The Festival Theatre was packed to the rafters for the press night of Top Hat last night (July 24).
But within seconds of the show beginning, several dancers slipped causing the show to be halted.
Director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall came onstage and explained that moisture from the crowd had made the stage wet between the dress rehearsal and the main show.
“I guess you’re all just too hot,” she joked.
The stage became wet due to condensation from the crowd (Image: CFT) Stagehands then appeared with cloth-wrapped mops to soak up the moisture before the leading man Phillip Attmore and members of the ensemble came out to test the stage with an impressive display of tap dancing, followed by applause.
Kathleen, who has won several Tony awards for choreography and is the sister of Chicago director Rob Marshall, returned to the stage and said: “We’ve solved the problem and off we go.”
The cast and crew proved their professionalism by putting the issues behind them and the resulting show was two hours of sparkling dance and classic Irving Berlin tunes such as Puttin’ On The Ritz and Cheek to Cheek.
The show is an adaptation of the Hollywood film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers as stage star Jerry Travers and model Dale Tremont, whose meeting in London leads to them falling in love and a series of misunderstandings that almost derail their romance.
Phillip Attmore and Sally Ann Triplett in Top Hat (Image: CFT) Attmore needed a perfectly dry stage for his pinpoint-precise tap dancing which was a treat to see.
West End pro Lucy St. Louis adds Dale to her list of well-known roles including Glinda in Wicked, Christine in Phantom of the Opera and Diana Ross in Motown: The Musical.
Her vocals in particular on Better Luck Next Time wowed the crowd.
Sally Ann Triplet as the feisty Madge Hardwick (wife of Jerry’s producer Horace) is also a standout, stealing almost every scene she is in.
Top Hat runs at the Festival Theatre until Saturday, September 6.
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