John Barrowman with Seth Rudetsky – Leicester Square Theatre

John Barrowman with Seth Rudetsky – Leicester Square Theatre, London.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Actor, singer, dancer, author and all-round nice guy are just a few terms you can associate with John Barrowman. He has seen huge success on stage and screen as well as in the recording studio and publishing world.

Barrowman has performed many times on stage both as part of a cast and through touring his concerts around the UK. However, the format for this show is unique and gives fans an opportunity to learn more about the performer. As Barrowman fans may know, he prides himself on being an open book, which promises for some great anecdotes and entertaining performances.

Barrowman is accompanied by Seth Rudetsky as part of the Broadway @ Leicester Square Theatre series, which has previously hosted Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald. The pair claim to not know each other particularly well but their dynamic would suggest that they have been friends for life.

Rudetsky decides how to steer the conversation and which songs will be sung each night. The audience hears Barrowman’s funny stories about growing up in Glasgow (in a Scottish accent, naturally), heartbreaking tales of bullying at school when he moved to the US and, of course, plenty of anecdotes from his career.

Although Barrowman doesn’t know what songs he will be singing at any point throughout the short run, that doesn’t stop the emotion from coming through in every number. Whether he’s singing ‘Unusual Way’ from Nine, his Wicked re-write, ‘The Doctor and I’, or ‘Marry Me a Little’ from Company, his emotion and devotion to every song is mesmerising.

Fans will also know that Barrowman upholds a strict no phones policy during performances, and quite rightly too. However, at the end of the night, audience members are encouraged to take their phones out for one song, which will differ for each audience, but on this occasion it was Barry Manilow’s ‘I Made it Through the Rain’. It would be impossible to call spoiler alert on this show.

When I spoke to Barrowman last week he said that he wasn’t sure what there was for critics to say about a show that’s about his personal life. The great thing about the artist is that his life is an open book and everything he tells his fans just brings him closer to them.

After seeing the show, he is certainly right, but what I can say is that he is a great role model for everyone from the West End’s next big leading man all the way to the small kid who is struggling to fit in but doesn’t quite know why.

His positivity and determination to see the good in life is infectious and although not performed tonight, his ability to stand up and say “I am what I am” is exactly the reason that everyone needs to go see this and really any show that he does.

Tal Fox

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Interview: JOHN BARROWMAN gets up close and personal with Seth Rudetsky and the Leicester Square Theatre audience