Prenger scores in solo song cycle on a Sunday
Posted by Mark Smith on Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Jodie Prenger is currently embarking on a geographically-challenging UK
tour of mostly one-nighters in the one-woman musical Tell Me On A Sunday,
bringing her back into the world of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a judge on the TV
casting show I'd Do Anything, which sprang Prenger to fame some years
ago as the nation's chosen Nancy in Oliver! This Lloyd Webber/Don Black
show was originally a TV special starring Marti Webb in 1980 and was later
extended to form the first part of Song and Dance, with an entirely
separate dance element added for the second half. Various versions have been
doing the rounds since, including an extended and rather frenetic version
starring Denise van Outen which I saw in the West End back in 2003.
Director Paul Foster's latest version of Tell Me On A Sunday is set in the time it was written – a time when email and mobile phones didn't exist and when you still had to literally 'write home' to Mum. But this song cycle reminds us that love and disappointment, hurt and regret are the same in any age. Prenger's heroine Emma embarks on a series of misadventures in love as she goes to New York and repeatedly falls for the wrong man – be it the older man, the younger man, the married man or the cheat, they all let her down. Prenger is well cast in this piece, showing the vulnerability of the character throughout, both vocally and in terms of her facial expressions, acting and considered movement. There's a heart-breaking intensity to both the title number and 'Nothing Like You've Ever Known' – the audience feels for her disappointment – and Prenger gives the necessary anger to 'Take That Look Off Your Face' too.
The second half sees Prenger emerge as herself for a couple of numbers with Musical Director Frances Goodhand on piano, and a question and answer session. The likeable and enthusiastic Prenger regales the audience with tales of her time in Oliver!, problems she had with the revolve while starring in Les Mis, and her love for animals and life. Understudy Jodie Beth Meyer makes a brief appearance for the Evita duet 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall', while Prenger recalls another recent tour of Calamity Jane with a tender rendering of 'Secret Love'. The final number of this rather slight evening (at under 2 hours) was 'Unexpected Song', a number which was added to Tell Me On A Sunday when it became part of Song and Dance.
Tell Me On A Sunday is certainly worth revisiting as a reminder of Don Black's witty lyrics and Lloyd Webber's range of musical styles, although their far larger-scale powerhouse Sunset Boulevard is receiving much greater plaudits on the London stage at the moment. This is at the other end of the scale completely, staged simply, with a backdrop of a lit-up New York skyline and landmarks concealing the onstage band behind. There is just enough context for this song cycle to be enjoyed and understood and Prenger serves the piece well.
Director Paul Foster's latest version of Tell Me On A Sunday is set in the time it was written – a time when email and mobile phones didn't exist and when you still had to literally 'write home' to Mum. But this song cycle reminds us that love and disappointment, hurt and regret are the same in any age. Prenger's heroine Emma embarks on a series of misadventures in love as she goes to New York and repeatedly falls for the wrong man – be it the older man, the younger man, the married man or the cheat, they all let her down. Prenger is well cast in this piece, showing the vulnerability of the character throughout, both vocally and in terms of her facial expressions, acting and considered movement. There's a heart-breaking intensity to both the title number and 'Nothing Like You've Ever Known' – the audience feels for her disappointment – and Prenger gives the necessary anger to 'Take That Look Off Your Face' too.
The second half sees Prenger emerge as herself for a couple of numbers with Musical Director Frances Goodhand on piano, and a question and answer session. The likeable and enthusiastic Prenger regales the audience with tales of her time in Oliver!, problems she had with the revolve while starring in Les Mis, and her love for animals and life. Understudy Jodie Beth Meyer makes a brief appearance for the Evita duet 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall', while Prenger recalls another recent tour of Calamity Jane with a tender rendering of 'Secret Love'. The final number of this rather slight evening (at under 2 hours) was 'Unexpected Song', a number which was added to Tell Me On A Sunday when it became part of Song and Dance.
Tell Me On A Sunday is certainly worth revisiting as a reminder of Don Black's witty lyrics and Lloyd Webber's range of musical styles, although their far larger-scale powerhouse Sunset Boulevard is receiving much greater plaudits on the London stage at the moment. This is at the other end of the scale completely, staged simply, with a backdrop of a lit-up New York skyline and landmarks concealing the onstage band behind. There is just enough context for this song cycle to be enjoyed and understood and Prenger serves the piece well.
