West End Recast: The Results

by Emily Hardy

In order to write the following, I first need to do a little recasting of my own - stepping away from the objective, unbiased, detached role of 'Theatre Critic' and into the excessively proud (but potentially biased) role of 'Director's mate.' Adam Lenson exploded into the west end last night with a seemingly impossible evening of entertainment.

He is also my friend.

As time goes on, more and more of my friends are popping up in and around the West End. Unfortunately, (and because I attempt to review everything fairly and with clean impartiality) this makes it increasingly difficult to me to review anything at all. So, by my own standards and regulations, this is not a review. Not A Review People! Myself and my co-editor have written very passionately about the decomposing state of criticism and, not willing to hypocritically contribute to this myself, I continue with great pride (and for complete unadulterated pleasure) in the role of Adam's mate. And if confessing this hasn't entirely undermined your faith in my opinion, there are a few things that I simply couldn't resist putting on the page. You can trust or disregard the following as you wish....

Adam Lenson, perpetually fascinated by the possibility of the 'other' self - 'the me that I am not' - has given an ensemble of West End stars the opportunity, for one night only, to play characters that they would never be cast as and are entirely unsuitable for. We all feel restricted. It's no secret that this industry sorts us into categories dependent upon gender, colour, physical characteristics and age. We all harbour desires to perform beyond our physical limitations but regardless of talent and ability, casting directors have to consider these limitations to prevent stories from becoming confusing, historically inaccurate or just plain ridiculous. I'm pretty sure it would raise a few eye-brows if I were to be cast as Leo Frank in Parade, for example, being a young white female and not a middle aged, Jewish, American Man.

With this in mind, Adam has accomplished something incredibly clever. The absurdity and surprise of each song choice made the Duke of York audience howl, but it went beyond comedy. Struck by something that far exceeded the initially novelty, I was enthralled by the fresh interpretations of the well-known numbers and astounded by the vocals. (I already knew that this was a collection of fine singers but West End Recast demonstrated how much further these impeccable voices could be stretched). Adam allows us to revel in the endless possibility of this company's talent but also reminds us that, try as we might, it is impossible to completely disregard the performer's individual physical limitatations. On this particular evening, you wouldn't want to either; it was all part of the fun.

The layered and eclectic evening inevitably had some highlights: A seductive Jon Robyns wooed us with his Ado Annie - funny at first and then just completely gorgeous. He later took the roof off with And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going) from Dreamgirls. Katie Rowley-Jones sang a Rent medley more balls than any previous Roger or Collins and Martin Callaghan broke us with a ridiculous and utterly convicted rendition of Dance Ten, Looks Three, which you may also know as Tits and Ass, from A Chorus Line. Whoever had that idea takes the comedy genius biscuit and... what a voice!

The second act included electrifying performances from Laura Pitt-Pulford as a sexy Tevye and Tracie Bennett as a powerful (and strangely convincing) Joe from Showboat. Cynthia Erivo, who I believe might be capable of singing just about any song in the musical theatre repertoire, then brought the show to a close with two numbers from Funny Girl.

But this surely can't be it for West End Recast. With musical supervision and arrangements by Daniel A.Weiss, a delectable onstage band and no limit to the talent of the performers at our disposal, the possibility here is endless. Adam needs to bring his magic and imagination back for audiences to enjoy on a regular basis.

PS. I first met Adam at an audition in 2005. I sang As If We Never Said Goodbye from Sunset Boulevard for him and his feedback included the indication that my song choice was completely and utterly ridiculous, serving only to emphasise how young my voice sounded. I wonder now, if we were able to turn back the clocks, if his response would perhaps be a little different... "You're the least likely Norma Desmond I've ever met in my life... Welcome to West End Recast!"

@Emily_L_Hardy

JBR was asked to contribute some comments for the programme. These were his thoughts.

The audition process for a West End musical can be long, arduous and ultimately thankless for somany. What makes one person castable and another person not? What are the seemingly arbitrary decisions that a Casting Director makes in the first round of pre-screens in deciding who to take forward to meet the team? It's a far more complex process than the actor might imagine.

Casting a West End musical may take several weeks of auditions, round, after round, after round. It's not unusual to be called back seven or more times, and unless you're a 'name', it's likely you may never know what stage in the process you're at. Is it a first sing, or a first sing for the panel? Is it a recall or a work session? Does a work session mean you're definitely being considered? Are you up for a part, or a cover, or ensemble? Chances are you'll never know.

Long-running show throw up their own problems - it's a jigsaw to be pieced together. Often, when the first round of pre-screens begin, the casting director may not have a definite idea of who has signed on for another year. It's not unheard of for actors to be called back a few times for a role, only to discover half way through the process that the role isn't available. So that's the end of that journey, at least for this year. Could the panel's favourite Elphaba, standing a mere five foot ten, play convincingly against a five foot seven Fiyero? Can that male ensemble member cover two separate leading roles AND hit a solid top B in the chorus? How much can the key be altered to accommodate that headline grabbing pop star, without distorting the orchestrations too much? Piecing it all together takes time.

The heartening truth is though, that if a part is meant for you, there's little you can do to lose it. Final auditions can be rearranged if the actor unexpectedly blanks during the audition, extra dance lessons can be arranged to bring non-dancers up to speed, intensive acting and/or singing lessons can be provided with any number of one of the West End's 'magicians' who can knock the pop star/model/reality star/untrained talent into shape in record time.

But how much easier would the casting process be if companies operated a gender- blind, colour blind casting process, perhaps along the lines of the RSC. We have adopted, in recent years, a more laissez-faire response to casting, from Jonathan Pryce's Engineer, to Sonia Swaby's Nancy, to a rainbow coalition of Billy Elliott's. The best person for the job, regardless of colour, has prevailed. But what next? Bertie Carvel's Miss Trunchbull was groundbreaking, but would we really accept a Malephaba? Or a trans actor in the role? How far can we suspend our belief?

I began my own oerforming career in opera in the 1980's where the voice was the only thing that mattered. Complaining once, during a performance of The Magic Flute that the Pamina I was watching was old enough to be Tamino's mother, my singing teacher told me "close your eyes and open your heart. Now do you believe?"

Tonight you've witnessed a host of West End stars singing roles they think they could never play. I'd ask you to close your eyes and open your hearts. Do you believe?

@JoshRochford

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