To begin boldly; as a bricolage of musical theatre old and new, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels comes devilishly close to being almost perfect. With more than fleeting similarities to the grand, Broadway musicals of old, mixed with a strong infusion of modern (and indeed post-modern) witticisms and humour that keeps it tiptoeing the line between classical and contemporary throughout, Scoundrels is a supremely slick, spirited and laugh-out-loud delight of a show; one which also in the mode of, say, The Book of Mormon or Matilda the Musical, offers a new, joyful and refreshing face amongst the old guard of revivals, rehashes and re-imaginings that currently dominate the musical theatre scene.

Based on the 1988 Michael Caine/Steve Martin film of the same name, Scoundrels follows the endeavours of suave, debonair conman Lawrence (Michael Praed), who has established himself a lucrative seasonal niche as the premier mountebank on the fictional French Riviera resort of Beaumont-sur-Mer. Ably, if somewhat buffoonishly, abetted by his sidekick and corrupt chief-of-police Andre (Mark Benton), the duo win away the summers seducing and tricking millionaire widows and fortune floozies out of their riches without complication or competition. Into Lawrence’s meticulous and self-adulating world, however, arrives the bumbling, unrefined yet nevertheless effective cons and trickery of young Freddy (Noel Sullivan), quickly identified by Lawrence to be the notorious ‘Jackal’, an infamous trickster who has been hoodwinking his way across coastal France. With the town not big enough for them both, or at least in accordance with Lawrence’s hubris, the duo set about taking one another on as they set their sights on nouveau riche ‘Soap Queen’ Christine Colgate; the winner will take the spoils whilst the loser hightails it out of town.

It’s a delicious set-up, and the lampoonery that follows is ripe with elements of farce, slapstick and some inspired moments of self-reflexivity (a personal favourite being a descending balcony set piece which the characters continue to lean and act upon). For all of the show’s glitzy-glam marketing and sumptuous costume and set design creating an image of decadence and splendour, this is above all an incredibly funny farce at heart. Jeffrey Lane’s intelligent, witty book coupled with Jerry Mitchell’s slick, fluid choreography and direction create a show which is relentlessly energetic and zips about between genre and convention with complete confidence; indeed, some of the show’s finest and funniest moments are in its regular narrative U-turns and playing against audience expectation. With dashes of the likes of La Cage Aux Folles and even a soupçon of Michael Frayn in it’s mayhem, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is joyfully eccentric - from an hilarious Oklahoma hoedown when Lawrence gets himself in a little too deep with an Oil heiress through to a gloriously ludicrous extended set piece of what is essentially a German-tanged Lawrence repeatedly whipping young Freddy who is professing to be numb from the waist down as part of his con. There’s something to be said of the heartiness and nostalgic whim of so much of what makes Dirty Rotten Scoundrels so fun and funny, with the show once again capturing the zeitgeist of old and new alike in its comedy.

The quality divide between West End and touring productions continues to dissipate practically into non-existence with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, this first UK tour being easily on par with Robert Lindsay’s original London run in every respect. Peter McKintosh’ sets and Howard Harrison’s lighting are grand, lavish and, crucially, keep up with the pace and vigour of the rest of the show; it’s just all so slick. David Yazbek’s music and lyrics may be something of a mixed bag, with a handful of forgettable character numbers and ditties such as ‘What Was A Woman To Do’ and ‘Love Sneaks In’, but they improve notably in both writing and impact when supplementing the big comedy set pieces or when going high concept, such as the likes of the aforementioned ‘Ruffhousin’ Mit Shuffhausen’, ‘Oklahoma?’, the frentic wordplay and wit of 'The More We Dance' or the parodic silliness of 'Love Is My Legs'. As is true of the show as a whole, the score is at its best when being funny, but even in the quieter moments there is, in fairness, a dry sense of almost self-parody at work which keeps things nicely tongue-in-cheek

Major plaudits must be afforded the core cast, who are exquisite across-the-board. Michael Praed is in fine voice as Lawrence, and captures the character’s cocksure swagger and charm effortlessly; it is very easy to believe this is a man to whom the woman would gladly throw their riches and affections. He also tears up the stage with the more heightened moments of comedy, particularly in Act II when his character takes a somewhat more Euro-centric slant. Noel Sullivan, meanwhile, continues his progression as one of the countries most reliable, versatile and indeed surprising leading men with another great turn off the back of impressing recently in fare such as Priscilla: Queen of the Desert and Rock of Ages. His Freddy is an animated whirlwind of boyish exuberance and lampooning, charmingly rough around the edges and the perfect foil to Praed’s more gentlemanly, poised Lawrence. Sullivan, likewise, particularly comes to life in the more heightened and comedic moments with the character, which are thankfully the vast majority for Freddy.

Carley Stenson is something of the show’s revelation as the flighty, sweet-natured Christine. Indeed, she benefits from some of the shows more knowing musical numbers, and terrific writing for the character as a whole, but Stenson is ultimately the one responsible for giving such an assured, note-perfect and savvy performance, playing each beat and nuance of the ditzy young soap queen with aplomb, always knowing how and when to play alongside the joke as opposed to the obvious route of having her character be the butt of it.

Amongst the supporting roles, Mark Benton brings an affable, everyman likability and earnestness to his Andre, particularly in Act II when he gets to take the character on an amusing deviation of his own, courtesy of Geraldine Fitzgerald’s dry, world-weary socialite. Whereas the original West End production cast Andre in the light of a somewhat more dashing and roguish figure himself, Benton’s work with the character here almost certainly lends the show an extra flavour; indeed, the sight of Benton and Fitzgerald parading across the stage, scantily-clad, champagne bottles in hand and debauchery in mind, is strangely one of the most natural and human moments of the entire show. Finally, the cast cannot be applauded without noting the utterly hilarious, scene-stealing turn by Phoebe Coupe, whose brief but memorable turn as hyper-enthused Oil heiress Jolene Oakes is by parts Dolly Parton (naturally), Annie Oakley and a whole big cup of steroids and six-shooters.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels offers practically a check-list of what one would suppose an audience wants from a show of its ilk. It may not re-invent the wheel, and indeed, there may be points which to the seasoned audience member or musical theatre connoisseur the show feels a trifle familiar or even old-hat. However, as mentioned, that is almost the point of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, bandying as it does between the tropes and cliches of classical musicals and farces in order to throw that knowing wink and nudge at the audience, or indeed turn the whole thing on its head. Above all, it makes good on the core raison d’etre of musical theatre - it entertains, and in abundance. Slick, intelligent, riotously funny and boasting a dream cast who carry the show with complete charm and conviction, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is by some measure one of the freshest, most joyously entertaining evenings of musical theatre in recent memory.

Beg, borrow or con a millionaire heiress into getting yourself a ticket.

 

RATING - ★★★★★

 

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS: THE MUSICAL is running at the NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, Birmingham, from Tuesday 5 to Saturday 16 May 2015. 

CLICK HERE for more information on the show's run at the New Alexandra Theatre and to book your own tickets!

Alternatively, telephone the theatre's booking line direct on 0844 871 3011.

 

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Press tickets for this performance of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: The Musical were provided courtesy of the New Alexandra Theatre directly. The author gratefully acknowledges their generous invitation.

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here