A glittering tour de force

THE audience is promised high-kicking showgirls and glittering glamour – and Copacabana certainly delivers.

Craig Revel Horwood has returned to The Watermill to sink his creative teeth into Barry Manilow’s hit musical.

After being drawn into the imagination of composer Stephen, the audience is whisked off to post-war New York where the painfully green Lola tries to forge a career in showbusiness and melts the heart of barman and musician Tony.

But after being hired as a showgirl at the famous Copacabana club, her luck runs out as Lola catches the eye of a crooked customer whose intentions are entirely dishonourable.

There are some fantastic sequences, such as a male tap dancing number that simply bursts with energy, and the passionate – if a little disturbingly misogynist – Bolero D’Amore which brings the first half to a steamy close.

This sequence is visually stunning, with two dancing couples dressed in black flanking Lola in a bright red dress, as she is kidnapped by the cruel, darkly-clad Rico.

But there are also moments when the creative flair, which audiences have come to expect from the team behind Spend Spend Spend! and Hot Mikado, is not quite as explosive as in their previous offerings, which are admittedly hard acts to follow. Just Arrived, for example, which announces Lola’s arrival in New York, is rather static. But this is, perhaps, nitpicking.

Edward Baker-Duly as Tony is polished and Laura Pitt-Pulford plays a sympathetic Lola. Watermill regular Karen Mann as Gladys is the Bette Midler of any production she stars in, taking much of the production’s heart, shared with Basienka Blake as Conchita, the ageing showgirl, who bears no small resemblance to Sophia Loren.

Any criticisms are only because The Watermill sets such high standards for itself. Copacabana is a thoroughly entertaining night out at the theatre with music and passion and plenty of fashion.