High Society at the Barbican Theatre review – a swellegant, elegant party indeed

Cole Porter musicals rarely seem to put a foot (or a sequined heel) wrong – so irresistibly charming are their tunes that even the hardest of hearts can be seduced by their easy glamour.

After the resounding success of Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate, a cast of British TV and stage greats assemble to take on the Barbican’s annual musical offering – destined to also embark on a major tour later this year. They have big shoes to fill: the musical film that inspired the 1997 stage show (book here by Arthur Kopit) starred the likes of Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra. No pressure then.

Happily, Rachel Kavanaugh’s production does almost everything right, matching Kiss Me, Kate and only fractionally short of Anything Goes, in being a lavish, big-hearted revival that never leaves its audience shortchanged: a swellegant, elegant party indeed.

In fact, about half the show’s run time takes place during one very drunken, very eventful party at a swish Newport (USA, not Wales) mansion. To give a crib-notes summary: the story centres on a chaotic weekend in the lives of the ultra-wealthy Lord family as they prepare for an extravagant wedding – daughter Tracy is due to marry her second spouse, the dull accountant George, which is all plain sailing until her ex, Dexter, very literally sails into port. At the same time and for slightly tangential reasons, two undercover reporters are there to expose a sordid family secret or two.

With so many moving parts plot-wise, it takes a true beast of an ensemble to deliver the goods – and there really is a mighty company on offer here. Helen George offers a wry, enigmatic spin on Tracy, keeping both her cards close to her chest and her heart full of the idealism that led to the hurt of a fractured first marriage.

Opposite her, Julian Ovenden brings one of the best musical theatre voices on the planet to the role of Dexter, a perfect foil to Tracy and a sea of rueful calm amongst the chaos. The pair together have solid chemistry, a hint of hurt but enveloped in nostalgia.

There’s so much more to say. Freddie Fox oozes charisma as the romantic reporter Mike (the role played by Sinatra on film) and goes toe-to-toe with Ovenden in “Well Did You Evah” – which makes it all the more astonishing that this is his musical theatre debut.

Carly Mercedes Dyer returns to the Barbican after her award-winning turn in Anything Goes as colleague Beth – delivering a poignant performance of “Got You Under My Skin” as the morning sun comes up. Quips aplenty also come from national treasure Felicity Kendal, who follows up an appearance in Anything Goes to play Mother Lord. Nigel Lindsay revels in bringing down the house during “Now You Has Jazz”.

Jon Morrell’s costumes are suitably lavish, while Tom Rogers’ exquisite assortment of giant set pieces adequately fill the Barbican’s broad stage space. Anthony Van Laast, eager to repeat the success of his “Too Darn Hot” in 2024, has a blast choreographing numbers like “Jazz” and “Let’s Misbehave.” Musical supervisor Stephen Ridley has great fun with Larry Blank and Mark Cumberland’s orchestrations, teasing out playful sections for reeds, while Gareth Valentine’s dance arrangements allow the ensemble to dance the night away with verve.

What Kavanaugh gets so right in a show that could so easily feel meandering or sluggish is that, unlike the barnstorming Anything Goes or the fiery Kiss Me, Kate, High Society is a show with a quietly melancholic undercurrent, a story about longing, loss and love, where those who drink do so because they want to run away rather than run towards.

There might be fewer Porter classics here than in other shows (though it also pulls in some standards from other sources), but it all amounts to a dazzling, seductive night at the theatre – entirely what the Barbican summer shows are for.