Book, Music and Lyrics: Victoria and Todd Buchholz
Director: Shaun Kerrison
Cycling musicals are all the rage, After Ride, about the first woman to cycle around the world, and which played at Charing Cross Theatre in September, now comes Glory Ride, performed in workshop mode, scripts on hand, at the Other Palace for just thee shows. It tells the true story of Gino Bartali, Italy’s most famous cyclist, and how he managed to help hundreds of children escape Fascist Italy during the Second World War. This musical by daughter/father duo Victoria and Todd Buchholz doesn’t lack drama, but the songs don’t quite hold their own at the moment.
The book, however, is impressive, and the show begins with a race in which a young Gino beats an established cyclist Mario, who then takes Gino under his wing. Almost immediately, we see Gino full of swagger and confidence persuading his younger brother to come with him to scale a dangerous road up a mountainside. Gino comes back alone, and vows never to ride again.
Soon, the Second War World beckons and Mario becomes one of Mussolini’s Black Shirts. He’s ordered to close down Florence and root out any ‘undesirable’ children from the city. Undesirable here means Jewish, and although the Cardinal of Tuscany and accountant Nico have been forging passports for the children, the only person allowed in and out of the city is Gino, if he were to decide to ride again.
It’s a thrilling story that only fully came to light in this century, and it’s easy to imagine this played out in a larger space with plenty of stagecraft to represent the races and the brushes with the Black Shirts. But for a musical set in Florence, the score is decidedly un-Italian and, apart from a few numbers, is generic, sounding very much like many other musical theatre shows. The Buchholz compositions lack a unique style.
Still, there are a few that stand out, like the opening number, which promises great things, and the jaunty Going Going Gone which closes the first half and opens the second. As Gino, James Darch gives a spirited performance and does well with the Buchholzs’ higher registers that they favour. Matt Blaker is very funny as the accountant Nico who must go to Milan asking the church for more money, and Daisy Wood-Davis does well as Adriana, Gino’s friend, the only significant female character. Most striking is Marcus Harman who plays a reluctant Black Shirt.
The team, including director Shaun Kerrison, have collected a huge cast, all of them from West End musicals, and with the four band members, the tally on stage comes to an staggering 19. Surely, in future iterations this number could be reduced with actors doubling up on roles? From tonight’s performance it’s not entirely evident that the show needs such a large ensemble.
It will be interesting to see how Glory Ride evolves, and if the songs could be tweaked somehow to reflect the Italian setting and the time period – Not full on Volare, but some stylistic flourishes to make the score a little more memorable. If the Buchholzs get it right, Glory Ride will certainly have wheels.
Runs until 16 November 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Has wheels
