Musical Geek - Musical Theatre Reviews

There is something still very emotional about the story of Tevye and his family in Anatevka and something surprisingly current considering what is happening at this time in Ukraine all empathetically portrayed by Manor Musical Theatre Company at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, you could almost imagine you were there in reality. Tam Weir is an outstanding Tevye building an instant rapport with the audience and maintaining that connection throughout along with his role as narrator and storyteller. He is ably supported by a large female family contingent led by a dominant yet caring performance from Paula O'Hare as Golde his wife. Large families are obviously the order of the day and there are five daughters to account for here, eldest Tzeitel played with controlled passion by Sasha Marsh. Almost forced into marriage with aging (and wealthy) butcher Lazar Wolf (a potent portrayal from Richard Parry) before convincing her father to break with 'tradition' and allow her to give into ...

Always a pleasure to review one of the classic musicals and Lerner & Loewe's 'My Fair Lady' definitely fits in that bracket, classically brought to the stage by Carpet Trades Musical Theatre Company under the direction of Jill Parmenter, musical direction by Russell Painter and choreography by Emily Hamer. If you've never seen 'My Fair Lady', firstly where have you been for that last umpteen years but, for the young and the 'young at heart' let me explain ..... Common flower seller, Eliza Doolittle (a performance worthy of the Julie Andrews seal of approval in all facets from Molly Parmenter) is plying her trade in Covent Garden when she is noticed by phonetics expert Professor Henry Higgins (obviously enjoying the challenge of this role and living-up to it in every way by Reece Jones) by coincidence expert in Indian dialects Colonel Hugh Pickering is in the same vicinity (a forthright and characterful performance from Scott Denton). Before they can ...

Contrary to popular belief 'The Full Monty' is not a musical purely about unfit, out-of-work and frankly very ordinary blokes getting their kit off to regain some self esteem. That is obviously a key piece of the complex jigsaw puzzle of a story but, it is as much about relationships and has a deep vein of misunderstanding running through it. Buffalo steelworkers find themselves unemployed and emotions run high as they try to reclaim some perceived lost masculinity, had they of course listened to their partners they would very soon realise that they have lost nothing other than their job, any other losses are purely in their mind but, highlighting how important employment is in the (particularly) male psyche. Jerry Lukowski (a bundle of pent up anger with imposing stage presence from Andy Skyrme) has already lost his partner (the stalwart and strangely forgiving Pam, played by Katie Pullinger) but, is desperate to avoid loss of his son Nathan (an energetic and buoyant portrayal...

Yes, it's suddenly gone very 'pink' (although I hear 'tangerine' is the new 'pink' !) at Stourbridge Town Hall this week as Quarry Bank Musical Theatre Society Youth perform their production of 'Legally Blonde' led by a blindingly outstanding performance as Elle Woods by Heather Hadley, some comedy, some pathos and an amazing vocal, you couldn't ask for anything more in the role. It's fortunate that this is a cast full of talent that can keep-up and expertly coordinated by Director/Choreographer, Zoe Russell and Musical Director, Nick Jeavons. So Elle chases her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (a suitably handsome performance from Harrison Hill) to Harvard Law, what strange deluded planet is she on you might ask. Well if she hadn't there would be no meeting with real love interest, Emmett Forrest another exemplary performance from Alex Brettell and we all know she is a much better match with him, leave Warner to that 'evil preppy wit...

Always exponents of creative, niche musical theatre, Obsidian Theatrical Productions have surpassed themselves again with another hard hitting production, this time Green Day's, American Idiot. I'll be honest I wouldn't generally be a fan of this sort of loud, opinionated style but, Billy Jo Armstong's insightful lyrics and the blend of rock and ballad tunes, makes this a strangely appealing piece of theatre. It's very much a story about life and how the choices you make can take you in a direction, sometimes positive, sometimes negative and occasionally an eclectic mix of both. I would suggest there are lessons to be learnt from watching this production, its educational and the story is impeccably well told by a talented cast. Three friends Johnny, Will and Tunny are full of annoyed angst against the world but, much as they would all like to disappear on an alcohol and drug infused holiday, only Johnny played with every emotion possible (and as a last minute charac...

Always a joy to spend some time down on Skid Row, well maybe 'a joy' is stretching a point for the location itself where life's a joke and the folks are broke but, this performance of Ashman & Menken's 'Little Shop of Horrors' by Dynamik Theatre is both emotional and gloriously entertaining. I always hesitate to highlight one particular performance, specifically when every member of the cast are quite frankly outstanding but, there is a Mary Poppins performance, that's 'practically perfect in every way' by Annabel Pilcher as Audrey, I have seen a multitude of performers in this role and she is vying for my top performance award. You can't have a great Audrey without a similarly impressive Seymour and Ollie Harper is impressively geeky and suitably endearing in the role (you almost want to shout 'tell her how you feel' and that is exactly how it should be, of course he gets there in the end but, not before feeding his voracious floral ...

You're setting yourself up for a big challenge by taking on one of the classics of musical theatre in the form of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' and KODS Youth Section give it there own exciting interpretation, enjoyed immensely by an enthusiastic opening night audience. Opening with a trio of Narrators consisting of powerful vocals from Lauren L'Enfant contrasting with the more lilting tones of Hope Dickenson and Alice Hickey, I was concerned that the split role wouldn't work but, they proved me wrong and interlinked together exceptionally to tell this story that surely everybody has experienced at some point (if they haven't they can't be a musical theatre fan). Oscar Yeoh grew into the role of Joseph, I detected a few nerves in the opening number but, these were soon eliminated to reveal a commanding portrayal of an iconic character including a winning rendition of 'Close Every Door'. Joseph of course has eleven brothers (although ...