Tales from the Vanity Case...
Just after the New Year, my travels took me up to the West End to see Top Hat, a production bringing the marvellous 1935 film to the stage for the first time.
Starring Tom Chambers as Jerry Travers (a role originated by Fred Astaire in the RKO picture) and Charlotte Gooch as Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers' character) with a supporting cast including Martin Ball, Vivien Parry, Ricardo Afonso and Stephen Boswell.
The show, which supplements the original soundtrack of Top Hat by raiding the songbook of Irving Berlin - other songs included are 'Puttin' on the Ritz', 'I'm Putting all my Eggs in One Basket' and 'Let's Face the Music and Dance', (the latter two being from Fred & Ginger's fifth film together 'Follow the Fleet').
I immensely enjoyed Top Hat on stage and if you'd like to read more of my review, just click on the Vanity Case logo. |