PERHAPS the one bright light for a theatre in mourning for its chief executive, Peter Sarah, is an incredible crowd-pleaser from composer Kurt Weill, lyricist Ogden Nash and Marx Brothers humorist S J Perelman.

So forgotten is this 1943 Broadway show, that it appears like the priceless treasures drawn from a carrier bag on the Antiques Roadshow.

Elegance, charm, timeless sharp comedy; wistful dance numbers and the lively plot of a priceless statue of Venus coming alive and falling in love with a New York barber should have made this one of the legendary big screen musicals.

The fact it isn't allows Opera North to earn some lavish praise for this British debut tour. Anxious about accents, the company recruits US-born singers Ron Li-Paz, as booming statue-buying Whitelaw Savory; Christianne Tisdale, an absolute hoot as his sassy secretary Molly Grant and Karen Coker, as the amused and wise-cracking Venus.

Only Californian Loren Geeting, as downtrodden barber Rodney Hatch, has worked with Opera North before. The surrounding Brits blend into the Big Apple brilliantly. Start queuing for musical heaven immediately.

* One Touch Of Venus can be seen again on Saturday and Tuesday. Don Giovanni runs tomorrow, on Thursday, April 21 and Saturday, April 23; while The Thieving Magpie is on tonight, Wednesday, April 20 and Friday, April 22. Box office: 0870 9055060.

Published: 14/04/2005