Nice Work If You Can Get It - Upstairs at the Gatehouse

I was there for the first preview tonight. Sold out.

Before the show John announced it was 21 years to the day since the theatre hosted its first show. It was also the first ever performance of Nice Work in the UK, quite an achievement.

It’s a fun show, although I think it would have struggled in the West End. Works in this fringe type environment with an appreciative and older crowd.

The usual Gatehouse layout. Audience on two tiered sides, get there early for a good seat choice. Only four rows so you’re always going to have a close view. Band raised high on one side. Lower raised area on the other side. Simple staging and the cast bring things on and off.

I got a good central front seat. The usual danger that you’re a fraction of inch away from being tap danced on or getting hit by a flailing arm, but the cast did remarkably well in the small space, including some innovative touches.

You’re more likely to get by flying salad or cream (I had a very narrow miss).

In very good shape with only a few fluffs and a tiny bit of mic feedback. As so often in the venue, the band overpowers some of the lyrics, whilst others are crystal clear.

This is largely a jukebox musical but there is a plot (even though I heard a woman near me in the interval thinking it was just unconnected scenes). It can be a bit hard to follow as there’s a lot of people disguising themselves as others and mistaken identity (and some of the cast legitimately double up on roles too).

If you’ve seen Oh, Kay! (musical), which I caught in New York a couple of years ago, the plot is for all intent and purposes identical, even with many lines intact. Just the songs have been swapped for some of the most memorable Gershwin songs. The crowd clearly liked them, song helped by singing along and other shared helpful comments with one another.

The gun warning. There is a gun waved around but it’s never fired and only briefly in the show. The language is family friendly but there’s a lot sold on sex, including a bathtub scene, so not really one aimed at children although there were a few in the audience.

Still some things to tidy up including the odd wardrobe malfunction (I now know they wore Calvin Klein boxer shorts during prohibition).

I was very impressed by the lead Alistair So as well. Good singer and dancer who I remember from The King and I. Very easy on the eye too, clean shaven and much better than his headshots suggest. And generally a talented and hard working cast.

Running time is 2 hours 30 minutes (maybe slightly shorter if they don’t do an introduction every night). And if you’re there half an hour early queued up the stairs, you’re bound to have the cast squeeze past you as they nip in and out.

I think this has already sold well in advance as the Ovation musicals tend to do. It’s a real rarity and worth a trip if you like these traditionally styled musicals.

I believe so. It’s a professional production.

I also recall seeing the pay values advertised for a previous production by Ovation.

I thought this was sensational, topping even The Producers at the Royal Exchange as the pick of this year's festive musicals.

The glorious Gershwin music and the full ensemble numbers in an intimate setting like Upstairs at the Gatehouse was an absolute treat.

I wasn't familiar with the story but as a farcical comedy I thought it really worked, with so many great one liners and laugh-out-loud moments which just kept on coming. 2 hours 25 minutes absolutely flew by.

It's an outstanding cast. Charlotte Scally is a riot as the high-pitched interpretative dance queen Eileen Evergreen, her bathtub scene singing 'Delishious' a particular highlight.

There's some lovely interplay between Abigail Earnshaw and Fraser Fraser as the social climber Jeannie and the dim-witted Duke, culminating in their Do It Again duet, while David Pendlebury and Harry Cooper-Millar as the besieged fake butler and hapless police officer were also a hoot.

Adam Crossley did a great job covering for Alistair So as Jimmy Winter. There was a pre-show announcement that Adam (dance captain and usually in the ensemble) had learnt the lead role in the past 24 hours. He did a phenomenal job and gave a remarkably assured performance.

As strong as the entire company is here though, the star of the show is Jessica-Elizabeth Nelson as Billie. On the surface, Billie appears to be a no-nonsense hard-faced bootlegger but she quickly falls for the charms of her intended victim. From the hilarious seduction number Treat Me Rough to the heartache of But Not For Me, Jessica-Elizabeth gave a powerhouse performance, every bit as S'Wonderful as the iconic Gershwin song. I thought she brought real heart to the production, revealing a vulnerability beneath the surface of Billie while showcasing superb comic timing and sublime, gorgeous vocals. A star in the making.

For me, Nice Work If You Can Get It blows last year's Ovation production of Top Hat out of the water and is quite simply unumissable. When the full company take to the stage for numbers such as Fascinating Rhythm it really is a sight and sound to behold. In between the big numbers, the show delivers a blast of glorious comedy with production values that more than match the likes of Southwark Playhouse, The Other Palace and the Menier, all topped off by a warm and friendly welcome. Several of the remaining performances are sold out but there's no doubt this will be a very nice ticket if you can get one!

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Thanks to everyones high praise I’ve booked tickets for the final performance

#lovethisboard

Thanks for that, with that information I am now booked for Tuesday!!!

Saw this a couple of times on Broadway.

Funnily enough, it was the opposite way round for me! I found the same issues watching Top Hat last year but for Nice Work, despite being sat by the band, it was fine! Looking forward to watching this for a second time at the weekend.

There's probably (to some here) a really obvious reason but why couldn't Daniel Evans at CFT do this or something similar as the main house musical this year? Some Gershwin (or Cole Porter) would be wonderful - & no doubt popular.