Director: Paul Baker
Frankie & Beausy is a cabaret starring West End stalwarts Frances Ruffelle and Norman Bowman which uses a disparate range of borrowed (and sometimes adapted) songs to tell the story of a relationship.
Featuring a wide array of songs, one of the pleasures of Frankie and Beausy is identifying their origins and trying to predict what might come next. Starting with 60s Music Hall nostalgia and spinning off into Luther Vandross, Stephen Sondheim and Dusty Springfield, the musical choices manage to be known without being clichéd standards. What’s more, they are well arranged by Musical Director, Paul Baker, suiting Ruffelle and Bowman’s voices as well as the band of piano, cello and drums.
What makes the show more than a collection of songs is how they are woven into telling a story. Meeting at a train station, Frankie and Beausy have a whirlwind romance and a quick marriage before having to work out the difficulties in the transition between falling in love and loving each other. With the characters sharing the actor’s names, and some very specific lines about drunken antics at the Tony Awards, or a can-can at The Ivy, the story certainly has elements of real life even if the love story seems to be fictional.
It’s this element of authenticity that puts some sour into the performance. Starting with slick patter songs, the polished stage presences of the performers, matched with the theatrical nature of the music, clash with the story of an everyday relationship and real-life feelings. At times the stage smiles ring false and the big, emotional songs ring hollow. This is especially true in a space as intimate as The Crazy Coqs, where stage movement feels too large. The moment when a particular Sondheim number proves too tricksy and Ruffelle and Bowman have a bit of genuine banter is the most genuine part of the show before they get into their groove again and unfortunately carry on like the professionals they are.
Reviewed on 6 June and tours again in November 2023
The Reviews Hub Score
Too slick and professional
