By Adam Bloodworth
Glory Ride review and star rating: ★★★★
Gino Bartali won the Tour de France for Italy in the 1930s and 1940s but it was another of his conquests that became legendary: how he secretly smuggled documentation to refugees in the Second World War, helping save the lives of thousands of people being persecuted after Italy and Germany signed a military alliance.
The Charing Cross Theatre has a reputation for staging a good pedigree of musicals, having just run Allegiance, with Star Trek’s George Takei. Like Allegiance, Glory Ride could easily suit a bigger stage: it’s got good songs, ambitious choreography and a decently developing story with some strong lead performances.
Josh St Clair, formerly of Frozen and School of Rock, gives a tender, relatable portrayal of Bartali, the Italian national hero who passed away in 2000. Amy Di Bartolomeo has a sensational vocal range, which musical theatre fans will remember from her Catherine of Aragon in Six, and gets some deliciously high notes.
There are some decent songs, too, including the titular and patriotic Glory, that almost crescendoes the roof of, and the more reflective I Never Learned To Say Goodbye.
The second act could maybe have benefitted from a ten minute cut early on, although the arc with Fed Zanni’s Mario character is a compelling way of telling how best friends were torn apart by their commitment to fighting the war.
Even the accents are on point. It’s a thrill ride, like Bartali’s brave midnight cycle dashes must have been back in the day.
Glory Ride plays at the Charing Cross Theatre until 29 July
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