Artistic director David Babani has had a big success with Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George and A Little Night Music. Can he repeat it with Sondheim’s Road Show? It has had many incarnations. Firstly, there was Wise Guy directed by Sam Mendes, then Gold directed by Harold Prince, then Bounce, directed by John Doyle; none worked. The musical, a satire on capitalism and the American Dream, has now been radically revised for its London premiere. Scaled down, both musically and in its number of actors, it lasts just 95 minutes.
The script is by John Weidman and the parable, much darker, is told through two brothers, Addison and Wilson Mitzner, who really existed. Their story is the story of modern America and their journey takes them from the Alaskan Gold Rush at the turn of the century to the Florida Real Estate Boom in the 1930’s. Addison (Michael Jibson) is creative, artistic and becomes a famous architect of grandiose houses; Wilson (David Bedella) is a wastrel, a con-man, a gambler, a destructive influence. For him the thing that really matters is the actual game of getting rich. The best thing that ever happened to Addison was falling in love.
John Doyle, who directed a memorable Sweeney Todd with actor-musicians, directs en traverse. The staging is slick, inventive and has a vaudeville bounce about it. Jibson and Bedella are an excellent double act. Wads of dollar bills are regularly used as ticker tape and money literally rains down on cast and audience. Road Show, very tuneful, is an absolute must for Sondheim fans; and, as always, audiences will come out of the show wanting to read the clever lyrics.