Did it reach its glory? Glory Ride makes its full debut at Charing Cross Theatre

How did a Tour de France-winning Italian cyclist end up conspiring with the Cardinal of Florence and a quiet accountant to pull off one of the greatest heists of the Second World War?

This is the question that Glory Ride tries to answer, telling the story of Gino Bartali and his story during the Second World War.

A war-based musical is nothing new, we have seen many in the past such as From Here to Eternity, Miss Saigon, Allegiance, etc. So, what makes Glory Ride special, what makes this new musical standout out from the crowd.

The basis of the story is a rather interesting one and holds a great promise. When you read the question above at the top of this review, it almost seems comical, almost like a joke but entertaining. It could be the basis for an amazing comedy, rearing of shows like Book of Mormon. However, Glory Ride does not take this approach and instead goes with the classic serious depiction of a real story. This is the detriment of the show.

The story needs developing further, with the book lacking that special factor that will draw audiences in. It does all the classic tropes, a friends to enemies plot, a witty banter that turns to romance, etc but does nothing to add to these cliches. The beginning of the show is completely rushed as it races through Gino’s childhood and what drives him for the rest of the show. The audience watch his brother die but it is not impactful because there is no reason for the audience to be upset, he is not introduced for more than 10 seconds before he is immediately killed, and this is meant to draw emotion for the rest of the show. It does nothing unfortunately but with some tweaking, can be improved. The whole plot itself feels rushed and a little empty, small moments such as scenes with Gino and Adriana are heartfelt and work but they are completely separate to the main plot. There is also an overarching plot that Gino’s father isn’t happy with his son which the musical tries to make a big deal out of, but there is not enough reason as to why his dad is so angry at him, or that they had a great relationship in the first place. They go on to have a duet, explaining how angry and hurt they feel towards each other, and this is unresolved until the last 5 minutes where his father finds out that Gino is actually a good man and immediately forgives him, there is no reason for Gino to feel the same way.

The scary ‘black shirts’ of the war are not present enough to be the ominous presence that they are said to be, most of their impact comes from dialogue about them and things they do offstage. This also brings the issue of Mario. He begins the show as Gino’s bubbly best friend, the classic comic relief buddy and then mentions that he’s going to the army. The, he almost instantly becomes this scary, nasty figure without any on-stage development or explanation as how he has so drastically changed in character. They also try and spark another issue of both friends being in love with the same girl, but that plot goes nowhere, it doesn’t even spark any conflict at all, even when Gino and Mario face off in the penultimate scene.