Top Hat

I'm really not sure it is possible to watch a tap number and not smile and this show left me grinning from ear to ear. Based on the RKO movie of the same name which starred Fred and Ginger and contained so many fabulous songs, this musical is a joyous, lightweight piece of stage magic. Remembered by those of my generation as a wet afternoon film (probably a Sunday, Saturday was for Westerns) I have seen the dance routines far more often than the actual film as they are seminal pieces of Fred and Ginger and have often appeared on TV. I was certainly not disappointed with these versions.

Charlotte Gooch as Dale is absolutely fabulous and Alan Burkitt does an excellent Jerry, so true to the film but actually, I enjoyed their performances for themselves, not as imitation Fred and Ginger but as truly professional performers. Of course, with so many of the audience being Strictly Come Dancing fans it makes us all critical judges but apart from some errant thumbs and mis-shaped hands I found nothing that didn't impress - fab-u-lous darlings. The set is brilliant, lighting clean and effective and the sound well balanced ... and so much perma-pleat and bias-cut in the costumes brought a tear to my eye. 

In truth I found little to criticise ... actually, nothing ... this is just a brilliant night out .... I'm still grinning!

p.s. its probably just me but "Putting on the Ritz" always puts me in mind of "Young Frankenstein" ...