Robin and the 7 Hoods

(The Old Globe Theatre, 12 August 2010)

The plot celebrates the twentieth century Robin Hoods---the independent media, especially television. The musical does not innovate. It reliably entertains with the traditional. The first act is saturated with songs sung too closely and with one-liners spoken too quickly---often leaving no room for acting. When present, acting betrays Broadway training. The musical numbers are contrived, but mostly one delights in how cleverly contrived they are.

As soon as the first words of "Come Fly with Me" are sung by Little John Dante (played by Will Chase), the audience senses the irony, suspends its breath, and hopes that John's fiancee (played by Amy Spanger) will not detect the insencerety betrayed by his employment of the off-the-shelf standard. John recognises the precariousness of his situation, and realises that the audience does so (and, possibly, that the audience realises that he realises). The song's salsa segment is expertly done. So is the scene on the plane; the flight attendants' moaning approaches the grotesque but never trespasses it.