A great night out at Tomfoolery

Moira de Swardt
01/16/2010

Moira de Swardt: This is a delightful musical revue based on the satirical lyrics and music of Tom Lehrer.

Despite the fact that these numbers were first performed in the 1950s and 1960s, it is not, as I expected, horribly dated. Rather, this is an introduction of old favourites to new audiences. A few of the numbers from the original have been cut and I suspect these are the ones which either no longer work or are not accessible to South African audiences. The commentary has been updated. Timewise, the cut is a blessing, particularly for midweek audiences who have to work the next day. An extra twenty minutes would make it a late evening.

Three of South Africa's veteran singing thespians, Kate Normington, Matthew Stewardson and Malcolm Terrey combine forces under Greg Homann's direction to cause the audiences many merry and mirthful moments.

The costuming is very simple, mostly black suits (and it looks as if Kate Normington might not have anything under her jacket, which keeps the straight men awake even if they hate musical theatre) dressed up for some numbers. It always works. The set is similarly Spartan and this always works for me. I find fussy sets distracting at times.

The comedy works well. The characters use their real names, so Kate in "The Irish Ballad" had me in stitches, while Malcolm in "The Masochism Tango" will provoke many a girl to jealousy of those legs. Matthew will amuse as he sings "I hold your hand in mine". What makes these numbers work is their timeless themes which make a pleasant change from still more South African situational humour. Best of all, there is not one single football reference, for which those of us who are already tired of these can be grateful.

Mildly naughty but never vulgar (I suppose this does date it rather) this is suitable viewing for cross generational outings. The Vatican Rag may cause some mild Roman Catholic discomfort in fundamentalists.

It would be remiss of me to fail to acknowledge the competence of the trio of musicians, Shaun Smith on piano, Graham Curry on double bass and Neil Etteridge on drums.

An excellent night out at The Old Mutual Theatre on the Square, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton until 13 February 2010.

'Tomfoolery’, one to see

Would you believe there’s a song where the lyrics include yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, and rubidium? Trust me, there is, and you’ll be laughing at it if you treat yourself to an evening of “Tomfoolery” at Sandton’s Theatre on The Square.

The lyrics, pointless as they are, list all the elements on the periodic table that had been discovered when maths professor Tom Lehrer matched them to a Gilbert and Sullivan-style tune way back when.

Now Malcolm Terrey is singing the tongue-twisting lyrics in a show that strings together Lehrer’s wacky collection of songs with some equally satirical social commentary in between.

Lehrer’s lyrics are barbed, funny, insightful and often just plain warped. Some of his songs are funny for the sake of it, while others lampoon the social or political inequities of his day. The important thing is that his lyrics from the 1950s and 60s are just as relevant today, so this isn’t a quaint stroll down pre-memory lane, but an evening where modern problems are also ridiculed.

If you don’t like outcomes-based education then listen as Kate Normington gives a wonderful performance of “New Math”, stringing numbers together in a tongue-twisting song that tells us it doesn’t matter if you get it wrong, as long as you can demonstrate that you know how to do it.

Racism? Heck yes, that still makes “National Brotherhood Week” as applicable today as it did in America’s lynching deep south doggone decades ago.

Normington is a brilliant performer, and adds an extra dimension to the lyrics by her authentic accents and fabulous facial expressions. Terrey is also in peak performance mode, flitting around the stage and using his flawless timing and expressive eyebrows to emphasise any subtleties in the script. Not that there are many subtleties. The songs are bold and brash and, how shall we put it, adult, yet always funny even in their most unsavoury moments.

What Lehrer did brilliantly was word games, rhyming all sorts of obscure words in a way that’s immensely clever. The “Vatican Rag” is a real witty charmer, and anyone who can write lyrics where genuflect and transubstantiate just trip off the tongue has to be a twisted genius.

Joining Normington and Terrey on stage is Matthew Stewardson, who belts out a couple of big numbers before showing a languid, all drugged up rendition of “The Old Dope Peddler”.

The music is provided by Shaun Smith on piano, Graham Curry on double bass and Neil Etteridge on drums, and that’s the only dated thing about this show. The lyrics are still absolutely spot-on, but the tunes are definitely pre-pop. That makes a cool contrast of the genteel old-style music against the wicked wit of the words.

”Tomfoolery” has been around since Cameron Mackintosh adapted the songs for a stage show in the 1980s, and it’ll probably still be playing in another 20 years. But don’t wait that long before you see it.

By Lesley Stones

Tomfoolery runs at the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square until 13 February.

Tomfoolery - a tonic for the senses

Peter Feldman
01/16/2010

Peter Feldman: It is great to kick off a New Year with a show that's a tonic and endless fun to watch.

This provides an engaging and delightful showcase for the best of Tom Lehrer's sharp, witty satirical songbook.

Lehrer set the benchmark by which future musical satires would be measured. No topic is sacred and this production of 'Tomfoolery" certainly hits the spot for audiences who enjoy their political commentary served up hot and spicy, immensely funny with plenty of food for thought.

To recreate the work of satirist Tom Lehrer, director Greg Homann selected a trio of South African talent who hardly put a foot wrong as they engage with the audience in an easy, relaxed style. They filled the tiny space at the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square with singing, dancing and comedy in this 23-song music-hall-style revue.

Veteran Malcolm Terrey, whose sheer joy and enthusiasm overflowed into the audience, brought out the humour in Lehrer's work with enormous skill and timing. He displayed an astonishing ability to recite the table of elements without missing a beat in "The Elements" performed to the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's "I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General." It certainly showed that technique and training come into the acting equation. He also shone in the deliciously bizarre "The Masochism Tango," "I Got It From Agnus" and "The Hunting Song."

Kate Normington and Matthew Stewardson also provided a non-stop flow of Lehrer's genius treatment of gems such as "New Math," "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and together with Terrey on "The Vatican Rag" (all executed in the proper habits).

The ensemble work was excellent. "Oedipus Rex" had Normington taking the spotlight with Stewardson (as Oedipus) tearing out his poor eyeballs and letting them bounce onto the floor attached to red ribbons. He also produced a fine rendition of a southern plantation owner in the bitterly satiric "I Wanna Go Back to Dixie." Funny, too, was his rendition of "I Hold Your Hand in Mind."

Normington displayed her versatility and comedic skills on "In Old Mexico" and "The Irish Ballad" and "Wernher von Braun."

The wickedness of the hypocrisy-skewering number "National Brotherhood Week" was nicely effective from the trio.

The live band, Shaun Smith (piano), Graham Curry (impressive on the double bass) and Neil Etteridge (on drums), briskly negotiated the satirist's use of a wide range of musical styles that included rags, waltzes and a touch of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Lehrer's songs were penned in the 1950s and ‘60s. One could argue whether this social satire is relevant today. They made an impact at the time because issues such as racism and pollution were not on the social agenda. After World War II those who returned home from fighting on foreign soil just yearned for peace and quiet. But America was facing difficult times and an artist such as Lehrer made Americans very much aware of these social ills though his work - and topics like pollution, racism, the education system and religion are all still with us today.

Lehrer's lampooning of these subjects still make "Tomfoolery" a joy to watch and a chance to laugh at ourselves.

"Tomfoolery" is on at Old Mutual Theatre on the Square until 13 February.

Golden oldie glows once again

January 12, 2010

By Diane de Beer

Stepping out of the spotlight at the end of last year as the director of Spoof Full of Sugar, Malcolm Terrey is back in the limelight in 2010 in the cast of Tomfoolery.

This is not the first time round with this particular musical review for Terrey.

"I did it 20 years ago," says the veteran of 37 years on stage.

He believes it holds up brilliantly and, while he describes it as a piece of antiquity based on songs written in the 50s and 60s, if you nurture antiques, he says, they glow.

That's what he feels has happened here. He's also delighted to work with Kate Normington in a production for the first time even though they're good pals. Add to that, Matthew Stewardson whom he has known since he was a little boy, and the trio on stage get on like a house on fire.

His career has been a blessed one, believes Terrey, but part of the success has been his versatility and the way clever producers and directors have not always typecast him.

Last year, for example, he started off with Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be which was the only production on his horizon at the start of 2009. He followed this with a part in the Black Ties production of Merry Widow, then went on a trip to Sweden as part of the Cape Town production of Showboat and concluded as the director of Spoof.

This year, the early prospects aren't much better but as an actor who has had only two slumps in his career, Terrey knows that probably he will be part of some production, somewhere in the world.

And if you ask him about a dream part still to come his way, he's quick off the mark: "Fagan in Oliver," he says. "I still have to do that and would love to do some more Shakespeare. It's all about growth and learning."

While he enjoys directing, he's only up for that when he can do what he knows best, musical reviews.

He describes Tomfoolery as a sophisticated, witty and nicely dressed night at the theatre.

"Tom Lehrer was the kind of writer who liked to poke fun at sacred cows, hence the cow on the poster," he explains.

Many of the songs will be familiar but the show has been juggled and rejigged with four actors becoming three, some songs contemporised and, as Terrey points out, nurtured.

With young director Greg Homann in command, it is given yet another contemporary edge.

But more than anything, it's a show ready to start the year on a silly if slightly slanted note. As Terrey says, "put me in a costume and point me to the stage. I'm always ready to go..."

Nothing's sacred in this rambunctious revue

Jan 4, 2010 11:07 PM | By ANDREA NAGEL

To start the new year with a laugh, The Old Mutual Theatre on the Square in Sandton presents the wickedly funny musical hit, Tomfoolery, which runs from January 11 to February 13.

Starring Kate Normington, Malcolm Terrey, and Matthew Stewardson, this musical features the barbed and rapier-like wit of Tom Lehrer and showcases his familiar satirical songs.

The genius of Lehrer hits you smack in the face as the songs go from wacky to deliciously wicked. There is little that escapes Lehrer's sharp eye. Three actors, a trio of musicians, and a healthy dose of attitude bring the devilishly off-beat and thoroughly twisted world of the famed songwriter to life on the stage.

In concerts, television appearances and a series of now-classic recordings, the Harvard-educated math professor has delighted millions of fans during the past 56 years with his dry and cynical but good-humoured attacks on war, racism, religion, pollution, pornography, the military, the boy scouts and mathematics.

There are no sacred cows in this rambunctious musical revue featuring Lehrer favourites such as Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, When You are Old and Grey,The Masochism Tango,The Old Dope Peddler,The Vatican Rag and an unforgettable Gilbert and Sullivan-esque recitation of the table of elements, linked with an updated commentary on the world.

The original musical arrangements by Robert Fisher are adapted for the stage by Cameron MacKintosh and his narrative links Lehrer's greatest songs from the 1950s and 1960s into a wonderfully humorous evening.

This brand-new production, brought up to date by its stellar cast, will be directed by Greg Homann, who also directed Pterodactyls, Brothers in Blood and Lord of the Flies.

The cast is led by Normington, recently seen in Hairspray, High School Musical and Bombshells, Terrey who delighted audiences in We Will Rock You and Spoof Full of Sugar and Stewardson, who played the role of Dean Martin in The Rat Pack.