EVENING HERALD
Bill Stone 11th May 2005

Nostalgic froth, graced with the toe-tapping melodies and witty lyrics of master tunesmith Cole Porter - The Wranglers have pulled off a coup with the Devon amateur premier of this show, and staged it in a magnificent set depicting the deck of a posh liner, with neatly devised insets of various cabins.
Evangelist turned night club singer Reno, a gift of a role that Gilly Giles projects with gusto and complete mastery, is on board, as is glamorous deb Hope (Samantha White) pursued by lovesick stowaway Billy (Ashley Knight), with effete English aristocrat fiancé Evelyn, (Geoff Coventry), and her upwardly mobile mother Evangeline (Carol Anne Taylor). The romantic complications are further tangled by the presence of incognito gangster Moon Face  Martin (James Hayward) on the run from the FBI with his moll Erma (Katharine Jacobs). Also on board are Billy's boozy  boss, the millionaire Elisha (Barry Sanigar) and Reno's Angels, her backing group, (Juliette Albone, Ashley farmer, Lionie Heath, Hayli Richards). Purser Peter Hocking and David Lodge, the Captain.
There's lots of great song and dance in the production, crisply directed and choreographed by mother and son Wendy and Sam Holmes, and musical director Barrie Mills coaxes rich sounds from the superb orchestra, though at times their exuberance does drown soloists.
But in the words of the song (pinched, incidentally, from another Porter musical), "It's delectable, it's delirious, it's de luxe, it's de-Ritz, it's de-lovely!"