Sometimes you see a production, and it embodies all the things you have wanted for a play. (okay, maybe that’s just me). I have adored this musical since childhood, and have yearned to have others see how dynamic and engaging it has the capacity to be. Nicholas Hytner did it.
Staged in a dual fashion, with traditional seating in the round, but also an immersive floor option, the production quite literally creates the dynamic and bustling world of New York City. The stage is in pieces which reconfigure, moving up and down through hydraulics and what I can only imagine is the most complex stage management cue sheet known to human kind. What was truly incredible was that despite the movements, and complete awareness of the mechanics of the production, from the immersive floor space we were still able to be completely swept away in the story.
I am tempted to go again and sit in the traditional seats, to see what the moving and shifting looks like from the outside.
With all of this you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was simply technical prowess on display. Quite the opposite; every performance, and every step of choreography was pitch perfect. Brilliant re-imaginings of the classic and well loved songs, choreography which simultaneously felt of the period but wholeheartedly modern. Simply superb.
Please go to this. It is what musicals should be in 2023.