On a Clear Day You Can See Forever – Union

Vicki Lee Taylor in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever at the Union Theatre, London. Picture: Kay Young

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever continues at the Union Theatre, London until 28 September.

In the pantheon of musical theatre, there are shows that make you think. And then there are those that, while outwardly encouraging you to contemplate philosophical ideas, are all the while crossing their fingers, hoping that the song and dance will help distract from a concept which aims high, but falls far lower.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is one of the latter. Its story presents the tale of Daisy Gamble, an oddball 1960s American girl with extra-sensory powers who, while partaking in hypnotherapy to break her chain-smoking habit, regresses into a previous life, of an 18th century upper-class Englishwoman named Melinda. While Daisy begins to fall for her therapist, she is unaware that he only has eyes for the personality that emerges, unknown to Daisy, during their sessions.

It’s perhaps unsurprising that a musical based around past life regression and a psychotherapist’s conduct towards his patient – or should that be misconduct? – has never been a particular hit. That must surely be in part down not only to the subject matter, but the musical itself. Lyricist and book writer Alan Jay Lerner constructs a witty, often hilarious, tale, but the songs – written with Burton Lane, in Lerner’s first collaboration after splitting with long-time associate Frederick Loewe – are far from the genre’s best. Only the title number remains in the memory for long afterwards, and even then one suspects that may have something to do with the number of opportunities the cast are given to reprise it.

Not that any of that matters one jot. For in the central role (roles?) of Daisy/Melinda, Vicki Lee Taylor is mesmeric. In her hands, Daisy is flighty, sweet-natured, vulnerable, a bit of a doormat – but absolutely adorable. And that makes her transformation into the stiff-backed aristocrat Melinda simultaneously remarkable and utterly believable, as Daisy’s neurotic New York drawl gives way to cut glass RP. It is a shame that as Melinda, she has little to do other than sit and talk to people – but that is a fault of the material rather than the performer.

Against such a monumental performance, it is perhaps inevitable that other cast members seem a little smaller, though through no fault of their own. Nadeem Crowe as Daisy’s therapist, Mark Bruckner, impresses with vocals that, especially in the Act II solo ‘Come Back to Me’, provide a rich counterpoint to Taylor. And as the fiancé to whom Daisy is becoming increasingly estranged, Howard Jenkins elicits some of the biggest laughs, playing Warren’s unthinking chauvinism with such deadpan seriousness that his attitudes never descend into cliché.

And with a fine ensemble backing up the principals, this production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever certainly does its best to overcome the show’s own intrinsic faults. Which is, in a way, a bit like Daisy. While there is no big romantic resolution, nor is there any conclusion about whether Melinda was real or a figment of Daisy’s subconscious imagination. But whether Melinda is real or not, Daisy is enriched, emboldened and empowered by her influence. As are the audience by this gem of a production.

Scott Matthewman