You can’t fail to be impressed from the moment you enter the Charing Cross Theatre auditorium by the stunning staging designed with the luxury in mind for Stiletto as the audience is taken back to 18th Century Venice. Set predominantly in the home of the wealthy aristocracy Azurra D’Orozca (Kelly Hampson) and Pietro D’Orozca (Douglas Hansell).

The new musical has familiar themes of love, betrayal and power. With a touch of corruption which often goes hand in hand with wealthy people, art reflects life is very much present among world leaders in the current climate. As a new musical, it would be unfair to reveal too much of the storyline although I would encourage anyone especially musical theatre fans to go and watch Stiletto and experience 18th-century Venice for yourself.

I often stay away from musicals adapted from films or television shows as they aren’t my “go-to” genre and I am unfamiliar with the in-house jokes or characters so miss half of what is going on between them. Stiletto offers an unchartered musical where you can immerse yourself in the music and follow the characters afresh without being disrupted by an audience member joining in with the punchline and spoiling the moment.

As a powerful ensemble production, each of the characters that sing their solo numbers all deliver strong and clear performances. Their passion and depth invested in their characters can sometimes leave you disgusted by their comments or racial attitudes which would have been indicative of that period. However, not everyone follows the route you expect and there are some pleasant surprises along the way.

The orchestra of twelve are positioned around the stage edge on the raised platform above, the majority are behind stage backdrops but as the lighting changes you get odd glimpses of some along the rear of the stage. I did like the two balcony effect windows on either side of the stage and seeing the harp was a treat, they always symbolise grace and beauty in my opinion and are rarely seen in smaller theatres.

Stiletto consists of a large cast, Orchestra and an entire production team and all those working behind the scenes. The production wouldn’t work as smoothly without everyone working together, especially in the space available in Charing Cross Theatre.

However,  I want to give a special mention to Matthew Wilder for the music and lyrics for Stiletto along with the musical director Jae Alexander and the set designer Ceci Calf.

If you are looking for something different to watch in London this is one I would strongly recommend and it will be performing from now in Charing Cross Theatre until 15th June 2025. For more information about Stiletto A New Musical and future productions at Charing Cross Theatre please use the link below.

Four Stars.

Photo credit Johan Persson

https://www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk/

Creatives:

Music & Lyrics: Matthew Wilder
Book: Tim Luscombe
Director: David Gilmore
Staging Consultant: Anthony Van Laast
Musical Director: Jae Alexander
Orchestrator: Simon Nathan
Set Designer: Ceci Calf
Costume Designer: Anna Kelsey
Lighting Designer: Ben Ormerod  
Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson
Casting: Neil Rutherford
Executive Producer: Guy Kitchenn
Produced by Patrick Bywalski for the Robert Stigwood Organisation and Steven M. Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited.