The Baker's Wife

"The Baker's Wife" is a 1980’s Steven Schwartz and Joseph Stein musical based on the 1938 film by Marcel Pagnol. This is unlikely to be a revival that leaves you wondering why this musical isn’t better known but the exceptional cast and the glorious transformation of The Mernier Chocolate Factory into a Provencal village do make for an entertaining evening, with marital bickering, family feuds and burnt loaves of bread to enjoy.

The story revolves around Aimable the baker, played by the irresistible Clive Rowe, and his much younger wife Geneviève (Lucy Jones) who having recently married come to live in a small french village. They are welcomed by the community with wild celebrations but when Geneviève runs away with a muscular young buck, the town's bread supply, along with Aimable’s heart, crumbles. Driven entirely by selfish motives, the villagers determine to retrieve Geneviève so that Aimable will bake again. Happily, they discover that settling their personal differences for a common goal makes everyone feel warm inside.

Greenberg’s direction is not showy – allowing the story’s intimate character and darker underbelly to quietly reveal itself. The priest, the teacher, the drunk and the Marquis are just a few of the cast of characters who gather in the square and squabble cruelly over the minutiae of daily life. The women are generally fed up with their men, coming to life when the men are away with an all female tango in the square. Although at first the stereotypical roles and humour feel a little tired, we are soon won over by the deliciously French nastiness and nuanced performances.

Clive Rowe’s portrayal of Aimable captures the character’s vulnerability followed by his rage as he realises he has lost the wife he put so firmly on a pedestal. Lucy Jones as Geneviève has the unenviable task of being the young adored one who betrays the good guy at the merest hint of muscle. But her performance ensures that inner conflict drives the narrative and her return to the fold doesn’t feel too moralising.

The one real hit from The Bakers Wife is ‘Meadowlark’ sung by Genevieve when she decides to follow her heart and run away - fascinating to see in context, but there are plenty of other musical highlights such as the nostalgic lilt of ‘Chanson’ that opens the show and the touching dose of reality in ‘If I have to live alone’ sung by the abandoned baker. The set design by Paul Farnsworth’s set which spills into the audience whisks us away into the nostalgic charm of a 1930’s village which is somewhere most Londoners would happily travel for a couple of hours.

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton