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A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewFrom Here to Eternity
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"This is the army soldier - fighting is a sort of prerequisite here!"
— Captain Holmes
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Darius Campbell as Sgt Milt Warden and Rebecca Thornhill as Karen Holmes
(Photo: Johan Persson) |
It is a tall challenge for the English actor-singers to measure up to the likes of Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift, but their singing is wonderful. The spoiler in the opening scene where Lorene (Siubhan Harrison) tells Karen (Rebecca Thornhill) that her fiancé Robert E Lee Prewitt has been killed makes sure that we don't expect happy endings for this musical. It is this grittiness which I liked in the production.
There is no shying away from why the Commander's wife Karen Holmes miscarried and set her on a life of marital infidelity. Her husband whines that she won't forgive him for one little mistake, but this philanderer (Martin Marquez) gave his wife gonorrhoea and caused her not only to miscarry their child but left her unable to have children at all.
Sergeant Milt Warden who awakens Karen's love is played by Darius Campbell who has a magnificent voice with a good range into a deepening baritone. Darius may not be Burt Lancaster but he is tall and imposing and attractive.
The writer and director wanted to remind us that this wasn't a tropical beach holiday but a full military setting and this is conveyed with an artistic blend of drill exercises and imaginative choreography from Javier de Frutos. He has the men exercising in the bunk room and then sliding on and over and under the beds in an exciting dance showing us both military discipline and sexuality in "G Company Blues."
The story line too takes in the military as Prewitt (Robert Lonsdale) and Maggio (Ryan Sampson), trying to make a fast buck, are caught by military police in a gay bar, the Waikiki Lounge and Maggio is sentenced to prison in the stockade breaking rocks and worse. Prewitt, a career soldier or "Thirty Year Man" is a talented boxer and bugler but he refuses on transfer to Hawaii to take part in boxing or bugling. He meets a girl, a hostess Lorene who is trying to make enough money to "retire" in middle America in respectability and normality.
The scene when Sergeant Warden first meets Karen is direct and to the point. He tells her directly that he wants to go to bed with her and in seconds she is standing on the table in her underwear! This doesn't seem to be the woman whose husband describes her as 8 years of frigidity!
Another military exercise is carried out with ropes set like a cats cradle; fluid, clever and beautifully executed. The New Congress Club shows the girls in "Don'cha Like Hawaii" and "You Got The Money." In "Fight the Fight" Prewitt sings while the other soldiers fight. "A Man is on his own until he dies" is the plaintiff lyric. After an interlude in the gay bar, the first act closes on the beach with Warden and Karen singing "More Than America" to the backdrop of a postcard with animated waves crashing on the shore and of course "that kiss".
Act Two starts with a reprise of "Thirty Year Man" and Prewitt and Lorene sing the ironic "Love Me Forever Today" the irony in the juxtaposition of Forever and Today. Maggio is seen being cruelly treated on prison duties and sings "I Love The Army" with lyrics like "I love my country" ending with the bitter but more realistic, "I hate the army". This is a heart breaking performance from Ryan Sampson. A change of rhythm for "Ain't Where I Want To Be Blues" Prewitt and Warden regret their lot. The boxing ring is created by men holding ropes and when they move, the excitement is heightened and Bruno Poet's lighting raises the intensity.
The four lovers sing the title number, a show stopping ballad before we are reminded of the date, 6 December 1941 and goes into the melodic "The Boys of 41" and a spectacular recreation of the terrible bombing raid on Pearl Harbour. Instead of a strobe, the cast going into slow motion through the lighting effects, the smoke and the bangs of the explosions. The remarkable finale transcends theatrical realism.
These characters are not perfect but real personalities with human flaws and idiosyncrasies. The tunes are good, fit with the 1940s and I am sure will grow as you hear them. The erotic choreography is to die for and hopefully word of mouth will encourage people to make the trek to the far end of Shaftesbury Avenue to see this exciting, evocative wartime musical with its realistic edge.
| From Here to Eternity
Music by Stuart Brayson Lyrics by Tim Rice Book by Bill Oakes Based on the novel by James Jones Directed by Tamara Harvey Starring: Darius Campbell, Ryan Sampson, Robert Lonsdale, Siubhan Harrison, Rebecca Thornhill, Martin Marquez, David Stoller With: Christine Allado, Keisha Amponsa Banson, Marc Antolin, Julie Armstrong, James Ballanger, John Brannoch, Abigail Climer, Brian Doherty, Jessica Ellen, Dale Evans, Shimi Goodman, Kirby Hughes, Lauren Ingram, Dean John-Wilson, Joshua Lacey, Carolyn Maitland, Viftach Mizrahi, Nuno Queimado, Lucinda Shaw, Warren Sollars, Rebecca Sutherland, Laura Tyrer, Lauren Varnham, adam Vaughan, Stephen Webb, Matthew Wesley Choreography by Javier de Frutos Musical Supervision: Catherine Jayes Orchestrations: Brian Morales Sound: Gregory Clarke Lighting Designer: Bruno Poet Sound Designer: Mick Potter Projection Design: Jon Driscoll Orchestrations and Music Supervisor: David White Fight Director: Kate Waters Musical Director: Tom Deering Running time: Two hours 50 minutes including one interval Box Office: 020 7379 5399 Booking to 26th April 2014 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 23rd October 2013 performance at The Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8DP (Tube: Tottenham Court Road) |
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Musical Numbers
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Act One
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Act Two
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