Theatre Review: Seth Rudetsky Deconstructing Broadway - Leicester Square Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭

Seth Rudetsky

Deconstructing Broadway

Leicester Square Theatre

Seth Rudetsky is an American musician, actor, writer, and radio host, who has superb knowledge of everything thats been on Broadway past and present. He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for his recordings of the musical Hair and nominated for an Emmy for his writing on The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Seth has been appearing with Patti LuPone this week at Leicester Square Theatre in her five star rated show, and tonight it was Seth's turn to delight the London audience with his Deconstructing Broadway show.

If you don't know anything about Broadway shows, then never fear, Seth is here. Here we have an insightful, affectionate and, above all, hysterical take on some of the greatest musical theatre moments. He has an obsession with pulling those broadway hits apart and making you think differently about them, as in his first example from Evita, where Patti LuPone shows how it should be sung, and Madonna doing the exact opposite!

The whole evening had the audience in fits of laughter, with Seth pulling at the seams song after song, tearing them down, showing how good even a little bit of vibrato can enhance a song, and how often, being flat or sharp just doesn't cut it. With a mixture of audio recordings and video, accompanied by piano playing, Seth has a stage presence to match no other. He is slick, funny, has good rapport with the audience, and above all else highly entertaining to watch on stage as he deconstructs!

There are some great moments in the show where video is shown, sometimes of an actress first starting out in Broadway and you have to guess who it is. But one of the funniest things was seeing footage of Cher in a musical. If you get a chance to see this show, it will have you in hysterics.

Deconstructing Broadway is just sublime - pouring out the songs we know and love, and adding a Rudetsky twist to leave a fantastic flavour on your musical theatre palette.

Let's hope he comes back to the UK soon with this Ah-Mah-Zing show! 

5 stars ✭✭✭✭✭