Review: Nic & Desi: Broadway To Hollywood (Crazy Coqs)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Two Broadway stars hit the West End for the first time as Nic & Desi made their London debut with a one-off performance at Crazy Coqs. Consisting of real-life couple Nicolas Dromard and Desirée Davar, their show ‘Broadway to Hollywood’ has received acclaim in America, even winning an award, and now it’s the chance of a British audience to see what all the fuss was about – and it didn't take me long to figure it out.

In a speedy and relentless 75-minute set, Nic & Desi took us through the golden age of Broadway, taking in some of the most well-known movie musicals, and bringing us back up to date with some more contemporary additions. Bursting onto the stage with huge grins plastered on their faces, initially it seemed as if they had been plucked from a different era altogether, with a slightly cheesy approach that made me sceptical at first.

That scepticism quickly eroded thanks to the charm of the couple. With the smiles never wavering, there was an infectious quality to their zest for life and love for all things theatre, which easily penetrated to the small but mighty audience at the intimate Crazy Coqs. The intimacy was heightened through the couple's own honesty and storytelling, describing health problems both have had that forced their London debut to be delayed, and even insights into their marriage, performing their wedding song ‘La Vie En Rose’, and talking about their young daughter who was gleefully watching from the side. Having not been familiar with either performer previously, I quickly found myself warming to them thanks to a perfect mix of their personalities and talents.

With just musical director Brett Rowe accompanying them at the piano, one instrument recreated some of the biggest and best numbers in musical theatre, with a gorgeous Sondheim medley of ‘Not While I’m Around’ and ‘Children Will Listen’, ‘Money’ from Cabaret and ‘Pure Imagination’ all being beautifully realised through the pair’s vocals and Rowe’s musical prowess.

Their Broadway and theatrical credits include Wicked, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, and West Side Story , with each getting an inclusion at this performance. A rather bizarre medley of ‘Dancing Through Life’ from Wicked and ‘A Boy Like That’ from West Side Story perhaps didn’t work as well as hoped, but was redeemed with the pair laughing that off, embracing the madness of it all. A rousing ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ gave the pair a first as they hadn’t experienced an audience singing along to the horn section before – who knew the more reserved British audiences could be rowdier than Americans? Though they should see what would have happened had they attempted ‘Sweet Caroline’!

Speaking of, it was their special guest that provided perhaps the standout of the night. After a brilliant solo turn with ‘Alto’s Lament’, Caroline Sheen reunited with the Bert to her Mary Poppins for a practically perfect medley of numbers from the show. ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ complete with that famous spelling choreography, ‘Feed The Birds’ and ‘Chim, Chim, Cher-ee’ in a sequence that provided one of the highlights of the evening.

Sheen wasn’t the only special guest, however, with Liza Minnelli herself giving us a couple of numbers. Well… not quite herself, but Desiree made the most of an outfit change by transforming into the legendary diva, with very surreal interpretations of Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’ and Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About That Bass’. I thought watching Keala Settle as the Queen sing Meghan’s song ‘Mother’ in The Diana Mixtape would be the weirdest performance of a Meghan Trainor song I would see this month. I was wrong. Weird but wonderful, showcasing Desiree’s comic abilities and great impersonation skills.

It wasn’t just singing Nic & Desi were providing. Both triple threats, they also gave an evening of choreography, breaking into dance at every given opportunity. If you have ever been to a show at Crazy Coqs before, you will be aware that the stage is pretty tiny, with a piano taking up half of the space, so the fact they managed to pull this off despite those limitations was incredibly impressive, and something I never thought I’d see at this particular venue. An incredible tap dancing number to ‘Puttin On The Ritz’ was a huge standout and had them declaring it as a finale number… midway through the show with “six more finales to go” – they weren’t wrong. When it came to the actual finale of ‘Backstage Romance’, with the lyric Bad Romance changed to Tap Romance, it provided the perfect finish. Still cheesy, but this time I was here for it, and can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t be, no matter how much you may like or dislike cheese.

I walked into Crazy Coqs not knowing who Nic & Desi were. 75 minutes later, I left the theatre as a huge fan. Consider me well and truly converted, but how could I not be? Through their mix of song, dance, storytelling and comedy, Nicolas Dromard and Desirée Davar are two powerhouse performers who feel straight from another era but one that allows for the perfect escapism. It is impossible not to buy into their charm, warmth, and charisma, and the result was a wonderfully entertaining cabaret that left me longing to see more from them. This may have been their London debut, but let’s hope it’s not too long before we see more of them on this side of the pond. If you do get the chance to see them, get yourself a ticket and prepare to fall in love.

Nic & Desi played at Crazy Coqs on Sunday 17^th August. Head to https://nicanddesi.com/ to find out about their future shows.