Jumpin’ for joy with Harlem’s hepcats
iF YOu’ve been wishing you could check out of the 21st century and make believe it’s not really happening — just for a little while — this is most certainly the show for you.
it’s a delightful, syncopated trip down memory lane, transporting us back to the Harlem jazz clubs of the Twenties and Thirties. and no question: it sets the joint jumpin’ and jivin’.
it put me in mind of the louis Jordan musical Five Guys Named moe, but it is, in fact, a precursor of that show from 1978, featuring a non- stop fusillade of 30 songs written or performed by Fats Waller.
Numbers include T’ain’t Nobody’s Bizness, Jitterbug Waltz, Your Feet’s Too Big and i’m Gonna sit right Down and Write myself a letter.
amid snappy harmonies and raucous dancing, the three leading ladies shimmy gorgeously and provocatively in sequined Gatsby flapper-girl dresses.
landi Oshinowo has got scale, range and vocal technique that put me in mind of Whitney Houston, while renee lamb does a delightful turn as a Betty Boop- style bimbo and Carly mercedes Dyer adds a smoky touch with torch song Keepin’ Out Of mischief.
adrian Hansel and Wayne robinson give the girls a good run for their money as they adjust their trilbies and tiepins.
as if the singin’ ain’t enough, the choreography of strictly’s Obi mabuse keeps the show spinning like a top. it’s a miracle they get to catch their breath between twirling, hand-flapping, heel-kicking, cartwheeling and even twerking.
Pianist alex Cockle gets no less of a workout for his fingers, leading a band of trumpet, sax and bass. But the show is poignant, too, with the louis armstrong hit Black and Blue touching on the racism endured by Harlem musicians at the time.
But that’s not the point of Tyrone Huntley’s fizzing and tirelessly exuberant production, performed on a beautifully bling, all- gold art deco set with glittering walls and tunnel-effect stage for the band.
it’s Huntley’s directorial debut and with a show as assured as this behind him, he’s definitely a name to watch.