Review: FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, Charing Cross Theatre
Photo credit: Alex Brenner
A decade on from its first workshop tryout, From Here To Eternity is back in London once more. Following its success at the Shaftesbury Theatre, the wartime musical has been revisited and reworked by its creative team, and is currently entertaining audiences at the Charing Cross Theatre.
Based on novel by James Jones and the iconic film adaptation, From Here To Eternity tells the story of the days leading up to the Pearl Harbour attack, introducing us to the soldiers of G Company, led by Captain Holmes (Alan Turkington). Also in the company is new infantryman Private E Lee Prewitt (Jonathon Bentley), who has sworn against fighting due to accidentally blinding an opponent while boxing, but is forced into it to escape daily grief from his comrades, while also falling in love with prostitute Lorene (Desmonda Cathabel). Facing tension of a different sort is Sergeant Milt Warden (Adam Rhys-Charles), who is secretly having an affair with Holmes’ wife Karen (Carley Stenson). Romantic entanglements wrestle with the duty of defending their country as the characters long for better lives, unaware that the Japanese attack is only days away.
Fans of the original London production will be thrilled to see its return, but it’s worth noting that this re-imagining is a notably different animal. Much of the score has been changed (the song list is around half of its former number, with some songs replaced by new material), and the ensemble cast has been reduced (understandably due to the more limited Charing Cross Theatre performance space). Such changes make this new production feel somewhat less of a musical than it was before, with the first half in particular feeling book-heavy and lacking the expected interludes. The production certainly feels very cinematic, and director Brett Smock has created something that’s visually striking, consistently gripping, and displays possibly the best use of the theatre’s space of all of their recent productions. The piece feels big and draws the audience in, with Adam King’s lighting and Stewart J Charlesworth’s set working brilliantly together. The fight scenes are also extremely well-directed by Renny Krupinski, and are delivered with full conviction which is no easy task in such an intimate space.
The score (lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Stuart Brayson) certainly has its standout moments and melodies that become earworms with repeated listens. The strongest songs from the original production still remain, sounding great, and the decision to move ‘Fight The Fight’ and ‘Run Along Joe’ to the second act is an inspired one, which gives both songs far more power at their new points in the story. ‘At Ease’ is the strongest of the new songs, given to Warden. Unfortunately most of the other new compositions are a little on the forgettable side, despite being sung wonderfully by the cast.
Performances are strong across the board, and the cast really give their all. London has found a striking new leading man in Jonathon Bentley, whose commanding presence and vocal range as Prewitt are astounding. It’s a tough role to take on, physically and vocally demanding, and Bentley excels throughout. Jonny Aimes is also great as Maggio, providing some “cheeky chappie” light relief throughout but then breaking hearts later on with his rendition of ‘I Love The Army’. In contrast to the extensive male cast, there are only three female characters, all of whom are played brilliantly by a talented trio of formidable actresses (Desmonda Cathabel as Lorene, Eve Polycarpou as Mrs Kipfer and Carley Stenson as Karen). Seeing three such strong women is a joy, and the performances are uniformly fantastic, but it’s a real shame that their visibility in the show is so heavily outweighed by the male characters, and only really appear within the show to serve the men. With the previous female ensemble cut, it becomes even more apparent, and it really does feel like more room could’ve been made within the musical to give more of a female point of view and to give the characters more agency rather than just reacting to the men and wanting better lives.
It's great to see From Here To Eternity back, and the show conveys some genuine emotion delivered by a fantastic cast. It’s just a shame that this new adaptation has sacrificed some of the musical element in order to focus on the story, and is a different show as a result. Audiences new to the material may neither notice nor mind, but existing fans of the score may feel a little underwhelmed. Still, it’s great to watch, the cast give strong performances, and seeing British musicals on our stages is always something to celebrate.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Rob Bentley
From Here To Eternity runs at London’s Charing Cross Theatre until Saturday 17 December, with tickets available here.