Musical Geek - Musical Theatre Reviews

Yes, it's that scary bunch in Central Park, New York, decamped to the Mill Theatre in Sedgley to spread their own brand of 'entertainment' in the West Midlands. With the pressure of on-stage acting, it's not very often that one gets to see a performer exhibit true enjoyment in a role but, it felt as though that was exactly the case with Benjamin Burdall's portrayal of Gomez Addams, a subtle mix of comedy, pathos and paternalism all wrapped-up with a powerful vocal. Somewhat harder for Beth Berwick-Lowe to exhibit the same enjoyment without breaking some exquisite characterisation as Morticia Addams, a stunning performance and a hint of a smile in the really entertaining 'Just Around The Corner' number. This is a storyline all about Wednesday Addams falling in love (something to say the least, she is not familiar with) and it would be difficult not to fall for Holly Page's performance as the crossbow wielding daughter, her rendition of 'Pulled' is...

Firstly let me give a resounding written 'applause' to the cast for dealing with a 'fire evacuation' early in Act 1 (especially to Sunny Joshi as Warner Huntingdon III who just kept singing  through the alarm until an evacuation was confirmed, that's stagecraft at its best!) and then picked-up as if nothing had happened, amazing. Whilst I am about to mention a lot of individual performances here, I really have to say that this is a 'barnstormer' of a production from everybody involved both on and off stage, were it possible to physically raise the roof at Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Hall I am sure they would have done so and in fact it may be that the heat created on stage is what actually set the fire alarm off, we will never know. Ellie Summerfield is about as perfect an Elle Woods as it is possible to be, a triple threat, she can act, sing, and dance doing all with flair and if Reese Witherspoon isn't available for Legally Blonde 4 the casting directo...

Whilst this a slightly adapted version of the classic Half a Sixpence (originally written as a vehicle for Tommy Steele) by Julian Fellowes with new songs from Stiles and Drewe, it loses none of its charm and is entertainingly and sensitively brought to the stage at Stourbridge Town Hall by Tinkers Farm Opera. If there was ever a story proving that money isn't everything and perhaps 'true love' is more important then this is probably the one as Arthur Kipps (a compassionate, perceptive and vocally outstanding performance from Richard Cooper) rises from shop assistant to rich gentleman only to lose his fortune and his girl but, finally regain both and the benefit of hindsight. Arthur's (or Artie as she calls him) real love is Ann Pornick an ordinary girl but, far from an ordinary performance by Rebecca Bate (lilting vocals and a presence that lights up the stage, despite the character in many ways being quite demure). It's vital that the audience understands this is ...

If a trip across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in around two hours (which is nothing like the reality of thirty hours) with some amazing songs, performances and comedy is for you then I would recommend a trip to Kinver High School to join Kinver Light Operatic Society (KLOS) with their production of the now classic, Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical. Three Drag Queens in a bus (the aforementioned Priscilla), face some challenges and probably get away with far too much on a frivolous and occasionally downright licentious journey. At this point I would normally dive into the performances of the three leading characters and you can be assured that I will but, first let me mention a couple of individual characters with just one song (admittedly a couple of cracking tunes) to do their thing with. Firstly Claire Jackson as Shirley, bar owner in historic Broken Hill, not sure what is historic about it but, her performance of 'I Love the Nightlife' will ...