A Spoonful of Sherman – Live at The Zedel until 20th August
★★★★ “a nostalgic trip down memory lane A Spoonful of Sherman really is a joy”
Review by Caroline Hanks-Farmer
An enchanting evening with a trip down memory lane across four generations of the Sherman dynasty awaits you at the Zedel this August. Robert J. Sherman narrates this fun collection of The Sherman Brothers (Richard M and Robert B Sherman) legacy. With golden numbers such as Feed The Birds, I Wanna Be Like You, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, A Spoonful Of Sugar and Let’s Go Fly A Kite (which you will still be singing a few days later – trust me) this really is as billed “The Songbook Of Your Childhood”.
Helena Blackman and Daniel Boys
However it’s more than just a pleasant evening with some ditties sung by two popular West End Stars (Helena Blackman and Daniel Boys) and beautifully accompanied by Christopher Hamilton. This is a celebration of some of the most popular and iconic musical songs ever written. It was fascinating to hear of Robert J. Sherman’s personal recollections and the reasons of how some of the songs came to be. Something which also delighted me is knowing that the legacy continues. Robert Sherman has created some gorgeous new musical numbers for his shows Love Birds and Bumblescratch. And whilst the influences of his father and uncle are ever-present these do have a modern take.
Photo Credit Nick Rutter
Moving onto the performers themselves Helena Blackman once again gives a striking performance to wow the audience. Whilst Daniel Boys brings his cheekiness to life and delights the audience with his charisma. They really are a dream team and I’d personally love to see them play opposite each other – A 2017 Mary Poppins and Bert for instance? Accompanist Christopher Hamilton was so much more than that and often added the fun element to the numbers. I particularly enjoyed his “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers”
In Summary
With 39 songs included within the show you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a long show? However it starts early at 7pm in the evenings and we were leaving just over 90 minutes later. It’s brisk, fast paced, with a lot of laughs along the way filled with medley’s from the film shows we have all come to know and love. The audience was treated to some insightful background, and excellent performances in a relaxed glamorous cabaret environment.
Photo Credit Nick Rutter
Charming, delightful and a nostalgic trip down memory lane “A Spoonful of Sherman” really is a joy. It ends with some of the most memorable songs and we were actively encouraged to join in – I mean who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned sing along. What’s not to love about an uncomplicated fun show, every once in a while? – Go see!
Carn's Theatre Passion 