Buy Live At The Adelphi here (Amazon GB)
Have you met Miss Jones? If not, you are doing yourself a great disservice, but handily Lucie Jones' dazzling new album, Live At The Adelphi, is just the introduction you need. A tour de force of theatre's finest songs all performed in a beautiful and intimate setting with the stunning London Musical Theatre Orchestra. I've been fortunate enough to see the singer-performer in a number of shows (Legally Blonde, Rent, Waitress) and watched her embody the characters as if they were a part of herself. Live At The Adelphi not only demonstrates her range and versatility as a singer, but shows how she imbues lyrics with palpable emotion. She knows when to sing it to the rafters but equally when to give power to a single note or word as if in a moment of quiet reflection. Theatre has had a tough year - shows and performers will rise again and this is a wondrous reminder of how joyous the genre can make you feel.
The show starts with a little snippet of What's Inside (from Waitress) before launching into a vibrant performance of Don't Rain On My Parade (Funny Girl). She's instantly sassy and confident, taking the ballsy number and making it feel like it was meant for her to sing (no mean feat). She sounds as exhilarated and liberated as the ravishing score from the orchestra - and it is nigh on impossible not to get swept up in the excitement with her. This glee continues on Sing Happy (from Flora the Red Menace). The simmering opening with flute and piano conjures up images as vivid as the opening of the animated Beauty and The Beast. The tempo accelerates and Lucie is every excited heroine from Maria Von Trapp to Elsa, exploring the opportunities which lie ahead. Summer In Ohio (from The Last Five Years) continues the visualisation of dreams and sees Lucie have fun with the quirky lyrics (her faux regal accent is a real treat). The piano is equally as frivolous, making the contemporary musical theatre smash feel as timeless as if it were in a 50s Hollywood film starring Doris Day. Plus being a gay dwarf named Karl has never seemed as utterly fabulous. Gimme Gimme (Thoroughly Modern Millie) concludes this mini-set with a more reflective ode to the world's greatest emotion. It isn't just the orchestra that amps up the tempo; Lucie makes you believe she is singing her desire for love into actual being. It is as if keeping it inside is just too much and she just has to tell the world. We are all just leg kicking along with her.
Ms Jones is joined by John Owen-Jones for The Prayer. It is the set's first real ballad and it is mesmerising. Both vocals convey a sense of hope and optimism for a better tomorrow - individually captivating but together it makes the hairs on your arms stand on end (or as I like to believe, to attention as the musical magic happening). Listen whenever you feel a little blue and need a spiritual boost. A Piece of Sky (from Yentl) is breathtaking and not just because it requires as much vocal control as You Can't Stop The Beat from Hairspray. The infusion of oboe at the tender moments gently caresses Lucie's voice to highlight the melancholy feelings. Not just here, but all the songs are a symbiotic partnership between vocalist and each instrumentalist. Things take a powerhouse pop turn as Lucie presents Into The Unknown, the ubiquitous Frozen 2 number. Even sitting at home, it feels like you are at a pop concert with Lucie encouraging you to sing along. I haven't heard an audience that frenzied since Kylie bought Dannii on stage at her Christmas concert a few years back. It just pulses with pure, crackling energy. Yet it doesn't feel at all jarring when she strips things back for God Help The Outcasts (from The Hunchback of Notre Dame). One of my all time favourite Disney songs, Lucie's radiant rendition feels particularly poignant and relevant with all the atrocities in the world. I don't know if she channelled the experiences of immigrants she might have read about but it comes across in every nuanced second - but mostly the powerful moment out of the middle 8.
If anyone can knock Take Me Or Leave Me (Rent) out of the park it is Lucie Jones. You haven't lived if she hasn't mooed at you during a performance of the show. It is just pure, deserved indulgence and every second is magical. In fact Maureen may well be her patronus. The equally effervescent Marisha Wallace joins this delectable romp of self-acceptance and sparkles and shines as brightly as the star. Both are having the time of their lives and it is the one contagious thing that is acceptable in 2020! At the opposite end of the spectrum is Moon River (from Breakfast at Tiffanys). Accompanied on just cello and harp (I think) the entire performance just makes the worries of the world melt away. Its as soothing as a warm cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night; as beguiling as the sun shimmering on the waters on a hot summer day. It is a rainbow connection of a song that I'll never grow tired of. Talking of songs I'll never grow tired of, I'll confess I still regularly play the seventh heaven club mix (radio edit) of Lucie's own Never Give Up On You so it is a thrill to hear it alongside these evergreen standards. It remains graceful and stately, the type of gothic ballad which hasn't been heard since the likes of Madonna's Frozen (and deserved at least as much success). Hey, at least Scotland sent it top 30 - and it is beautifully performed her.
Much as Take Me Or Leave Me sends people into a frenzy, so does Lucie singing She Used To Be Mine (from Waitress). It is not only the musical's standout moment, but a highlight in her solo show. And that is saying something when everything which precedes it has been so enjoyable. It is a heartbreaking song which stirs your own emotions and memories - as it does here. Those resonant piano chords add to the moving nature of Lucie's performance. She brings dignity to her sadness whilst the strings add an aura of burgeoning strength being derived from the words she sings. What is amazing is how That's Life is the perfect follow on song - an acceptance of all she has gone through and proof she has come out of the other side a stronger person. Plus it is a rousing, rabble cry of a song - a rallying call to arms to just let yourself be. It is pure cabaret and you wouldn't want it to be anything less. It is pure thrills - if just for the way she says "you would not buy it"! And then, as if far too soon, the show comes to an end with a Les Miserables classic. You might think I Dreamed A Dream or On My Own, but her choice is Bring Him Home is exquisite. It is intimate prayer, a testimony of fervent hope and desire. It is a sensational finale and indelible proof that Ms Jones is a star we should all be thankful for. Play loud, play often and tell everyone you've ever met about Live At The Adelphi.
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