How Were the Reviews?: The Witches of Eastwick in London

London's West End, lately blighted by such shows as Lautrec (already departed from the Shaftesbury), Notre-Dame de Paris, Hard Times and La Cava, has been in dire need of a hit, and may at last have one. "No one is likely to be more relieved than its producer, Cameron Mackintosh," Spencer went on, pointing out, "Though his old shows continue to run around the world, it is more than 10 years since he scored a hit with a new one. And while it seems unlikely that The Witches of Eastwick will repeat the preposterous, money-spinning success of Cats, Phantom and Les Miserables, it is a genuinely likeable and witty show that sends you out into the night with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. The long dreary reign of the doom-and-gloom, through-sung blockbuster finally appears to be over. This is a show where memorable tunes are intercut with sharp dialogue, the leading actors crack jokes (sometimes very rude ones), and the scale is emphatically human even if the sujbet matter does jokily embrace the supernatural."

He continues to praise the writers, composer Dana P. Rowe (whose score he says "has an exuberantly brassy, vaudevillian quality") and writer John Dempsey (whose book and lyrics he says "are blessed with genuine wit"), saying there is "no doubt that this American team are clearly a hot prospect for the future". But, he cautions, "it would be foolish however to get carried away." It is, he says, "no Guys and Dolls, and John Updike's beautifully written, blackly comic novel has inevitably been coarsened on its journey to the musical stage." It is nevertheless, he declares, "undoubtedly better than the film", though Jack Nicholson is sorely missed. Ian McShane, playing that role, "seems like a dramatic pygmy.... There is little sense here of either danger or sexual magnetism. The skinhead taxi driver who drove me to the theatre had twice as much charisma and was 10 times more frightening." But if McShane left Spencer cold, he was full of praise for the actresses in the title roles.

The Guardian's Michael Billington is also relieved to find a good musical at last. "After a string of truly diabolical musicals, it is good to find one that deals wittily and engagingly with the Devil.... What is most surprising is that this is really an old-fashioned book musical, in which Dana P. Rowe's tunes grow logically out of John Dempsey's story.... At their best, Dempsey's book and lyrics have a nice snap and crackle that evoke the lost art of musical comedy.... Rowe's music may be amiable rather than instantly memorable. But, in a genre that has become top heavy with portentous spectacle, this show gaily reminds us of the musical's traditional mission to delight and divert."

The Independent's Edward Seckerson also points out the show's throw-back qualities. "The good thing about The Witches of Eastwick is that you know exactly where you are. The bad thing about is that you know exactly where you are. John Dempsey (book and lyrics) and Dana P. Rowe (music) have written a good, old-fashioned musical comedy (for once the word is not redundant) with a touch of subversion into the mix -- a family show with an X-rated subtext. John Dempsey's book is quick-witted, peppered with smart one-liners...and played by a cast who know how to land them. Together, he and his partner bed us down in the Broadway tradition with a series of well-integrated but - here's the rub -- all too predictable songs.... Even so, the enjoyment factor is high, the production values sky-high. Notwithstanding that this is a small show writ very large, it's good to see Cameron Mackintosh pushing the boat out on fresh talent."

In Benedict Nightingale's review in The Times, headlined "A tuneful brew that lacks a few acerbic ingredients", he writes, "Dana P Rowe's music remains refreshingly tuneful, whether it opts for the energetic and brash or for the sfot and slightly soppy. John Dempsey's rhymes are never feeble or silly, though seldom very clever. but I caught myself wishing for a dash of Sondheiim or Weill, a pinch more toughness and acerbity, along with the fingernails and frogs in the witches' brew."

Michael Coveney, writing in the Daily Mail, declares, "Musical comedy is a rare species these days, so this likeable, rambunctious new show produced by Sir Cameron Mackintosh could prove just the ticket for a slow summer season." Ian McShane he declares "a wonderful surprise... And he can really put across a number."

In the Evening Standard, on the other hand, Nicholas de Jongh identifies McShane as the main problem with the show: "looking a somewhat moth-eaten sex symbol," he says that McShane delivers an "underpowered, droopy performance," and adds: "If producer Cameron Mackintosh had found some younger, desirable hunk to play Darryl, then The Witches Of Eastwick might have become a sharper musical comedy about women conspiring to use a man and exploithis sexual and witchcraft powers." However, the trio of witches, he declares, "put on a scintillating theatrical and musical show", and of the show itself, he writes, "Though Rowe's score achieves snatches of symphonic excitement and drama, this is a musical where the scenes between songs and music provide most of the fun and amusement."

In the Daily Express, Robert Gore-Langton is unimpressed. "The show trundles along with good humour, gags and spectacular sets. But it's basically a second-rate musical wrapped in a 5 million [pound] budget.... It has its moments, for sure, but it's a modest addition to London's ample stock of modest musicals."