Musical Geek - Musical Theatre Reviews

Always good to see The Big Green Guy touring and proving that even in a stage musical, passing wind from every orifice is funny and probably one of the few things that hasn’t become a victim of ‘political correctness’. There are some subtle differences in this production, not least of all the lack of any children in the cast and whilst it’s easy to understand the challenges of youth inclusion, I personally felt (particularly during ‘I Know It’s Today’) that this meant something was missing and Princess Fiona’s transition wasn’t quite as integrated or visually appealing as it normally is. Certainly this is no criticism of Laura Main’s portrayal of the cursed princess and there was some highly engaging on stage integration between her, Steffan Harri’s disgracefully lovable Shrek and the comically inquisitive Donkey, played with great equanimity by Marcus Ayton. All have great stage presence and commanding voices both for the spoken word and the array of memorable songs from David Lin...

Suspect L. Frank Baum would have been amazed at the diversity of productions that his story could have spawned and this one is a complete mixture with some reminders of the MGM Movie, the adaptation ‘The Wiz’, a major pantomime twist and something fittingly artistic that stamps the mark of Director/Choreographer Mike Capri and Musical Director Adam Joy, ultimately presenting a joyful piece of theatre for all ages. If you’re going to journey to Oz you’re going to need all the usual culprits, a sprinkling of good in the form of the ultra sparkly Jodie Rock as Glinda and a bostin’ piece of bad from Marlene, the Black Country Wench as the Witch of the West. A soulful voiced Jessica Brooks as Dorothy, Will Phipps’s engagingly hyperactive Scarecrow, a Tinman absolutely full of ‘heart’ even if minus the organ itself from James Totney and that ‘mean ol’ lion’ portrayed as required more with sympathy than ferocity by Alf Rai. However this is Panto so the audience needs something else to m...

Celebrating 50 Years of Panto with one of the classics of the genre in Aladdin and it’s plain to see how this company have stood the test of time, if this is the sort of standard the other forty nine achieved. Some quality directing from Steve Humpherson, invigorating choreography from Adam Partridge and what I can best describe as ‘scientific’ (if the sheer amount of technology around his keyboard is anything to go by) musicality from George Stuart (however I’m confident there was a real drum kit involved and that’s my yardstick for real music, long live the drummer). Brimming with talent and itching to tell a story of good triumphing over evil is a cast to be reckoned with, let’s talk first of that evil and Steve Coussens wittily scary Abanazar provoking some vociferous ‘booing’ from the audience, a piece of advice if Steve ever offers to sell you a second-hand car, give it a wide berth. On the opposing side for good is Jonathan Hunt as a confident and melodic Aladdin, partnere...

There are a few Musicals that are written into the annals of history and the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic ‘The Sound Of Music’ must be one of those, regular tours, sing-a-long shows and replays of the movie are something that are almost expected and the current touring production doesn’t disappoint in any way. Lucy O’Byrne is the modern day Julie Andrews with a majestic voice and highly effective stage presence one can see her in this role whenever it’s available for some time to come. In the role of Captain von Trapp is Neil McDermott probably best known for a role in Eastenders but, with an extensive back history in Musical Theatre and you can tell with some superlative characterisation and a melodic singing voice. The comedy element comes from Howard Samuels as a larger than life Max Detweiler and there are some nice scenes with Kara Lane as Elsa Schraeder including songs like ‘How Can Love Survive ?’, which strangely wasn’t included in the movie. One can’t have a succe...

Pantomime at the Liverpool Everyman has a bit of a cult following and having seen a number over the last few years it's not difficult to see why, the offering this year written by Sarah A Nixon and Mark Chatterton (who also directs) is another comedy/music masterpiece, even the technical sound hitch at the commencement of this particular performance wasn't able to decrease the enjoyment of the audience if anything it allowed some more funny ad-libs. Leading the cast are two regulars in the form of Adam Keast as Captain Nemo and Francis Tucker as Pearl, these guys have such a finely tuned working relationship that not only can they get themselves out of any artistic predicament but, they can enhance any scene with a last minute response to any audience reaction and that's a skill that you rarely see used in such a slick way. Whilst I might have used the word 'regular' in the previous paragraph it's starting to be an adjective that can be used to describe many...

When I started writing reviews as an amateur critic back in July 2017, I wasn't really sure how far it would go or if anybody would actually read them but, encouraged by a few people I thought I'd give it a shot and this is now my 50th and by some quirk of fate is a production at the Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham as was my 1st for Bonnie & Clyde, here's to the next fifty. Austen the Musical is unsurprisingly a musical depiction of Jane Austen's life story, a troubled tale in many ways, destined never to truly find love and fighting a battle to be recognised as a serious writer in a period when women were expected only to marry, bear children and keep house. In fact were it not for the tenacious will of her father George to find a publisher no matter what we may never have been able to experience 'Pride and Prejudice' or 'Sense and Sensibility' at all. Birmingham's Old Joint Stock venue is an intimate space and seems to lend itself wel...

Another hugely entertaining panto from Qdos Entertainment at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, highlighted by an awesome comedy performance from Adam C.Booth as Simple Simon, engaging with people of all ages, this guy really knows how to work an audience. Topping the bill are singing sensation Gareth Gates and television regular Lisa Riley, Gareth (Jack) acts as an excellent foil for the comic antics of Adam and Lisa is just a stage dream as Mother Nature (sort of Fairy Godmother role) and has the whole audience on her side against the nasty Fleshcreep, played in dominating style by Graham Cole. If you're going to do a great panto, you need an equally great Dame and Ian Adams ticks all the boxes for that role with a multitude of costumes and almost as many innuendos. Add in some more of the female element to support Lisa (panto is by nature a very male dominated world) with some great vocals from Sarah Vaughan as Jill and localised Black Country humour from Doreen Tipton and you...

It's impossible not to mention the staging of this fantastic production before anything else, probably one of the most innovative, visually impactful and simply effective sets I’ve ever seen and credit must go to Michael Taylor (Designer), Nikolai Foster (Director) and their team for adding something extra special to a classic tale. Leslie Bricusse’s version of Dickens’s Christmas Carol must be the most recognised musical interpretation and Albert Finney’s portrayal of that old curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge a hard act to follow but, Jasper Britton has added his own twist to the character and there’s something slightly darker about this, that makes his final conversion from ‘sinner to saint’ so much more of the ultimate transition. Obviously he can’t complete this process without the usual array of ghosts, Karen Mann takes the role of deceased partner Marley, a novel approach to play this as a female and Karen seems to revel in  the opportunity. Sharan Phull provides a touching pe...

Have to admit I wasn't sure about making any changes to what is a musical theatre classic in Guys & Dolls but, the Harlem overtones and Talawa Theatre's all black cast have managed to keep everything that is loved about this story yet add something to both a raw comedy element and some soulful vocals to the impeccable Frank Loesser music and lyrics. There is perfect balance between Ray Fearon's subtly comic Nathan Detroit and Lucy Vandi's delightfully understated Miss Adelaide as there is between Ashley Zhangazha's sophisticated and confident Sky Masterson and Abiona Omonua's restrained and proper Sarah Brown. Unsurprisingly there are a mixture of tuneful, melodic voices here to enjoy, highlighted not least of all by Ako Mitchell (Nicely Nicely Johnson) and Fela Lufadeju (Benny Southstreet) and their rendition of the title track but, also an engaging performance by Trevor A Toussaint of a song sadly missed from the movie in 'More I Cannot Wish You...

Bringing the Will Ferrell movie to the musical theatre stage for another run, this is obviously a popular one at Christmas and is a great alternative to pantomime in order to still enjoy that Christmas Spirit which this story tells us is rapidly running out and important to power Santa's Sleigh (now that animal rights have truncated the use of reindeer). Normally in the lead role of Buddy the Elf is the multi-talented Ben Forster but, at this performance he was ably replaced by the equally talented Colin Burnicle with a totally elfish performance. Starring opposite as would be girlfriend Jovie is the stunning Liz McClarnon, making an indelible mark with a stellar performance of the touching song 'Never Fall in Love (with an Elf)' a point I'm sure Liz will never have to make again but, her voice is stunning. Buddy of course isn't an Elf, he's a human who by a Dickensian twist found himself growing-up at the North .Pole with Santa (played immaculately as every...