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'''Top Hat, the Musical''' is a 2011 stage [[musical theatre|musical]] based on the [[Top Hat|1935 film of the same name]], featuring music and lyrics by [[Irving Berlin]] with additional orchestration by Chris Walker. The show opened on 16 August 2011 at the [[Milton Keynes Theatre]], touring the [[United Kingdom]] before moving to the [[Aldwych Theatre]] in [[London]]'s [[West End theatre|West End]]. ''Top Hat'' won multiple [[2013 Laurence Olivier Awards]] after receiving seven nominations. The musical closed in [[London]] on 26 October 2013, with plans to tour the UK again in 2014.
'''Top Hat, the Musical''' is a 2011 stage [[musical theatre|musical]] based on the [[Top Hat|1935 film of the same name]], featuring music and lyrics by [[Irving Berlin]] with additional orchestration by Chris Walker. The show opened on 16 August 2011 at the [[Milton Keynes Theatre]], touring the [[United Kingdom]] before transferring to the [[Aldwych Theatre]] in [[London]]'s [[West End theatre|West End]]. ''Top Hat'' won multiple [[2013 Laurence Olivier Awards]] after receiving seven nominations. The musical closed in [[London]] on 26 October 2013, with plans to tour the UK again in 2014.


==Background==
==Background==

Revision as of 17:45, 3 November 2013

Top Hat
Advertising poster for the original West End cast at the Aldwych Theatre, London
MusicIrving Berlin
LyricsIrving Berlin
BookDwight Taylor/Allan Scott
(original screenplay)
Matthew White/Howard Jacques
(adaptation)
BasisRKOs film musical Top Hat
Premiere16 August 2011 (2011-08-16): Milton Keynes Theatre
Productions2011 - UK tour
2012 - West End
AwardsLaurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical

Top Hat, the Musical is a 2011 stage musical based on the 1935 film of the same name, featuring music and lyrics by Irving Berlin with additional orchestration by Chris Walker. The show opened on 16 August 2011 at the Milton Keynes Theatre, touring the United Kingdom before transferring to the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End. Top Hat won multiple 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards after receiving seven nominations. The musical closed in London on 26 October 2013, with plans to tour the UK again in 2014.

Background

The musical is based on the 1935 film of the same name,[1] with music by Irving Berlin.[2] It took the shows producer Kenny Wax sixteen months to get the rights from Irving Berlin's estate to transform the movie into a stage musical.[3] A first read through of the adapted script was held at Sadler's Wells[4] in November 2010,[5] and it was performed for the first time seventy six years after the original film.[6] The show features fourteen songs by Berlin, six more songs than the original production.[6] Featuring a cast of thirty one,[2] the production was adapted from the original screenplay by Matthew White and Howard Jacques.[7] The show is directed by Matthew White, with choreography by Bill Deamer,[8] set designs by Hildegard Bechtler, costume design by Jon Morrell, lighting design by Peter Mumford, sound design by Gareth Owen, new orchestrations by Chris Walker, and musical supervision by Richard Balcombe.[9]

Producers for the original tour and West End production originally approached Anton du Beke to play the male lead of Jerry Travers[10] before appointing Strictly Come Dancing winner Tom Chambers[11] to play the role originated by Fred Astaire.[10] During the competition Chambers was compared to Astaire[3] and was described as a hero of Chambers.[12] Astaire's daughter was in the audience for the shows opening night in London, and described Chambers as "wonderful" going on to say "There will always be comparisons, but what this show has done is bring a version to the world to see for the future".[13] Two of Irving Berlin's daughters described the show as "a beautiful production" and that "it could definitely give new life to these songs and to Top Hat for a younger generation"[14]

Production history

File:Aldwych Theatre 2013.jpg
Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre

The show received its world premiere[2] on 16 August 2011,[15][16] at the Milton Keynes Theatre at the start of a 17 week UK tour,[2] stopping in Birmingham, Southampton, Salford, Plymouth, Norwich, Canterbury, Edinburgh and Leeds.[17] The original cast included Summer Strallen as Dale Tremont, Tom Chambers as Jerry Tavers, Martin Ball as Horace, Vivien Parry as Madge Hardwick, Ricardo Alfonso as Alberto Beddini and Stephen Boswell as Bates.[18][19] An additional pre-West End tour took place in the spring of 2012, playing at the New Victoria Theatre Woking, 13–17 March 2012 and the Bristol Hippodrome, 21 – 31 March.[20]

The production then transferred to the West End's Aldwych Theatre on 19 April 2012, with the opening night on 9 May[21] and had an initial booking period until the end of January 2013.[22] Actress Charlotte Gooch took over the role of Dale Tremont in November 2012[23] and on 5 February 2013, Gavin Lee took over the role of Jerry,[24] Broadway star Kristen Beth Williams[25] took over as Dale,[26] Clive Hayward as Horace and Alex Gaumond as Alberto.[27] One final cast change took place following Alex Gaumond leaving to become Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical,[28] Russell-Leighton Dixon previously understudy of the role[19] took over as Alberto.[29] Despite initially extending the show's run until April 2014,[30] the production closed on 26 October 2013,[31] with plans to launch a new UK tour for the 2014-15 theatre season.[32]

Music

Musical numbers

The performance runs 2hrs 45mins, including one interval.[15]

Cast album

Featuring 18 tracks from the London production of Top Hat,[33] the cast album was released by First Night Records[34] on 27 August 2012.[19]

Untitled
No.TitleLength
1."Overture"2:50
2."Puttin' On the Ritz"2:59
3."No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)"2:53
4."No Strings (Reprise)"1:31
5."I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket"2:08
6."Isn't This a Lovely Day (To Be Caught in the Rain)?"3:44
7."You're Easy to Dance With"2:59
8."What Is Love?"2:02
9."Top Hat, White Tie and Tails"3:46
10."The Piccolino"2:36
11."Wild About You"2:30
12."Cheek to Cheek"4:26
13."Better Luck Next Time"3:03
14."Latins Know How"2:29
15."Let's Face the Music and Dance"2:57
16."Outside of That, I Love You"3:09
17."I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket (Reprise)"1:24
18."Finale"1:46

Principal roles and cast members

The show features a cast of thirty one and a fifteen member band.[35]

Main characters Original West End actor
Jerry Travers Tom Chambers
Dale Tremont Summer Strallen
Horace Hardwick Martin Ball
Madge Hardwick Vivien Parry
Alberto Beddini Ricardo Alfonso
Bates Stephen Boswell

Critical reception

After its World premiere, and several successful plays, the “Top Hat” musical started receiving several reviews coming from different theatre critics and newspapers. The majority of the critics appreciated the spectacle but agreed that the plot was weak “The plot, for want of a better word, doesn't bear too much close inspection” Christopher Hart from the Sunday Times[36]) and received criticism for its length: “The second half could be cut down by a good 15 minutes“ Exeunt magazine said.[37]

Michael Billington from the Guardian said “The evening can be quickly summed up as "great songs, daft book".[38] Paul Taylor, from the Independent, also gave his critical opinion, saying that “The producers of this irresistible show, a freely adapted version of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie, don't subscribe to the precept of deferred gratification”.[39] In the Standard newspaper, their critic, Henry Hitchings, referred to the show as “a bit slow hitting its stride”.[40]

Critics also acknowledged its qualities, with Zoe Craig from the Londonist describing it as “pure, fun, cheery escapist entertainment”[41] whilst Hildegard Bechtler's set design and Bill Deamer’s choreography received praise “This clever collaboration is clearly evident in every scene transition as the cast dance and interact with the set, making the whole changeover seem like a fluid part of the story[42]” by BestOfTheatre.

Awards and nominations

Despite its mixed reception from critics, Top Hat won the Best Night Out award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2012,[43] won the 2013 Olivier Award[44] for Best New Musical, Best Choreographer (Bill Deamer) and Best Costume Design (Jon Morrell).[45] The show was also nominated for five Whatsonstage.com Awards.[46]

Original London production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2012 Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Night Out Won[43]
2013 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Musical[47] Won[48]
Best Actor in a Musical Tom Chambers[47] Nominated[48]
Best Actress in a Musical Summer Strallen[47] Nominated[48]
Best Set Design Hildegard Bechtler[47] Nominated[48]
Best Sound Design Gareth Owen[47] Nominated[48]
Best Costume Design Jon Morrell[47] Won[48]
Best Choreographer Bill Deamer[47] Won[48]
Whatsonstage.com Awards Best New Musical[46] Nominated[49]
Best Actor in a Musical Tom Chambers[46] Nominated[49]
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Ricardo Afonso[46] Nominated[49]
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical Vivien Parry[46] Nominated[49]
Best Choreographer Bill Deamer[46] Nominated[49]

References

  1. ^ "This week's new theatre and dance". theguardian.com. The Guardian. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Milton Keynes Theatre to stage Top Hat world premiere". bbc.co.uk/news. BBC News. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Tom Chambers takes classic Astaire role in Top Hat musical". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Manchester Evening News. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Top Hat". Top Hat World Premier Production Programme: p21. 2011. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "Top Hat". Top Hat World Premier Production Programme: p8. 2011. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b "Top hat! Return to the golden age of the musical". independent.co.uk. The Independent. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Olivier Award-Winning Top Hat to Shutter at West End's Aldwych Theatre in October; New U.K. Tour to Follow". playbill.com. Playbill. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen to star in Top Hat". thestage.co.uk. The Stage. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  9. ^ "LAST CHANCE TO SEE THREE TIMES OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION TOP HAT". tophatonstage.com. Top Hat (musical). Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  10. ^ a b "A stroppy co-star, first-night nerves and the terror of stepping into Fred Astaire's dancing shoes: Twinkletoes Tom Chamber confides in Petronella Wyatt". dailymail.co.uk. Daily Mail. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  11. ^ "Taking on the role of Fred Astaire in Broadway classic Top Hat is 'a dream come true', says Strictly star Tom Chambers". dailyrecord.co.uk. Daily Record. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Chambers takes the long route to finally walk in footsteps of his hero Fred Astaire". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  13. ^ "Top Hat: Fred Astaire's daughter praises Tom Chambers role in musical". bbc.co.uk/news. BBC News. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  14. ^ "Hats off to Tom and Summer, says Fred Astaire's daughter". standard.co.uk. London Evening Standard. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d "Top Hat". Top Hat World Premier Production Programme: p17. 2011. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ "Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen Led TOP HAT Opens 8/16". broadwayworld.com. Broadway World. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Top Hat". Top Hat World Premier Production Programme: p34. 2011. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ "Musicals Cast: Full London Tenor, Top Hat Tour". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  19. ^ a b c "Top Hat". Top Hat World Premier Production Programme: p18. 2011. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) Cite error: The named reference "Cast" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  20. ^ "Pre-West-End Performances of TOP HAT Begin Tonight". broadwayworld.com/westend. Broadway World. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  21. ^ "Top Hat to transfer into the West End next April". thestage.co.uk. The Stage. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Top Hat Comes to West End's Aldwych After Tour, 19 Apr". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  23. ^ "Top Hat cast changes Charlotte Gooch & Gavin Lee". londontheatre.co.uk. London Theatre. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  24. ^ "Gavin Lee to Join West End's Top Hat; Charlotte Gooch Also Takes Over". playbill.com. Playbill. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  25. ^ "Kristen Beth Williams, Alex Gaumond and Clive Hayward Will Join Gavin Lee in West End's Top Hat". playbill.com. Playbilll. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Nice Work's Kristen Beth Williams to Romance Gavin Lee as New Star of the West End's Top Hat". london.broadway.com. Broadway.Com. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  27. ^ "Top Hat cast changes at the Aldwych Theatre from 5 Feb". londontheatre.co.uk. London Theatre. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  28. ^ "Alex Gaumond and Kay Murphy join Matilda cast from September". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  29. ^ "Cast & Creative". tophatonstage.com. Top Hat (musical). Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  30. ^ "Top Hat extends its booking period to 26 April 2014". londontheatre.co.uk. London Theatre. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  31. ^ "Top Hat confirms October closure at Aldwych". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  32. ^ TOP HAT to Close at Aldwych Theatre on October 26 Retrieved 21 June 2013
  33. ^ "Sneak Preview West End's TOP HAT Cast Album Streams on Facebook!". broadwayworld.com. Broadway World. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  34. ^ "London Cast Recordings of Singin' in the Rain and Top Hat to Be Released; Track Listings Announced". playbill.com. Playbill. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  35. ^ "OVER 180,000 NEW TICKETS RELEASED FOR WEST END'S TOP HAT". tophatonstage.com. Top Hat. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  36. ^ Top Hat, Aldwych | The Sunday Times
  37. ^ Review of Top Hat at Aldwych Theatre | Exeunt Magazine
  38. ^ Top Hat - review | Stage | theguardian.com
  39. ^ Top Hat, Aldwych Theatre, London WC2 - Reviews - Theatre & Dance - The Independent
  40. ^ Top Hat, Aldwych - review - Theatre - Going Out - London Evening Standard
  41. ^ Theatre Review: Top Hat @ The Aldwych Theatre | Londonist
  42. ^ Top Hat Review - Best of Theatre News
  43. ^ a b "Top Hat wins Best Night Out title in Evening Standard Theatre Awards". standard.co.uk. London Evening Standard. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  44. ^ Hats off to Best New Musical – Laurence Olivier Awards
  45. ^ "Oliviers: Mirren crowned best actress, Curious Incident wins seven". bbc.co.uk/news. BBC News. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  46. ^ a b c d e f "Whitney Houston musical, The Bodyguard, up for six Whatsonstage.com awards". telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  47. ^ a b c d e f g "Olivier awards 2013 full nomination". theguardian.com. The Guardian. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  48. ^ a b c d e f g "Olivier Awards 2013: The results in full". telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  49. ^ a b c d e "Full list: Winners announced of the 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 17 February 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
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