Review: SETH RUDETSKY'S BROADWAY WITH RAMIN KARIMLOO at Leicester Square Theatre

Seth Rudestky is a Broadway musician, comic, actor, writer and radio host. He is also known on YouTube for his OBSESSED! video series, where he dissects Broadway actors' voices and their performances.

His concert series, Seth Rudetsky's Broadway @ Leicester Square Theatre, produced by Mark Cortale, returns to London's West End for three nights. Rudetsky is this time joined by Ramin Karimloo.

Karimloo has most recently played Ché in the final leg of the Evita world tour. He is well-known for his portrayals of the Phantom and a number of Les Miserablés roles, including the protagonist Jean Valjean in the West End and on Broadway. He joins Rudetsky for an evening full of laughs, stories and plenty of songs.

Fresh off a plane from a filming project in Morocco (that's all Karimloo will tell us), the duo begin the evening with a passionate rendition of "Til I Hear You Sing" from the sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies, which Karimloo originated the role of Phantom for.

The evening is a joyful chaotic mix of impromptu singing at the piano interjected with Rudetzky probing Karimloo with questions about his career - from how he met his wife Mandy in an audition room, to hilarious stories of stage slip-ups made by himself (and others) during his time at The Phantom of the Opera.

Karimloo and Rudetsky are joined by a few guests over the course of the evening and it's clear the room is full of many of Karimloo's friends and former colleagues.

Emma Kingston and Karimloo treat the audience to a reprisal of their recent performances as Evita and Ché in "High Flying Adored" - a first here, as the tour never made a UK stop. The duo also sing a heartfelt rendition of Jason Robert Brown's "I'd Give It All For You" from Songs For a New World.

Matthew Harvey, previously in Murder Ballad with Karimloo and who plays in Karimloo's fusion folk band, Broadgrass, joins Karimloo on guitar for heart-warming showtune-cum-broadgrass covers of "Bring Him Home" and "Hushabye Mountain" - the latter lovingly dedicated to Karimloo's two sons, who are in the audience.

Jason Robert Brown makes a second appearance in the set when Harvey, Karimloo (who switches to banjo) and Rudetsky on piano perform a stunning rendition of "It All Fades Away" from Bridges of Madison County. Karimloo's distinctly striking voice soars throughout.

Rudetsky surprises Karimloo with some curveball numbers, such as "I Am A Pirate King" as a nod to one of Karimloo's first covering roles in The Pirates of Penzance at Regent Park's Open Air Theatre, as well as a rousing encore of Ragtime's "Make Them Hear You".

In a hilariously unrehearsed finale, Kingston rejoins Karimloo on stage as well as - the unprompted - Jeremy Secombe in the audience, who has previously played Javert in the West End. They sing "Fantine's death/Confrontation" from Les Miserablés, which brings the crowd to a standing ovation.

Unrehearsed is certainly the vibe of the night and, while wonderfully fun, Rudetsky does often forget the names of Karimloo's guests throughout the madness of the evening.

The concert feels much like a cosy singalong around the piano in Rudetsky's living room. Fans of Karimloo get to hear him belt songs from across his career, as well as hear some of the interesting stories from backstage, with the delightfully cheeky Rudetsky as host and accompanist.

Seth Rudetsky's Broadway @ Leicester Square Theatre until 6 October

Read our interview with Ramin Karimloo here