Midnight Cowboy: A New Musical review – gigolo and conman bromance builds to a shocking climax

Southwark Playhouse Elephant, LondonWhile the story of broken dreams and desperation can’t make the leap to an all-singing all-dancing setting, there are great moments among the bleaknessJohn Schlesinger’s anti-American dream drama about two hobos in 1960s New York is a curious choice to adapt into an all-singing, dancing musical. Originally based on James Leo Herlihy’s novel, it is a bromance of suffering, of sorts, between a small-time con-artist nicknamed Ratso, and a former Texan dishwasher who re-invents himself as a sex worker. Neither makes it big in the Big Apple and it ends bleakly, although the multi Oscar-winning film starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman has the patina of a buddy movie.Paul Jacob French, as Joe, captures the same wide-eyed optimism as Voight’s self-made cowboy who heads east to make his fortune. Max Bowden, as Ratso, is less characterful and the friendship here does not fully come to life, although you feel the desperation as Ratso sinks into ill health and Joe scratches around for the money that might save them both. Continue reading...

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