PicksInSix Review: Lesley Nicol: How The Hell Did I Get Here?
A Reason, A Season and Laughs!
PicksInSix ® Review | Ed Tracy
Well into the warm, squishy middle of Lesley Nicol’s tender musical autobiography “How The Hell Did I Get Here?” now playing in its world premiere at the Greenhouse Theater Center directed by Luke Kernaghan, the show took a timely turn for me, an unexpected, personal connection to her life story that up to this point had been delightfully circling around a childhood plagued by overt shyness mixed with an eye around the corner for what might be coming next. More on that in just a bit…
Nicol, who is best known as the endearing Mrs. Patmore on the hit Masterpiece series “Downton Abbey,” leads us through personal interactions, reflections of her family life, failed auditions and other clever observations told in such a way that you are instantly captivated by her self-effacing charm and uproarious sense of humor. The one-woman show, written and performed with the award-winning composer and accompanist, Mark Muellar, unfolds on an angular, cherry-wood, somewhat precarious, multi-level scenic design by Anshuman Bhatia with striking projections that are ingeniously cast on a wall comprised of dozens of rolling luggage bags which frame a grand piano upstage center.
Through the consequences of having a demonstrative mother and the joy of a dutiful, supportive father, the stories teeter back and forth as heartfelt overtures and comic gems within a very full life. It all flows with such truth that Nicol wins you over with her frankness and the outright absurdity of what’s happening on her journey– the setbacks, the blunders, a few sparkling celebrity moments and a dream that, with hard work and a bit of good fortune, becomes a calling.
Many of these experiences are punctuated by original songs, written with Muellar, that tell their own poignant and often hilarious stories: pondering the question all of us address in our youth about our purpose and existence (“Why”) along with the revelatory answer upon discovering the theater (“Where I Belong”); surviving an all-girl boarding school (“Through the Fog”); coming to terms with her mother’s shaming (“She Had A Great War”) and others that are interwoven with the evolving story… a cooking class, her first love, a tongue and cheek number about professional competition and a heart-wrenching moment of personal rejection that all fit nicely within the 90-minute piece.
It is a comfortable and engaging showcase for Nicol’s wide-ranging abilities as an actor, comedian, singer, playwright and storyteller who had her first big stage break in the London cast of “Jesus Christ Superstar” despite one of those disastrous auditions which leads to the timely turn and personal connection I mentioned. After “Superstar” Nicol dropped into the cast of the West End production of “Mamma Mia” as Rosie, a role that she played for two years in London from 2002 to 2004 and a production that I saw on stage there in 2003. I had not realized that fact until she recalled that the audience was dancing in the aisles during curtain call. I can attest that they were—and that my military historian friend and mentor, the late Carlo D’Este, and I were two of them.
If you are a fan of “Downton Abbey” you probably are already planning to spend some time with this remarkably warm and lovely human being during the run of “How the Hell Did I Get Here” in Chicago. It will be time well spent and will leave you with an appreciation for how one person can make a difference in many people lives while fulfilling her own, always approaching the next chapter with a pleasant, positive, good-natured persona and a genuine thankfulness for what is to come.
PHOTO|Michael Brosilow
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