​CHET BAKER​

RESONATES WELL BEYOND ITSELF

​Singer/ actor/ trumpet player David Goldthorpe and director David Lawrence - backed by a superb jazz trio: Tim Solly (piano), Mostyn Cole (bass), Richard Wise (drums) - have crafted a simple yet classy show that might well mesmerise us with cool jazz if it did not also challenge us with flashes of fact that are hard to ignore.

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As soft sounds flow from Goldthorpe's perpetually young Chet - his jazz trumpet and equally smooth voice, both singing and talking - the blissed-out dimension of drug addiction is clearly evoked. The title song itself is offered as an ode to heroin. 'But Not for Me', 'My Funny Valentine', 'The Touch of Your Lips' and 'Look for the Silver Lining' are judiciously placed to punctuate and illuminate the unfolding story.

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There are moments of self pity, anger and paranoia but mostly he's cruising on a plane high above reality. It's the passing parade of women's names and the children he 'fathered' with them that jolt us into realising his claim - shouted at an arresting officer - that he's hurting nobody else is deeply deluded. In short, he's a self-serving arsehole.

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Whichever way you look at it, Like Someone In Love is well worth tuning into because it resonates well beyond itself.​

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​Reviewed by John Smythe, THEATREVIEW
Saturday February 24th, 2007

[this review is abridged, for the full text please visit www.theatreview.co.nz]