Vicki Baum worked as a parlour maid for six months in a Berlin hotel so she could do her research. Her best-selling novel has been a play, an all-star film (with Greta Garbo) and a musical by Robert Wright, George Forrest and Maury Yeston which is now revived with great success by Thom Southerland.
The book, a social panorama, follows the fates of the guests and staff in 1928. Wall Street has crashed and time is running out for them all. The Nazis will all too soon be in power. The guests include a famous ageing ballerina (Christine Grimandi), an impecunious baron (Scott Garnham) who steals her jewellery and a pregnant typist (Victoria Serra) who dreams of becoming a movie star. A company director (Jacob Chapman) attempts to cheat his stockholders and a dying Jewish accountant (George Rae) decides that it is time he started living it up.
Grand Hotel is essentially a parade of characters, acted on a narrow traverse stage. Southerland’s hugely enjoyable production will, no doubt, have an instant cult following. The inventive and exhilarating choreography is by Lee Proud. The songs are tuneful. The one criticism would be that you can’t always hear the lyrics.