|
|
|
|
|
Young stars shining bright Footloose - the musicalStage Experience
New Alexandra Theatre
**** WHILE year after year Simon Cowell sets
out to prove Britain doesn’t have much in the way of talent the Alex
proves year after year that the Midlands is awash with it. Since 2003 the theatre’s Stage Experience has
taken in a horde of young theatrical hopefuls each summer to create a
minor miracle at the Alex; 12 days of blood, sweat and tears later a
show of professional standard emerges.
And this year really is a triumph. A professional
production of Footloose passed through not too long ago, and
trust me, this show beats it hands down. It is that good, packed with
talent, life and infectious enthusiasm. This is a show based on the real life story of
Bible Belt Elmore City (pop 697) in Oklahoma where dancing was banned
for almost a century until it was lifted after a heated polarised battle
in 1980 after a request by High School students, all 11 of them, who
wanted a school dance. Dress the tale up, add some drama and conflict, include established rock singles and a smattering of teen angst and rebellion, and there you have Footloose the 1984 teen movie, followed, inevitably these days, by a 1999 stage musical version. Star of the show is Ren, a Chicago teenager whose
father has walked out, who moves with his mother Ethel to live with her
sister in the backwater’s backwater of Bomont, where dancing has been
banned for five years since four youngsters died driving home from . . .
you got it, a dance. Matthew Russell, from Leicestershire, did an
excellent job as young Ren. He can sing, he can dance, he can act and he
looks the part. In truth he could do with a bit more wellie in his
voice, but, hey, the lad is only 15, that’s right, 15, so his voice has
plenty of time to develop. Voice is no problem though for mom Ethel, played
by Molly Hope Williams, aged 17, a pupil at King Edward VI College in
Stourbridge. Her ambition is a singing career and with a voice like
hers, why not? Despite an age difference of two years, she gives such a
convincing performance you could easily believe she was Ren’s mum. Teen love interest comes with Ariel, daughter of
the fanatical Preacher man, the Rev Shaw Moore. Georgia Anderson, aged
18, gives us a pretty, headstrong, daughter struggling to understand a
strict father who has changed since the fateful accident that hangs over
everyone in the town. She has just ended two years performing arts
training at Warwickshire College and it shows with a very assured
performance and a good voice – her Holding Out for a Hero is a
real show stopper. Vocal honours though must go to Mark Shaun Walsh
from Northfield in Birmingham who has just graduated from Aberystwyth in
drama and theatre studies. He can act, has tremendous stage presence and
has a clear, powerful, trained baritone where every word is clear as a
bell. The script doesn’t do a lot to make the good Rev
any more than two-dimensional but Walsh still manages to give his
character body and shades of emotion, which is no mean feat. You even
feel for him by the end. The Rev’s wife Vi, played by Aneira Evans,
Humour comes in the form of Willard Hewitt, a
slow-witted farm boy with a short fuse and a fierce loyalty to his
mother. He is splendidly played by Callum Connolly, aged 18, and
another graduate of BOA; his admission he can’t dance and his attempts
to learn are so believable the audience cheer when he gets it right.
And in an off relationship with him, as in
waiting for the off, we have Rusty, the fastest talking girl Willard, or
indeed anyone in Bomont, has ever heard. She his played with style and a great voice by
the fast talking Nicole Appleby, aged 18, who has just completed a
performing arts course at Wolverhampton College. She can really belt out
a song and her Let’s Hear it for the Boy is another highpoint. There is good support from the likes of Drew
Rafton as town bad boy Chuck, , all quiff, attitude and leather jacket;
Layleigh Johnson as owner of The Burger Blast where Ren works after
school; and the town worthies, all under the thumb of the good, or in
this case, bad rev. There is Richard Batham as Coach Henry Dunbar, Emma
Cartwright as his wife Eleanor and Thomas Stringer as high school
principal Harry Clarke.
Director and choreographer Pollyann Tanner,
should be used to the pressure by now after 11 shows at the Alex, but it
is still a remarkable achievement to produce a show of such quality in
such a short space of time and with such a large cast. At times the whole 120 are on stage at once and
even then still manage to look like the cast of a musical rather than a
football crowd. The show is slick and fast paced and credit must also go
to Musical Director Chris Newton and his assistant Colin King for making
every song not only sound good but as if it was meant. Sadly though, sound is where the show had its
issues. Miking up a cast of 120 and having a mixing desk, and
technicians to cope with that number of feeds is not really practical
which meant sound could be a bit patchy with some groups and individuals
without mics struggling to be heard while the otherwise excellent eight
piece band, conducted by Newton, did drown out parts of some numbers,
which was a pity. But, to be positive about an irritation, it would
give the ten youngsters forming the technical crew, under the
supervision of the Alex’s stage technicians, valuable insight into the
problems faced by big productions in the professional theatre – and more
importantly, one would hope, how to solve them. Blame the audience. They
mess up even the best of settings from a sound check. Luck plays as big a part as talent, bigger sometimes looking at some headliners, in carving out a career on the stage, but this is a production that shows there are plenty of youngsters who are ready wth all the attributes to succeed if lady luck should call. Forget this is amateur, forget it is a youth
production, all you need to know is that this is first class musical
theatre and that is always worth seeing. To 23-08-14, Roger Clarke
21-08-14
**** WHAT a triumph this lively musical is for
an enthusiastic cast of over 120 youngsters, some of whom have never
appeared on stage before. Mainly teenagers, they give a remarkable
performance in a show based on the true story of an American Bible-belt
town that banned dancing following a tragic car accident. Just how hard they had worked to reach this
standard is obvious, and some are clearly heading for showbiz careers,
just as others have since the Stage Experience concept began at Swindon
in 1993. Hundreds have taken part since the project was
also taken on board at the New Alexandra Theatre eleven years ago, and
director-choreographer Pollyann Tanner deserves great credit for
drilling the youngsters to such an impressive standard. University graduate Mark Shaun Walsh gives a
stunning performance as the Rev Shaw Moore whose son was one of four
children killed in the accident while returning from a night out,
prompting him to lead the campaign to outlaw dancing. I have not seen this role played better, even in
professional productions, and 18-year-old Georgia Anderson sings and
acts superbly as the preacher’s rebellious daughter, Ariel.Her singing
of the hit, Holding Out for a Hero, is one of the highlights. Outstanding performances, too, from Matthew
Russell (Ren McCormack), bubbly Nicole Appleby (Rusty), Callum Connolly
(Willard Hewitt), Molly Hope Williams (Ethel McCormack) and Aneira Evans
(Vi Moore). Footloose, produced by Andrew Lister with Chris
Newton’s musical direction, runs to 23.08.14 Paul Marston
|
|
|
|
who
trained in musical theatre at Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) is an
excellent foil, sensible mum to his firebrand preacher. Like Ethel, it
would be easy to believe she was a woman twice her real age with a
confident, assured performance and she is another with a voice to die
for.