Tell Me on a Sunday

The Alhambra

ORIGINALLY devised as a TV vehicle for singer Marti Webb, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black's melancholy one-woman show centres on a young British woman's search for love in New York.

As she moves from one short-lived relationship to the next, taking her from East to West coast, she comes to terms with the fact that life is tough for a singleton in a big city. But when she's done with heartbreak, loneliness and insecurity, optimism prevails and we're left feeling confident, or hopeful, that this girl can look after herself.

The last time I saw the show, following its 2003 West End revival, it began with the heroine, Emma, leaving London, following a bitter break-up. We learned about this in powerful opening number, Take That Look Off Your Face. We saw her embark on a new life in New York, full of hope and trepidation on board a 'plane, then throw herself into the NY dating scene with a witty speed-dating sequence. Awestruck, excited but a little lost in New York, she kept her mum up to date with a series of emails.

This revival has cut all of that, stripping the show right down to what is essentially a series of songs. And while Jodie Pregner gave a lovely performance, capturing the confidence, sassiness and vulnerability of the character, I felt we learned little about her.

With a band of musicians visible behind the set, it felt more like a concert than a story. It worked as a TV song cycle in the 1970s, but I think it needs more flesh on the bones to stand up as a show with narrative.

Jodie's impressive voice did the songs proud though, particularly the crowd-pleasers Take That Look off Your Face and Tell Me On A Sunday, and the melodic Unexpected Song and It's Not The End of the World.