When we think of Top Hat the memories triggered are those of the RKO movie from 1935 and the effortless elegance of Astaire and Rogers ‘dancing cheek to cheek.’ But there was also a stage adaptation a decade or so ago that did well in London, and here is it is given a sparkling revival steered by the same original choreographer, Kathleen Marshall.
Anyone who saw what she did with Anything Goes will know her style generates huge cumulative energy with original dance steps, while also demonstrating massive respect for period style. This show too has an authentic Thirties vibe while giving full rein to the improvisatory skills of its leads. It is wonderful fun, and a grand team effort from everyone in the cast, creative team and band; but it does not quite gel to the same extent as the Cole Porter.
It would be easy to blame the thinnish plot which rests on an elaborately protracted series of mistaken identities, but that would be wrong – after all most musicals rest on gossamer dramaturgy. Nor is there anything amiss with the music – far from it. Various additional Berlin numbers have been added to the score, and they are gems, everyone of them, and fully integrated into the action. Rather the pace just sags a little at points in the first half, when the tired banter in some of the original dialogue drains energy away. Respect for period authenticity is an excellent virtue, but that generosity should not extend to flat jokes and this is something that an updated and snappier script could and should easily resolve ahead of any future transfer to London.
The infrastructure of this show is, however, rock solid. From the moment the ensemble take to the stage for ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ you know you can relax into an evening of torrential tap and technical prowess, while also allowing scope for individual characterisation too, something of a Marshall trademark. The thrust stage at Chichester is ideal for these routines, and the excellently flexible, Deco-inspired sets by Peter McKintosh strike the right balance between nimble, quick-change slickness and lush interior details. Here a central revolve is crucial in spinning us from New York to London and thence to Venice with no glitches along the way.
Likewise, Tim Mitchell’s lighting designs intensified mood discreetly, and gave us spectacular moments of colour too, reinforcing the lavish costumes from Yvonne Milnes and Peter McKintosh. There were some dreamy tableaus, especially and appropriately enough in Venice. The band, led with panache by Stephen Ridley, was well balanced behind the set, and it was a treat to have some lush string lines for Berlin’s long-breathed melodies, as well as the standard bold, brassy sound.
The leads were strong in their own ways, but the chemistry between them was not always apparent. Phillip Attmore, as Jerry Travers, is a superb tap dancer and we saw plenty of examples of his astonishing dexterity, each time going further than you thought possible. He also has a more than passable voice and a gift for comic acting that was slightly underused. His rapport with Lucy St Louis on the dance floor was very fine in routines that evoked the film, but in some ways went beyond it in balletic flair. However, I never quite believed in their relationship in more prosaic settings where you did not sense St Louis fully inhabiting the role of Dale Tremont and her personal journey from irritated, sleepless hotel guest through to spacious grand romance.
There were no problems though with the excellent supporting cast. Alex Gibson-Giorgio was superb as the frustrated Italian fashion designer, Beddini, stealing most scenes he was in, and making you wish he had rather more to sing than just the hilarious number ‘Latins Know How.’ Clive Carter and Sally Ann Triplett squabbled and reconciled memorably as the secondary couple and main foils, Horace and Madge, and James Clyde dryly embodied the butler, Bates, a much-put-upon plot-enabler, in the manner of Jeeves.
All-in-all, this is an effervescent, thoroughly enjoyable show that sends you toe-tapping back towards Chichester station with that uplifting sense of suddenly enhanced possibilities in life that any fine musical production should.
Words and Music by Irving Berlin, adapted by Matthew White and Howard Jacques
Director and Choreographer: Kathleen Marshall
Musical Director: Stephen Ridley
Cast includes: Phillip Attmore, Clive Carter, James Clyde, Alex Gibson-Giorgio, Lucy St Louis, Sally Ann Triplett
Until 6 September 2025
2 hrs 40 mins with interval
Photo Credit: Johan Persson