Tucked away near Hightgate, Upstairs At The Gatehouse is the perfect intimate corner of North London to show a new staging of the obscure musical Bar Mitzvah Boy. Reworked with help from the original writer Don Black and a new writer David Thompson, with original music from Jule Styne and based on the book by Jack Rosenthal, the musical marks its comeback after 77 performances of the original 1978 production.

Bar Mitzvah Boy is exactly what it says on the tin, the tale of young Eliot Green (Adam Bregman) whose life and family focus on his imminent passage to manhood. In the middle of the ceremony he bolts out of the door, causing them grief and distress. All ends well though, as it usually does in a musical.

With a stonking great cast, who embed and create a genuine family connection, they push the musical onward with drive and well placed action. A particular shout out to Lara Stubbs (who plays Eliots sister, Lesley) who has great acting chops and a lovely voice. Playing opposite her as Harold, her try-hard boyfriend, is Nicholas Corre, who is such a gem as this character. He’s so needy you want to hug him, but his soaring voice is something to behold. Sue Kelvin playing mum Rita with Robert Maskell as her husband, make a great pair who are full of fire. They are playfully tender and full of hatred at the same time and it makes for great characters. They make it relatable and genuine, which makes for plenty of laughs. Meanwhile the main man, Bregman is making his stage debut, giving us the heartfelt cry of a genuine 13 year old. This is the icing on the cake of some great casting by Jane Deitch.

Director Stewart Nicholl’s movement was too much in some of the songs, whereas aspects of the dialogue which should create a natural crescendo in order to break into a song are too underplayed. Overall the show could have more gumption and oomph, which is what the comedy lends itself to, and then the movement would work well. The show is well produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainments, who is fighting hard to bring more musical theatre to us.

What is nicely explored, is the thoughts I think most young people have as they grow up. What does it means to be ‘grown up’ and who should we model ourselves on? Do the ‘grown-ups’ in our lives really know what they’re doing and should we have to listen to them? Such a lovely moral message that actually comes through the dialogue as opposed to the songs.

Unfortunately it’s still easy to see why the original production fell flat, and why Rosenthal ‘didn’t want the musical to be seen on stage again’. Both acts felt stagnant due to limitations of the cast size. The action stopped and explored thoroughly each of the characters thoughts on either the upcoming bar mitzvah or Elliot’s disappearing act. The action and the excitement we wanted to see (his Bar Mitzvah) is left virtually untouched. As a result, we experience slight overkill on every song, which isn’t based on a plot development, but more on a stagnant aspect of a personality or relationship. I also felt like more could be done to ham up the Jewish stereotypes, as there was more comedy to be found in this, without causing offence. Elliot’s impressions of his typical Jewish grandfather were particularly fun and could have been utilised more. With such potential I feel the musical could be great, and should still be explored more in future productions and workshops.

Full of family fun and chutzpah; this revival packs a punch.

Bar Mitzvah Boy is playing Upstairs at The Gatehouse until 10 of April. For more information and tickets, see www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com.

Photo: Production shots – Aria Entertainment