Grab your bowler hat, don the white gloves and practice your sultry stare as this week ‘Fosse’ slinks onto the Hippodrome stage.

‘Fosse’ is billed as a celebration of Choreographer Bob Fosses life, a man whose unique eye for poise and performance coupled with his visual passion for a small group of dancers drilled down to the lift of an eyebrow, made him one of the most well respected and prolific choreographers in the business.

With musical numbers the likes of ‘Steam Heat’ and ‘Big Spender’ the shows creators could easily have gone down the well trodden path of a full blown musical depiction of Fosse’s life with the inevitable ‘Son of a travelling salesman makes good’ formula.  However, that would simply have destroyed the glamorous understated philosophy of Fosse…   they have opted for, in my opinion, a more classy and stylish tribute.

The touring production at the Hippodrome stars Bonnie Langford and a completely American supporting cast. Miss Langford proves that she still has a high kick in her, although during the more subtle and sexy numbers I found her well honed ‘eyes and teeth’ style gave me flash backs to her performances in Bugsy Malone and Peter Pan rather than showing me an experienced versatile performer remaining true to the ‘Fosse Feel’.

Taking the stage with Bonnie Langford is a wealth of dance and vocal talent, notably Jalynn Steele who steals the show.. ( a cheap pun, sorry!)with a fantastic ‘I Gotcha’ from ‘Liza with a Z’ .

Many of the supporting cast are making their debut with this production of Fosse and this may be why I felt that, at moments, the precision and style so central to Bob Fosse’s choreography was not entirely present.

The production gained momentum through the second act as gradually the numbers became more varied dipping from the comical ‘Rich Mans Frug’ to the sexiness of ‘Caberet’ and the incredibly moving ‘Mr Bogangles’…even the dancers seemed to shift up a gear.

Over all the production is staged with simple elegance and class. The lighting is sympathetic to each number whilst not over doing the traditional Fosse ‘precision solo spot from above’ . The Fosse band are wonderfully ‘LIVE’ (which, as a musician by trade, is always a bonus nowadays!) and their presence on stage for the Finale adds to the excitement tremendously.

If, like me, you are a fan of the undeniable genius of choreographer Bob Fosse you may be disappointed with this particular production. However, if you are looking for an evening of live dance and beautiful music within a fabulous venue, which let’s face it is never a bad thing, then ‘Fosse’ is one for you.

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