Gone with the Wind - TNT

Three husbands, three kids, the American Civil War, 1000-plus pages — there's just so much to get through in the life of Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, the heroine of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 blockbuster novel. First-time playwright Margaret Martin's three-and-a-half hour musical adaptation tries to fit it all in, but her often risible lyrics and derivative songs only intermittently stir the emotions — and that's thanks to NaTasha Yvette Williams' Mammy and the soaring chorus of freed black slaves. Jill Paice's defiant Scarlett grew on me (though her determination seemed only skin-deep) and while Darius Danesh's deep-voiced Rhett undoubtedly has stage presence, snogging Scarlett like a hungry mop doesn't help Trevor Nunn's adequate, but uninspired, production of this epic romance.
New London Theatre, Drury Ln, WC2 (0870-890 0141). Until September 27. £60-£27.50