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Synopsis All American Western romantic musical. The tale of the seven Pontipee brothers, Oregon 1880s. When Adam, the eldest brother, marries Millie, the Pontipees are shaken out of their backwoods life with a vengeance. A show full of pure energy, vibrant dancing and rousing musical numbers such as Bless Your Beautiful Hide, Spring, Spring, Spring, Goin Courtin and Wonderful Wonderful Day.
Recently voted third best musical in a poll for BBC Radio 2, Seven Brides for Seven Brides made its first West End return in 21 years on Wednesday (16 August 2006, previews from 10 August) at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, where it opened to a star-studded audience (See Also 1st Night Photos, 17 Aug 2006).
In Oregon circa 1850, Adam goes to town to get a wife. Having convinced Milly to marry him, he brings her back to his backwoods cabin, where she discovers he has six live-in younger brothers who are anxious to get wives of their own. The stage version of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is based on the 1954 Oscar-winning MGM musical, which starred Howard Keel as eldest brother Adam and Jane Powell as his wife Milly.
Featuring Dave Willetts as Adam, Shona Lindsay as Milly and Jay Webb as youngest brother Gideon, this stage production is directed by Maurice Lane and presented by UK Productions. Prior to its West End transfer, it had been on an extensive UK tour since October 2005.
Set and technical glitches at the press performance influenced many critics’ judgments, although most agreed that the company’s energy and buoyancy do much to override faults in both the low-budget production, more at home on tour than in the West End, and the dated screen-to-stage musical itself.
Terri Paddock on Whatsonstage.com (2 stars) – “It’s clear that Charles Camm’s set was never up to much, but now it’s literally falling apart. As the evening progressed at the Haymarket, walls wobbled threateningly, doors wouldn’t stay shut, stagehands struggled to get the revolving set to revolve, screens didn’t lift on cue, props broke and a flower box crashed to the ground. Natalie Cole’s costumes also proved faulty: in the finale, one of the seven brides nearly danced out of her wedding dress thanks to a zipper that evidently wouldn’t zip. Such were the number of mishaps, I started to think I was watching a new musical version of Noises Off…. And yet, there is in fact much to enjoy here…. Dave Willetts… invests his performance with a rugged energy. But the real star of the show is Shona Lindsay, who sings the pants off the role of Milly.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian (2 stars) – “The silly season is clearly upon us. How else do you explain the arrival in the West End of this touring show which, after nine months on the road, has clearly lost some of its pristine freshness? The dancing is highly energetic. But you know you're in for an iffy evening when bits of the revolving set fail to meet and a vernal flower-box comes crashing to the ground… Only one thing keeps this alive; and that is the dancing. And, even if Adrian Allsopp's choreography can't altogether match Kidd's original, it is here delivered with verve. Dave Willetts as Adam looks suitably gruff and surly, but the character is an unlikeable stiff… Shona Lindsay chiefly suggests the cheery wholesomeness of a school matron in Godalming… I'd swap 10 minutes of Guys and Dolls for the whole of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.”
Benedict Nightingale in The Times (3 stars) – “As frontier musicals go, this certainly isn’t Oklahoma! and isn’t quite Annie Get Your Gun, either. But it’s good-natured and boasts the jaunty and pretty score that won an Oscar…. The axe-waving, log-chopping number is stronger in the film, as is the square-dance that escalates into a bust-up when Adam’s brothers go looking for wives themselves; but then the Haymarket stage isn’t large enough for anything very ambitious and Adrian Allsopp’s choreography is impressively bold…. Although Shona Lindsay brings vocal sweetness and some force of character to Milly, Dave Willetts’ Adam relies too much on built-in charisma and needs both to sharpen his diction and ensure that his singing voice doesn’t grind like a threshing machine at climaxes.”
Robert Gore-Langton in the Daily Mail (2 stars) – “I was rather hoping to go along with this vintage nonsense, shout ‘Yee-ha!’ and fire a few shots in the air for encouragement. But I lost the will to shoot anything but myself after about 20 minutes…. At least no one can accuse this company of a lack of enthusiasm or energy…. The lithe young brothers swing their rubber axes and jump about in cheap wigs, the entire cast with microphones prominently glued to their foreheads…. But I’m not sure that it’s viable any longer if you’ve seen the recent gay western, Brokeback Mountain. Are these brothers, one wonders, really looking for love – and if so, does it necessarily involve girls?”
Kieron Quirke in the Evening Standard (2 stars) – “A laughable technical fault got the press night of this devitalised revival off to a bad start. Otherwise the show, come to the West End after a lengthy tour, went like clockwork. But there's nothing like watching a clock to make the hours go slow.... Well drilled describes almost every aspect of the show. Whether it's down to months spent on the road, or to a chronic lack of imagination, Seven Brides feels produced by numbers.... Dave Willetts' Adam and Shona Lindsay's Milly show teeth and sing well but there's zilch chemistry there. The supporting cast prat about confidently but assume an audience goodwill not earned by the turgid script. The chocolate-box set opens and closes and looks decades old.”
Warwick Thompson in Metro (3 stars) - "There's one good thing about touring productions. They may be conceived on a budget of pennies, but you know they'll be drilled to within an inch of their lives by the time they reach London. And so it proves with director Maurice Lane's romp through Seven Brides for Seven Brides.... What more do you want in a musical? A set that doesn't wobble, for one, and acting that isn't continually pitched at pantomime level, for another…. Adrian Allsopp's crackling choreography makes up for a heck of a lot, though, and the big set-piece dance numbers all go with tremendous yee-ha energy. Dave Willetts and Shona Lindsay are both likeable as the principal brother (Adam) and bride (Milly)."
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph - “Everything about the show is inferior to the original picture, and the production… looks impoverished and irredeemably second-rate in a West End setting. Asking theatregoers to pay £47.50… is grotesque. You’d have thought that after touring for so long the show would at least have achieved a certain slickness, but not a bit of it.... The supporting cast seem incapable of individualising the remaining brothers and brides, and the poor blokes are burdened with hideously dreadful wigs and false beards that at least provide the best laughs of the evening…. Radio 2 listeners (are) unlikely to keep Maurice Lane’s woefully drab and unimaginative production running in the West End for long.”
A technical glitch at the start of the West End press performance was a harbinger of things to come. As the house lights dimmed, the curtain rose on a screen that was supposed to show us countryside views; instead, it displayed an LCD projector error message of “no input detected”.
This screen-to-stage production of the MGM musical comedy, about a family of backwoods brothers who resort to kidnapping their wives à la the Romans with the Sabine women, has been touring the UK on and off since 2001 and continuously for the past nine months. Reading back over my colleague’s earlier review below, it’s clear that Charles Camm’s set was never up to much but now it’s literally falling apart.
As the evening progressed at the Haymarket, walls wobbled threateningly, doors wouldn’t stay shut, stagehands struggled to get the revolving set to revolve, screens didn’t lift on cue, props broke and a flower box crashed to the ground. Natalie Cole’s costumes also proved faulty: in the finale, one of the seven brides nearly danced out of her wedding dress thanks to a zipper that evidently wouldn’t zip. Such were the number of mishaps, I started to think I was watching a new musical version of Noises Off. Farcical, indeed.
And yet, there is in fact much to enjoy here. While Dave Willetts may be far too long in the tooth as leading man and eldest brother Adam (there’s meant to be only eight years’ difference between the seven siblings – multiply that by three and you may get closer to the real age span on stage), he does invest his performance with a rugged energy. But the real star of the show is Shona Lindsay, who sings the pants off the role of Milly, Adam’s feisty wife and mother hen to his brothers.
As for the rest of the fraternal clan, once they’re able to ditch some embarrassing wigs and beards, they display plenty of athletic ensemble charm, particularly during their impressive dance numbers – lots of high-jumping, somersaulting and axe-swinging - that do much to lift proceedings. With a couple song solos and a knockout punch, Jay Webb as the diminutive youngest brother Gideon has his chance to shine individually and seizes it.
Fans of the 1954 film, and I admit I’m one of them, will also appreciate the reprisals of songs including “Bless Your Beautiful Hide”, “Goin’ Courtin’” and “Sobbin’ Women”. Those ditties, the star quality of Shona Lindsay and, as the preacher would say, some “mighty fine dancing” really hold this shaky revival together.
- Terri Paddock
NOTE: The following FOUR-STAR review dates from November 2005 and an earlier tour stop for this production.
Most musical lovers remember MGM's classic musical movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers starring Howard Keel. It always seems to be a perennial favourite on terrestrial TV over the Christmas period. The incredible choreography, the old fashioned morals, and the interesting plot strands focusing on the effect a group of home-lovin' women have on a group of macho men still entertains today.
This lively and heart-warming production follows the story of Adam, one of seven brothers, who goes into town looking for a wife. After he meets the homely Milly, he woos her with his machismo attitude to life and she returns to his backwoods home. What she finds there is a household in real need of love. She sets out to teach these men how to respect women. Adam has other ideas, believing women to be like bears one can trap.
This may seem incredibly corny, dated and out of synch in a world where, thankfully, times have changed; but the great thing about this delightful musical is that it’s upbeat, inoffensive and unashamedly romantic. Criticising it for its gender representation is as pointless as picking holes in Grease for the same reason.
Dave Willetts and Shona Lindsay give show-stopping performances as the two lovers hoping to be matchmakers for everyone else. Lindsay has a lovely operatic quality to her voice and Willetts knows how to deliver a song with full on emotion. Of the brothers, Jay Webb brings athleticism and strong vocals to the role of Gideon. Paul Spicer also dances incredibly well and has a real knack for comedy.
Adrian Allsopp's stunning choreography keeps the talented cast literally on their toes. Director Maurice Lane clearly respects Lawrence Kasha's original book, but he also adds the odd modern nudge and wink so that the audience do not view the production as a museum piece.
The only downside in this incredibly warm-hearted musical is Charles Camm's pantomime-style set. It doesn’t do the show justice and at times it looks cheap and tacky. But don’t let that put you off, because UK Productions have crafted a finely tuned musical which leaves you feeling quite wonderful.
- Glenn Meads (reviewed at the Opera House, Manchester)
We saw the london production on 9th September with our relations over from australia,who thought as we did, that it is a very good all round show,for all ages, with everyone in the cast giving it their all, and you can see that they are really enjoying doing it, the hiccups they seemed to have had at the start of the run appear to have been sorted,and i am glad that they have extended the booking period ,the audience the night we were there were very appreciative,with 3 curtain calls.and the new website for the show is good as well - 62.253.128.14)
20 Sep 06
crass - 81.158.42.69)
25 Aug 06
The best nights entertainment in years. Traditional tunes you come out humming. Great dance scenes you tap your feet to. Colourful costumes, comedy moments, action packed scenes and a happy ending!
Shona Lindsay as Milly gives a fiesty performance opposite Dave Willetts as Adam.He is the perfect musical theatre leading man, with charisma, total command of his stage and a voice to die for. (Shivers down the spine).
Top entertainmant. - 80.176.140.231)
22 Aug 06
i feel the positive reviews are from the cast's parents.
this is a tedious and shambolic production with decent performances but overall is simply pointless and with little to recommend it. - 86.136.131.242)
22 Aug 06
A theatre experience not to be missed, it was a real feel good show along with the likes of Oklahoma. The cast were all superb although on press night they did have some problems with the set. Bravo. - 86.133.92.255)
22 Aug 06
No chandalier, barricade or helicopter, but for a sheer 'feel good' evening, you couldn't ask for more. The audience from 8 to 80 whooped, cheered and gave it a standing ovation. There's toe tapping songs you'll come out humming, a good deal of comedy, colourful, well choreographed dance scenes, strong, charismatic performances from Dave Willetts and Shona Lindsay in the lead roles. A great nights entertainment. - 195.93.21.133)
20 Aug 06
rubbish ! embarrassing - shona lindsay - needs a new role surelY !!!!!!!! - 81.76.125.181)
20 Aug 06
What a west End wonderful, wonderful western. All the cast had a spring in their foot and a smile on their face. The singing was highly professional and the performance quality unfaultable. This production has certainly proved that what once was an MGM movie is now also a stage show extravaganza. The theatre is small, so there is no fear of a bad seat, the costumes are colourful and clever. The dance routines are well polished and the sets simple but very effective. The clever lighting effects encourage both imagination and humour. This is certainly a show for anyone who can appreciate the traditional charms in old-day courting. Please believe me when I say "go see this show!, It's a hand clapping, thigh slapping, toe-tapping-tastical musical masterpiece". - 141.11.234.60)
18 Aug 06
It's fab really lively and you come out with a a big smiley face and singing the songs. Both Dave Willetts and Shona Lindsay were wonderful and the brothers were so funny and could they kick their legs up high in the excellent dance sequences. I'm off now to go a courtin and bless the beautiful hide. Rose x - 195.216.15.94)
18 Aug 06
Wonderful production - Dave Willetts is simply superb! - 82.110.212.210)
Opened 29 Dec 1720. Closed in 1737 (partly for attacking the government), re-opened 1747. The current theatre opened on 4th July 1821 and was designed by Nash. The last theatre in London to use candles (1837). 888 seats. Society of London Theatre member.
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