Miss Atomic Bomb

I enjoyed myself. But due to it's diffuse story focus and inconsistent tone, the sum of this sometimes exhilarating, sometimes baffling, new production is less than it's many wonderful parts.

This is a Bing Crosby/Bob Hope Road movie crossed with Dr. Strangelove. Smooth Bing Crosby type, Joey (Dean John Wilson) deserts from the army to join his hapless brother Lou (Simon Lipkin), in Atomic-era Las Vegas. On the way, he meets his Dorothy Lamour, Candy Johnson (Florence Andrews) and falls in love. So when bumbling Lou needs to find contestants for the Miss Atomic Bomb contest, which he is fronting for the mob (ever at risk of having his feet shot off), Joey suggests his new fancy, Candy, for the part. . .

But that's only one take on the story, because this is not a show that settles on who it's lead characters are, or who the principal villains are, or what story it wants to tell.

You could just as easily describe Florence Andrews' Candy as the lead character, a sheep farmer unexpectedly landed with her deceased grandmother's debts, relentlessly pursued by evil debt collector, Mr Potts (Daniel Boys). Her bestie, gawky fashion designer Myra (Catherine Tate) urges her to disown the debts and leave town, but will she?

Is Potts the principal villain? Is it the Mob? Or is it the Army, who are conducting gung-ho atomic tests, while hunting down army-deserter, Joey? The madcap nature of the scattered premise makes it almost impossible to invest in any of the characters. Perhaps that's the point, that all these players are merely pawns in the USA's great game of Atomic Testing, that they all merely shards of the US Government's insane Cold War Atomic propaganda, like in Dr Stangelove?

Certainly the zany tone of the opener, "Atomic City USA," backs that up. And the Act 2 opener, "Cold War" is a marvellous satirical song in this vein, stompingly rhythmically compelling. But, oh, what a hasbeen target for a modern satire? Dr. Strangelove covered this ground 50 years ago, when this was actually topical and daring. It's a shame this musical never makes an effort to draw obvious parallels to all the endless Governmental deceit we are surrounded by today.

Other songs I liked reflect the haphazard tone; entertaining, but jarringly leading in different emotional directions:-
(1)"When Things get Rough" is a sensitive pretty duet, with Florence Andrews and Dean John Wilson singing over each other and together in harmony, as their characters bond and fall in love;
(2) "That Girl (is Miss Atomic Bomb)" is a comic tour de force, especially for Simon Lipkin, who steals the whole show and makes this song a highlight;
(3) "Where There's Sheep, There's Hope" is a silly comic song about sheep, reminiscent of Mel Brooks, rendered as a gospel lament;
(4) "The Sun Went Down" is achingly sincere, a too-late-attempt to give the show a genuine heartfelt resonance, where Florence Andrew's Candy reveals a soul as deep as the well of Andrew's big open eyes;
(5) "Sugar Daddy" is a brilliant comic counterpoint to the tenderness of the "When Things Get Rough" lovesong, a duet to be celebrated by beards everywhere, looking to pretend to the world that they are what they're not, which allows Lipkin, together with Catherine Tate, to hit comic nirvana again.

I loved the acting in this show: Simon Lipkin and Daniel Boys are hilarious, and Florence Andrews is the most sensitive and affecting, ably supported by Dean John-Wilson.

But overall, the story threads meander, none of them gaining the momentum to deliver the comic and emotional pay offs that such sterling songs, and acting, and singing deserve. The overall effect is overload and anticlimax, like a workout where you did ten different exercises for 5 minutes each, and you never quite hit the spot with any of them.

4 star performances in a 3 star musical: 3 and a half stars.

Finally about to start

So this started 20 minutes late

I confer with most that this is a zany enjoyable musical with a cast that putting everything into it

The story just lacks focus

The sheep song I could tell was going to be pointless every time the farmer tries to interject with the bad news

Did Catherine Tate's manequinn song go anywhere?

Really wanted to like this. Just didn't quite work. Feels like the team just couldn't quite get it to work. One of the writers (his first piece) was in front of us the whole time frantically jotting stuff on his ipad. Checked online and it looks like this is now the third version of the show they've put on in less than a week!
Some good songs and after the start where there was a lot of off notes, the cast seemed to hit their stride.
Hopefully they sort our there problems and have success.

David Birrelll now taken over from Gabriel Vick in a bit of a coup. Really enjoyed this, but second act still a bit of a mess and too long. As much as lI oved the "beard" song, would it matter if it was cut?

Well, yes it would because not only does it reinforce the conversation had between the two characters but from the joyrides you learn that these two will remain together and establishes the ground rules by which they will now live as individuals and as a 'couple'.

I was at yesterday's matinee performance too.

Although it did start late, allowances ought to be made for it being in previews. That is, after all, why tickets are reduced prices for previews, because it's still in it's trial stages. That said, the husband overheard one of the creatives  saying to another "That's it. That's the one."

We both thoroughly enjoyed it, and sincerely hope they change their minds about a cast recording. I'd love to have the title song and Sugar Daddy to hear over and over. 

The strongest element here is clearly the exceptional cast. Every one of them is perfect in their roles (although I too felt that Myrna did slip into a Kath & Kim like Australian twang on occasion).

Altoghether we were very happy that we'd seen it, and as we saw Cleansed in the evening, it proved to be a nice counter balance in terms of show! I sincerely hope this transfers at some point, with as much of the original cast as possible (as I know that DJW is moving into Aladdin).

It should be made law that every musical has to have a tap number in it.

PN last night. The only review I've seen so far is a grudging 3-star one from Libby Purves, who, incidentally, remarks that Catherine Tate plays her part "with an unaccountable semi-Australian accent and a lot of trademark mugging." She also mentions Oppenheimer - well, if that was the serious version, this is the entertaining one and I know which I enjoyed more.

Sadly I'm not surprised..

Ouch, Shenton really didn't like that, did he?

I'll make my own mind up when I go in a week or so, I can't believe that cast can be ALL bad.