Jerry’s Girls, Menier Chocolate Factory Review
Cassidy Janson, Jessica Martin and Julie Yammanee - credit Tristram KentonWritten by Penny for Theatre and Tonic.
Disclaimer: Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review. All views are my own.
Jerry Herman was the composer and lyricist for the classic American musicals which provided career-defining roles to some iconic women including Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters and Barbra Streisand.
A celebration of Herman’s work, including his well known and well loved showstoppers as well as some lesser known songs and two new compositions, Jerry’s Girls is a musical revue that Herman put together alongside Larry Alford and Wayne Cilento. With a critically acclaimed run of La Cage Aux Folles at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre last summer and the much anticipated production of Hello Dolly starring Imelda Staunton coming to the London Palladium very soon, the timing feels right to revisit Herman’s back catalogue.
As the show starts we are backstage in a dressing room. Before the lights go down, the three performers are on stage chatting, stretching, running through final vocal warm ups and even sneaking a quick cigarette. Three dressing tables, complete with the obligatory lights around the “mirror”, stand in front of rails of costumes. As the show progresses, the action moves from the dressing room to on stage, with shiny red curtains coming in for the trio to use as their backdrop for the show’s more up tempo numbers. Paul Farnsworth’s design is simple but very effective in creating a picture of life behind the curtain.
Although there is no scripted dialogue, Director Hannah Chissick has brought out three distinct characters, telling their stories through Herman’s songs. From their interactions we can see the friendship, rivalry, bickering and overall the strong sisterly bond between the three women, sorry, the three “girls” (it’s a slightly dated title for the show under our modern gaze). Transitions from backstage to on stage were handled well and I liked seeing the actors “waiting in the wings” to watch a soloist in action.
Accompanied by a six piece band, under Musical Supervisor Sarah Travis, the sound is incredible and perfectly balanced with the singers. It offers a beautiful accompaniment to Herman’s melodies, belying its size to raise the roof through the fabulous brass and reed section during Hello Dolly. The actors stand and watch the band playing, and the room is most definitely swaying as the musicians soar in this old favourite song from way back when.
I wasn’t so keen on the comedy voices put on for some of the arguably weaker songs, it felt like they were over-compensating for the material, but the singing is mostly glorious and at its best when the three sing some of Herman’s best known tunes straight out front to the audience in close and perfect harmony. This brings the light and shade that is slightly lacking in a lot of the lesser known songs.
A lot of the show’s success relies on the performers. With the combination of Cassidy Janson, Jessica Martin and Julie Yammanee, we’ve struck gold. As well as blending perfectly in their harmonic trios and bouncing off each other in the comedy numbers, each has a chance to shine as a soloist. Martin is superb, moving from comedy to despair with a simple change of expression. Her duet with Yammanee is a stand out moment, bringing some tenderness and emotion to contrast with the big belted showstoppers. Janson shines in her renditions of some of Herman’s best loved songs, with a gorgeous vibrato that takes us into stunning crescendos for the big finish. But while her performance of some well-known songs from Mack and Mabel was a joy to listen to, the highlight of the show for me was her stunning rendition of “He Walked Into My Life” from Mame.
The show ends with a musical roll call of the huge stars who are amongst Jerry’s girls – a who’s who of the most iconic female musical theatre performers. The trio take their own bow as a part of this illustrious group and also name check the all-female band whose incredible sound plays a huge part in the show. The whole evening is a treat for fans of Jerry Herman, romping through all of his best-loved tunes and maybe introducing a new favourite or two into the mix.
Jerry’s Girls runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory until Saturday 29th June 2024. Find out more and book tickets here.
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