The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

The Tailor-Made Man at the Arts Theatre

The Tailor-Made Man at the Arts Theatre | Theatre review
22 February 2013
Andrew Collins
Avatar
Andrew Collins
22 February 2013

In the heart of the West End the smallest theatre in London, the Arts Theatre, plays host to the first run of Claudio Macor’s new musical, The Tailor-Made Man.

It tells the story of William Haines, a silent screen star for MGM who, during the transition from silence to sound, was found in the arms of a sailor and subsequently arrested, then bailed and fired by MGM. Shortly afterward, Haines was sequestered into a sham marriage which was quickly called off, he then fled show business with his long term partner Jimmy Shields.

The story is compelling and has a lot of potential for humor, love and drama. The cast perform admirably: Dylan Turner (Chariots of Fire) plays William Haines with all the necessary bravado and wit, and Bradley Clarkson is Haines’ lapdog, Jimmy, with a comical presence and an earnest manner. Faye Tozer (of Steps fame) takes on the role of screen star Marion Davies – and turns up the glamour and the volume of her hair, but misses the mark on both glamour and volume when it comes to her singing.

Mike McShane (Little Shop of Horrors) appears to be playing a round of Whose Line Is It Anyway when it comes to his part as Louis B Mayer, coming across as warm, lighthearted and bear-like as he always does, and turning the part of the tyrannical villain of the piece into a bit of comic relief.

The book, written by Amy Rosenthal, is weak at best. The result on stage is very little tension or drama, and where there is a hint of friction it is brushed away in a few minutes with a rectifying song or dramatic contrivance. None of the characters develop or learn from the events of the play; each character is set in stone, with the only change being Haines becoming an interior designer.

The music was penned by Duncan Walsh Atkins and Adam Meggido, who also did the lyrics. It is serviceable – no memorable tunes, no brilliant moments, not awful just not special, and it exploits all the Hollywood clichés for cheap laughs.

The musical ends with a suicide – a melancholic conclusion to a generally dispiriting show.

★★★★★

 Andrew Collins

The Tailor-Made Man is at the Arts Theatre until 6th April 2013. For further information or to book visit the show’s website here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Theatre

Henry VIII at Shakespeare’s Globe

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Natallia Pearmain
Read More

Dirty Dancing the Movie in concert at Apollo Theatre

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More

My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

“When you’re presented with different dilemmas in life, you respond accordingly”: Debbie Kurup on The Cher Show

Mae Trumata
Read More

2:22 A Ghost Story at Criterion Theatre

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

The House of Shades at Almeida Theatre

★★★★★
Csilla Tornallyay
Read More

Grease at Dominion Theatre

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

House of Ife at Bush Theatre

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • The Innocent (L’Innocent)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Stephen Fry enters the Radio Times Hall of Fame in conversation with Alan Yentob at the BFI Imax
    Cinema & Tv
  • Roma Bar Show returns for a second edition in Rome next week
    Food & Drinks
  • “It was a really precious process”: An interview with Maksym Nakonechnyi on Butterfly Vision
    Cannes
  • Stranger Things: Season Four
    ★★★★★
    netflix
  • Henry VIII at Shakespeare’s Globe
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Stars at Noon
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Nostalgia
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Nostalgia
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Fiend in Notting Hill: “Risks that pay off”
    Food & Drinks
  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Michael Kiwanuka at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Innocent (L’Innocent)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Leon Chew: Asphalt Black at Payne Shurvell | Exhibition review
Adel Abdessemed: Le Vase Abominable at the David Zwirner Gallery | Exhibition review