Sweet Smell of Success review, The Arcola

If you swim with sharks, success smells of blood. So it is with Sweet Smell of Success, a musical about gossip columnist J J Hunsecker, a man with the whole town either in his pocket, or queueing up for the opportunity to jump into it. There is no hacking, but plenty of fitting up, beating up and plain bad manners. As J J, David Bamber is a powerful force on the Arcola's central stage: a man of singular focus and the aggression of a staffordshire bull terrier.

The sweet swell of excess

Even the good guys become bad guys, setting people up to get their ends. They include J J's half sister Susan, with whom he is incestuously obsessed. She, in turn, loves the insipid pianist, Dallas, whose low status must be improved before he can be safely introduced to her brother. Susan employs the good will of the ambitious reporter, Sidney Falcone, to plant a story about Dallas that will increase his fame. Falcone is a double agent, working for brother as well as sister. Cue a series of repercussions and ramifications that presage disaster.

Mehmet Ergen's production bursts with vitality. The choreography is crisp, the ensemble perform Marvin Hamlisch's complex harmonies effortlessly, the band is top dollar and Adrian der Gregorian as Falcone and Caroline Keiff as Susan are excellent. Dallas has a lovely voice but needs beefing up, and Celia Graham does an excellent cameo as Falcone's prostituted girlfriend, Rita.

In conclusion: It's a privilege to watch musicals close up - to hear beautiful singing just yards away. The story is unremittingly unpleasant and the characters repay our empathy with further degeneration, but it's all done very professionally.

References
Arcola Theatre, tickets
Michael Coveney review in Whats On Stage