By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Thursday 9 November, opens 16 November and runs through 20 January 2024 RUNTIME: 135 minutes (including a 15-minute interval) UPDATE: Transfers to the Criterion Theatre 4 April to 14 July 2024 Tickets

Olivier Award winner Sam Tutty follows his turn in Dear Evan Hansen as 25-year-old Brit Dougal in New York for the 1st time for the wedding of the father he’s never met.

• Read on for reasons including how this hug of a show will leave you with a warm glow

So far, so Mamma Mia and Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) is the new musical by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan which wears its rom-com influences on its sleeve proudly and is about a couple who meet in New York at Christmas.

Dujonna Gift (Hamilton) plays Robin, the younger sister of the bride, who is helped by Dougal as final wedding preparations are made.

Song New York! introduces us to charming, wide-eyed optimist Dougal who is on his 1st visit to the city and can’t quite believe his luck. While What’ll It Be is Robin’s opening number and we learn she works as a barista whose steely resolve has been blunted once too often by life’s hard knocks.

We’re in familiar territory of opposites attracting staged on a revolve featuring wheeled suitcases piled high which open ingeniously to augment the action throughout the show. We loved the opening radio contrasts and Marmite feature to accentuate this element.

There are a number of stand-out songs in this 2-hander and we particularly enjoyed the comedy of Gift’s Robin debunking thinly-veiled and sexualised Christmas songs from our past in the hilarious Under The Mistletoe.

American Express is a high-energy finish to Act 1 in which the couple we are now rooting for let loose like tourists and go out on the town in the Big Apple on the night before the wedding.

The Argument is a technically brilliant duet in which Tutty and Gift sing over each other, really difficult to do without appearing awkward, and convince as things take a darker turn.

While Dougal’s call home to his mum, About To Go In, is genuinely moving and Dearly Beloved in the near final scene as the couple reunite is, again, a comic triumph.

Different worlds may collide but there’s more that unites us than divides us and who couldn’t help but be buoyed by Dougal’s optimism as Robin realises sometimes chance meetings are just what you need.

We were in row 6 for this 1st preview which won a standing ovation and can see why it justifies its run extension before it’s even opened officially.

Both Tutty and Gift are great singers but also beautifully engaging with a chemistry that will leave you with a warm glow as you reluctantly leave this hug of a show.

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy Kiln Theatre Tickets
• Have you seen a Sam Tutty show before or seen a Kiln Theatre production?
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