The Baker's Wife @ Menier Chocolate Factory...

Last night I went to see the deft and delightful musical The Baker's Wife at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London's glitzy London Bridge Quarter.

 

Set in 1930s Provence, France the action takes place in a small village obsessed with bread. They live for it. They lust for it. But their baker has recently died. Enter stage right the new baker, Amiable (Clive Rowe), along with his much younger his wife, Genevieve (Lucie Jones).

 

Genevieve quickly catches the eye of local heartthrob Dominique (Joaquin Pedro Valdes) and scandal among the sleepy café tables ensues.

 

In American director Gordon Greenberg’s charming production of Joseph Stein and Stephen Schwartz’s 1989 musical there’s a lot more to The Baker’s Wife than "Meadowlark", its best-known song.

 

From the staging – which sits us on either side of designer Paul Farnsworth’s rustic French fantasia – to the way some scenes play out amidst us, we were transported to a French village square.  It was a joy to be brought up so close to the supporting characters - the exceptional ensemble cast - to enjoy villagers' interconnected comedic rapport.

 

The songs were beautiful sung.  The story funny.  Maybe it fails the Bechdel Test somewhat but don't let that put you off.  The boys come off worse.

 

Oh, and Dame Judi Dench and Dame Joan Plowright were in the audience too.

⭐️⭐️⭐️