This superlative production of High Society starts with a traditional take on the show and weaves in smart surprises that put it in an upper class of its own.
The musical numbers already dazzle from the 90s Broadway adaptation but are given a glow up with extra helpings of Cole Porter’s majestic songwriting, injecting songs like Be A Clown and I’ve Got You Under My Skin.
The cast of familiar faces delights, which is not a given. Touring musicals often bring in TV actors more for name recognition more than performance skills, but this is a cast of absolute professionals. No one is showing off, but they all show how it should be done.
Freddie Fox and Julian Ovenden fight it out for the dishy male lead chops, but are level pegging in terms of vocal performance and characterisation, both offering their own entirely plausible version of very different would-be suitors. Their duet on Well, Did You Evah? is a standout highlight, both for their performances and the brief Tricolore lighting wash that was one of many chef’s kiss moments in the show.
Helen George as Tracy Lord leads the cast with a dazzling confidence, entrancing as the – often squiffy – socialite at the heart of the screwball comedy’s love quadrangle. From the comic silliness of I Love Paris to the frenetic dance of Let’s Misbehave – which segues into tango and sleazy jazz in a riotous extended big number – she impresses on all counts.
Nigel Lindsay as Uncle Willie played the audience like an old trombone, staggering about as the convivial old lush, getting down and dirty in Now You Have Jazz, and lending a wistful tone to Say It With Gin.
In the smaller roles, Naomi Pacquette is a suitably spunky and fun Dinah, Carly Mercedes Dyer rises to the occasion with a bittersweet rendition of I Got You Under My Skin, and David Seadon-Young is a charmingly buttoned down buffoon as George (with a closely-audited rendition of All Of You). James Hume as Chester is a brilliant foil, bringing home the laughs when it matters.
We are treated to an increasingly rare live band, with a 13-strong pit that delights in arrangements by Larry Blank and Mark Cumberland that range over multiple genres. Six are even granted leave to grace the stage, in a delightful nod to Louis Armstong’s appearance in the 1956 film version.
Tom Rogers set designs seem staid at first glance – a classic double staircase dominates from the opening – but end up providing a stately-home back drop to a shimmering swimming pool fit for midnight shenanigans and a sparkling enchanted garden that feels simultaneously magical and natural. Jon Morrell’s period costumes mutate from swirls of petticoats to cute bathing suits to gaudy velvet dinner jackets, all oozing style.
Director Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographer Anthony Van Laast have conjured up a couple of hours of toe-tapping, heart-warming, pure escapism.
If you’ve any doubt about going, just follow the exhortation of the final number: Let’s Do It. You might just fall in love with it.
- High Society continues at Norwich Theatre Royal until Saturday 19 September 2026, then touring nationally. Tickets £39.22-£74.20.