The Landor Theatre in association with Barry Fantoni
Loving Art
Landor Theatre
28 May - 21 June 2008
 Couzens
A review by Mags Gaisford for EXTRA! EXTRA!
The place: ‘Max Wax’s recording studio, Soho. The time: around 1958. Giant records are painted on the walls and floor. A giant Bush radio with built - in door dominates the set. As the lights come up, a plummy old - school BBC announcer’s voice tells us we’re witnessing a recording by Manny, Mitch and Mo. This comedy trio of musical ‘musketeers’ is flogging the dead donkey of popular music, trying to conjure tunes ‘the milkman can whistle to’.
Enter our hero, the mysterious ‘Art’: reader of Romantic poetry, frequenter of greasy spoons, musical prodigy. Art’s instinct for soulful ballads and toe - tapping hits targets the zeitgeist of the youth. But blocking the way to the top of the pops is the ego of Buck Wax: ruthless entrepreneur and heir to ‘Max Wax Productions’. Art’s saviour could be Helen, Buck’s fiancee, who has an eye for talent and a ‘legal eagle’ father. Buck tries various ruses to exploit the ‘artwork’ and quench his thirst for power. Max, his father, has a dodgy ticker and can’t handle the pace. Can Helen and the Musketeers catch Buck red - handed and release the soundtrack to the rock and roll generation from his sweaty grip?
This ‘musical pastiche’ is described in the programme as ‘a celebration of the rock and roll revolution’. Granted, ‘art’ needs true believers to flourish. And yes, believers with power are particularly helpful. But I couldn’t help feeling unsatisfied by the remarkably un - rock and roll resolution to this tale. The programme also says that Art’s songs face ‘opposition from all sides’. This is not strictly true. The only visible danger is Buck (Luke Hallifax), who is a problematic character.
His image is ‘Revenge of the Nerds’: tall and gangly with cartoon grimaces and teenage mood swings. Are we to believe this man poses a serious threat to Art - to the point of physical assault? (an event, incidentally, reported by the announcer, but of which we are shown no physical evidence). If he incarnates the cowardly young capitalist, like a child brandishing his father’s gun, then is the favoured alternative the status quo? It’s difficult to believe that the staid, tweedy Max Wax (John Mawson) has a real instinct for what the youth want to hear. Perhaps it should be seen as a frank depiction of the difficult birth of rock and roll, whose survival depended on the mid-wifery of the patriarchy. Perhaps I’m betraying my ignorance of this era in musical history.
Barry Fantoni and Barry Booths’ musical ensemble is cleverly composed and highly entertaining in parts. The journey from tired Scottish ditties, composed by the affable Mo (Alex Browne), through wonderfully camp musical parodies performed by Buck, to the real ‘Art’ work, demonstrates the need for a more progressive sound. A highlight was Buck’s rendition of Manny (Gary Trainor)’s song about God: ‘The Big Architect In The Sky’.
Writer Barry Fantoni is well known for his ‘Private Eye’ cartoons. Knowing this, it’s easy to see many of these scenes as witty comic strips, capturing the egos of the music business: the swaggering little big - shot ‘Kingdom J Power’ (Adam Rhys - Davies), the greasy ‘Deano Valentino’ (Ido Gonen). But the characters are curiously one - dimensional, which diminishes the human element of the story. It’s hard to believe in them as real people. Art (Trevor Jary) somehow lacks the chutzpah of a heart - throb. As such, it’s hard to see the attraction between him and the jolly - hockey - sticks Helen (Emma Odell) in her pearls and pastels.
The band plays both the songs integral to the story and the score to the musical. It’s clever when the two overlap in a knowing, tongue - in - cheek way. The girl - next - door ‘Sis’ (Jennifer Potts) perches coyly on the edge of the kitchen table to belt out Art’s song ‘deepest night’ before serving up fish and chips. A starry - eyed Helen sings a paean to her new love in her pink boudoir as Manny and Mo twirl behind her clutching Art’s photo to their chests. Sophisticated soundscapes are composed, coordinating mime, song, dance and sound effects to illustrate, ultimately, a change in tone to the musical mindset. It makes you think of Elvis Presley’s controversial mixing of ‘black’ and ‘white’ sounds and how strange that must have felt at the time.
The occasional intrusion of the ‘musical theatre’ style, with its quavering voices, detracts from the edgier, rhythm - and - blues sound that’s materialising. It’s a shame that the grand finale piece is one of the least innovative songs. There’s a lot of fun to be had in this production. This said, I don’t know about the milkman, but I won’t be whistling to the tune of ‘Let the Good Times Begin’.
0207 7377276
www.landortheatre.co.uk
Tickets: £15 (£12 conc)
70 Landor Road.
London SW9 9PH
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