High Society, The Mayflower, Southampton
NORMALLY more accustomed to life in soapland, there is clearly more to former Coronation Street favourite Susie Blake.
She has swopped life as brassy blonde barmaid and cheating mother Bev Unwin on the cobbles of the Street for a touch of class in the Mayflower's latest offering - High Society.
The stage clearly suits the classically trained actress.
She seems to have found herself in an even more dysfunctional family than her Weatherfield one.
The undoubted true star of the show is her on-stage daughter Katherine Kingsley who brings spoilt Tracy Lord to life with all-singing, all-dancing perfection.
Tracy is on the verge of a second marriage to rather dull, but dependable George Kittredge (Bryan Torfeh).
That's until her charming and amorous ex-husband Dexter Haven (Graham Bickley) arrives on the scene with journalists Mike Connor (Paul Robinson) and Liz Imbrie (Ria Jones) trying to sneak their way into the household to cover the society wedding of the year. The scenes that follow have hilarious consequences with the bride-to-be choosing between three would-be bridegrooms.
Precocious little sister Dinah Lord (Lara Pulver) and drunken Uncle Willie (Royston Kean) must also come in for special praise for their superb one-liners.
High Society turns into a champagne-fuelled farce and a wedding day hangover from hell. Adapted from one of Hollywood's best-loved movies of the same name, Cole Porter's classic musical comes direct from a sell-out West End season. Its sparkling songs include Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Swell Party, True Love and Let's Misbehave.
High Society runs until Saturday.
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