Musical Geek - Musical Theatre Reviews

Yes, it's Panto Season and even in these strange and uncertain times the classic yuletide entertainment phenomenon is still alive and kicking with Star-Struck Theatre Company and I joined them back in Old Peking (well Sedgley but, there are some distinct similarities !) for their production of Aladdin. Let's get one thing clear if you're likely to be taken in by that 'new lamps for old' jazz, then you may well find yourself duped and under the evil control of Abanazar a frighteningly convincing performance from Pat Lewis, just remember what your mother always told you and never exchange anything with a dodgy looking bloke dressed in black. Ask Jasmine if you don't believe me, almost forced into marriage and only escaping by the skin of her teeth from a fate worse than death ! Never a part quite extensive enough to contain the talent of Vicky Bull but, performed exquisitely with some show-stopping vocals (inc. Roar and Holding out for a Hero). If you need somebod...

Things are hotting-up back at Harvard Law again as Elle Woods chases her boyfriend Warner Huntington III to an Ivy League School and the ensuing adventures make for a scintillating night of musical theatre at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall from Tudor Musical Comedy Society. Leading the cast is Katie Millington as the aforementioned Miss Woods, Elle and I always feel you need an actor with some talent to lift the performance above something other than just 'ditzy blonde' and there is undoubted depth and skill in this performance. Equally the part of Warner can also become just one for a 'good looking guy' and quite often said 'guy' can play things a little too shallow but, this isn't the case with a characterful and empathetic portrayal from Alan Rowe. There always seems to be one performance in every show that just has something that makes me crave for the next time that actor is on stage, on this occasion it is the genius execution of the character Paulette Bon...

It's a crackpot scheme surely to kidnap your boss and hold him hostage while you turn the workplace into a much more accommodating, considerably less sexist and frankly nicer place to be. Perhaps so but, if your boss happens to be the egotistical, misogynistic Franklin Hart Jr (played with a glint in his eye by Dean Bayliss) then maybe you've made the right choice. Lead protagonist in this take-over is much put upon single parent Violet Newstead (an increasingly powerful portrayal by Lorna Tipple) who reaches breaking point at pretty much the same time as Hart's secretary Doralee Rhodes (played by Holly Hay, giving Ms Parton a run for her money) and nervous newcomer Judy Bernly (a voice that 'shines like the sun' from Louisa Ford). However these things are never easy and there are always obstacles to overcome, the most complex of which is the woman smitten with the undoubted although somewhat hidden charms of Hart and that is Roz Keith (played with unbounding energy...

Coming right at you with a magnificent production of Jonathan Larson's Rent at the Dovehouse Theatre in Solihull are the aptly titled Creators Theatre Company and if this is the sort of creation they are going to conjure up on a regular basis tickets will be extremely hard to come by. 'Creators' is the brainchild of Director Richard Agg, Choreographer Suzanne Ballard-Yates and Musical Director Chris Davis who with a stellar cast have set the bar high turning the stage into an effective depiction of the derelict Manhattan East Village on multiple levels to engage and entertain a receptive audience. Matthew James's narrational performance as documentary maker Mark is slick with some fruitful use of facial expression and glances through the fourth wall, reaching multiple heights during musical numbers like La Vie Boheme and Living in America. Ash Clifford as Roger feels like an emotional timebomb, a great piece of acting and perfectly cast opposite Faye Harvey-Smith as the...

Even though the performances of this cult musical (it rivals 'Rocky Horror' for me and many others !) are now sadly complete, I couldn't leave it without spreading some words of magic about what was a characterful production in the physically small yet imaginatively immense surroundings of the Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham. Skid Row has never been so full of incredible character performances, topped by the two called Audrey, in a tweet I suggested that Bella Bowen was sublime as the human Audrey, somewhat battered and scarred by her ill-judged relationship with a dentist (more of him later) and I could almost see that pain in her eyes and her nervous reaction to every interaction. Don't think I did Bella justice and I am not sure I have the word to describe how good this performance was (not even mentioning a super powerful vocal) but, let me try with magnificent, that seems to make the point I want to. Matt Bond's human manifestation of the plant, Audrey II...

Having dived into the nearest phone box (difficult as there aren’t many these days) I’ve emerged as my alter ego the Musical 🤓 Geek after a lengthy period of enforced retirement due to a global pandemic and stepped out into the small but, perfectly formed surroundings of the Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham and on to the somewhat downtrodden thoroughfare otherwise known as Avenue Q. Inhabited by a mixture of human, puppet and monster characters, all a bit down on their luck but, making the best of what they have, eloquently described by Brian (an enthusiastically physical performance from Thomas Cove) with the phrase ‘It Sucks to be Me!’, although I think it pretty much sucks to be everybody at this location at least to begin with. Seriously ‘smashing’ the vocal performance is Rebecca Withers as kindergarten teaching assistant Kate Monster and cabaret performer Lucy the Slut (yes, you did read that correctly and she can certainly make you feel special as does the whole performanc...