On The Town

Take a breath of fresh air with the al fresco escapism of a classic Hollywood musical staged out in the open


Here’s the third dance musical in a matter of weeks and, while on the town might not go as deep as the peerless An American in Paris nor soar to the dizzy heights of 42nd Street, it’s a lovely evening brimful of top-class choreography and more or less non-stop youthful exuberance. Richard-Barber-colour-176

Proceedings are helped in no small measure by the setting. As twilight descends and twinkling lights evoke the Coney Island fairground, there can be no better frame for Leonard Bernstein’s 1944 musical (book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green) than the Open Air Theatre in London’s Regent’s Park.

The wafer-thin plot revolves around three sailors on 24-hour shore leave in New York and determined to pack as much love and laughter into a single day as humanly possible. On the subway, Gabey (Danny Mac) spots a poster of that month’s Miss Turnstiles, Ivy Smith (Siena Kelly), from which point he’s a man on a mission to track her down. Assisted by Chip (Jacob Maynard, more than ably stepping up from the chorus for an indisposed Fred Haig) and Ozzie (likeable Samuel Edwards), the three criss-cross the Big Apple on their madcap quest.

It’s an old-fashioned piece, a bit creaky in parts, and the comedy was often too broad for my taste. But hey, the sheer verve of this production carries you irresistibly onwards. Much of that has to do with director/ choreographer Drew Mconie’s fabulous, fluid dance routines. It’s not harmed either by Peter McKintosh’s solid steel sets and Forties frocks apparently painted from a dazzling palette.

If the leading men are good – and no one is better than Strictly alumnus Danny Mac, whose strong tenor voice is one of the evening’s main surprises – they are equalled by the three leading ladies. Astonishingly, both Siena Kelly and Miriam-Teak Lee as pent-up anthropologist Claire de Loon are making their professional debuts. The more experienced Lizzy Connolly, meanwhile, is hilarious as the predatory cab driver, Hildy.

It might be a case of in one eye and out the other while, in truth, few of the numbers have become lasting standards, New York, New York being the obvious exception. But there’s no doubting the excellence of the 17-piece band under Tom Deering’s baton. So, if it’s uncomplicated, high-spirited entertainment you’re after, I can think of few better ways than putting real life on hold for a couple of hours.

On the Town is at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London NW1 until 1 July. Box office: 0844-826 4242, www.openairtheatre.com