(seen at the performance on 18th September 2022)
Some entertainers have a very rare ability to turn a performance into a simple gathering of friends at home, together for a little entertainment. John Owen-Jones has been blessed with this gift, and the monkey was lucky enough to be among the happy throng.
A mixture of showtunes, mostly well-known, a few more obscure (as in, the monkey couldn’t place two of them) and banter with both audience and on-stage musical director John Quirk ensured this party round at John’s never flagged.
A mixture of scripted (the Alfie Boe’s sister joke would have set Barry Cryer chuckling) and free-flowing chat linked the songs on which Owen-Jones teased constantly about opening that massive voice.
The biggest advantage of having a musical theatre star in the house is that each one is not just sung but fully characterised, the singer possessed by the character to add special depth in every number.
Whether admiring a suave 007 in “Thunderball” or dreaming of an alternative future with “A New Brain” free of tumour in “I’d Rather Be Sailing” we feel as much as hear these interpretations.
The classic “Some Enchanted Evening” from “South Pacific” served as a strong reminder of the golden musical theatre age, but his selections were a real journey through decades of stage shows, triggering several memories for this monkey.
It never thought it would hear “Kiss of the Spiderwoman” live on a West End stage again and hopes now that the producers of this past August’s wonderful one-off Drury Lane concerts will obtain the concert rights plus the services of Mr OJ to perform the full show next year.
Even more personal for the monkey, while Mr Quirk took a tea-break (literally) John Owen-Jones channelled Al Jolson for an acapella “Sonny Boy.”
Few know that the writers of the number hated Jolson’s pressuring them for a song, and wrote “Sonny Boy” with all the schmaltzy sentimentality they could squeeze in. Jolson made it a smash hit. Owen-Jones would have had Jolson jealous, and had the monkey close to tears of joy at the performance.
Quirk got his revenge during Owen-Jones's own tea break, covering stylishly “Losing My Mind” from "Follies" accompanied only by his own keyboard and a lone cellist.
Other moments of heart-break included the soldier’s letter home “Tell My Father” – a Wildhorn number from “The Civil War” and a tale of unrequired love “Proud Lady” from the forgotten Schwartz show “The Baker’s Wife.”
The inner beast of “Evermore” from “Beauty and The Beast” and yearning of “Till I Hear You Sing” from “Love Never Dies” were another pair of songs thrown in to tease the fans.
Teasing Michael Ball, “Love Changes Everything” ensured the monkey can never again sit through “Aspects of Love” without chuckling inappropriately at the final note. It takes showmanship to riff as Owen-Jones does, and this routine is hilarious.
So, to the big stuff. What some of the audience were waiting for. A little help from friends (not the greatest, but they work cheap, our host assures us) had cheeky Earl Carpenter entertain solo with “Stars” from “Les Misérables” before duetting on “The Confrontation” as we were treated to the original revised version cast Javert and Valjean reunited once more.
Later and alone, “I Dreamed A Dream” segued into “Bring Him Home” before the surprise of the evening. Five phantoms, on the show’s original home stage as Ben Forster, Tim Howar, Earl Carpenter and Scott Davies performed a united “Music of the Night.”
Faultless presentation and skill also made the minute’s silence to remember Queen Elizabeth II (which felt surreal taking place in Her Majesty’s Theatre) change the evening's atmosphere to one of deepest respect without altering the mood irrevocably, impressive.
Sending us off singing, a person seated next to the monkey informed it that “The Three Phantoms” is scheduled to tour again, Southampton already booked in, apparently. If the show hits London, the monkey will be there.
An evening to treasure from one of the most likable performers, talented musical theatre stars and all round entertainers Wales has ever produced.
5 stars, standing ovation.