Tag Archives: Tom Chambers

“White Christmas” at the Dominion Theatre

Christmas has come early to the Dominion Theatre, with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas up and running with plenty of ho, ho, ho. Anyone with even the smallest tendency to bah humbug should look away now; the show is unapologetically sentimental and nostalgic. After all, this is the time of year we can all embrace clichés comfortably and the 1954 film the show is adapted from is one of those very clichés.

The story, for what it’s worth, sees former soldiers Bob and Phil, now successful Broadway stars, saving their old general’s hotel by – you’ve guessed it – putting on a show. It helps that the receptionist at the inn is a Mermanesque singer and that the general’s granddaughter is a budding performer. The proceedings cement Bob and Phil’s relationships with two other performers, siblings Betty and Judy, and serve as a framework for many a hit tune: Blue Skies, I Love A Piano, Let Yourself Go and, for Betty and Judy of course, Sisters.

White Christmas has already toured successfully, so it runs very smoothly indeed, but it’s a perfect fit for the West End. And it’s nice to be back in the grand space of the Dominion after many years away. It was the home of We Will Rock You (which, for the record, I didn’t think was that bad) and the shows are as camp and silly as each other.

Taking the lead roles are Aled Jones and Tom Chambers, capably joined by Rachel Stanley and Louise Bowden as their love interests. Wendi Peters has a gift of a role as Martha and seems very happy with it, belting out the numbers with aplomb. Jones doesn’t seem all that comfortable on stage. It’s a shame he can’t do much with the comedy in the piece, but he’s really there to sing and you can’t fault him there. Chambers is more impressive, looking great and dancing very well indeed – it strikes me he had an unfair advantage on Strictly, he’s a real pro.

It’s the dancing in the piece that really makes White Christmas worth seeing. Aided by a fine orchestra with a big band feel and making the most of a large ensemble, choreographer Randy Skinner makes the show feel value for money and something to leave the TV for over Christmas. Seasonal appeal lets the production get away with a lot of schmaltz, but there’s just enough of a story to keep you going and plenty to dazzle, right up to a climax, which includes a whatever the collective noun should be for silly jumpers.

Until 3 January 2015

www.whitechristmasmusical.co.uk

“Top Hat” at the Aldwych Theatre

Few people love their jobs like the character Jerry Travers in Top Hat. A Broadway star who can’t stop performing, on stage or off, he is lucky enough to check into the Hotel Excelsior, where the staff start dancing at a moment’s notice and where he meets the love of his life. Fortunately, she likes dancing too. It’s hard not to enjoy this enthusiastic adaptation of the classic film, famous for Irving Berlin’s songs and the performances of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It’s great fun, with a plot so daft it takes us back to the farces the Aldwych Theatre is famous for.

In the lead role Tom Chambers, of Strictly Come Dancing fame, deserves credit for propelling the show and showing off his skills. He’s slightly upstaged by his love interest, played by Summer Strallen: not just because of her gorgeous dresses but also, as a line cribbed from Ginger points out, because she does everything Chambers does “backwards and in heels”. Strallen has the legs for a role like this, has clearly been practising her back bends, and with her sweet voice gives a heavenly performance. Together, Strallen and Chambers make a likeable couple and are convincingly glamorous in Hildegard Bechtler’s stylish set. Their courtship by tap dance is delightful and the big numbers such as ‘Cheek to Cheek’ are real crowd-pleasers.

Director Matthew White makes the most of the gentle comedy on offer from the secondary players. Martin Bell plays a theatre producer and Vivien Parry his wife with a comic panache that’s remarkable given the age and standard of the jokes they have to deliver. Stephen Boswell is superb as their butler Bates and Ricardo Alfonso gives a tremendous performance with actually quite a weak number. A lot of the show’s undoubted success comes from sheer momentum – it’s relentlessly upbeat and determined to entertain, and hardly anyone stops smiling the whole way through. Including the audience.

Until 27 April 2014

Photo by Alaistair Muir

Written 11 May 2012 for The London Magazine