With great success comes great expectation. In a relatively short time – a mere seven years – Hayes Theatre Co has made itself indispensable as it redefines what can be done in musical theatre, and particularly with what we might call heritage musical theatre.

Its opening show in 2014, Sweet Charity, and Calamity Jane in 2017 are just two shining examples from a slate of productions that have shaken the cobwebs from pieces that might at first glance seem to have little to say to a 21st-century audience. Those people who say they hate musicals have obviously not been to the Hayes.

Trevor Ashley as Dolly Levi singing Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from Evita, with MC Virginia Gay. Photograph © Yaya Stempler

So hopes were high for Rewired: Musicals Reimagined by Hayes. The company, like most others around the country, has been offstage for many months. What better way to return than with a concert of songs from classic musicals presented in a very Hayes way?

It’s an idea full of promise, not all of which is fulfilled. It is a puzzlement for instance (not that The King and I features in Rewired)...