Conceived in 2009 by writer & composer Stuart Wood, Frank's Closet has garnered a cult status with several runs, but none more successful than earlier this year at the Union Theatre where it was nominated for five Offie Awards. And now, it's return to the iconic venue of Wilton's Music Hall in East London for a limited run, a venue that fits the musical's roots so well.
Our titular character Frank is 24 hours away from marrying his partner Alan, but Alan wants Frank to clear his prized possession, his closet of costumes of celebrated divas and send them to the V&A. We follow Frank as he navigates his thoughts and feelings as he shares his story of how he grew up from a closeted young lad from Cleethorpes to the man he is today. Frank has an imaginary world where he is an owner of a music hall full of songs, laughter and gaiety girls, and with his costumes, the divas come to life and guide Frank through his pre wedding nerves with words of encouragement but also realism.
Wood's book is comical, relatable and has just the right amount of drama. He is very clever in his musical composition here, exploring traditional music hall, golden age showbiz and more modern pop genres throughout. If there was anything to criticise in this book, it would be that the audience doesn't really know why Alan is so keen for Frank to get rid his costumes and their relationship isn't really explored in any great detail.
Andy Moss delivers a great performance as Frank, making the audience empathise with his situation. A standout section of his character's development comes in the second act when he realises something his dad did for him in a show of love and acceptance.
However, the star of the show here is Luke Farrugia, who brings to life the seven icons of music, gay culture and history with every diva bigger than the previous one. We are treated to Marie Lloyd, Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, Karen Carpenter, Judy Garland, Agnetha Faltskog and Dusty Springfield. Farrugia has a stunning vocal range and impeccable comedic timing which blew the audience away. Each of these seven divas is a send up of their real life characters with nods and references to things they've been in or sung. Farrugia has the audience in the palm of his hand with these send ups, whether it be with Marie Lloyd declaring "I Like To Have a Winkle On a Sunday Afternoon" during the great vaudeville-esque song 'Boys of London Town' or as the golden cape wearing Agnetha in disco number 'Abba Made Me Gay'.
Frank's Closet is a fast paced piece of theatre with high energy throughout displayed by all cast members, but none more so than Frank's Gaiety girls (Olivia McBride, Daniel Walford, Patrick Cook and Tayla Watson-Braithwaite). They execute Jo McShane's superb choreography fantastically, with every moment being on point and their vocal harmonies are delicious.
Completing the cast is Paul Toulson as The Sailor, a new character for this run and although he is not central to Frank's story nor do we see his character developed in any way, he has two songs at the beginning of each act which are beautifully delivered.
The costumes by Indy River and Catherine Phelps are bold and colourful, particularly in the case of the divas, bringing glitz and glamour to the production. The set design by Catherine Phelps is minimalistic but effective and functional for a show of this size, and blended in very well with architecture of the Wilton's auditorium. Sasha Regan's direction makes the transition between fantasy and reality easy for the audience to follow, always knowing exactly where they are within the story. There were a few mic issues at different points in this performance, but overall, the sound design by Edward Lewis made sure the band, led by Anto Buckley, sounded splendid from start to finish.
Frank's Closet is a fast, fun filled, two hours of joy and yet still has room to expand and grow, it will be exciting to see where it goes from here. To be perfectly Frank, you'd be a fool to miss it.
Frank's Closet runs at Wilton's Music Hall until the 14th September. For more information and tickets, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography provided by PR.
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