plenty of room for the ensemble to inject more oomph, vocally – the ensemble sounded super but their physicality seemed a little heavy and static which didn’t mirror with the light and bouncy tone of the show.

A creditable nod to Claire Sweeney as Musical Director, Claire was in total control and her able orchestra provided a wonderful sound which didn’t fail to have the audience singing along. Impeccable! 
All musicals have their big numbers and signature tune, ‘Me And My Girl’ is no exception; the first half finished with the hugely popular ‘Lambeth Walk’, with the house lights up and cast members doing the routine in the isles encouraging the audience to join in - I thought was a really nice touch!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.