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★★★★

“All nine performers deliver fantastic performances that are a testament to their infectious love of musical theatre.”

The concert begins with Stephen Schwartz himself, singing at a piano. He introduces this evening of his songs, and says how much he misses live theatre. This sets the tone for an hour that is a true ode to theatre and to musical theatre more specifically. The cast sing songs from across his canon of musicals, duets, trios and solos. Each performer has been part of the Wicked cast at some point over the years it has run. The songs are interspersed by moments where the cast interview each other, reminiscing about favourite roles and songs to sing, and sharing what the theatre means to them.

In a wonderfully grand venue, eight of them sit socially distanced with pianist and Musical Director Nick Barstow sitting behind a grand piano, ready to accompany them! It is such a joy to see so many fantastic singers and performers together. I mean this both in the sense of seeing them sing together, the soaring duets and powerful trios. But also in the sense of seeing them sit together, watching each other perform, supporting and appreciating each other. Community is something that comes up as a theme in the interviews and this feels like a visual representation of the community that theatre offers and creates.

The videography and editing by Jake Waby and Christian Abad for JW Productions is an example of how to produce digital content right. Sarah Sendell’s sound design is equally strong and we are able to enjoy the strength of all these singers in perfect quality.

The concert begins with a trio from the musical ‘Pippin’, and Alexia Khadime sings the first solo number of the evening – a stunning rendition of ‘I Guess I’ll Miss the Man’. Alice Fearn and Liam Tamne come together to sing a beautiful duet from ‘Pocahontas’, and their ranges compliment each other flawlessly.

Dianne Pilkington sings a compelling solo, and Melanie La Barrie’s performance from the bar is wonderful. ‘For Good’ from Wicked is an emotional end to the concert, sung by Nikki Bentley, Sophie Evans, Alice Fearn, Alexia Khadime and Dianne Pilkington.

All nine performers deliver fantastic performances that are a testament to their infectious love of musical theatre.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Aimie Atkinson

Rags

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 14th January 2020

★★★

“Maitland’s vocal control in particular is quite staggering, bringing a coiled strength to the small auditorium.”

Often described as the sequel to ‘Fiddler On the Roof’, ‘Rags’, originally written by Joseph Stein (who did also write ‘Fiddler’) enjoyed only four days on Broadway in its 1987 debut. Regardless, it was nominated for five Tony awards that year. But, more baffling still, it has never been brought back to the stage, that is, until now.

Revised by David Thompson and directed by Bronagh Lagan, ‘Rags’ tells the story of Jewish immigrants making their way to America at the turn of the twentieth century. Among the boatloads of hopefuls is Rebecca (Carolyn Maitland), with her son David (as played by Jude Muir for this performance), who, without any family or a nickel to her name, is determined to succeed in this new promised land.

As with most sequels, ‘Rags’ has loosely the same narrative arc as its predecessor: A community of traditional Jews fights off the outside world on multiple fronts, be it via assimilation, persecution or modernisation. Certain familiar characters re-appear as well. Ben (Oisin Nolan-Power) for example, a nice but nerdy tailor seeks the affections of Bella (Martha Kirby) whose father, Avram (Dave Willetts) disapproves of the union. I mean, why not just call them Motel and Tzeitel and have done with it.

But ‘Rags’ does depart from ‘Fiddler’ in its sheer volume of historical content, including everything from the 1909 Shirtwaist strikes and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to the emergence of feminism, the rising popularity of Yiddish theatre and song writing, and culture clashes, not only between different ethnicities and religions, but also first and second-wave immigrants. In order to include all of this, every character symbolises a school of thought, be it capitalism or communism, traditionalism or modernisation. And this leaves little room for any of the characters to have any, well, character. The older generation – aunt, uncle and father – bring a little Yiddish flavour from the old country, but aside from that everyone is a bit bland.

The soundtrack (Charles Strouse/Stephen Schwartz) flits between a klezmer-ragtime fusion, and modern musical numbers. The former is accompanied by a swaggering Klezmer band wondering the stage, playing various bit-parts as they go. The small ensemble brings a tonne of humour and spirit to the production. Clarinettist Natasha Karp is a particular joy to watch, her constant facial expressions a kind of running commentary on the story’s goings-on.

The more modern numbers, however, are generally forgettable and feel mismatched with the themes of the plot.

The set (Gregor Donnelly), consisting of a wall of suitcases, and sparse furniture, provides an atmosphere of transition; of both hope and hardship. Whilst Rebecca, Bella and David have just arrived, the small apartment has been the home of multiple immigrant families before this one, and will no doubt go on to house many more after, and the set succeeds in keeping this feeling of flux throughout.

The cast themselves are gloriously talented, doing their best to inject colour and excitement to a story that drags on at least a half hour too long. Maitland’s vocal control in particular is quite staggering, bringing a coiled strength to the small auditorium.

But whilst ‘Rags’ was not intended as a direct sequel for ‘Fiddler’, it’s hard not to consider it as such and, as is often the case with sequels, it doesn’t stand up to comparison. Yes, there are a couple of catchy numbers, a couple of funny scenes, and a couple of moments of heartfelt reflection. But not enough on any count, and unfortunately this revival is less a story of rags to riches, and more rags to run-of-the-mill.

Online via Thespie

Reviewed – 13th December 2020

★★★★

“All nine performers deliver fantastic performances that are a testament to their infectious love of musical theatre.”

The videography and editing by Jake Waby and Christian Abad for JW Productions is an example of how to produce digital content right. Sarah Sendell’s sound design is equally strong and we are able to enjoy the strength of all these singers in perfect quality.

Dianne Pilkington sings a compelling solo, and Melanie La Barrie’s performance from the bar is wonderful. ‘For Good’ from Wicked is an emotional end to the concert, sung by Nikki Bentley, Sophie Evans, Alice Fearn, Alexia Khadime and Dianne Pilkington.

All nine performers deliver fantastic performances that are a testament to their infectious love of musical theatre.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Aimie Atkinson

Unlimited: The Songs Of Stephen Schwartz

Online via Thespie

Recently reviewed by Amelia:

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 14th January 2020

★★★

“Maitland’s vocal control in particular is quite staggering, bringing a coiled strength to the small auditorium.”

The more modern numbers, however, are generally forgettable and feel mismatched with the themes of the plot.

The cast themselves are gloriously talented, doing their best to inject colour and excitement to a story that drags on at least a half hour too long. Maitland’s vocal control in particular is quite staggering, bringing a coiled strength to the small auditorium.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Pamela Raith

Rags

Park Theatre until 8th February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: