Classic musical rom-com Top Hat visits Birmingham Hippodrome next month as part of a national tour. The production boasts dazzling Art Deco design, choreography worthy of the great Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - who starred in the original film version - and definitive Irving Berlin hits.

Tapping away in the lead roles are Phillip Attmore, who plays Jerry Travers, and Amara Okereke, as Dale Tremont. What’s On sat down with Phillip and Amara to find out more about the show…

Originally a film, now a stage show, Top Hat, as its name suggests, oozes the glamour of 1930s showbiz - a lighthearted romantic comedy which speeds from Broadway stage to luxe London hotel, and from the haute couture catwalk to the canals of Venice.

The 1935 movie, featuring music & lyrics by Irving Berlin, was adapted into an Olivier Award-winning musical in 2011. Following a Chichester Festival Theatre revival last year, the stage show has now embarked on a national tour, with Phillip Attmore playing tap dancer Jerry Travers and Amara Okereke taking the part of model Dale Tremont.

The lead roles of Jerry and Dale were originated on screen 91 years ago by two Hollywood legends, who left behind them some very large tap shoes to fill...

“I think you recognise the honour that it is to pay homage to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers,” says Phillip. “But it’s not a biopic - we’re not playing Fred and Ginger; we’re playing Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont. It’s an invitation to pay due respect, as well as an opportunity to shine, getting to sing and dance to some of the greatest music ever written. I don’t feel any pressure. That’s what training does - when you step into roles like these, you’ve done everything, you’ve done all the work, so now’s the time to shine.”

“I think Fred and Ginger established their own iconic aura,” adds Amara. “It doesn’t even feel like we’re attempting to fill those shoes. It just feels like we’re carrying on the legacy - it’s more of an honour than anything else.”

This is Amara’s first national tour, but she’s well-versed in the world of musical theatre and feels particularly at home on the set of Top Hat.

“It’s a very new experience, but I’ve been doing musical theatre for almost a decade now - which is terrifying to say out loud! My natural inclination has always been towards the classic musicals. I’m a big fan of the Golden Age era of Hollywood movie musicals, and I’ve always wanted to emulate those kinds of performers. I’ve done a lot of older musicals - My Fair Lady, Oklahoma. My first job was Les Miserables, playing Cosette. It’s been thrilling. I think I’ve been very, very lucky with the kind of opportunities that have come my way.”

The show’s plot sees Broadway star Jerry Travers chasing further fame in the UK - mirroring California-born Phillip’s own journey across the pond: “This is my first time leading a show in the UK, which is a great honour, and it’s a case of life, imitating art, imitating life! I’m excited. There are so many full-circle moments for me being a part of this show. On Broadway, they have the Astaire Award, which is known now as the Chita Award, named after actor Chita Rivera. I’m a three-time winner of the Astaire Award, and so getting to play this role, at a time in my life when I wasn’t looking for it, is a huge honour, a great surprise and a big gift.

“My wife’s from the UK. It’s the first time that we’ve ever come over with our two little ones, and the first time in seven years that we’ve been here. They’re based in Liverpool. My five-year-old is going to school right now.”

“We’re hoping they develop a scouse accent!” Amara adds with a laugh.

Phillip is reprising the role of Jerry after last year’s revival, while Amara was brought into the production for the national tour. Chatting backstage, the rapport between the pair is obvious, a fact which has made it all the easier to recreate that chemistry on stage, according to Amara: “We have very similar passions, I think, when it comes to this show. The first time I saw it, Lucy St Louis - a fantastic actress - was playing Dale in Chichester. Phillip and I were chatting away about all of our favourite performers and dancers from that era, and we just got each other. And I think we both love this in a similar way. The playfulness is very real on stage.”

The story has everything required for a true romantic comedy, from mistaken identity, to a bickering beta-couple and farcical disguises. Jerry and Dale even have a ‘meet-cute’ moment, where their relationship begins - Jerry is practising a tap routine, to the consternation of Dale, who is trying to sleep in the hotel room below.

Alongside hit numbers such as Let’s Face The Music And Dance and Puttin’ On The Ritz, the show also boasts clever set and luxurious costume design, both of which add to the production’s sense of Hollywood glamour.

“The movie is black & white,” says Amara. “We honour the costume design and the design of the movie, but we really bring it into colour. We get to enjoy the brightness and add to the joy - add a new layer of joy to the beautiful design that already exists. There are still aspects of the film’s design, though - we still have a beautiful feather dress that I’m very, very lucky to wear. For my character personally, she’s a model. She wears original designs by Alberto Beddini, so they’re quite ‘out there’. They’re stunning and beautiful and flashy. It’s a very artsy era.”

Phillip is equally effusive in his praise for the look of the show: “Peter McKintosh, who designed the costumes and the sets, has done a beautiful job of marrying the two, brilliantly fusing them together.”
Top Hat is positively awash with iconic songs and brilliant dance routines - but which numbers do Phillip and Amara most enjoy performing each night when they, er, ‘face the music and dance’?

“I think it’s got to be Lovely Day,” says Amara. “It’s the first time we see Jerry and Dale come together and really fall for each other. It’s so simple and it’s so sweet. It communicates so much through movement, and they don’t need to say any words. It’s beautifully done.”

“I always say it’s a toss-up between Lovely Day and Top Hat,” says Phillip. “Lovely Day, because of the storytelling - it says so much about the relationship that they find and then have to chase after and then find again in the end. And Top Hat because it’s the title song - and it’s just fun to do!”

Top Hat shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 March.

By Jessica Clixby