<<  -- 2 --  David Wilkins    SEX AND ART

There's a slowness, here, to demarcate these three sailors as individuals but that's probably appropriate. They are, initially, of a type. Soon enough Tim Howar's Ozzie is exposed as the primarily horny 'carpe diem' guy. Adam Garcia as Chip takes a little longer to lower his defences (but not too much longer with, one supposes, his bell-bottoms) while Aaron Lazar is the sentimental besottee (spell-checkers don't like that word but it seems reasonable enough to me!). They all sing pretty fabulously and in style. I had a moment or two of doubt when Lazar's Gabey sang the poignant, harmonically searching, Lonely Town with more ingenue displacement than delving angst but, of course, it's absolutely right for the character.

Sylvia Syms is the drunken singing teacher of which dreams are made from nightmares. Her classic line: 'Sex and art don't mix. If they did, I'd have gone right to the top!' alone justified the night-out for most of the audience. The strangely hilarious role of Judge Pitkin W Bridgework made a show-stealer of Andrew Shore -- a stunningly calculated performance of eyebrows and larynx.

Of the three girls, Caroline O' Connor was the star as the no-holds-barred (all encouraged) taxi-driver, Hildy Esterhazy. Lucy Schaufer as anthropologist (moonlighting as a nymphomaniac) Claire de Loone brought a degree (or two) of classy persona that worked well with her fur-coat and no-knickers essence. Helen Anker as Gabey's idol (Miss Turnstiles AKA Ivy Smith) probably crossed the finishing line with the bronze medal but I'm still unsure whether that isn't the fault of Bernstein -- Comden and Green having far too much fun with the outrageousness of the other pairings. She was, in her own way, completely convincing and sang gloriously.

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