Picture: Danny Kaan
Rosie: A New Musical was reviewed at the Adelphi Theatre, London.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
At the weekend, London’s Adelphi Theatre was blessed with some of most beautiful new music for the stage I have heard in a very long time. A sublime mini-orchestra (led by musical director Yshani Perinpanayagam) and an all-star cast of some of this country’s finest performers assembled to perform a one-off, semi-staged production of Rosie, a new musical by composer Chris Broom (book, music and lyrics).
Based on a true story from the Edwardian era, this play sees its protagonist Miss Rosie Boote leave her modest life in an Irish convent to become a Gaiety Girl in London’s glittering West End. There, she falls in love with the Marquis of Headfort, to the disapproval of high society.
Rosie has been in the works for over a decade, with the brilliant Lucy Thomas in the titular role from day one. We are lucky enough to have been treated to a studio cast recording already and Broom’s sumptuous score has won the show a fervent fanbase. However, if music was all we cared about we could simply stay at home, listen to Bach, and be content. This evening was a test of how the show performed as a piece of narrative theatre, directed and choreographed by Cressida Carré.
Despite being a one-off concert, the cast showed just as much dedication, professionalism and mind-boggling talent as you could ever hope for. Thomas was room-commanding throughout, and though her singing voice is of course the reason a good proportion of the crowd purchased tickets, she also proved herself a highly competent and charismatic actor. As a young star with plenty of opportunities open to her, we can only hope and pray she chooses to return to the West End again soon.
Will Callan played Rosie’s dashing love interest Geoffrey Taylour, Marquis of Headfort with charm and a powerful voice that shook the Adelphi’s rafters. The ever-brilliant Madalena Alberto did a wonderful job kicking off the show as Annie Boote, Rosie’s mother, while Santi Cohen decisively earned her rapturous applause as Young Rosie.
Fresh from their run in Hadestown, Desmonda Cathabel and Dylan Wood – potentially the best Eurydice and Orpheus combo we’ll ever see – returned as Rosie’s friend Lily Turner and her romantic distraction Stanley Roberts. The chemistry that made recent trips to the Lyric Theatre such a delight was still very much evident in their one early scene together, though Cathabel soon moved on and delivered the best song in the show: ‘I Still Believe in Love’. Her performance ass an Act I showstopper and it was only a shame we didn’t see her character more.
Despite Rosie’s stellar performances and a score full of beautiful musical moments, theatrically the show did suffer from a lack of drama. Protagonists Rosie and Geoffrey are characters almost entirely devoid of flaws and their love story almost entirely devoid of obstacle. A bit of gloss is to be expected in a musical theatre adaptation of a true story, but a polish this smooth removes a crucial sense of reality and stakes.
Rosie leaves the convent with nothing but support and understanding from the nuns. She arrives in London and immediately finds friends, accommodation and a glittering West End stage career. She instantly falls in love with a rich and handsome man and though the Edwardian nobility declare their relationship to be a scandal, they do very little about it. It is suggested that Rosie’s Irishness and Catholicism would be a major issue for the time, but neither of these potentially rich subjects are explored.
The singular stumbling block in the relationship comes when Geoffrey’s mother Lady Edith – a severe and frequently hilarious Sally Ann Triplett – deceives Rosie, claiming the Marquis has called off the engagement while off fighting in the Boer War. The geopolitics here go unquestioned, Geoffrey returns unscathed, and the situation is resolved just as soon as Rosie finishes singing her sad song. A series of stirring ballads is not quite enough: we yearn for a plot to feel stirred about.
Still, we are being transported to Edwardian England, perhaps less overt drama is appropriate. The score is the key attraction here, and though it is perhaps a bit heavy on the ballads, there are many moments of undeniable beauty. While Broom’s lyrics too rarely transcend the generic, they at least are well-crafted with no forced rhymes or prosodic dissonance to jolt us from enjoyment. Perhaps the non-specific lyrics have even been a key to its success thus far: who doesn’t love a beautiful song onto which we can project our own struggles?
As a piece of theatre, the show might need another book revision before it’s perfect. However, despite the quibbles, I will still be listening to the studio cast recording for some time to come. There is a bright future for Rosie, though it might have to be a little darker than this.
Ian Bowkett
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