Musical Geek - Musical Theatre Reviews

Hidden away in the darkest depths of Sedgeley is a venue that probably doesn’t get as much use as it should, currently converted to a tropical beach during World War II by West Bromwich Operatic Society for the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic South Pacific. Ensign Nellie Forbush (played with exquisite charm by Laura Stanford) strikes up a relationship with a man with hidden secrets, French plantation owner Emile De Becque (portrayed with panache by John Wetherall). Strangely the age difference and the fact that he’s running away from a murder in his youth are not the challenges Miss Forbush struggles with, rather his two children from a previous Polynesian wife, something that defines the era. Simultaneously Lieutenant Joseph Cable (George Stuart cutting a fine figure with an even finer voice) arrives on the island on a mission to provide key information to the allied forces to allow them to defeat the Japanese. He needs a man with local knowledge and De Becque is top of his ...

Who can forget the performance of the late Patrick Swayze in the movie of Dirty Dancing, the classic story of love between two highly independent souls from strikingly different backgrounds, Frances 'Baby' Houseman and Johnny Castle. Set in 1963 (cue an opportunity to tell the audience that mobile phones hadn't been invented) at the Kellerman's Resort in the Catskill Mountains, Baby and Johnny come across each other by pure accident and their relationship blossoms despite their differences and the opinion of the moralistic Dr Houseman. Lewis Griffiths as Johnny and Katie Eccles as Baby make an engaging pair that I would challenge any audience member not to take to by the end of the performance. Lewis is an expressive mover and manages to bring out the softer and more vulnerable side of Johnny which matches well with Katie's intelligent yet slightly repressed by wanting to please her father, Baby. Choreography is vital in any production and Gillian Bruce provid...

Probably not the most performed of the musicals from Lord Lloyd Webber but, one with a great story and some of the most evocative music and lyrics is back touring the UK. Starting its journey as many do from Leicester Curve this is the story of an ageing silent movie queen (Norma Desmond played expertly by Ria Jones) who refuses to accept that her career is more a memory than a current reality. Danny Mac of Strictly Come Dancing fame and a spell at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in On The Town stepping into the shoes of the dance maestro Gene Kelly has found his perfect role as screenwriter Joe Gillis, even managing to delight portions of the audience at one point with his well toned six-pack. Entranced into a restrictive and demanding world by Ms Desmond to help bring her new masterpiece to fruition and relaunch her career, he finds himself trapped in a parallel world until his love for another woman wrenches him free with fatal consequences. It's fair to say that t...

You wouldn't expect to find anything depicting the barricades and sewers of 19th Century France in a Town Hall in the Black Country but, if you're lucky enough to get to that venue in Stourbridge over the next few nights, you'll see exactly that. What's more you'll witness the cream of local youth musical theatre talent take on one of the greatest musicals of recent times. Victor Hugo's epic novel originally published in 1862 and adapted for the world of the musical theatre by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg is probably not the easiest work to take on as a debut production but, Quarry Bank Musical Theatre Youth Society don't like easy and an amazing job they have made of it. From the opening scene with Jean Valjean (played commandingly by Ollie Hart-Bradford) finally managing to extract himself from the chain gang through to the final rendition of ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ it is difficult to find a flaw in the performance. T...

Every now and then you get that feeling of déjà vu with a show that it takes a bit of time to put your finger on and having not done a lot of research on Miss Saigon there was something recognisable that I just couldn't work out, then I saw the names Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. There are some obvious parallels between Miss Saigon and Les Miserables, both are epic pieces of musical theatre but, equally there is that feeling that there is more to it than that and less obvious connections. Let's take a brief moment to compare some characters and see if there is any similarities, perhaps The Engineer and Monsieur Thénardier or Kim and Éponine, I would challenge anybody not to see the connection. I guess if you find a winning formula and can adapt it to multiple storylines, why wouldn't you and there is no doubting the success of both musicals. Having seen both a performance at Leicester Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome I was lucky enough to see the mai...

Definitely a hidden gem in the Leicestershire countryside is Kilworth House Theatre, in the grounds of the hotel sits a performance space that is covered but, still open to the elements and has been providing top class musical theatre for some years. Top Hat a stage interpretation of the classic Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie with music and lyrics by the late, great Irving Berlin is the current production and considering I am not normally a fan of shows that are more focused on dance, this one had me enthralled from beginning to end. Fundamentally a story of mistaken identity as Jerry Travers (played flawlessly in voice and movement by Dan Burton) is mistaken by Dale Tremont (another awesome performance by Lauren Stroud) for the husband of her friend Madge Hardwick (a larger than life and domineering performance from Nia Jermin). In actual fact Madge is married to Jerry's manager Horace Hardwick (played with comic gusto by Charles Brunton) add to the mix Horace's bu...

I find it hard to believe that Charles Addams when he first produced his cartoons for The New Yorker in 1932 could have imagined what was to follow, the TV Series starring Carolyn Jones and John Astin (who remembers John trying to control the Sharks and Jets in the Mambo Dance Off scene from the movie version of West side Story) strangely only ran for two seasons but, seemed like more and there have been two movies with all star casting. Not necessarily prime fodder for a musical but, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa that is exactly what has been achieved and a thoroughly entertaining piece it is, the current touring production is directed evocatively by Matthew White and is brimming with memorable moments. Heading the cast some stellar names in Samantha Womack and Les Dennis as Morticia Addams and Uncle Fester, both give immaculate portrayals of iconic characters that we all feel we know and prove that TV doesn't always give breadth to a performer as theatre can. ...

When you've made it as a star in one form of entertainment it's not always a forgone conclusion that transfer to another will be easy or successful and Musical Theatre is probably one of the hardest to make that transition into. That being the case the performance of Miranda Hart as Miss Hannigan in the current West End revival of Annie is nothing short of heroic, there is no doubt that eight shows per week has taken its toll on the voice but, the ability to entertain an audience and become an effective and engaging character is there in bucketloads. They say never act with children or animals but, Ms Hart decides to dive into an iconic role (who can forget Carol Burnett in the movie from 1982) alongside teams of talented youngsters and a canine show-stealer in the form of Amber (as Sandy, the lovable stray) who single-pawdly manages to steal scenes with a well timed scratch. Front and centre are the orphans (Team Lexington in this case), headed by Lola Moxom in the tit...

Everything from the innovative set design of Tom Scutt, through the exciting choreography of Drew McOnie to the flawless direction of Timothy Sheader makes this a revival not to be missed and makes it obvious why it's back for a second run in the incomparable surroundings of the Open Air Theatre. Declan Bennett (Jesus) and Tyrone Huntley (Judas) are a tour-de-force in the lead roles, power and passion in abundance as they tell the story of the last weeks of Jesus's life. On the front row it was easy to see the sheer focus that Declan puts into Gethsemane and Tyrone set the bar exceptionally high with a dominant performance of Heaven on their Minds. Complementing this power is the subtle, understated but, equally compelling performance of Maimuna Memon as Mary Magdalene, an actress who certainly deserves greater exposure in leading roles. It's impossible not to acknowledge the bordering on explosive performance of David Thaxton as Pilate, I felt his frustration in tryi...

If you thought 'The Internet Is For Porn' from Avenue Q had stretched the boundaries of political incorrectness you've obviously never seen Disenchanted ! or heard the pithily titled 'Big Tits', this is one of those musicals (yet to really have any significantly lengthy outing in the UK) that you'll want to see again and again. A posse of fairytale princesses, predominantly from the Disney stable tell their story as you really should have heard it and without a handsome or charming prince in sight and it's difficult not to sympathise with their plight and laugh out loud at the same time, it makes for an evening of beautiful, yet bawdy entertainment. Hosted by three of the classic characters Snow White (played by the powerfully voiced Natalie Baggott), Cinderella (a perfection in 'ditzy' from Jo Foley) and Sleeping Beauty (understated but, not undermined by Gaynor Whitehouse) the audience is taken through a pastiche of scenes and characters, in wh...