I’ll take my Top Hat off to them…
Back from a matinee of Top Hat at the Mill at Sonning https://millatsonning.com/shows/top-hat/ .
This 2011 version (originally at the Aldwych) of the Astaire and Rogers Hollywood film doesn’t, of course have Astaire and Rogers, neither does it have a vast cast or huge Hollywood sound stages – the Mill Theatre’s apron stage is no more than 20 ft deep and 30 ft across, and there were but 14 in the cast.
But the ‘new’ musical (with a few numbers from other Irving Berlin hits) – re-blocked for the tiny Mill Theatre - is a wow.
Who needs 40 tap dancers when but 12 are almost in your laps? And if the two principals can’t dance like Fred and Ginger (but then, who can?) they are West-End musical quality (Jack Butterworth and Billie Kaye are our Fred and Ginger) – and the remainder of the massively doubling cast are hugely professional.
The art deco sets (with the same items themselves doubling madly) are both ‘right’ and very clever, and the supporting actors are quality. This started in the West End 10 years ago, and I see no reason, after it closes in the second week in January in Sonning, why it shouldn’t go back. As our last show in 2021, on its penultimate day, what a joyous end to an otherwise quite bleak year. [The audience was fully vaccinated and had flow-tested that morning, and had to have the certificates to prove it. So I’m glad that it played to a full house – it deserved to].