★★★★★
As the curtain lifts on suite 719 of the Plaza Hotel, the beauty of The Savoy Theatre only accentuates the luxury of such an iconic hotel. In transferring from Broadway to The West End, you are hard-pressed to think of anywhere more established or sophisticated than The Savoy to house a revival of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, a theatre so donned in tradition that even a 50 year old play feels subversive.
Enter stage-right: Sarah Jessica Parker. Donning a brown bob as Karen Nash, the audience seems baffled to see her in-person, as they erupt into excitable applause. With Simon’s comedy telling the story of three different couples visiting suite 719 throughout 1968 and 1969, seeing such a big name as Parker reposition herself from 90s fashion icon to 60s housewife felt bizarre yet natural. As one half of the not-so-blissfully married couple, Parker is quick to carry her own in her West End debut, holding a confidence only procured by the most experienced of theatre actors. After a few minutes of fussing around the suite, preparing for the arrival of her disloyal husband, Broderick makes his appearance as Sam Nash, to equal audience excitement.
With both Broderick and Parker being household names in Hollywood, with an arsenal of awards between the real-life married couple and millions of box-office dollars, it can be a genuinely complex task to differentiate between feeling starstruck and truly impressed with the performance. With the first of the three stories being the heaviest, Broderick’s portrayal of a husband who has long mentally clocked out is equal parts comedic and infuriating. Parker counters this with a passion and denial reserved only for the most loving wives, balancing the hilarity of her confusion over their anniversary date with the controlled rage of a forgotten woman. With the heavier topics of the first act over, it becomes clear what incredible range and versatility these performers have in transitioning to the second act. Here we witness the tale of Jesse and Muriel, titled ‘Visitor from Hollywood’, a sexually charged slapstick affair between a Hollywood producer and New Jersey housewife.
It was here we see a glimpse of the physical comedy Parker became known for in her role as Carrie Bradshaw, fawning over Broderick’s Jesse and oscillating between her craving for a lewd escape and her responsibilities as a wife and mother. Playing drunk and desperate to perfection, Parker’s Muriel differs largely from Karen whilst steering clear of her own well-known public persona. Broderick’s sideburns and carpet-twisting find him far from Sam, and both players elicit huge laughs.
In the third act Parker and Broderick close their trio of characters with husband and wife Roy and Norma Hubley. As parents struggling to coax their daughter out of suite 719’s bathroom amidst wedding day nerves, both performers find themselves at their peak comedic ability. From tackling, feigning a heart attack and even being struck by lightning, you feel lucky to be a part of something so special. At a time in entertainment when bigger is perceived to be simply better, a show so grounded yet hilarious feels genuinely hard to come by. Names such as Broderick and Parker have little to prove, yet performers of equal calibre rarely seem comfortable with such straightforward material. Parker has since received an Olivier award nomination for Plaza Suite, proving you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to succeed, you simply need to entertain. And that she did.
Words by Ben Carpenter
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