Review by Paul Towers, 10/4/24
Opening Night by Ivo Van Hove, music & lyrics Rufus Wainwright
Directed by Ivo Van Hove
Produced by Wessex Grove and others
At The Gielgud Theatre until 18 May 2024
Having today announced that the show will close 2 months earlier than scheduled I am not completely surprised.
Opening Night, starring Sheridan Smith and Hadley Fraser is taken from the 1977 film by John Cassavettes’ film of the same name.
Myrtle Gordon (Sheridan Smith) is a successful Broadway actress rehearsing a new play, The Second Woman. A functioning alcoholic, as opening night looms Myrtle’s confidence falters and she starts to fall apart. There are three men in her life, personal and professional. Manny (Hadley Fraser) is her hard nosed director, Maurice (Benjamin Walker) is her ex whom she has never got over. He is also her leading man. David (John Marquez) is the producer and the only one of the three sympathetic to her fragile mental health. The trigger for her sudden decline is the tragic death of a fan (Shira Haas) at the stage door who gets run down just after Myrtle has signed an autograph for her. In her worsening state Myrtle conjures up the dead girl, Nancy, as her only friend.
Sheridan Smith has, in the past, had her own mental health demons to fight and this seems to be rather close to her truth. But maybe that is why she took the job. It certainly shows off her acting talents as she veers from crisis to crisis both on and off stage in the show.
The reason for the early closure has been publicly admitted to being for financial reasons. It has been reported that swathes of audience members have been leaving mid-performance. I can understand how the script could be confusing to some as one scene is played again and again, which is what happens in a rehearsal. Also, it is marketed as a musical but it is not a conventional one and, with Sheridan Smith starring, maybe audience expectations were for something lighter.
As a seasoned theatre-goer my only gripe was the ending. The final scene was of Myrtle and Maurice sat face to face in what was lit to look like the set for the Broadway show. But the conversation was as if they were in an empty room or an apartment. And as the upbeat tone of reconciliation was in stark contrast to the rest of the play, it was incongruous. It felt like the playwright suddenly felt the need to tie up some loose ends and send the audience home in a feel-good mood.
www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/theatres/gielgud-theatre
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