As well as writing the stuff on here I do a monthly preview for Welcome to Leeds. In my August article I mused on this musical and wondered why some of the songs in the press release didn’t tally with the ones in the film. They were all written by Cole Porter but some of them featured in other productions. I did have a theory, which was that the film soundtrack seemed to be specifically written for the iconic cast involved and so would not easily transfer to the stage to be performed by other artists. For the first time in living memory I was proved right. This doesn’t mean that this was a bad musical, far from it, it was superb, exactly because the whole format of the piece was changed to accommodate the contrasting medium.
Helen George as Tracy Lord with the cast.
The film was shot in a more intimate style than was possible in a theatre, and was full of ‘in’ jokes regarding its stars, with the romantic songs, such as You’re Sensational and True Love crooned, here, however, they were given the full treatment to fit in with the theatrical presentation of the show, obviously. This was taking the work back to its origin, in that it began life as a madcap comedy play, The Philadelphia Story, in 1940, so the songs were truncated or totally changed to allow for that. As an example, the first number, High Society, was performed by the full cast of singers and dancers, whereas in the cinema it was sung fairly quietly as a scene setting calypso by Louis Armstrong sitting on the back seat of his tour bus and delivered into the camera.
The plot has more or less remained the same, with socialite Tracy Samantha Lord, played by Helen George, preparing to marry fiancé, George Kitteredge – David Seaton-Young, a boring accountant who, whilst being bereft of charisma, was rich and could provide a financially secure future. Enter Julian Ovenden, as Dexter Haven, who was Ms Lord’s first husband, and habitually calls her Samantha. He had left her in order to sail the oceans alone, except for a crew comprising Jim Beam and Jack Daniels, both of whom he had dismissed long ago and been dry ever since. He had got wind of the wedding and came to give it his blessing. Tracy’s father, Seth, played by Malcolm Sinclair, had estranged himself from Mother Lord, Josefina Gabrielle, after embarking, not on a boat, but on an affair. This was now at an end and so he too had come back to find redemption and give away his elder daughter. His younger daughter, Dinah, Naomi Pacquette, spent her time dropping pearls of wisdom into the conversations as well as the odd pithy punch line.
The nuptials threatened to be marred by the appearance of Mike Connor – Freddie Fox -ostensibly a friend of an obscure family member, and his partner, Liz Imbrie, played by Carly Mercedes Dyer. In fact they were a reporter and a photographer from Spy magazine who had infiltrated the proceedings, with a little help from Dexter, in order to dig up some sleaze on Seth Lord. Tracy and Mother got wind of this and so decided to pass off Uncle Willie, their gin-soaked relative – Nigel Lindsay – as their father, who at that point in the story had not yet returned and was not expected to do so, therefore, when he did turn up the subterfuge was as much a surprise to him as it was to everyone else familiar with the family, mainly the butler, Chester, played by James Hume.
Julian Ovenden as Dexter making up with Tracy, Helen George, with a model of their yacht, named True Love, which he had given her as a wedding present – subtle!
Come the eve of the big day, not only was sister Dinah trying to convince Tracy that it might not be a great idea to pledge the rest of her life to a personality transplant donor like George, but so was everyone else. It was obviously the road to disaster and evident the reformed Dexter was still madly in love with her, as she was with him. Just to complicate matters further, the reporter, Mike, had also taken a shine to Tracy and confessed his reason for being there, being surprised when she told him that she already knew. After a riotous night when everyone was hammered except for Dexter, who managed to stay on the wagon, and George, to whom the word enjoyment was absent from his lexicon, everyone’s inner feelings were revealed and George quit the scene, leaving Tracy/Samantha to make up with Dexter; Seth to reconcile with Mother and Mike declare his feelings for photographer, Liz whom he had thought was too good for him. All together now – ahhhhh!
As you would expect from a cast this good, the whole thing was brilliantly executed, with the singing, dancing and comic timing smack on. I was impressed by the singing voices of Freddie Fox and Nigel Lindsay, neither of whom I had heard warble before, but Helen George stole the show with her skills in all departments. In fact, I thought that she gave Grace Kelly a run for her money, showing a fair bit more depth than the princess.
Now You Has Jazz! Nigel Lindsay as Uncle Willie, with musicians from the band
I mean no disrespect whatsoever, by not extending the same praise to the men involved because they could not be compared apples to apples anyway. Although superbly turned out the overtly comedic theatrical delivery required could not be equated to the more downbeat sophistication of Messrs Sinatra and Crosby because, as already stated, the piece seemed to have been tailored to their personalities. Although the film’s set piece songs, Well. Did You Evah? and Now You Has Jazz, which couldn’t be culled, were performed well, the lyrics contained both subtle and obtuse reference to the original artists and grated a tad when covered by others. The first of the two was performed in full except for one aside, whereas the latter had to be cut short, as the second verse involved Bing Crosby including the names of the members of Louis Armstrong’s band, as well as that of Satchmo himself, within the song. The musicians taking part in this scene were members of the band, under the musical direction of Dan McLaughlin, and performed the number incredibly well.
Julian Ovenden as Dexter Haven and Freddie Fox as Mike Connor. What a swell party.
All in all, this was a great interpretation of the story, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, but just don’t go along expecting a carbon copy of the film. It must have been really good to leave me in such a good mood on my journey home, as word had reached the press bar, just before curtain up, of the death of Dolly Parton. RIP, Dolly – I Will Always Love You.
For more details of High Society, which runs at Leeds Grand Theatre until 29th August, 2026 and to book, please go to https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/high-society-2026
To see what else is coming to this wonderful theatre see https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/?genre=live
If you would like to read my September preview for Welcome to Leeds it is https://welcometoleeds.co.uk/article/curtains-up-leeds-september-2026-theatre-preview/
Photographs by Pamela Raith Photography.
Tyke It To The Limit 