Myths and Hymns

Published Monday 23 April 2007 at 15:00 by Mark Shenton

In an age of the jukebox musical, originality is in desperately short supply both in the West End and on Broadway; but one of the most distinctive voices to emerge in the last few years is that of Adam Guettel. He is the grandson of Richard Rodgers (as in Rodgers and Hammerstein) and may yet revolutionise the musical theatre in the same way that his granddad once did. But where Rodgers’ shows would command Drury Lane, there is an instructive difference. To date, Guettel’s work has been produced in London only by the late, lamented Bridewell (Floyd Collins) and now at the even tinier Finborough.

And unlike Rodgers, Guettel is not exactly prolific - his only other major musical to date is the marvellous The Light in the Piazza, so far unseen here. So the opportunity to see Myths and Hymns, a 1998 song cycle first seen at New York’s Public Theatre as Saturn Returns, has to be seized. In the close-up quarters of the Finborough - with the audience in just two or three rows on either side of a traverse stage - it acquires an extraordinary intimacy.

This is musical theatre that is challenging, compelling and compulsive: it makes no concessions to giving audiences, or performers, an easy ride. But bring yourself to it - as the fiercely committed cast of Tom Cooper’s production do - and it one of the most rewarding experiences you can have.

Rehearsed in just a week, there is an astonishing intelligence and physicality to complement robust musical voices throughout. Lovely Caroline Sheen brings a delicious comic grace to How Can I Lose You?, while Craig Purnell anchors the piece with a burning intensity. David Randall, whom I have previously known only as a musical director, here reveals a terrific voice and a musical dexterity that also has him playing flute, violin and soprano saxophone.