I really enjoyed this having not seen another version of half a sixpence. Charlie Stemp who plays the main character Arthur Kipps has an air of a young Lee Evans bringing energy and humor to the role. All cast are fantastic. I'm not quite sure why the director felt it necessary to put needless video editing over the scene changes. If it's a filmed live version then I would expect to see it as a member of the audience. But it's a minor niggle that shouldn't put you off watching if you get a chance.
2 Reviews
Half a million pounds of happiness in this one.
mark.waltz1 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
When this revisal of the musical version of "Kipps" opened to great acclaim, there was great hope among musical comedy fans that it would transfer to Broadway with its charming, charismatic star, Charlie Stemp, twice as magnetic as the original, Tommy Steele. I had been familiar with the original through the Broadway cast album and the film version, lavish but overlong, like most elephantine versions of Broadway shows. It hasn't had a major American revival, so to discover the professionally filmed version of this version is a delight.
I had seen Stemp in the role of Barnaby on Broadway in "Hello, Dolly!", and his delightful goofiness makes Kipps a perfect part for him. New songs have replaced a few of the original, and only "Economy" is missed. Franklily, I couldn't even tell which ones were new, but the big original production numbers and the sweet title song are standouts. Fortunately it had a few moments made available that had been on British TV variety and talk shows, so that encouraged me to reach out and find the whole production, filmed live on stage breathtakingly and with the actors (unlike other filmed versions of revised shows) knowing how to tone it down for the camera in closeups.
I've always considered this show a companion piece to the older "Me & My Girl" which had a successful Broadway transfer in 1987. Both deal with lower middle class men who find they are heirs to large estates and how this affects them. Both have British music hall sensibilities about them and enough differences to be unique. Kipps is reunited with old girlfriend Devon-Elise Johnson when he becomes engaged to upperclass (bit broke) Emma Williams which alters his decision. William's brother gets the naive Kipps involved in a financial situation that alters his finances, and that alters his plans.
While the upperclass Helen is presented as fun and basically nice, it's the sweet Anne he really loves, and this creates a bit of a musical "Downton Abbey" situation which makes sense as Julian Fellows rewrote the book for this. Vivien Parry is a scene stealer as William's grouchy mother, a younger variation of Maggie Smith's Lady Violet, and gets a few good zingers. It's a lavish production where applause only appears after the really big numbers so for a bit, the viewer will forget they are watching something filmed on stage. There's definitely a sense of Flash, Bang, Wallop as it continues to delight, even with a few slow moments.
I had seen Stemp in the role of Barnaby on Broadway in "Hello, Dolly!", and his delightful goofiness makes Kipps a perfect part for him. New songs have replaced a few of the original, and only "Economy" is missed. Franklily, I couldn't even tell which ones were new, but the big original production numbers and the sweet title song are standouts. Fortunately it had a few moments made available that had been on British TV variety and talk shows, so that encouraged me to reach out and find the whole production, filmed live on stage breathtakingly and with the actors (unlike other filmed versions of revised shows) knowing how to tone it down for the camera in closeups.
I've always considered this show a companion piece to the older "Me & My Girl" which had a successful Broadway transfer in 1987. Both deal with lower middle class men who find they are heirs to large estates and how this affects them. Both have British music hall sensibilities about them and enough differences to be unique. Kipps is reunited with old girlfriend Devon-Elise Johnson when he becomes engaged to upperclass (bit broke) Emma Williams which alters his decision. William's brother gets the naive Kipps involved in a financial situation that alters his finances, and that alters his plans.
While the upperclass Helen is presented as fun and basically nice, it's the sweet Anne he really loves, and this creates a bit of a musical "Downton Abbey" situation which makes sense as Julian Fellows rewrote the book for this. Vivien Parry is a scene stealer as William's grouchy mother, a younger variation of Maggie Smith's Lady Violet, and gets a few good zingers. It's a lavish production where applause only appears after the really big numbers so for a bit, the viewer will forget they are watching something filmed on stage. There's definitely a sense of Flash, Bang, Wallop as it continues to delight, even with a few slow moments.
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