I Do! I Do!
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
29th Oct to 16th Nov, 2019
“Based on the Jan de Hartog play, The Fourposter, I Do! I Do! chronicles the
highs and lows of a couple’s marriage spanning over fifty years. I Do! I Do!
was the first two-person musical to play on Broadway where it originally ran
for 560 performances starring Mary Martin and Robert Preston prior to a
successful 1996 Off-Broadway revival.
The show has music and lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, best
known for their long running hit Off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks. This
new production will feature all-new and updated material including never
before heard songs by Tom Jones.”
Review by Richard Lambert, 4 Stars
This Tony Award winning musical is a little gem. A sweet 2-hander that’s got some beautiful songs. It ran for 560 performances on Broadway! This revival has an updated book and an additional song by the original writing team.
A gorgeous set design by Emily Bestow and some hot lighting from Joseph Ed Thomas keeps the show dynamic and buoyant.
The punchiest scenes are when the couple are having a rift and get sassy with each other. Hilarious! But in the main this is a love story about a couple growing old together moving through the various stages of their lives and relationship.
There is a disconnect between Act 1 and Act 2 – a time jump occurs that appears to forget the cliff-hanger finish of Act 1. Disconcerting issues raised in Act 1 do seem to have been forgotten by Act 2.
With a sensitive pianist accompanying the show (Henry Brennan) the musicality of the production is top notch.
I’d have preferred to listen to the show without the cast on head mics. The Sound Design was just a little out of step with the gentle nature of the production……
Joseph Hodges as Producer and Director will have had a busy time putting it all together. With this being his 8th Production it’s great to see a new Producer making it work in such a difficult fragile industry.
I Do! I Do! is a nostalgic musical harking back to traditional productions. A show you can take your mum and grandma to watch.
Photo Credit: Kevin Ralph (Room 27-ipd)
CAST
Gemma MaClean as Agnes
Ben Morris as Michael
CREATIVES
Produced and Directed by Joseph Hodges
Set Designer Emily Bestow
Musical Director Henry Brennan
Lighting Designer Joseph Ed Thomas
Sound Designer Phil Wilson
Associate Lighting Designer Sam Ohlsson
Stage Manager Rebecca Medlock
Further Information
The new production will run at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village
from Tuesday 29 October until Saturday 16 November, with Press Night on
Wednesday 30 October 2019 at 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale from the Box
Office at Upstairs at the Gatehouse on 020 8340 3488 or online at
www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com. Performances run Tuesday – Saturday at
7.30pm, Saturday at 3.00pm and Sunday at 4.00pm.
You can find I Do! I Do! on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at
@IDoIDoLondon.
