The Jewish Legends – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

The Jewish Legends at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London. Picture: Jamie Scott-Smith

The Jewish Legends continues at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London until 12 September.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

Upstairs at the Gatehouse is housed within one of north London’s oldest establishments, the auditorium having hosted concerts, balls and jazz since 1895. It seems apt that a cabaret show centring around some of the most influential Jewish entertainers of the 20th century should feature under its watchful eye. The ghosts in the walls are certainly in for a trip down memory lane with this informative and nostalgic show, featuring several high-fliers from Jolson to Streisand and beyond.

The four performers set about their task with a great energy, warming the audience up with vaudeville impressions and some impressive vocals. Al Jolson is first under the microscope, well imitated by the versatile Martin Neely, giving his songs a good blend of vulnerability and showbiz facade, especially in the yearning ballad ‘Mammy’.

Whizzing through the generations, we catch glimpses of Sophie Tucker (Joanna Lee must be applauded for her indulgently passionate rendition of ‘My Yiddishe Momme’), Fanny Brice, Groucho Marx and Zero Mostel, bringing the Act I to a close with a beautifully arranged version of ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ from Fiddler On the Roof.

Our band for the night resides onstage and underscores large parts of the dialogue, often with a subtle grace and only occasionally with adversely comic indulgence – a little too heavy on the pathos during an otherwise poignant moment. Arrangements are wonderfully adapted for piano, percussion and strings, and support the vocals as a full band might have.

Act II brings us what we have been waiting for – Streisand. Molly Marie Walsh’s comic skill shines through during her moments as the ‘Funny Girl’ Fanny Brice, as played by Streisand, taking to Stewart Nicholls’ minimalist choreography with a great sense of fun, before Lee takes our hearts again with the impassioned ‘Where is It Written?’ from Yentl.

Our Act II is certainly the more exciting of the two, with Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Burt Bacharach and even a Tom Jones cameo making its way into the proceedings. Highlights include a beautiful four part arrangement of ‘The Rose’ in which the warmth between the cast is palpable, and a great version of Bacharach’s ‘Walk On By’ – though perhaps the anecdotes preceding Walsh’s searing version of  ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’ might have become a little too heavy for the otherwise lighthearted evening.

The unfortunate barrier for all performers is the burden of the script. Informative, well-researched and love-laboured as it is, the dialogue is far too dense and without enough personality – which means the actors are constantly battling to impose their own characters upon it and sustain the energy once their singing has died down.

Although attempts have been made to emulate a cabaret after-hours gossip session, a la Side By Side By Sondheim, the majority of the text is more akin to a lecture than a dynamic performance, with the exception of a few witty asides, and compelling anecdotes (Zero Mostel’s on/off feud with Jerome Robbins being one) but the performers do a good job of unpicking the dialogue and delivering it well.

It is clear that the cast relishes every note they are given, and for that, if nothing else, the show is worth a watch, and guarantees a pleasant evening in the company of history’s finest Jewish performers.

Aura Simon

www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com