Kevin
Hammonds
Critic's Choice - Time Out London
Critic's Choice - Sunday Express
**** Time Out
**** Evening Standard
**** LBC
**** MusicOMH
“The skill that Hammonds displays, in segueing so effortlessly from hilarity to heartbreak is a rare craft indeed and almosts suggests a mash up of Stephen Sondheim with Edward Albee” - Jonathan Baz
New York, New Year’s Eve 1999 – the dawn of a new millennium - and Jennifer West’s intimate dinner party for close friends and family begins to fall apart upon the discovery that her husband has been having an affair. With twelve guests expecting the night of their lives, things go from bad to worse when Jennifer realizes that one of her guests is her husband's secret lover.
As the hosts confront their unraveling marriage, new resolutions, past mistakes, and an uncertain future merge into an explosive and life-altering evening.
Kevin Hammonds’ book is in turn hilarious and moving, the plot keeping the audience on tenterhooks until the finale. With a score by Charles Miller packed with original show-stopping songs, When Midnight Strikes gives a remarkably accurate sense of the brittle gaiety of a New Year party, with all the tensions so often seething beneath the surface.
“One of the many strengths of this sophisticated new show from the increasingly impressive pairing of Charles Miller and Kevin Hammonds is that the whole thing wouldn’t collapse even if the songs were removed, so well drawn are the characters… ”
Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard ****
"West End producers are missing out on a potential goldmine...those lucky enough to be at the theatre were amongst the privileged few who in future years may be able to say they were there when these major talents were first brought to fuller attention."
Mark Shenton, Sunday Express
"Catch When Midnight Strikes and your faith in musicals will be renewed...one of a stable of work Londoner Charles Miller and New Yorker Kevin Hammonds have co-written. I think it's time we saw more of them."
Katherine Hayes, Extra! Extra!
"When Midnight Strikes is rancorously diverting. In Fenton Gray's stylish production the dialogue is at its best when it's at ist bitchiest, and the songs likewise thrill most when the gloves come off; 'Shut Up' establishes the fractured, fractious mood of the revellers, while 'It's Not a Party 'til Something Gets Broken' kicks off the knock-out final sequence in suitably pugilistic fashion. But it's the Latin-flavoured seduction number 'Party Conversation' which seems more than just gloves coming off, that's the evening's highlight."
Robert Shore, Time Out - CRITIC'S CHOICE *****
"Composer Charles Miller and lyricist Kevin Hammonds have created an original and accessible story, with a selection of lively numbers and romantic ballads that show much promise for this relatively new writing team...It's original, entertaining, even exciting and hopefully heralds the dawn of a successful collaborative team."
Paul Vale, The Stage
"We need to cherish composers and writers like Charles Miller and Kevin Hammonds, who dare to strike up a new note in musical theatre when everyone else in show biz seems to be in the thrall of juke box compilations, revivals or hightech blockbusters."
Roger Foss, LBC *****
