Thoroughly Modern Millie

It’s unusual for a show to almost open with its best number but Joanne Clifton certainly makes the very most of it and within minutes has earned her right to be there. The girl can certainly sing and dance, although the constant references to her winning Strictly Come Dancing do grate after a while. The entire cast are equally accomplished and there are moments when the stage is bursting with energy. Racky Plews directs and choreographs and the dance routines are exciting and vibrant. Sam Barrett makes an excellent Jimmy and has a fine voice, Lucas Rush is sinister as Mrs Meers, Jenny Fitzpatrick rocks the room with her storming numbers as Mussy Van Hossmere and Katherine Glover exudes simple charm and has the purest of voices as Miss Dorothy Brown. All this should add up to a ripping evening of song and dance – and in many ways it does, it is throughly enjoyable, but at time it just lacks a little pace, not in the numbers but in the connective tissue of the piece. That may sound cruel but I simply wanted it to rock along as well as it does in the later scenes when Graham MacDuff steals the stage with his fine voice and comic timing, I’ve never seen a funnier drunk. The set is pretty good although having all the action take place on a parapet of the Chrysler Building is perhaps too obvious and that choice could perhaps be better served by some more atmospheric lighting. All in all though this is a fun evening of musical theatre served well by a fine cast.

Theatre Royal Brighton

5 April

Andrew Kay

4 stars