My review of Rebecca Musical at the Charing Cross theatre - outstanding score and vocals
Posted By Tim Todd | Posted 2 months ago
By Tim Todd
I was lucky enough to be invited to the London Premiere of Rebecca Musical at the Charing Cross Theatre. This marks the first time Rebecca has been produced and performed in the UK.
Rebecca is a musical by Michael Kunze (Original book and lyrics) and Sylvester Levay (Music and Orchestrations). The English book and lyrics are by Christopher Hampton and Michael Kunze. The musical is based on the 1938 novel of the same name. The musical is set in Monte Carlo, at Manderley (The ancestral home of Maxim Ed winter) and in and around the Cornish coast.
The cast included Lauren Jones (Bonnie and Clyde) as I, Richard Carson (Les Miserables) as Maxim de Winter, Kara Lane (Addams Family) as Mrs. Danvers, Emily Apps as Clarice, Piers Bate as Frank Crawley, David Breeds as Ben, Melanie Bright as Mrs Danvers Alternate, Nigel-Joesph Francis as Firth, Sarah Harlington as Beatrice, Alex James-ward as Jack Favell, Shirley Jameson as Mrs. Van Hopper, Nicholas Lumley as Colonal Julyan and Neil Moors as Giles. The Ensemble members includes Rosie Glossop, Gail Mackinnon, James Mateo-salt, Scott McClure, Tarisha Rommick and Elliot Swann
For me the stand out moments were the music and orchestrations written by Sylvester Levay performed by the fabulous Orchestra conducted by Robert Scott and the outstanding vocal performances of Lauren Jones, Richard Carson and Kara Lane.
Overall I found this production ‘interesting’, it wasn’t a bad production by any means. The fact is I found it took a long time to ‘get going’ and maybe there were one too many reprises of the title song ‘Rebecca’. When I left, I found myself being confused by the actual book material, maybe because some of the story and lyrics were lost in translation. I also felt that the scene changes were clunky and not well thought out. I could definitely hear influences from musicals Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera in the score.
I would give this production 3/5 stars, it definitely had potential and would love it to have another life somewhere else, such as a tour or a limited engagement in the West End or broadway. The Production deserves the glitz and glamor. I definitely dreamed of Manderley.
Rebecca is running at the Charing Cross theatre until 18th November 2023. You can book tickets to Rebecca here - https://charingcrosstheatre.co.uk/theatre/rebecca
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