Philip Barry, one of the most popular American dramatists in the 1920’s and 1930’s, is best remembered today for The Philadelphia Story which he wrote for Katherine Hepburn and which ran for 417 performances in 1939. Hepburn starred in the film version with Cary Grant and James Stewart. In 1955 it was turned into a Hollywood musical, High Society, with a great score by Cole Porter and starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm.
The present production by Maria Friedman is surprisingly staged in-the-round but it is, nevertheless, the best stage version of High Society I have seen. Joe Stilgoe’s cabaret turn at the piano gets the show off to a great start and cast and audience have a swell party.
The screwball story is updated from 1939 to 1958 but remains the same. A divorcee (Kate Fleetwood), a very rich socialite, is about to get married to a stuffed shirt when her ex-husband (Rupert Young) turns up. She gets drunk and has a midnight swim in the nude with a gossip columnist (Jamie Parker).
The great strength of this revival and what gives it its energy and excitement is the inventive choreography of Nathan M Wright. There is nothing more exhilarating on the London stage than the opening to Act 2 which begins with “Well, Did You Evah?” and is then immediately followed by “Let’s Misbehave.” These two numbers are absolutely terrific and have the audience cheering.