Anyone Can Whistle – Jermyn St Theatre, London

Writer: Steven Sondheim/Arthur Laurents

Director: Tom Littler

Reviewer: Leon Paul

The Public Reviews Rating:

A wonderful Actor/Musician ensemble cast performs Primavera Production’s revival of Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle. The show, which when it first opened in New York in 1964 closed after only nine performances, seems to have improved with age – at least for this reviewer…

The story has parallels – discussed eloquently by director Tom Littler in his programme notes – with several of Brecht’s oeuvres, and sees the start of Sondheim’s exploration of the complexities of love, somewhat more awkwardly than the later ‘A Little Night Music’ which also enjoyed a London revival recently.

The parallels didn’t end there, as the cast included Alistair Robins as the cold, calculating and egomaniacal Comptroller Schub, and had echoes of ‘Send In The Clowns’ with Fay Apple (played and sung expertly by Rosalie Craig) sitting on the edge of a bed singing the song after which the show is named.

Ms Craig’s vocal skill is impeccable. She has moments of brilliance reminiscent at times of Barbra Streisand and Bernadette Peters, and alters her vocal timbre according to the repression of her character throughout often giving me goose bumps. David Ricardo-Pearce’s J Bowden Hapgood is strongest in the dramatic moments, but unfortunately lacked the vocal clarity and freedom to really inhabit the frustration of ‘Everybody Says Don’t’.

Issy Van Randwyck gives a performance full of grace and gravitas as the Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper, and allows us insight into not only the jingoism that comes with high office, but also the sadness and loneliness that must often accompany it. Her matriarchal rule is reminiscent of the grit and determination shown by Ethel Merman’s character in Call Me Madam, to make the best of the hand she has been dealt. Although rather being awash with the stuff, she’s desperate for money!

Leo Andrew and Karl Moffatt play the snivelling, mercenary Treasurer Cooley and Chief of Police Magruder respectively, and handle Alice Jackson’s light and often comic choreography beautifully, tap dancing in storm trooper uniforms in a delightfully Brooks/Producers fashion.

Morgan Large’s design made the most of a fairly rigid space with a versatile set fully equipped with hidden compartments.

The ensemble members of cast all showed their excellence in a facet of performance that seems to be less celebrated in recent years – versatility. Each and every one of them has it in spades. They all sang, danced (Sophie Jugé’s beautiful pointe-work deserves special mention), played numerous instruments, and played a multitude of characters all with sensitivity and eloquence.

This production is certainly a strong addition to Primavera’s already strong canon and is a pleasing night at one of London’s most intimate theatres.