WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE: St James Theatre

WHEN: 12/3, press night 14/3, runs to 9/4

Bovvered? We had no idea Catherine Tate could sing and in this world premiere of a new musical her voice is as fine as she is funny.

We haven’t laughed this much with a musical in ages and it’s fabulously cast with Dean-John Wilson (about to star in Aladdin this summer) and Florence Andrews especially good as the runaway soldier and sheep farmer respectively who fall in love.

Elsewhere Simon Lipkin (Avenue Q and I Can’t Sing) and Daniel Boys (also Avenue Q) compete with Tate in injecting humour to the show as a deputy manager at a mob-run Las Vegas hotel and a banker respectively.

The story centres on the Las Vegas hotel in the 50s which staged a Miss Atomic Bomb beauty pageant as a gimmick as guests visit to watch the atomic bomb testing nearby.

If it sounds like an unlikely subject for a musical, it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Tate is impressive as fashionista Myrna who is best friends with Andrews’ sheep farmer.

But it is when Andrews and Wilson are together, falling in love and challenging each other that this musical works its magic best. Definitely worth catching the opportunity to see Wilson here in this intimate venue before he takes a magic carpet ride in one of the most anticipated shows of the summer.

• Tickets here. Picture via Facebook courtesy St James Theatre.
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