From Here to Eternity, Shaftesbury Theatre - theatre review

Sir Tim Rice returns to the West End with this large-scale show set in 1941 Hawaii just before the attack on Pearl Harbor
From Here to Eternity
Johan Persson
4 February 2014

After a 13-year absence from the West End, lyricist Sir Tim Rice returns with this large-scale show, for which he has teamed up with composer Stuart Brayson. It’s vigorous and generally slick, but at times feels trite.

Though it’s based on James Jones’s 1951 novel, the story will be known to far more people from the classic film starring Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra. The setting is Hawaii in 1941, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. We see a company of American soldiers waiting to enter the Second World War – the stagnant atmosphere evoked by Soutra Gilmour’s opulent yet dilapidated designs.

Rebecca Thornhill bows at the curtain call during the press night performance of "From Here To Eternity" at the Shaftesbury Theatre on October 23, 2013 in London, England.
David M. Benett

There are two entwined love stories. Bugle-playing boxer Robert Prewitt, new to the island, falls for Lorene, a jaundiced club hostess. And Milt Warden, a ruggedly handsome sergeant, launches into an affair with smouldering Karen, the bored wife of his commanding officer.

The main strength of Tamara Harvey’s production is the muscular choreography by Javier de Frutos together with fight director Kate Waters. It’s a heady mix of boxing, military drill, surfer poses and hula. When de Frutos’s vision isn’t to the fore, the show feels static.

Rice’s lyrics may get top billing but, while there are signs of his familiar agility, some of the writing is thin. Brayson’s score is certainly varied, ranging from swing and jazz to rock and bluesy ballads. There are seductive melodies and a couple of genuinely catchy songs. But it never settles into a single confident idiom, and between the big numbers there are lulls, especially in the overlong first half. Bill Oakes’s book is not well-focused, and the characterisation is creaky.

There’s also not much chemistry between the leads. Although Darius Campbell, once of Pop Idol, has the right virile baritone for Milt, his acting is a little stiff and his relationship with Rebecca Thornhill’s Karen never sizzles. Meanwhile Robert Lonsdale lacks charisma as Prewitt – he has an appealing tenor voice but it takes too long to establish that he’s the leading man. And despite Ryan Sampson providing some comic relief as Prewitt’s impish pal Maggio, there are few laughs.

From Here to Eternity aspires to be both gritty and erotic, yet in the end seems sprawling and underpowered. Its ambition is impressive. But only in its final moments does it feel urgent.

Until April 26, 2014 (020 7379 5399, fromheretoeternitythemusical.com)

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