Review by Daz Gale
⭐️⭐️
A new musical written by an acclaimed singer-songwriter, based on a cult movie has now opened in London. If this gives you déjà vu of another recent musical that shall remain nameless but announced an early closure not long after its opening night, you might be forgiven for any trepidation you have surrounding A Face In The Crowd. However, with some exciting names involved in this production, would this show avoid its counterpart's mistakes and be the new musical that stands out from the others, proving itself to be a star in its own right?
Originally a movie from 1957, this world premiere musical adaptation of A Face In The Crowd tells the story of drifter “Lonesome Rhodes”. After radio producer Marcia Jeffries gives him a slot on her show, he becomes an overnight sensation. As his fanbase grows so does his celebrity and influence, and as Rhodes turns to politics, it becomes clear he has a power that could swing elections. With Marcia struggling to control the monster she created, how far will Rhodes end up going?
Of all the reviews I have written over the years, I found this one to be one of the trickiest, and that is purely because I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about this show. Its highs were incredibly high and its potential was plentiful but it seemed squandered at every opportunity in a production that often felt confused and came across completely messy and undercooked. There is a lot to unravel with my thoughts on A Face In The Crowd so buckle up…
Sarah Ruhl’s book takes the elements from Budd Schulberg’s original screenplay and attempts to translate it for the stage. There is nothing wrong with the writing per se, however, it seems to pass by inconsequentially, always failing to connect or sit with you for more than a moment. A Face In The Crowd also feels very uneven at times, suffering from poor pacing with aspects of the story flying by too quickly and others festering. Any goodwill done in the show’s first act is undone by a baffling and wildly inconsistent start to the second act. While this ends up coming together towards the show’s climax, it does feel a bit too little too late. Ruhl’s writing is fine enough but has suffered from an underdeveloped production that I felt needed more work before it should have made it to the stage.
This production is certainly timely with all eyes on the United States of America for their upcoming election. It can be argued that this has perhaps lessened the impact of the story here. While Rhodes can come out with concerning comments including racism, his treatment of women and even his desire for war, it is strikingly similar to what we have been seeing from a certain Presidential candidate, if not quite as extreme. What could be a sobering reality despite being set in the 1950s never quite manages to shock like it should, with its inevitable comparisons to the present day acting against it.
The Young Vic’s Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah directs the piece for his final show at the theatre, but sadly never quite reaches the dizzying heights he has experienced before. A recurring theme in this production and my thoughts of it is how under-rehearsed it seemed, and that all of the production elements had clashed here with too many differing ideas not coming together seamlessly. While all adequate enough in their own right, throwing them all together has created something rather messy and incohesive, and this was how I felt about the direction at times. It should also be noted that it has an underwhelming and frankly weird end to act one, when a stronger finish occurred five minutes previously.
One sequence ‘Blood and Hot sauce’ sees Lonesome Rhodes start a rally at the Young Vic. With the audience given their own American flags, the house lights come on and Lonesome (Ramin Karimloo) begins jumping over the audience, talking to them and even kissing them. Some may find this quirky, others inspired. I found it tacky. It felt to me as if the production was desperately attempting to make you believe you were having a good time with stunts like this in a bid to make you gloss over the production's shortcomings. If anything, it went on to heighten the biggest issues with the show for me in a truly ill-advised sequence that single-handedly showcases all of the faults with the show.
Legendary singer-songwriter Elvis Costello has lent his talents for this, creating the music and lyrics for the show. A truly gifted artist in his own right, A Face In The Crowd doesn’t show him at his best with a series of forgettable songs that never reach the expected standard. The songs also find themselves full of clunky, clumsy and nonsensical lyrics, regularly underwhelming. One musical number, possibly titled ‘Make A Man’ (song titles were not provided) features some stereotypical assumptions on masculinity that border dangerously close to homophobia – while you can argue this is appropriate for the time it is set in, I would argue back that it is wholly unnecessary to use language like this in a song premiering in 2024.
There are a couple of decent musical numbers peppered throughout, however, including a solo for Marcia Jeffries (Anoushka Lucas) showing plenty of potential though never quite reaching where it longs to go. It is the show’s title number, ‘A Face In The Crowd’ that provides the biggest frustration of the musical – for one very unexpected reason. It is the most incredible of songs. Appearing very early on in the show with a knockout performance by Ramin Karimloo and reprised at the climax, it truly came out of nowhere to blow me away. After a plodding opening few minutes, to have a song as spellbinding as this in your wheelhouse set the bar incredibly high and left me excited for what was to come, and this is where the musical sadly fell short, never coming anywhere close to this genius level. The fact a song as remarkable as this was included showcases the talents of all involved and makes it even more frustrating that this talent was not better utilised elsewhere in the extremely flawed production. While it is a powerful moment in musical theatre, one good song does not make a good musical – just ask Cats.
Ramin Karimloo leads the production as Lonesome Rhodes, delivering a truly exceptional performance that speaks more for his own talents than the material he is working with. It would be easy to be fooled by his performance that the show itself is better than it is, but that credit lies solely with Karimloo and his incredible ability to make the most of even the trickiest of scripts. His vocals are truly out of this world throughout and he dives into the character head first, attempting to make the most of the part he has been given. It should be said that the characterisation of Lonesome Rhodes is the strongest element in the writing here, and other characters suffer because of this, but for Karimloo’s part he pulls off a performance so spectacular, it single-handedly left me wondering if this review deserved another star purely for that.
The other cast members all face difficulties of their own. Anoushka Lucas returns to the Young Vic following an acclaimed performance in Oklahoma!, taking on the role of Marcia Jeffries. Very sadly, however, she fails to deliver that magic again on this occasion, despite her remarkable talents. As someone who is a fan of her performance style and vocals (with her own solo show Elephant a testament to her abilities), it was a shame she was unable to catapult me to the stratospheric levels I know she is capable of on this occasion. Still a charismatic performer with an abundance of skills, sadly her characterisation of Marcia in this production failed to jump off the stage and resonate as I hoped.
The rest of the cast suffer from drastically underwritten roles, playing one-dimensional characters who never quite have their own motivations or much to work with. Anoushka Lucas suffers from this to an extent with her undercooked Marcia Jeffries, but it is felt more severely elsewhere. Though he gets a decent moment in the spotlight with musical number ‘Nice Guys Come Last’, the wonderfully talented Olly Dobson is drastically underused as Mel Miller, with Stavros Demetraki’s Joey D also suffering from not having much to do other than provide background scenery for Lonesome Rhodes. Making her professional stage debut, Emily Florence is wonderfully charismatic as Betty Lou, but again suffers from subpar writing that introduces her character and then removes her quicker than you can twirl a baton.
One strong element of A Face In The Crowd is in its exquisite set design by Anna Fleischle, with some wonderfully creative aspects transporting the audience into a 1950s television screen. Though this wasn’t always used as best as it should have been, the tools were there and the design itself cannot be faulted, as can’t the fantastic use of lighting designed by Jackie Shemesh. Though screens may have been overused in various productions, I did wonder if an inclusion of one here showing Lonesome on TV may have elevated the believability factor of the production somewhat, as its inability to fully immerse you into this world is one of its biggest shortcomings.
It’s always refreshing to see something new emerge from the darkness and attempt to seek an audience. A Face In The Crowd could get there in time, but in its current form, it feels too incohesive and not quite there yet. Admittedly not as extreme in its flaws as that other show mentioned in the opening paragraph, it still isn’t anywhere near as good as it should have been, given all of the people involved. With the right tweaks, this could prove to be a well-loved show in its own right but right now it isn’t strong enough to stand out from the crowd.
A Face In The Crowd plays at the Young Vic until 9th November. Tickets from https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/face-the-crowd
Photos by Ellie Kurttz