Back in London for the first time since a successful 2009 run in Hoxton, Stuart Wood’s fun cabaret musical, Frank’s Closet throws open its doors at the Union Theatre throughout March.
I reviewed the audio recotding from 2009 when it received a celebratory ‘listening party’ and enjoyed it, but would the visuals I’d thought about fit the show as staged?
Frank (Andy Moss) is a costume collector, and it is the eve of his wedding to Alan. Crunch time means he has to donate the dresses he has amassed from purchase, gift, or even worse.
As Frank tries to work out his doubts about marriage, each garment conjures up the diva who wore it, and each has a song and a sage piece of advice.
Backed up throughout by the Gaiety Girls – who also offer pre-show and interval entertainment with pub barmaid Sheila Blige (Paul Toulson) – Frank and his lady legends blast open those closet doors.
Set in the 1990s, the closet is both literal (a place to store Frank’s dresses) and metrophorical (some men feared outing and exposure).
The set is a cartoonish theatre arch, each costume presented as a wooden imitation before the singer comes out with all guns and octaves blazing.
Marie Lloyd, Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, Karen Carpenter, Agnetha of ABBA, Judy Garland, and Dusty Springfield are the chosen divas who stalk the stage in the person of Luke Farrugia.
Now and then, Farrugia completely captures the voice (Lloyd and Merman), at other times, it is more a parody of the persona. It is always high camp and fun and occasionally poignant as the women tease out Frank’s insecurities.
Sasha Regan directs this lively show, which is fast, fun, and occasionally filthy. The Gaiety Girls – Becky Bassett, Oliver Bradley-Taylor, Sarah Freer, and Olivia McBride – give a sense of gay icons of the past including Danny La Rue.
Knowing the songs already definitely gave me an advantage in ‘hearing’ the show, and they are up with anything you’ll hear in drag cabaret while lending an ear to traditional music hall with the pastiche rhyme you’d find there.
A new song for Frank, “Someone Like Me”, and new diva in Dusty, freshen up the score while “Clear Out Your Closet”, “The Boys of London Town” and the showstopper “ABBA Made Me Gay” still pack a punch.
With musical direction by Anto Buckley, the music is always entertaining, even if a lyric or two might be occasionally lost in the mix. Marie Lloyd would have approved of her modern equivalents.
Frank’s Closet is toe-tapping fun in a frisky and spicy manner. I laughed, whooped, and cheered as the message of “be what you are” was made loud and clear with each fantasy frock.
It may not have been what I visualised, but somehow, it all felt right. Head down to the Union for a rummage in Frank’s Closet until 30 Mar with tickets here.
****
Image credit: Danny Kaan