Review: NIC & DESI: BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD, Crazy Coqs
In their first London appearance, real-life couple Nicolas Dromard and Desirée Davar took over The Crazy Coqs’ intimate stage with powerful vocals last night (17 September).
On many levels, Nic & Desi: Broadway to Hollywood is the sort of show perfectly suited to The Crazy Coqs cabaret space: an evening of well-sung, film and musical show standards to (re)enjoy. Brett Rowe as musical director (and excellent accompanying pianist) has done a great job of subtly rearranging numbers so that, out of context, they stand alone. An actual husband and wife couple singing ‘You’ll Never Get Away From Me’ (Gypsy) brings a new edge to the lyrics, and who would have thought ‘Dancing Through Life’ from Wicked could be combined with West Side Story’s ‘A Boy Like That’?
Such numbers set the scene for the loose narrative thread of the evening, of Nic and Desi meeting, getting married, and wanting to perform together (not having had much opportunity to do so in the shows they each have performed in). As a framing device, this largely works, and their story is a sweet one, marriage marred it seems only by Desi’s having had several knee operations and, surprisingly given the might of his voice, Nic’s recovery from cancer of the tongue. Sharing this provides a moment of emotional connection, although subsequent banter about the cost of medical treatment is a slightly awkward introduction to Cabaret’s ‘Money, Money’.
As well as enjoying singing together, Nic and Desi also talk of how much they love to partner each other in dance, so many of the songs included dance breaks. It is here that The Crazy Coq’s space is less enabling. With the grand piano taking up half of the already small stage, the sweep and elegance that their dance moves might have embraced are severely curtailed. As Desi quips, having performed on big Broadway stages, they are now on a ‘baby stage’. Later in the show, the dancing moves more into tap, and whilst the low stage means few in the audience can see their feet directly, the room’s mirrored ceiling does provide a view of the considerable skill they employ.
Both performers have strong voices, occasionally a little too strong for the size of the room, and it is the quieter ballads that stand out: a medley of Sondheim’s ‘Not While I’m Around’ (Sweeney Todd) and ‘Children Will Listen’ (Into the Woods) being a charming such instance (sound by Jeremy Sliwerski).
Caroline Sheen makes a guest appearance: she and Nic had played opposite each other as leads in Mary Poppins. Her standout solo number, the ‘Alto's Lament’ by Marcy & Zina, cleverly has the singer bemoaning the fact that altos never get to sing the melody whilst simultaneously demonstrating how central they are to the harmonies. Caroline’s range, both soprano and alto, is put to good use.
During this interlude, Desi said she was heading off for a costume change, but returned to sing a couple of pop songs in full Liza Minnelli get-up. While it is an amusing and impressive impersonation, it is not clear what it adds to the show and alters the overall tone of the evening. When, towards the end of the show, Desi sings ‘But The World Goes ‘Round’ (made famous by Minnelli in New York, New York), the memory of that impersonation is still fresh.
Before that, Caroline rejoins them both for an enjoyable medley of songs from Mary Poppins, a highlight of the evening. Closing the show with Willy Wonka’s ‘Pure Imagination’, Nic and Desi have obviously won many new fans.
Rather like Forrest Gump’s likening of life to a box of chocolates, it is never quite clear what is going to come next in Nic & Desi: Broadway to Hollywood, but across the evening, there are plenty of treats for fans of musicals.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Mike Askew