Sleepless clearly aims to maximise on its two leads’ chemistry, previously a winning combination in last year’s West End revival of Big, also based on a Tom Hanks movie. It even cranks in a cute (if rather random) ballroom number after the actual show ends.
McGuiness is impressively watchable, bringing a quiet charm, handsome voice and believable connection with his on-stage son.
Walsh sings cleanly and clearly and is thoroughly engaged with the role. The problem is that this Annie is not engaging.
This reflects a larger problem with all the underwritten, thinly sketched secondary characters. Like the architect’s blueprints projected onto the backdrops, nobody really leaps out of two dimensions.
