The newest hit and hardest ticket to get in London right now is “Paddington The Musical” and rightfully so. Having just won the Olivier Award (equivalent to the Tony) for both Best Musical and Best Direction (Luke Sheppard), along with a spate of acting awards, it is a pure joy that will have you grinning from ear to ear throughout the entire two-plus hours (you’ll need the intermission to bring your jaws back in alignment). This furry bear in the red hat and blue duffle coat has a lot to teach us about family, and the Browns are the first to learn.
Debarking a train at Paddington Station with a sign around his neck that says “Please look after this bear. Thank you,” our plucky hero has arrived on a mission, sent by his aged Aunt Lucy from the deepest, darkest mountains of Peru, to find the English explorer who was so kind to them. Alas, he doesn’t know the explorer’s name and there is no one to meet and greet him. Left sitting on his small suitcase, the hours go by and he is unnoticed. Unnoticed, that is, until the Brown family, recently returned from vacation, spies him and is invited by Mrs. Brown to come home with them until other arrangements can be made.
Mrs. Brown realizes that there is a hole in their family that needs filling and thinks maybe this new addition, whom they have named Paddington after the station where he was found, might help them. Quite to the contrary, well-meaning Paddington brings a new level of chaos. Mrs. Brown realizes it will take some getting used to, something the very uptight Mr. Brown has no patience for. He’s up for a promotion at work and needs to be stress-free; impossible as long as the bear is upending furniture, leaving sticky messes behind from his marmalade sandwiches, and barging in, or rather bearing down on everyone’s lives. Daughter Judy lives in constant fear of embarrassment and barely speaks to her mother. Her crush on the boy next door, Tony, leaves her speechless. Her little brother Jonathan is a walking encyclopedia, his beloved source of reading material, and flies above the fray. He and his mother are entranced with Paddington and are insistent that he stay.
A clue to the intrepid bear’s identity emerges from the inner lining of his explorer’s hat. It once belonged to a member of the Geographers’ Guild and off they go. The news is less than enlightening. It turns out that the hat was the property of Montgomery Clyde, a disgraced and disbarred member of the Guild. His exploration of the Andean forests in Peru revealed a new species of bear, but he refused to bring one back as a specimen. He had bonded with these bears and would rather endure being unceremoniously kicked out of the Guild than harm a single tuft of fur on their bodies. Paddington and Aunt Lucy were much relieved. Not so, it appears, was his daughter Millicent, who had to endure the humiliation of being related to Montgomery.
Millicent devoted her life to capturing endangered species and stuffing them, displaying them in her own private basement headquarters at the Natural History Museum. Hearing that an elusive Andean bear has landed on her home turf, she makes it her mission to track him down and stuff the little beggar.
And there you have the bones of this wonderful children’s tale that appeals to all ages. An adorable, cuddly bear that becomes part of a human family unit but is, unbeknownst to all of them, being pursued by the kind of villain not seen since Cruella DeVille went after those adorable Dalmatians. Along the way we will also meet the unhelpful train announcer, the officious president of the Geographers’ Guild and Mr. Brown’s pompous boss, not quite disguised enough for us not to notice that all are played by the same uproarious person. Then there is the taxi driver and officious security manager of the complex where the Browns live. Let’s not forget the next-door neighbors: the wise and comforting Tanya and her son Tony, the object of Judy’s affections, and most of all the Browns’ lodger, Mrs. Bird, who went on tour with rock bands, played Mr. Mistoffelees in “Cats,” has climbed mountains and generally done nothing of the sort, but her wisdom is beyond her years, and she’s no spring chicken.
There are thrills and chills and cheers and laughs all set to music. But mostly, there is Paddington himself, or rather itself, because the voice and singing are done by an offstage actor controlling the facial expressions of the actress in the bear costume. If it sounds complicated, it is. As revealed in a “New York Times” review, the producers discussed the years-long process to the final incarnation of the bear. Inside the costume is a little person, Arti Shaw, working in concert with James Hameed who voices, both in song and in dialogue, and electronically controls the facial expressions of the bear. So realistic are the expressions, combined with the artistry of Shaw’s body language, that you will become a believer and the bear will be as much a living, breathing character as any of the Browns. The synchronization of the two actors is nothing short of magic. The two actors shared the award for Best Actor in a Musical at the recent Olivier Awards.
There are even a couple of show-stopping numbers, foremost among them is “Marmalade,” an ode to Paddington’s favorite sandwich (thick-cut bread and no butter). And show-stopping would also be a way to describe some of the actors in this delicious delight. The story of the Browns and their search for family harmony anchors the production with Adrian der Gregorian as Mr. Brown, Delilah Bennet-Cardy as Judy, Stevie Hare was Jonathan on the night we saw it, and the lyrical, beautiful and warm Amy Ellen Richardson was an incandescent Mrs. Brown. But it is the minor, almost extraneous characters, for lack of a better word, who really drive the production home with their hilarious interpretations and interactions. Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (winner of the Olivier for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical) is the evil Millicent Clyde, whose comeuppance you will surely enjoy, and Bonnie Langford is the prevaricating Mrs. Bird. Tom Edden (winner of the Olivier for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical) is the officious taxi driver who metes out punishment to those on his wrong side and has a wholly satisfying transformation shown in deed and hilarious musical moments. Shining like the star she should be is Amy Booth Steel (nominated for the Olivier as Best Supporting Actress in a Musical) who plays three different roles (the train announcer, the head of the Geographers’ Guild and Lady Sloane, Mr. Brown’s boss) and brings down the house with each one. She moves that large body, in deliberately unflattering outfits, as though she were made of liquid mercury.
London is full to brimming with outstanding theater this season but if you have only one play to see, this is the one. It will, no doubt, eventually land in New York, but why wait? Book some seats (even go twice), hop a jet and land on the best new musical to hit the stage in years.
And here’s my tip on securing last-minute seats. Go to the box office at noon and ask if there have been any returns. I did and was in luck. We sat in the second row and loved every minute. I’ll probably try that again when visitors come to stay because as Paddington has said, “If you are kind and polite, the world will be right.”
Now playing at the Savoy Theatre (yes, as in Savoy Hotel) with tickets being sold until February 2027 (but my bet is that they will be sold to infinity and beyond).
Neely Swanson spent most of her professional career in the television industry, almost all of it working for David E. Kelley. In her last full-time position as Executive Vice President of Development, she reviewed writer submissions and targeted content for adaptation. As she has often said, she did book reports for a living. For several years she was a freelance writer for “Written By,” the magazine of the WGA West, and was adjunct faculty at USC in the writing division of the School of Cinematic Arts. Neely has been writing film and television reviews for the “Easy Reader” for more than 10 years. Her past reviews can be read on Rotten Tomatoes where she is a tomatometer-approved critic.
