IMAGINE THIS, A CLASSIC IN THE MAKING

The smart word before opening night of its world premiere was that this musical was heading straight for the West End, if they could find somewhere large enough. Well, that indeed may happen but there's still a long way to go before it's really ready for London's Theatre-land. It would be a shame to rush, because when it is ready the show could become a long-running classic.

Staging a new musical is a precarious and costly business. Brave Angels indeed to bankroll a show of this magnitude. The key to this one being a blockbuster success is a truly fabulous, memorable score by Shuki Levy who has earned tons of gold and platinum records from sales in excess of 14 million records worldwide. His melodies here are complemented by the emotional, heart-tugging lyrics by David Goldsmith and with such wonderful flowing songs like the highly charged anthem Masada, the title song Imagine This and the emotional Far From Here, Far From Now, it's no wonder the album already out, has earned rave reviews.

The story is set in a Warsaw Ghetto with a company of actors putting on a musical, to keep up morale, about Masada, where 960 jews in the first century AD died rather than be taken by the Romans. Under Nazi occupation, the similarities of their plight is evident but it's a difficult subject to get comfortably across in the form of a musical. You'd never get away with a blockbuster number like the tasteless Springtime for Hitler - this story is much more than that. But I waited for the "wow" factor to knock me out of my seat all evening; and I found the first scene-setting half ponderous at times. Maybe there lies the problem.

The staging is excellent and acting superb with Peter Polycarpou's portrayal of the tormented father, Daniel Warshovsky, deservedly earning a standing ovation. And he delivered the classic line, trying to justify their play to the Nazis: "You'll like it; all the Jews die at the end." Ouch. If the producers find that little bit of magic, possibly from streamlining text, it could rival Les Mis ... now there's a thought.

John Lyon