Review: JEWISH HOLLYWOOD, Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Chris Burgess’ Jewish Hollywood gives as concise and cohesive summary of the entire history of Hollywood as can be conceivably crammed into under two hours.

The latest offering at Upstairs at the Gatehouse is a snappy revue of Golden Age musical standards from the likes of Kander and Ebb, Irving Berlin, Yip Harburg and many more, which punctuate this potted history of the great American institution of Hollywood and its undeniably Jewish roots.

As David Baddiel’s recently published Jews Don’t Count points out, antisemitism is far from an historical issue, and Burgess’ play digs unflinchingly into the reality of racism, shame and bigotry that clouds the history of the silver screen.

Director Cresside Carré has assembled a confident cast of performers in Sue Kelvin, MacKenzie Mellen, Jack Reitman and Howard Samuels, who all shine equally bright. The four actors bounce off each other and attack an extraordinarily packed set list of show-stopping tunes with unfaltering energy. Astonishingly, this is Mellen’s professional debut and we can only expect extraordinary things from this performer if her rendition of ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’ is anything to go by.

Musical director Amir Shoenfeld has similarly assembled a brilliant band, with particularly exceptional reed-playing by Hannah Fry and Lucinda Dunne bringing out the klezmer influences of Andy Collyer’s arrangements.

The design elements of this show are minimal but Joseph Ed Thomas’ lighting design does a lot of heavy lifting, with some impressive lanterns that wouldn’t look out of place on Jack Warner’s studio lot.

Jewish Hollywood gives a long overdue celebration to the successes of the music-makers and masters of entertainment carrying the weight of generations of persecution on their shoulders. This rousing history of Hollywood restores pride to the original movie-makers – a fascinating evening’s entertainment that is somehow both thought-provoking and irresistibly toe-tappingly fun.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett

Jewish Hollywood plays at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 17 April, with tickets available here.