DIRTY DANCING - THEATRE REVIEW

DIRTY DANCING AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 23 September - Saturday 11 October 2014
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 24 September (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

As far as labeling goes, Dirty Dancing is something of a tough cookie (watermelon?) to define. It can’t strictly be classed as a musical - the show’s marketing carefully labelling it ‘The Classic Story On Stage’ - yet certainly offers some of the flavouring and ingredients of one, though when members of the company occasionally take to a microphone to sing it is more often than not contextualised within the show’s own universe.  There is, unsurprisingly, plenty of dance showcased front and centre, though one could even make an argument for that not being it’s principle MO. What we are left with, then, is a makeshift hybrid of sorts, a synergy which lifts and borrows components of different genre’s and approaches and, under the familiar and beloved template of it’s 1987 movie namesake, surprisingly harmonises them into a thoroughly feel-good and irrepressibly vibrant evening of pure entertainment. Yes, it’s formulaic, safe and almost cookie-cutter in it’s approach to narrative (and, it has to be said, comedy) and there’s enough cheddar in there to make France lactose intolerant, but in reality audiences going in to watch Dirty Dancing aren’t likely to be expecting Sondheim.

GHOST - THEATRE PREVIEW

CITY GETS IN THE 'SPIRIT' AS GHOST THE MUSICAL ARRIVES IN BIRMINGHAM FOR CHRISTMAS!

Celebrated tearjerker musical, based on the 1990 Oscar-Winning hit film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg arrives at the New Alexandra Theatre this week to begin an extended Christmas and New Year Run!

Dates: Tuesday 17 December 2013 - Sunday 05 January 2014

Preview by Kyle Pedley

Theatre fans in Birmingham and beyond had best get their hankies and tissues at the ready this Christmas and New Year season as one of the most celebrated touring musical theatre productions of the year returns to the Midlands to see out 2013 and welcome in the New Year in the city's New Alexandra Theatre. Technically audacious and visually stunning, our previous review of this same touring production gave it a coveted 5 out of 5 stars, citing it as "Single-handedly the most ambitious, bombastically visceral and tirelessly inventive touring musical production[s] we've had the pleasure of experiencing.... an at-times breathtakingly dynamic and kinetic explosion and exploration of eye-candy and splendour".

THEATRE INTERVIEW - Stewart Clarke (Ghost the Musical)

GHOST THE MUSICAL INTERVIEWS:

Part Two - Stewart Clarke (Sam)

Fresh off of it's run at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last month, and garnering a 5 star rating from us here at (A)musings (click here for Kyle's full review), the superb Ghost the Musical made a pitstop at the opulent Laurent Perrier champagne bar in Birmingham on a fittingly drizzly Thursday afternoon (fans of the show will understand) for a launch event to promote it's run at the New Alexandra Theatre this coming December.

Last time we brought you editor Kyle's interview with leading lady Rebecca Trehearn (which for those who have not yet read it can be found here) and in this second part he talks to the shows leading man and local-lad-done-good Stewart Clarke...

Stewart Clarke (Sam) at the Birmingham
launch of Ghost the Musical last month

Well Stewart, thank you very much for your time!

No, it’s fine!

So we saw the show in Wolverhampton last week and loved it, but we’ll kickstart for the uninitiated - how would you describe the experience of Ghost the Musical in a nutshell?

Well it’s a heart-wrenching tale of this undying love that triumphs through adversity, and how people deal with loss and how they move on from that. But underneath all that it’s a thrilling tale of action and deceit and all sorts. It’s a great show, I love it.

GHOST THE MUSICAL - THEATRE REVIEW

GHOST THE MUSICAL AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 4 - Saturday 15 July 2013
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 4 June (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Reviewing both West End and touring productions can sometimes be a slightly disjointed affair, and the expectations taken to the London boards have to sometimes be a touch tempered for their touring and regional counterparts. That’s not to suggest any abject inferiority or personal preference, but often the sheer practicality and demands of a production going on tour and repeatedly moving venues, often allowing no more than a days setup time, requires natural compromises be made when it comes to staging, more elaborate mechanics or flats, and generally a less cohesive and ambitious affair than London or otherwise permanent shows can usually offer.