Creditably, it doesn’t shy away from the morally complex, painful central issue. The cyclical nature of the storytelling is an excellent touch that pays genuine emotional dividends. All in all, this is an impressive soft rock score, rather superior to several of the newer musical adaptations of films currently in the West End. Only the two leads sing within the context of the story, and they’ve been given some really belty, exciting stuff to get their magnificent voices around. The lioness’s share of these songs go to Jacqueline Dankworth’s blousy but lovely older chanteuse… and any show that starts off with this unique, impeccable talent is off on a winning streak, to employ a gambling metaphor (sorry, just had to), and her second act rendition of the melancholic, bittersweet paean to Atlantic City, is a real standout. Structurally, it’s nearer to a play with melodic interludes than a traditional musical, most of Schlosberg and Conley’s attractive songs being presented as the numbers performed in the cabaret lounge at the boardwalk casino where Rebecca works and Jonny sometimes sings. The attempt then of entrepreneur and all-round moneybags Larry (Ako Mitchell, vocally exciting but lacking the requisite suave charisma) to put their union asunder feels particularly obscene. We also see very early on how much they are struggling financially.įurthermore, Rebecca, in Connolly’s terrific performance – witty and nuanced – has agency, intelligence and integrity, and is categorically not a victim of masculine machinations. Perhaps the musical’s strongest suit is that it establishes swiftly and strongly just how much Lizzy Connolly’s luminous Rebecca and Norman Bowman’s moving, would-be songwriter Jonny love each other, how high the stakes are for them (they both left other partners, and in her case, a life of considerable luxury) and how highly regarded they both are in their Atlantic City community. The title could put people off, but what has landed on the Southwark stage, under the sure and sensitive hand of director Charlotte Westenra, is rather more intelligent and careful than one might have expected. The central premise – obscenely wealthy man offers a financially straitened couple $1 million if the wife will spend the night with him – remains deeply icky, but book writer Conley has taken multiple liberties with the original story and characters, and added layers of interest. And, furthermore, they’ve gone for the original novel rather than the Robert Redford-Demi Moore Hollywood treatment that followed it. Unlike the critically mauled Broadway tuner over at the Savoy, however, Michael Conley and Dylan Schlosberg’s tangy and surprising chamber musical is only “inspired” by, as opposed to slavishly following, its source material. “I had a really good time tonight” – actually no, not a line from Pretty Woman: this is from this new stage adaptation of an equally problematic slice of late-twentieth-century ‘romantic’ storytelling. Southwark Playhouse, London – until 27 November 2021
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