Ghost the Musical UK Tour

Ghost the Musical UK Tour
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
Saturday 8th June 2013
Dress Circle B39

GHOST the musical arrived at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last week for the Midlands Premiere for this innovative and exciting 2013 touring production. Based on the film of the same name, the 1990 movie GHOST starred Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in the principal roles of this timeless and enchanting love story. Walking back to their Brooklyn apartment one night, lovers Sam and Molly (Swayze and Moore) are mugged, leaving Sam brutally murdered in a dark alley. Sam finds himself trapped as a ghost between the human and spirit world and through the aid of psychic, Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg), Sam tries to save and protect Molly in the hope of solving the plot of his own murder. 

Swayze and Moore in the original movie

GHOST the musical started its life at The Manchester Opera House in 2011 before transferring to London's West End for a short lived run of just over 500 performances, closing October 2012. It then transferred to Broadway taking across the pond principals Caissie Levy and Richard Fleeshman to reprise their roles as Molly and Sam. After seeing the London production in December 2011 I fell in love with the soundtrack and beautiful adaptation of the iconic film and I was sceptical how this extremely technical show would transfer for the road. I was however in no aspect disappointed with this production - which I would go as far to say is the best touring show I have seen this year!

Levy and Fleeshman in the West End Production

Adapted for the stage by Bruce Joel Rubin, GHOST is directed by Matthew Warchus with Christopher Nightingale as Music Supervisor and Arranger, and Choreography by Ashley Wallen. For me Wallen's innovative choreography keeps the production very current and with fusions of jazz, street and contemporary musical theatre movement brings the iconic story into the 21st century. This production is extremely technical with phenomenal lighting and sound effects by Hugh Vanstone and Bobby Aitken. However applause must be given to the 'Out of this World' theatrical illusions by Paul Kieve allowing Sam Wheat to walk through doors amongst other ghostly goings on! You have to see it to believe it!

Clarke and Trehearn in the UK Tour

Leading this fantastic company are Rebecca Trehearn and Stewart Clarke in the roles of Molly and Sam. Both actors complement each other beautifully and Trehearn's raw, emotional portrayal of 'With You' is breathtakingly stunning. After covering the role of Molly in the West End production Trehearn gives no understudy performance and puts her own spin on the role. Clarke is a strong leading man and presents Sam's heartbreak, anguish and anger perfectly. He is very well matched alongside David Roberts villainous portrayl of Carl who excelled as the slimy banker.

Wendy Mae Brown as Oda Mae Brown and Company

However the star of this show is Wendy Mae Brown in the role of Oda Mae. Her vocals and comic timing are second to none and she provides the audience with much needed humorous outbursts amongst the heart wrenching plot. Her outfits and wigs are flamboyant and garish and Brown's personality is as colourful as her costumes. Standout production numbers 'I'm outta here', 'Rain/Hold on' and 'More' alongside the old faithful 'Unchained Medley' prove GHOST to be a hit with audience members young and old. 

This production is simply stunning....don't miss this weeks ghostly goings on at the Grand before it ventures on to haunt other UK Theatres. At the Wolverhampton Grand til June 15th.

Phantom of the Opera UK Tour

Phantom of the Opera UK Tour
Birmingham Hippodrome - Wednesday 4th April, 7:30pm

Phantom of the opera is now performing at Birmingham Hippodrome on its final leg of its UK tour. I had      been in eager anticipation to see the reworked version of the original classic after visiting Her Majesty's        Theatre in January. I have always been a Phantom 'Phan' after being introduced to Andrew Lloyd Webber's spectacular score at a young age, and was intrigued to see how the classic production would be remodeled   for the road.

 
This production did not by any means disappoint. The scenery and set were unlike any touring show I had seen before. Every set change moved so efficiently and almost noticeably that it was easy to forget you weren't watching a West End or Broadway production. The introduction to the Phantom's lair was so imaginative      that  it created the illusion you were travelling deep, dark, underground to the hidden depths of the Paris      Opera House. The scenery was lavish with no expenses spared for this production and the technical and       lighting effects worked extraordinarily.

Unlike the London production the Chandelier doesn't dramatically fall during the performance, yet has been adapted suitably to suit the restraints of the touring venues. It is however a beautifully illuminated piece of set and Phantom would really not be 'Phantom' without it. Other noticeable changes included the Masquerade Ball and although in this touring production there wasn't a grand staircase, Scott Ambler's eye catching Choreography cleverly enhanced the utilization of the stage space.

At this production Olivia Brereton played the role of Christine Daaé due to Katie Hall's absence and performed the role with ease and elegance, whilst charming the audience with her astounding vocals. She was suitably matched with Simon Bailey's Raoul. Earl Carpenter was haunting in the title role of The Phantom and showed much experience in the complex character after having played the iconic role on the West End for over one thousand performances. Angela M Ceasar was comical as Carlotta and delivered crystal clear vocals worthy of any Opera House. At this performance Sarah Joyce performed the role of Madame Giry and Rachael Crocker provided a beautiful understudy performance as Meg.

The Phantom Haunts Birmingham Hippodrome until the 4th May!

Priscilla Queen of the Desert UK TOUR

Wednesday 28th March 7.30pm
Birmingham Alexandra Theatre

Priscilla queen of the desert arrived at Birmingham Alexandra Theatre on Monday 18th March for two weeks ahead of its extensive first tour of the UK. This extravagant production comes direct from London's West End and stars Jason Donovan as Tick/Mitzi.

Priscilla Queen of The Desert tells the story of three drag queens (Mitzi, Bernadette and Felicia) on a journey across the Australian outback in their battered bus 'Priscilla.' Adapted from the 1995 film of the same name starring Terence Stamp, Priscilla the musical opened in March 2009 at London's Palace Theatre. The original production was very ambitious with a full size bus, revolving stage and large, outrageous sets and costumes. The show has been a worldwide hit playing in 7 different countries to date and each production requires 500 costumes, 200 hats, 100 wigs, 150 pairs of shoes and of course the minibus that gives the show its name.

For such a large scale show it was very ambitious of Priscilla producers to take the production 'On the Road' and for me the touring production has lost some of its original sparkle. If I had not seen the show multiple times on the West End this touring production would have been a fantastic spectacle, had I not seen the original show to compare it to.

Priscilla on the West End

Priscilla the bus herself was a little underwhelming but had been suitably rescaled due to the restrictions of the tour. What was originally a full size bus has been replaced with a smaller shell with various technical effects allowing the bus to embark on its stage journey. A nice touch for the production was keeping the three Divas suspended above the stage as in the original show but the only downside to our restricted stalls seats were them being clearly in view before and after take off. The Divas (Emma Kingston, Ellie Leah and Laura Mansell) however produced fantastic vocals and stand out performances particularly in "I will survive" and "MacArthur park."

Priscilla on Tour

Jason Donovan starred as Tick and Richard Grieve as Bernadette. Having seen Grieve play Tick in the West End I much preferred his portrayal of glamorous Bernadette and his wit and comic timing were perfectly suited to the role. Graham Weaver starred as Felicia and as understudy in the London production to Oliver Thornton (original Felicia) proved himself to be worthy of the leading role by providing powerhouse vocals in 'Confide in Me'

There were additional songs in the UK tour version of Priscilla and these included - "It's raining men" in replacement of Petula Clark's 'Downton' and True Colours in replacement of 'Both Sides Now'. As a die hard fan of Priscilla I preferred the original tracks but this is only my opinion.

Great supporting performances came from Ellie Leah as Shirley and Frances Mayli McCann as Thai Bride Cynthia. As well as a great humoured storyline, outrageously daring costumes such as Cupcakes and Paintbrushes this production has something for everyone. Accompanied by a soundtrack of toe tapping disco hits it would be a shame to miss Priscilla before she drives out of town.

Board Priscilla til Saturday 30th March at the Birmingham Alex or catch her on the rest of her UK journey HERE

Cats the Musical UK Tour

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
Wednesday 20th March, 7.30pm

After waiting nearly ten years for Cats the Musical to revisit Wolverhampton Grand, I was very eager and excited to see this production live onstage again. A huge fan of the 1998 film, starring Elaine Paige, John Mills, John Partridge and Jason Gardiner, I had very high expectations of the current uk tour. As a big cats fan, I had prebooked my seats when they went on general sale and had the best seats in the house (A Row Centre Dress Circle) - which was a 'Purrfect' view!

Cats is the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical spectacular based on the 'Old Possum's book of practical cats' by T.S. Elliot. Cats is a show that is 'danced through' and the entire cast appear onstage for the majority of each performance. Cats first premiered in London in 1981 and as one of London's longest running musicals ran for nearly 9000 performances before closing in May 2002. The show has little narrative, but introduces each of Elliot's jellicle cats as separate characters through spectacular song and dance. Gillian Lynne's choreography is visually second to none and the extremely stylistic movement is executed perfectly by the entire ensemble.

Cats 2013 ensemble

The clever Cats staging was on show as we entered the auditorium and enticed the audience into a junkyard full of rubbish and trash. The set made of larger than life size litter, tyres and various car parts allowed the cast to enter the stage via some weird and wonderful entrances. Not to give much away but the Cats cast embraced the use of the whole auditorium, and audience members in the stalls certainly acquired some feline friends!

Richard Astbury as Coricopat

Special mention in this production goes to Wolverhampton's own Richard Astbury starring as Coricopat. Having danced with Richard in numerous amateur productions at the Grand before he starting his professional training at Arts Educational, London it was lovely to see him treading the boards back on home turf. Other standout performances came from Jessica Buckby (Cassandra), Barnaby Thompson (Mungojerrie) and Oliver Savile (Rum Tum Tugger). Joseph Poulton as Magical Mistofelees impressed as the original conjuring cat and Joanna Ampil delivered a vocally faultless performance as Grizabella.

Joanna Ampil sings 'Memory'

Another great touch from this performance was the chance for audience members to go onstage during the interval to have their programmes signed by Old Deuteronomy (Nicholas Pound). I had my programme signed on Cats' last visit to the Grand in 2004/5 and of course couldn't resist getting up onstage again!

Signed Programme

This 'SpeCATular' show runs at The Wolverhampton Grand until Saturday 30th March!

Book your tickets here