Live at Lola’s – new concert series at the London Hippodrome.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Take a handful of dependably brilliant West End stars, stick them in a glitzy venue with a competent musical director behind the piano, then collect the money from the hundreds who will inevitably want to come watch. It sure sounds like less work than putting on a traditional book musical. An evergreen business model for London producers. Fortunately, New Frame Productions and Wild Mountain Productions seem less cynical than all that and have clearly created their new Live at Lola’s concert series with a passion for making the night as delightfully memorable as possible.
The USP of Live at Lola’s is the spotlight given to the between-song banter. That’s not to say the music isn’t wonderful – over the course of the night we hear stunning renditions of tunes from Ain’t Misbehavin’, In The Heights, and many more crowd-pleasing hits – but what separates this show from many others like it is the sparkling chemistry between the performers. Finding four musical theatre talents is one thing and finding four talents who are charming and offer good chat is even harder, but it is a work of programming brilliance to find four personalities who are all genuinely good at listening to and feeding off the energy of their co-stars. It is to this chemistry that the evening owes its success.
Our host for the evening is Greg Barnett, a familiar face from many West End productions, as well as television roles including Jesus: His Life, Undercover and Fleabag. Tonight, he proves himself to be an able singer and professional host, but crucially not afraid to embrace the madness of a live event featuring four joyfully freewheeling artists. This inaugural cast is comprised of Christine Allado (In The Heights, Hamilton), Carly Mercedes Dyer (Anything Goes, Hadestown), Hadley Fraser (Young Frankenstein, Les Misérables) and Isaac Hesketh (Legally Blonde, Rent). Between moments of group chat and audience questions, they are each given a chance in the spotlight to show off their incredible vocal talents.
Possibly my favourite song choices came from Fraser, who treated us to ‘Moving Too Fast’ from The Last Five Years and the title song from Anyone Can Whistle. Both were beautifully performed and surprisingly emotional. The latter even benefited from some jazzy crooner inflections, which could so easily have derailed a Sondheim number coming from a less adept performer. I have long been a huge fan of Carly Mercedes Dyer, and it was an absolute treat to hear uproarious stories from her time in Anything Goes and Hadestown. I was won over by her talents yet again with her stunning rendition of ‘Music and the Mirror’ from A Chorus Line. She truly is the future of the West End and beyond.
Isaac Hesketh had the audience in fits of laughter with their stories and interjections, but we were all nearly brought to tears when they performed ‘Part of Your World’ from A Little Mermaid – a song very dear to them and performed from the heart. Allado rounded off the cast by perfectly understanding the assignment of oversharing then tearing the roof off vocally. Not only did she give us legit soprano magnificence with ‘Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man’ from Show Boat, but she seamlessly switched to her thrilling modern pop belt with ‘It Won’t Be Long Now’ from In The Heights. At the end of the evening, she teamed up with a guitar-toting Fraser for a brilliant duet of ‘Shallow’ from A Star is Born, during which she took her remarkable voice to yet loftier heights.
Throughout, musical director Chris Hatt proved himself to be a fantastic asset to the production. Given his day job at Hamilton, he was clearly comfortable working with Allado, but his musical chemistry with all performers was impeccable. His piano arrangements sounded full and at no point was a full orchestra missed. The venue’s sound system and technician obviously played a part in this too, but Hatt deserved great credit for the energy with which he infused every number.
However wonderful the musical numbers – and they were wonderful – a lot of the memories made were of the stories and new in-jokes. Though all consummate professionals, each of member of the cast was very comfortable sharing personal and embarrassing stories, drawing us into their world of showbusiness and setting a remarkably warm and welcoming tone, quite at odds with the hectic casino environment upstairs.
Crucially, at no point during the show’s 90 minutes did the gang overstay their welcome. There did come a moment about two-thirds of the way through where Barnett received a message reminding him (I assume) of the time constraints on the show. From this point forward, proceedings did feel slightly rushed and chaotic, though this was all managed with good humour. A quiz section had to be whizzed through at lightning speed and I’m sure a couple of musical numbers got cut. Still, wanting an entertaining evening to last even longer is far from the worst criticism.
Live at Lola’s is a treat of a show that I hope will become a West End fixture, hopefully with line-ups just as strong as at this inaugural night. With tickets starting at £27.50 (prices go up for tables at the front), it is up against some strong competition in the West End. However, not every night needs to be an enormous book musical, and this show gets that elusive low pressure fun vibe just right with its blend of art and laughs. A stagey good time is guaranteed.
Ian Bowkett
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