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Synopsis Set in Poland during 1942, a group of actors in the Warsaw Ghetto stage plays to inspire hope and optimism within their community. However, with rumours of the Final Solution in the air, their play merges with the reality they are trying to escape and a dramatic love story unfolds.
Critics got their first view of the new so-called “Holocaust musical” Imagine This last night (19 November 2008, previews from 4 November) at the West End’s New London Theatre (See Today's 1st Night Photos), returning to the venue where they so mercilessly assailed Trevor Nunn’s Gone With the Wind earlier in the year (See Review Round-Up, 23 Apr 2008).
First seen in a tryout last summer at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Imagine This, which is currently booking until 28 February 2009, revolves around a group of Polish actors in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942 who stage plays to inspire hope and optimism within the Jewish community. However, with rumours of the Final Solution in the air, their play merges with the reality they are trying to escape and a dramatic love story unfolds.
Imagine This has music by Shuki Levy, lyrics by David Goldsmith and a book by Glenn Berenbeim. It’s directed by Open Air artistic director Timothy Sheader and designed by Eugene Lee, who won both a Tony and a Whatsonstage.com Award for Wicked, with choreography by DV8’s Liam Steel. The principal West End cast features Leila Ben Harris, Simon Gleeson and Peter Polycarpou, who reprises his role from the Plymouth run (See News, 26 Aug 2008).
For most overnight critics, the attempt of Imagine This to find hope in the Holocaust was beyond the stretch of their collective imaginations. This morning’s reviews contained an almost universal theme – that despite director Timothy Sheader’s best efforts and some “valiant” performances from the cast, the show hit a dud note due to its “historically false” and “morally dubious” depiction of the Warsaw ghetto. There were some positives amid the gloom, notably the “stoic dignity” of Polycarpou and the “soaring anthems” of Levy and Goldsmith (even if their “trivial” lyrics came in for some heavy criticism). But overall it looks as if the New London is suffering a serious case of déjà vu.
Michael Coveney on Whatsonstage.com (one star) – “The major problem here is that once the situation of fierce resistance is established, there is nowhere for the characters to go except towards the exit. Timothy Sheader’s resourceful and often effective production attempts to create light and shade in deals with the Nazis, hints of betrayal and the shocking business of an informant bartering a fur cloak, sleeping with the enemy and being shot in the back for her pains … The music and lyrics of Shuki Levy and David Goldsmith, while neat enough in a mediocre way, never rise to the impassioned authenticity of their obvious example in Les Miserables. Polycarpou does his level best to hold the show together, and wins a round with his dark night of the soul (with Jewish jokes) number, ‘The Last Laugh’ … But this is to accentuate the positive in an engulfing sea of negative.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian (two stars) – “They said it couldn't be done: a musical about the Warsaw ghetto. And, now that I've seen it, I know that they were right … In attempting to dovetail the stories, Glenn Berenbeim's book creates more problems than it solves. It not only depends on a grotesquely improbable love affair between Tamar, daughter of the Masada leader, and a Roman general. The basic premise also beggars belief - it is hard to credit the Nazis would sanction a show about Masada even though they are assured, ‘It's got singing, dancing and all the Jews die in the end’. And the musical, far from the rough-and-ready spectacle you would expect with minimal resources, turns out to be a surprisingly well-equipped show up to West End standards … The best one can say is Timothy Sheader stages the grisly event with fluidity. Peter Polycarpou lends the actor-manager and Masada leader a certain stoic dignity, and Leila Benn Harris and Simon Gleeson do all they can as the unlikely love interest.”
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph (three stars) – “At one level, the show strikes me as not bad at all. There are big soaring anthems, a strong love interest and a plot that undoubtedly grips. The production values, though far from extravagant, are effective enough, and though there are no star names, the performances are impressive … Imagine This has a certain integrity about it. Except, of course, for one inconvenient, incontrovertible and unpalatable fact – this is a musical that attempts to turn the Holocaust into entertainment. It resorts to fiction to make unimaginable horror more dramatically interesting … The moment when a comic Christian starts singing on his cross moves us alarmingly close to Life of Brian territory, and for all the strengths of its execution, Imagine This must finally be judged a manipulative and morally dubious show. In the present harsh economic climate, however, it is unlikely to trouble the West End for long.”
Benedict Nightingale in The Times (two stars) – “Imagine This? That’s the title of a show that involves Jewish actors performing an inspiring play in the Warsaw Ghetto; but it also comes across as a mix of command and plea. And, sorry, no can do. Last night Glenn Berenbeim’s book began by making me feel my imagination might take fire, only to douse it with the sort of formulaic nonsense it has resisted a zillion times before … I should have been warned by lines such as (to Daniel): ‘In a ghetto full of misery, only you can come down with a bad case of optimism.’ That clunkiness never goes and it’s accompanied by a major loss of nerve on everyone’s part … Shuki Levy’s score can handle the sad or upbeat, notably in a soaring title song that claims that only imagination can free the oppressed. But it never has the minor-key harshness the situation demands. And what of the number involving undulating belly dancers and prancing Roman soldiers? That’s something nobody should have imagined.”
Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard (two stars) – “I am afraid a bad-taste warning needs to be attached to this unfortunate new musical. The talented director Timothy Sheader and his team of ardent, forceful actors and dancers are not to blame. They struggle valiantly to rise above the offensively banal, soft-pop music that limps in train with the fatuities and ineptitude of David Goldsmith’s trivial lyrics … An attempt is made to raise audience morale, encouraging people to leave the theatre in a modestly feelgood state. Yet to strike these musical notes of defiance is historically false … It would have been more dramatic though if Imagine This had concentrated upon Warsaw and had removed the unconvincing plot-line that involves Peter Polycarpou’s authoritative Jewish leader in a campaign to convince his actors they should kill themselves rather than become Nazi stooges. In any case, the music and songs of Imagine This never do justice to its terrifying theme.”
The Warsaw ghetto, like those in Vilna and Lodz, had an orchestra. So following the example of Joshua Sobol’s far superior cabaret-style musical play Ghetto (seen at the National in 1989), the American creative team on the mawkish new show Imagine This have created a musical within a musical, “Masada”, performed by the oppressed inmates.
The major problem here is that once the situation of fierce resistance is established, there is nowhere for the characters to go except towards the exit. Timothy Sheader’s resourceful and often effective production attempts to create light and shade in deals with the Nazis, hints of betrayal and the shocking business of an informant bartering a fur cloak, sleeping with the enemy and being shot in the back for her pains.
But the book of Glenn Berenbeim, in creating a parallel story of the ghetto in 1942 with the tale of the defiant Jewish zealots committing mass suicide in the hill-top fortress of Masada above the Dead Sea, ends up being merely repetitive. It’s a double dose of sentimentality, plucky victims offering a show business metaphor in a sort of Roman follies without the wit, fun or melody of A Funny Thing Happened.
The show starts quietly with a toy carousel flickering to life as the optimistic Polish actors led by Peter Polycarpou’s Daniel savour the last day of summer. Sheader’s staging, and Liam Steel’s choreography, bring a whirl of false optimism to the sequence, and the grimness of the ghetto is starkly contrasted with the colourfulness of “Masada” on a neat, small revolve within Eugene Lee’s monumental warehouse-style design.
The angry, violent Nazis are doubled with rather camp, stomping Romans, and the ghetto love story between Daniel’s daughter Rebecca (Leila Benn Harris) and a half-Jewish resistance fighter Adam (Simon Gleeson) is echoed in the doomed romance of the Israeli first century Tamar and a smitten Roman soldier Silva played by the same actors. But the music and lyrics of Shuki Levy and David Goldsmith, while neat enough in a mediocre way, never rise to the impassioned authenticity of their obvious example in Les Miserables.
Polycarpou does his level best to hold the show together, and wins a round with his dark night of the soul (with Jewish jokes) number, “The Last Laugh”. Michael Matus shows up well as a good-natured clown and Cameron Leigh doubles as the fur coat informant (“Never look a gift whore in the mouth” is a line screaming for red pencil) and a voluptuous Salome in Masada, but this is to accentuate the positive in an engulfing sea of negative.
I saw it by pure chance and loved it so much I went to see again. All credit to the cast and production team for putting on the most memorable show I have ever seen. - p christophers
11 Feb 09
Cant even begin to argue with people that have given bad reviews, I dont even have the energy
Thought the show was INCREDIBLE, its not faultless but leagues above many other west end shows that have had such long runs/or are stil running now
Cast were amazing, set brilliant and the title song was heart wrenching
The audience apperaed to love it yesterday
The standing ovation was so deserved
It is a TRAVESTY that this is closing - Sam
19 Dec 08
How can reviewers get it so wrong, so often?
Look around you at the end, at how moved the audience is. Les Miz was canned by the critics, and the audiences came in droves to see and love it. Wicked received very poor reviews (as documented in the documentary Show Business), and is playing throughout the world to packed houses.
Please see this show before it sadly ends its run this week. - Mark Dooley
18 Dec 08
I thought the show was excellent, the set was superb and the music captivating - I'm really looking forward to the cd being released. Yes, it is an emotive subject but very sensitively handled and protraying a basic human trait - where there's life, there's hope. We have the benefit of hindsight where history is concerned but I want to believe that there was always hope and a disbelief that anyone could have been so evil as the nazis were. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of musicals. - Joy Taylor
16 Dec 08
Fantastic music, fantastic story, brilliant show. So sorry to hear it is closing. - Marceline
15 Dec 08
I was really disappointed when I heard the show posted early closing notice and went to see it Thursday 12 December. Funnily enough, I was only aware that I already had the music CD on my shelf when I visited the internet site and listened to some of the song extracts: the studio recording is called "Masada" and I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing these great songs performed live on stage.
Although I really appreciated the cast and all the effort that went into creating the show, I unfortunately have to say it did nothing for me. The story was confusing, there were too many German generals and soldiers screaming in German (could anybody understand what they were saying?) and to see a group of Jews die twice (!) within 10 minutes is not really what I want to see in a West End show to be honest.
My personal favourite was Michael Matus, although in my view he has almost re-created his role as Benoit in "Martin Guerre", but he was great to watch and to listen to. The most anticipated song for me was "Far from here, far from now", but again, it did not trigger that sensation I had when I first heard it on the CD.
Is the story still current I ask myself? Maybe it isn't and this may be the reason why the public is not too keen to go and see it.
It was the first time ever for me to experience a West End theatre so empty (about a third of the seats were occupied) and I guess this did not help to create an atmosphere.
I do feel for the cast and the fact that they are going into unemployment just before Christmas, but this does not help the fact that I did not really enjoy the show and wouldn't have recommended it to anyone. Sorry.
- Juergen, Cheltenham
14 Dec 08
Unquestionably the best show I have ever seen. Superbly produced and directed. The writing is as near perfect as any musical in history and the music is sublime. I have never seen such incredible performances and reaction from the audience, who all gave standing ovations even at the interval.People were literally begging for more at the end, on their knees actually begging. It is a crime that this show is closing, I would really like to invest a lot of money in it to ensure its future success. The critics are all blind fools. I of course have no vested interest in the show. - Hteb
12 Dec 08
Despite the poor reviews i went in with an open mind and was pleasantly suprised. The production definatly did justice to the story it was portraying and is completely different to any other West End production i've seen (Maybe a reason why it was criticised so badly). It was a great representation on the suffering and mentality of Jews during WW2 and reminds you that people actually suffered in this way. You should definatly try to see this before it closes despite what the critics have been saying as this show they've got completely wrong as seen by the much deserved standing ovation they recieved at the end. - Austin
11 Dec 08
OK, so the subject matter is not feel good, and I suspect that's why people are criticising it so heavily. However, go with an open mind (and maybe a tissue if you're a softy like me!) and I believe you'll thoroughly enjoy it. I went last night - the cast are very good and tell the story beautifully. It's such a shame it's closing - marketed to the right audience I think it would last. Thank you. (and no, I have no shares or invested interest in the show Johnny Fox!). - Laura
10 Dec 08
OK, so the subject matter is not feel good, and I suspect that's why people are criticising it so heavily. However, go with an open mind (and maybe a tissue if you're a softy like me!) and I believe you'll thoroughly enjoy it. I went last night - the cast are very good and tell the story beautifully. It's such a shame it's closing - marketed to the right audience I think it would last. Thank you. (and no, I have no shares or invested interest in the show Johnny Fox!). - Laura
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