As the house lights dim, a figure of a rather sexy, sassy ‘woman’ appears, this is Miss Hope Springs wearing a beautiful luminous blue dress, and as the lights reflect off her, she takes on the appearance of a waterfall under the moonlight.
It is also clear that this lady maybe channeling Miss Peggy Lee, who in her prime was a superb jazz songstress complete with bouffant hair, a style which Miss Springs embraces with full flair and panache.
The songs are full of melodic, rich riffs and the way Miss Hope Springs phrases and delivers each line is a throwback to the days of the great Cole Porter. The best songs here are ‘Hearts Drawn in the Sand’, ‘I’m Bi’, ‘Funny How Things Turn Out’ and the poignant ‘Queen of Fools’. Never have I heard such mastery of the English language, even throwing in some fancy old-fashioned Latin for good measure.
Together with Nigel Thomas on bass and Sam Glasson on drums, Miss Springs playing off the piano is simply stunning – she gets it to sing with her tinkling of the ivories at a very high standard. Sublime and sensational. A trio of musicians that are skilled and extremely polished.
Ty Jeffries’ creation Miss Hope Springs sings with a softness, well-rounded tone that is not weak or faint and by the second half of an almost two-hour set, she had the audience in the palm of her hand.
Between songs the patter is fluent and the name-dropping intentional. Of course, you would have to be of a certain age to recognize the names she cites, but that aside this is an evening of pure class and perfection. This is a show that will most certainly put a smile on your face and proves the old adage that ‘’Hope does spring eternal.”
MISS HOPE SPRINGS
Leicester Square Theatre Lounge, 5-6 Leicester Square, WC2H 7BX.
Last 2 shows 9th & 10th February at 9.30pm.
Box office: 0844 873 3433
www.misshopesprings.com and www.leicestersquarethreatre.com
4/5
