THEATRE REVIEW - Desperately Seeking Susan
- Posted on November 3, 2007 6:41 PM
- 11 comments
- Review By Zarina Raja
Preview -Thursday 1st November, Novello Theatre.
Whenever you go and see something that has been re-made, you always hope that it will be as good as - or maybe even better than - the original. Not often is this case, so I wasn’t expecting too much from Desperately Seeking Susan. As soon as the first Blondie track began to thump through the theatre, however, a flicker of hope was ignited within me. Even if the play was a load of rubbish, I would still get to listen to over two hours of Blondie tracks. What more could I ask for? (Perhaps two hours of Blondie songs actually sung by Debbie Harry?)
Desperately Seeking Susan is a film from the 80s starring Madonna as the punky, funky and free spirited Susan. Susan drifts about from place to place, keeping a string of men hanging off of her red-lipsticked words. One lover in particular, Jim, is seduced by sassy Susan’s charms. When he loses contact with Susan, he places notes for Susan in the personal ads section of the paper as a desperate attempt to stay in touch with her. (So, life really was unbearable before mobile phones then.) Rich house wife Roberta (played by Rosanna Arquette in the film) has nothing to do but sit about and wait for her smarmy and patronizing husband to come home from work. She begins to get obsessed with the ads between Susan and Jim and ‘accidentally’ shows up at one of their meeting places. Unfortunately, Susan does not make it to the rendezvous. A concussed Roberta gets mistaken for Susan instead as she has just purchased Susan’s trade mark dark gold jacket with a red pyramid on the back from a second hand store. A timid and confused Roberta gets swept up in Susan’s dangerous world, who is wanted for stealing a pair of very, very expensive earrings.
The film is like gold gust. It is trashy and a bit crap, but it is an 80s gem. Madonna plays Susan brilliantly. She struts about in a gloriously arrogant way, adorned in 80s trinkets and oozing with attitude – and blatantly, a West End show is not going to exceed it. The audience was full of die-hard Madonna and Desperately Seeking Susan fans that had obviously come for a good moan. The couple behind me insisted on muttering snide comments between each performance and ranting on about the film. At one point, one part of the grouchy couple muttered, ‘Oh god, this is so painful.’ I felt like turning round and stabbing him with my pen. That would be painful. My point is, don’t go if you are stupidly obsessed with Madonna, Blondie or the film. It quite obviously isn’t going to reach your expectations.
I, however, was pleasantly surprised by the performance. It was stuffed with all the Blondie classics, sung by various cast members and cleverly entwined in to the story of Desperately Seeking Susan. Emma Williams (Susan) pulls off the most convincing Blondie solos’ with her powerful and bellowing voice. She catches the Blondie vibe and expertly melts it in to the character of Susan and the arrogance of Madonna. The best song of the show, however, was performed by Susan’s lover, in the style of a live band performing at a gig. As Hanging on the telephone stormed its way through the theatre, I thought the audience was going to stand up and dance in that strange but cool, robotic style that Debbie Harry used to. I think – but I am not sure – that I even heard the guy behind me grudgingly say the word ‘fantastic.’ But maybe he just said, ‘f*** this.’ The sound man, who was perched under the stage, also loved the back to back Blondie tracks. I could see him shouting and singing along to all the songs while energetically nodding his head and throwing his arms about in a wild, composer manner.
Desperately Seeking Susan, as a stage adaptation, is definitely a success. It brings an 80s classic back to life and has given it its own unique edge by drenching it in Blondie tracks. The costumes are fun and sparkly, making the show lively and colourful. The performance is invigorating and enthusiastic. It doesn’t make you slump in your seat and fantasize about the interval. You feel wide awake and itching to go out; inspired to pull on some fishnets, back-comb your hair and head back to the 80s.
Get your Desperately Seeking Susan tickets here.
Have you seen Desperately Seeking Susan yet? Did you think it 'was 'fantastic' or 'f*** this?' Please leave a comment below.
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Comments (11)
James Tick
I also loved the show but I have to correct one thing from above. The "sound man" perched under the stage is actually the musical director and the wild arm movements were him conducting the band! That said, he does appear to be really enjoying himself and certainly worth watching as a performance in himself!
Posted on November 10, 2007 1:42 AM
Zarina Raja
James - thats embarrasing. I did think that maybe he was the conducter but I couldnt see the band! oh well, it was great anyway!
Posted on November 10, 2007 12:54 PM
Louise
I won tickets to see the show and was rather dissapointed, althought I maybe don't appriate the story as Blondie was before my time, I thought the dancing was rather poor and the singing muffled. The only good thing to be said was the stage design was at time good. Overall I would not recommend this show.
Posted on November 13, 2007 9:59 AM
Chanel
I can honestly say that this is the worst show I have ever seen in my life. The actors cant act and they certainly cannot sing. To me it felt like a high school musical on a low budget. I fell asleep at one point and resorted to thinking about leaving to keep me going.
Posted on November 13, 2007 10:04 AM
Sarah
I have to agree with Chanel - this was a pretty bad show. I however give credit to the actors who did the best they could with the worst stage script I have ever heard. With no point or passion, I hope it got better in the second half - I wouldn't know because I had already left
Posted on November 14, 2007 1:01 PM
Backdrifter
I didn't find it as bad as Sarah and Chanel did - but certainly didn't think it as good as Zarina did either. It was entertaining and generally well performed, with Rapture as the stand-out routine for me. But the whole thing is too slight - it was a fun but thin film to begin with, and trying to inflate it into a musical stretches it even further. I'm glad I saw it but can't see it being a huge success or a long-runner. By the way it doesn't quite take us back to the 80s - it's set in 1979 and is more suffused with the feel of late-70s NY new wave than 80s gloss, no doubt as a nod to the roots of its adopted musical source.
Posted on November 15, 2007 11:23 AM
thesmallerhalf
I found the show a mixed experience. I never saw the film, which might have helped in grasping an ephemeral plot that sometimes struggles to conjoin with the song lyrics and still make sense. The actors made good with the thin material, although the villain struggled in a thankless role.
But the songs were well performed with enthusiasm and verve. I was pleasantly distracted by the conductor's equally enthusiastic performance, eventually realising that his occasional absence of gesticulation coincided with keyboard pieces.
Good fun but don't expect too much.
Posted on November 16, 2007 11:08 AM
seanie007
We went to see DSS last Saturday night (11th November) and found it to be enjoyable. Not great but not terrible either. If you're a Blondie fan then you will love the show for the songs alone.
Overall though, there was something missing from the performance. I don't know whether it was the script, the acting, the set but DSS lacks something to really make you sit up in your seat and not want the show to end.
I had also seen the Sex Pistols the previous night and maybe if I had not I might have felt DSS was better.
Posted on November 16, 2007 12:18 PM
debbie harry fan
Sorry I watched this show and was utterly horrified. It was terrible - utter theatrical crap. I truly wish I'd gone to see The Dorchester now!
Posted on November 16, 2007 3:41 PM
john bingham
Debbie Harry Fan – it’s not too late to see The Dorchester.
Think of The Producers and here’s another romp through Hitler’s Germaneee. Except that it all takes place within one room of London’s Dorchester Hotel during the war and the Nazis have already goosestepped their way down Whitehall.
Hitler admirers the Duke and Duchess of Windsor are preparing themselves to become titular heads of state, although beneath the preening lurks insecurity. German foreign minister Von Ribbentrop tells them it would be unwise to take their incontinent dog for a quick walkies down Park Lane. Are they under house (hotel) arrest?
And what is the darling of theatreland, Noel Coward, really up to as he breaks off from his sniping bon mots to lock the waiter in a cupboard?
Yes, it’s all a farce played out with crispness of a Heil Hitler salute which only comes to a stutter when the waiter turns out to be B-b-b-bertie, King George VI, disguised in nothing more than a detachable Hitler moustache, trying to thwart his brother’s ambitions.
Tim Faulkner gives a nicely understated, louche performance as the Duke of Windsor, who neither looks (nor thankfully sounds like) Edward Fox. Toni Kanal as Wallis alternates between vamp and vampire as she demands £20m as the price for her loyalty to the Third Reich. Noel (Matthew Phillips) is the manipulative power behind the throne, by turns beguilingly camp and menacing, with Bertie (Alec Walters) shedding his stutter along with the moustache as events reach their denouement.
But not before Matthew Wynn (Ribbentrop) gives one of the most surreal performances of the evening. Picture ‘pub landlord’ Al Murray in jackboots lying on a couch playing Vivienne Lee in Gone with the Wind with a Teutonic/southern belle accent.
Written by JB Miller and directed by Lynda Baron, The Dorchester sparkles like Wallis’s jewels. It deserves a showing beyond ‘the fringe’ of Jermyn Street’s small basement venue.
John Bingham
Posted on November 19, 2007 1:24 AM
suzie kay
I went to see this show and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was punchy,quick and the Blondie songs had me harking back to my school days wanting to dance in the aisles. Go see it and enjoy a great show.
Posted on November 24, 2007 5:38 PM
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