The Frogs - Sondheim - Jermyn Street

Anyone got a spare ticket?

You are quite correct. It is very pertinent. My concern it is very preachy - It's only a play and Final Instructions are the big offenders

Playing Devils advocate, is Dionysos right or is he prejudiced towards the parts of society he does not like ?

Still I can't wait to see it. Thursday can't come soon enough. Just wish I had also booked tickets for the end of its run

Same here. :-( Wonder if there's any chance of an extension or transfer?

I have a politically savvy friend in Washington who says we might look back on Trump as the golden age - if Ted Cruz ever gets to the White House.

Thank you! Think I might have to just bite the bullet and get over my phone phobia for this one!

Yes, Nathan Lane was there, though it was the second night, and last preview, to be pedantic lol. The bigger kerfuffle, than the presence of the modest Lane, was the inability of the theatre to find Mark Shenton a seat for the longest time. At one point, they seemed to be indicating that the he should lean against a back wall, which with his back pain would have been beyond the pale. Miraculously, a prime front row side seat was conjured up for him thirty seconds before lights out, to the credit of the theatre.

For me, the show had a weak and dispiriting first act, followed by a charming and delightful second act: our comedy duo's trip to the underworld was listless, but their stay there was a hoot.

Some spoilers follow. . .

My problems with the first act were these:

(1) The reasons for the trip to the underworld (to snatch back a great artist from hell to help us in our troubled times) is merely stated, not dramatised, so there is little urgency to the proceedings;

(2) In a stage space the size of an average kitchen, it's impossible to stage an epic journey, and there's only so many times you can watch the ensemble (dressed in black) step in front of our hapless heroes to form obstacles for them to step around;

(3) Michael Matus' Dionysos and George Rae's Xanthias don't gel as a duo: Matus is perfect, a sweaty, endearing, nervous yet committed everyman, who I adored, but Rae's geeky bespectacled sidekick just seemed to exist in his own selfish world, never really forming a pair with Matus. This is partly the show: they are going for the Bing Crosby-dynamic-actor vs Bob Hope-selfish-numbskull pairing, which is difficult to begin with, so to make that work, you have to have a preternaturally likeable sidekick, to get the balance of audience affections right. George Rae can be uber-loveable, as when he played that lovely dying man in the Southwark's "Grand Hotel," but somehow I didn't warm to him here, as he's a little stand-offish and cold. I felt that if Callum Howells had played this part, he could have balanced Matus' loveability a whole lot better;

(4) The songs in Act 1 don't add up to much, apart from the brilliant "Invocation," the romantic "Ariadne," and the Act 1 climax "The Frogs." Luckily, the latter two songs come at the end of Act 1 in succession, and I began to enjoy myself.

By Act 2, which is not only much more fun than Act 1, but mercifully longer, I was having a whale of a time:

Act 2's opening number, "Hymnos: Evoe" is a marvellous full ensemble treat in praise of Matus' Dionysos, and the second number "Hades" introduced the character Pluto, which is a Emma Ralston with a whip, who sings up a storm surrounded by an all-male chorus, including uuterly enchanting, camp and muscular Martin Dickinson (who later shows up playing Shaw).

By this point the show is all-winning, because when Shaw shows up, Sondheim's howlingly funny digs at his literacy and pomposity start (the song "Shaw" had me howling), and then you get a wonderful competition between Dickinson's Shaw and the especially lovely Nigel Pilkington's Shakespeare about who is the better playwright, and who would better save humanity from crisis. . .

For me, Act 2 works splendidly from beginning to end, as it has two dramatic tensions: what will Pluto do with Dionysos, followed by Shaw V Shakespeare, that sustain the drama, and the songs are wall to wall splendid. The duo split their attentions to other characters, so their lack of chemistry doesn't matter any more, and Matus just shines and shines, such an unassuming engaging leading man, at once overwrought and congenial.

I remember that Matus absolutely stole "The Return of the Soldier" musical at this same venue, and he is the best thing in this, with his full voice giving the songs full expression. His only equal in the cast would be Rachel Dalston, who does the same for Pluto.

Great support comes from Martin Dickinson as Shaw, Nigel Pilkington as Shakespeare, and Jonathan Wadey as a Charon who looks and acts like he walked out of Rocky Horror Picture show or Young Frankenstein. In his own way, George Rae is chirpy great as Xanthias, despite the lack of bonding and balance of his character with that of Matus'.

Act 1 = 3 stars (saved by the final two songs); Act 2 = 4 stars (I'd go again just to see it, but there are no more tickets, so I won't); overall 3 and a half stars from me.

PS: Running time = 2 hours 15 minutes

Steve, re the lack of first act highlights, I agree that the journey is not all that exciting but, in the Lincoln Center version, Hercules's number, "Dress Big", was a very funny show stopper. Not so here?

There's another show in Jermyn Street the following week so it can't extend there.

The theatre must be wishing the run was longer, as I think sold-out performances aren't that common there, never mind the entire stretch.

Mallardo, for me, Dress Big was hampered by the small cheap-looking caveman-like furry costume, which didn't look like dressing big at all. Further, the guy who looked like Herakles was playing Shaw, not Herakles, so there was dissonance over Herakles acting the big man when he wasn't that big (he was a bit big) anyway, and the main duo weren't gelling for me, and generally the song came at just the point that an audience-member-with-high-expectations (in this case, me) would start to be deflated on account of expectation-overreach. And to add to all that, it was a HOT room, and poor Michael Matus was being asked to wear said caveman costume, which, despite it's cheapness, looked way too furry and hot for a man dancing and singing his guts out in a hot room, so I felt more sorry for him, and didn't feel the number at all.

FrontRowDress, it's a 4 piece band: 2 cellos and 2 wind (alternating flute, sax, clarinet, trumpet and flugelhorn).

And while I'm looking at the £4 programme, here's the songlist:

Act 1:

Invocation
I Love to Travel
Dress Big
I Love to Travel Reprise
All Aboard
Ariadne
The Frogs

Act 2:

Hymnos: Evoe!
Hades
Parabasis: It's Only a Play
Shaw
All Aboard - Reprise
Fear No More
Exodos
Final Instructions

Another Sondheim off the bucket list. Enjoyed Michael Matus' and George Rae's performance. The show itself... well, let's not go too much into details.

I saw this on Thursday.

The first part I generally disliked; the chemistry between the guys was lacking; I love to travel was atrociously delivered. I question the mix of low comedy and the serious nature of the second. I found the Herakles subplot not funny and question its relevance in the drama, although perhaps with stronger direction it could work.

The band are terrible – take earplugs.

The look and design is classy. Thank heavens for black dress and not Carry On style togas. Interesting the copper walls match the theatre managers hair dye!

However once we arrive in Hades the piece greatly picks up, I adored it’s themes I feared it was going to be preachy but it wasn’t. the contrast between the poetry and critics was beautiful and I loved the Bards quotes. I went out the theatre on a high and I now have fond memories of the piece.

Michael Mateus is really good and I also really liked Emma Ralston’s Pluto – Her song I have never liked but here it sounded great.

*I would love so SJS to rework this, cut Herakes, give a song to Aridane questioning D’s motivation and another song about the merit of art … Oh and call it Dionysus in the Underworld!*