Reviewed by James
Karas
Laura Henderson
gained fame and notoriety in the 1930’s by showing naked breasts in her theatre
in London. She became the subject of the
2005 film Mrs Henderson Presents in
which she was played by Judi Dench. The story proved too good to be ignored and
a musical based on it appeared in 2015 and is now playing at the Royal
Alexandra Theatre.
Mr Henderson had
the misfortune of dying in 1919 but had the decency to leave the feisty Mrs Henderson
with a hefty pile of money. She used it to buy a theatre and hired a no-nonsense
manager to run it. The Windmill Theatre in London’s West end was not a success
and something had to be done about it. How about some naked breasts?
The cast of MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS ©2017,
Cylla von Tiedemann
In conservative,
censored England of the 1930’s that was unlikely to be allowed but, one could see paintings of naked women in the
museum. Botticelli, Raphael, Rubens and many other artists celebrated nudity,
so why not bare breasted women in the theatre? It was acceptable to do that
provided the women stood still as if they were paintings.
There are a few
good lines about nakedness in the musical. When you go below, far below the
breasts you reach the pudendum which is a foreign word that few can understand.
Well, call the area the Netherlands and make it more acceptable with the use of
conservative hair dresses.
How Mrs
Henderson and Van Damm got around the restriction on nudity in the theatre is
the most famous aspect of the story, but it is by no means a central concern of
the musical. This is a story about London in the late 1930’s and during the
war, about backstage life in a theatre that produced continuous revues, about
love, loss and a couple of interesting characters.
Tracie Bennett
as Mrs Henderson and Peter Polycarpou as the manager Vivian Van Damm dominate
the performance. Mrs Henderson is crotchety, tough, humane, difficult to get
along with and in the end a bit of a theatrical legend. Bennett has a husky
voice that she uses to good effect in an enjoyable performance.
Tracie
Bennett and Evelyn Hoskins in MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS ©2017, Cylla von Tiedemann
Polycarpou as
Van Damm is a good match for Mrs Henderson as a man of the theatre who has to
deal with financial and artistic issues and we admire the relationship that he
forges with his boss.
There is a
touching love story involving Eddie (Matthew Malthouse) and Maureen (Evelyn
Hoskins) who sing “What a Waste of a Moon” and bring home the effects of war.
We have a seen in the London Underground where people hid during the bombing of
the city as well as the determination to carry on. Mrs Henderson’s theatre was
the only one that did not close during the war.
The set by Tim
Shortall shows the backstage of Mrs Henderson’s theatre as well as the open
roof garret and the underground to good effect.
The costumes by
Paul Wills are colourful for the performers and appropriate for the other
characters. The choreography by Andrew Wright has the fine feel of British
music hall dancing perfectly matching what we would have wanted to see if we
were there some eighty years ago, give or take. Full credit to director Terry
Johnson.
The music by
George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain ranges from recitative to almost ballad and
the lyrics by Don Black are appropriate. The book by Terry Johnson tells the
story well with good humour, dramatic scenes and touching romance that make for
a very pleasant night at the theatre.
______
Mrs Henderson Presents by Terry Johnson (Book) Don Black
(Lyrics), George Fenton and Simon
Chamberlain (Music), continues until
April 23, 2017 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W. Toronto, Ont. www.mirvish.com
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