Musical Geek - Musical Theatre Reviews

Jason Robert Brown is a much under recognised writer of musical theatre (particularly in the UK), sadly you won't have seen many of his pieces achieve an extended run in the West End (although a production of 'The Last 5 Years' did run at the Garrick Theatre last year) but, his teen coming of age musical '13' is increasingly popular with youth theatre groups and it isn't difficult to understand why. Storyline revolves around Evan Goldman, twelve year old with his whole life in front of him, living in New York and a Bar Mitzvah to look forward to but, then his parents split-up and he is forced to move to Appleton, Indiana, start a new school and build a friendship group again. It feels like his world has imploded but, he probably should take comfort in two things: - backwater Indiana has a history, it might feel like 'The Lamest Place in the World' but, remember the Jackson 5 came out of Gary, Indiana. - more importantly there is another musical with dist...

Found myself at The Garrick Theatre in Lichfield for my latest review as I'd been invited to the Final Dress Rehearsal before the run of The Addams Family by Sutton Coldfield Musical Theatre Company, obviously this was a rehearsal so I would ask readers to bear that in mind, although it ran with very few delays (and most of those were last minute tech adjustments). If you were ever to find yourself in Central Park, New York, I wouldn't go looking for the residence of The Addams Family, for starters it's a work of fiction but, equally it's a pretty scary place inhabited by a family that can only be described as misfits who have a distinct liking for the darker side of life or to quote from the dialogue, 'the intoxicating smell of the graveyard'. At the helm we have husband and wife, Gomez and Morticia (played respectively by Mark Skett and Kate Pilling) both creating a confident and melodious portrayal of their characters, one caught in that eternal paradox of tr...

It's probably worth a bit of context on this one as it may not be a musical that is well known to readers although it is a popular school production across the English speaking world and is originally from the stable of Neil Gooding a leading theatre producer/director in Australia. Back to the 80s is fundamentally a story encompassing the Final High School Year for a group of students at the fictitious William Ocean High School and all the joy and angst they experience. It's packed to the brim with Hits from the 1980s and there is testament to the enduring quality of the music from that decade when one takes a step back and realises that there isn't a single member of the KODS Youth Section who were alive to experience that period directly. Narrated throughout by one of the adult performers, Reece Jones as the adult Corey Palmer, we commence the story with the vote for Senior School President, there are three candidates ..... - the teen Corey Palmer (played  confidently by ...

Things are looking decidedly 'pink' at the Norbury Theatre in Droitwich at the moment and there is some distinct legal jargon in the air, you might want to look-up the phrase 'malum prohibitum' or on the other hand you could just ask Miss Elle Woods who despite only a 4.0 average in fashion merchandising and against all the odds has managed to qualify for a course at Harvard Law, this is of course Legally Blonde ! Hot foot from her success as Snow White in pantomime, Molly Hill creates another piece of stunning characterisation as Miss Woods with a crystal clear vocal to match. I'm sure nobody is quite sure why she feels the need to chase ex boyfriend Warner Huntington III (a gloriously self-centred performance from Jake Jones) all the way from Malibu to Massachusetts but, it's amazing what one will do for 'love'. If you are travelling that far you're going to need some support from your friends whether in person or as the obligatory Greek Chorus com...

Like many societies it has been three years since Quarry Bank Musical Theatre Society have managed to bring a production to the stage, you might ask has it been worth the wait ? Well read on as this is a powerhouse production requiring a deep dive into a thesaurus for superlatives, these might be my words but, as the song goes, this is their story. Not often do you get to play a demanding (bordering I imagine on exhausting) lead role that even your closest friends might not recognise as you but, Carl Cook under a weight of costume and make-up brings a performance of epic proportions to the role of everybody's favourite ogre, Shrek, outstanding vocals (not to mention some pretty impressive farting and belching). Every self-respecting ogre needs a sidekick (or maybe even a 'noble steed') and that comes in an energetic and audience pleasing performance from Luey Pearce as Donkey, with a soulful vocal and milking the comedy element for every conceivable drop. Now the ogre has h...

It is probably a sad indictment of the country that equality in its wider sense is still not quite where we would like it to be, despite all the hard work and pain suffered by the women at Ford Dagenham in 1968. However there is nothing sad about this production of Made in Dagenham by Star-Struck Theatre Company but, there is a deep vein of emotion, some powerful musical numbers and a story that I would challenge anybody not to be enthralled by. The root of the story is the fight (and I use the word unreservedly as it is a 'fight' in so many ways) by the women of the Ford Dagenham Plant to achieve equal pay with the men. You might think that should have been a given but, not in 1968 when females were still expected to run the house, bring up the kids, manage the finances and only take on a job as a last resort ! That isn't something that Rita O'Grady (played with passion by Vicky Bull) and her colleagues are happy with, I'm not sure that Rita expects to lead the off...

There is a little piece of the Philadelphia Underworld that has currently taken-up occupancy at the Kinver High School Theatre and the local convent has been dragged into this seedy world after a murder is witnessed and a singer needs to be hidden prior to the trial. Made famous by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1992 Movie, Kinver Light Operatic Society finally manage to bring their much delayed version of Sister Act to the stage and its absolutely worth the wait. Attiye Passey's vivaciously flamboyant performance as Deloris Van Cartier is just the tip of a musical iceberg that smashes its way into a responsive audience, a voice that could blow the roof off any venue and eyes that draw you into the story, suggests perfect casting. Said story is all about the relationships built between Deloris and the rest of the nuns at the convent in which she now finds herself (much initially to her chagrin it must be said) isn't it ? And there is a rich array of characters and voices in this partic...