Theatre Review: Top Hat at Wales Millennium Centre

Rhys John Edwards

Before sitting down to watch a musical like Top Hat, I think it’s only fair to make a few allowances. After all, this is a show based on a film released in 1935.

In less than a decade it will be a hundred years old. So, just as you might politely giggle at a ‘gag’ in a Shakespeare play, it seems best to be generous and go into this sort of thing with an understanding that the show will be ‘of its day’.

But as it turned out, there was no need. Yes, Top Hat is intrinsically quaint and at times a little twee, but this adaptation from Matthew White and Howard Jacques is also witty, elegant and thoroughly entertaining.

Top Hat follows American song-and-dance man Jerry Travers (Phillip Atmore), who travels to London to star in a show produced by his friend Horace Hardwick (James Hume).

There, he meets Dale Tremont (Amara Okereke) and embarks on a romance that becomes immediately complicated by a case of mistaken identity.

Phillip Atmore oozes old-school charisma as Jerry Travers, effortlessly balancing suave confidence with impeccable comic timing.

His chemistry with Amara Okereke’s Dale Tremont is electric, and their shared dance numbers, in particular, capture that Fred-and-Ginger magic so many fans of the original will be hoping to see.

James Hume is wonderful as the flustered producer Horace Hardwick, while Sally Ann Triplett, as his wife Madge, commands the stage, making an equally strong impression despite only appearing in the second act.

Supporting turns from James Clyde as Horace’s unflappable butler Bates and Alex Gibson-Giorgio as the gloriously over-the-top Alberto Beddini also threaten to steal the spotlight with their every appearance.

You feel classier just for being in its presence

The live orchestra instantly elevates the experience. You feel classier just for being in its presence. Familiar Irving Berlin classics such as “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “Cheek to Cheek,” and “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” are nothing short of sublime.

The ensemble glides, spins, and, of course, taps with effortless grace, perfectly in step with Kathleen Marshall’s choreography, which, as all great choreography should, seems to disguise its obvious difficulty with the impression that the ensemble adore performing every single step of it.

Wit and wordplay outshines most modern musicals

There’s also a real sophistication to the script. Its wit and wordplay outshines most of the modern musicals I’ve seen this year.

While Matthew White and Howard Jacques clearly owe a debt to the original film, it’s evident that the source material has been thoughtfully refined, with its more dated humour filtered out, leaving only its best, which has then been polished to perfection.

For me, the dialogue in this production is actually its greatest strength, which might sound a little unfair, given its spectacular music and choreography, but I find that too often in musicals, dialogue feels like a necessary evil, a perfunctory bridge between numbers.

Here, though, the script truly sings (sorry!) with a sense of sarcasm that’s playful rather than cynical, and sharp banter tempered by warmth.

Glitz, glamour and sheer showbiz panache

That said, the storytelling itself is still rooted in familiar tropes, the kind of farcical romcom chaos you’ve seen before, the conclusions to which you can spot heading your way a mile off. But it all works.

If I had to describe it in a single word (which I suppose would have saved you some time), it would be ‘solid’ – which sounds a tad insulting, doesn’t it? But I mean it as the highest compliment.

Is this show going to surprise you? Not in a million years. This isn’t the kind of show that peaks, but nor does it ever dip. Not for a second. With suitable glitz, glamour and sheer showbiz panache, Top Hat is utterly dependable entertainment from beginning to end.

Top Hat is playing at Wales Millennium Centre till Saturday 15 November.