Greasepaint show one of funniest I’ve seen
GREASEPAINT Productions hit the stage at Loughborough Town Hall for the first time on Tuesday, May 16, with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
The verdict? Quite simply, it was absolutely hilarious.
Based on the classic 1988 film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, the musical is one of the funniest productions I’ve ever seen.
The audience was transformed to the luxurious French Rivera, where sophisticated conman Lawrence Jameson’s decedent life comes crashing down with the arrival of larger then life Freddy Benson - a conman of entirely different order.
Lyndon Perry starred as cool and collected Lawrence and James Nelson made the entire room erupt in laughter with his portrayal of Freddy.
The pair complimented each other perfectly on stage, a real ‘ chalk and cheese’ duo.
Both were funny in their own right and made this reporter snort with laughter (attractive, I know) with the All About Ruprecht number.
Songs Son of Great Big Stuff, Ruffinhousin’ Mit Shüffhausen and Love is in My Legs also left me scribbling the word ‘hysterical’ over and over again in my notes.
What I liked about Lyndon and James’ performance is not only were they were able to nail the big jokes with excellent comedic timing, they had also perfected the small facial movements and long pauses that left people in stitches.
Jenny Nelson, who starred as brash southern American Jolene, was another notable performer with Oklahoma? being one of my top three numbers - how Jenny was able to be thrown in the air wearing a wig half a metre tall and still keep her voice on point is beyond me!
Sean Hickling, who starred as Andre, and Jodie Blowfield, as Muriel, took a bit of a back seat in the first half of the pro- duction but stole the stage in part two.
The pair became my two favourite characters completely winning me over with Like Zis/Like Zat and their cheeky one-liners.
Erica Makin, who took the role of American millionaire heiress Christine Colgate, wowed with her vocals and performed so well I never saw the final twist coming.
Really, it was just an amazing first night and director and co-choreographer Shane Perry should be very proud of what was achieved.
As should musical director James Stevens and choreographer Jeanette Patrick-Cooper - who must have had her work cut out with dances ranging from ballroom to a good ol’ hoedown.
Props as well to the orchestra and to the large ensemble who really brought the production together.
Apart from a few small timing issues with lighting, I thought the performance was close to perfection. Megan Cox