JERSEY BOYS - THEATRE REVIEW

JERSEY BOYS AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Tuesday 9 December 2014 - Sunday 4 January 2015
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 10 December 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

There’s something regrettably formulaic and inevitable about most biographical actor-musician pieces of theatre of late. It’s a format that often leans far too heavily on familiarity with its soundtrack and the spectacle of a Bolan or Lennon being re-imagined and strutting around on stage, and the notable casualty comes in the form of any compelling narrative shape or use of theatre as an artistic medium in it’s own right. Truth may indeed be stranger than fiction, but when so many of these shows race through the ‘true story’ with haphazard abandon, presenting more a career ‘greatest hits live’ than a focused piece of theatrical storytelling, it isn’t hard to end up feeling your evening would have achieved the same effect in the hands of Youtube or Google. The customary ‘talented boy does good, hits the heights of fame, leads to personal/family/suffering wife problems’ second Act trope being rolled out ad infinite usually only underlines how de rigeuer and stale it has all become.

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.

MISS SAIGON - THEATRE REVIEW

MISS SAIGON AT THE PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE, LONDON

Theatre Run: Continuing
Performance Reviewed: Thursday 31 July 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

‘Out with the new and in with the old’ seems to be the current dominant ideology pervading the West End at the moment, as even new productions by the industries’ heaviest hitters flounder whilst revivals and re-imaginings wade in over their corpses to rapturous reception and unprecedented box office (this show supposedly broke London pre-order ticket records). A trifle melodramatic an opening, perhaps, but one that is both true and quite tonally fitting for Cameron Mackintosh’s lavish, celebrated resurrection of the mawkish, histrionic yet spectacular Miss Saigon. Lloyd-Webber and Rice recently brought us the likes of Stephen Ward and From Here To Eternity respectively, and London even dipped its toe into the mass mass market with Harry Hill and Simon Cowell X-Factor pastiche vehicle I Can’t Sing. An ecclectic and diverse musical trifecta, yet all three suffered poor sales and abrupt, early closure, and in their place we have seen West End return announcements for the likes of Cats, Evita and, of course, Saigon. 

WICKED - THEATRE REVIEW

WICKED AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Wednesday 09 July - Saturday 06 September 2014

Performance Reviewed: Thursday 10 July (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Wicked will cast it's spell upon you... Wicked is wicked-ly good... Spellbinding!

With that obligatory bit of housekeeping out of the way, it's almost difficult to comprehend what to say about musical colossus Wicked that hasn't already been said countless times over. One of the most celebrated and successful musicals of the 21st Century, it is an internationally renowned mega-hit whose adoration (and ticket sales) show no sign of dwindling any time soon. Winnie Holzman's adapted tale that takes a canted look at the witches of Oz (taken from Gregory Maguire's more morbid book of the same name) combined with Stephen Schwartz's already-iconic music has leapt into our collective cultural consciousness and tapped into a generational zeitgeist in a way that most other musicals could only dream of.  And now, as the show takes off on its first ever UK and Ireland tour, the fervour and excitement in Birmingham and the surrounding area for the show's arrival at the city's Hippodrome theatre has been at fever pitch, showing that these witches are as 'popular' as ever and just as adept at defying expectations as they are gravity.

THEATRE INTERVIEW - Nikki Davis-Jones (Wicked)

WICKED INTERVIEWS:

Part One - Nikki Davis-Jones (Elphaba)

Wicked flies on in to the Birmingham Hippodrome next week as part of it's first ever UK and Ireland tour, and we are celebrating the occasion with a pair of interviews with the two of the show's leads.

In this first part, Kyle sits down with actress Nikki-Davis Jones, who plays Elphaba in the show, and discusses how Wicked is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving...

By Kyle Pedley.

Interview Conducted Thursday 24th April 2014.

Nikki Davis-Jones as Elphaba
in Wicked

“I’m clearly not very good in auditions!”

It’s a modest dash of self-deprecation from the lady who has bagged one of musical theatre’s most coveted leading roles, and further indicative of a warm, humble personality that likewise may initially seem at odds with the role she has been drafted in to play. But such humility is not without context and reasoning, with a string of standby and cover roles in shows such as Blood Brothers and Mamma Mia that led to eventual promotions being the career pattern for actress Nikki Davis-Jones thus far.

That was before a certain green-skinned opportunity came flying in on a golden broomstick and looks set to change her career ‘For Good’.

SHOW BOAT - THEATRE REVIEW

SHOW BOAT AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Wednesday 02 - Saturday 05 July 2014

Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 02 July (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Birmingham certainly seems to be getting into the 4th July spirit this year, serving up a double dose of all-American Classic Musical goodness as Cape Town Opera’s Show Boat rolls into town for the week at the Hippodrome, following Annie Get Your Gun which kicked off it’s run at the New Alex yesterday evening (and garnered a 3 star review from us). But whereas Annie Get Your Gun seemed to be a strangely muted and subdued affair that didn’t live up to it’s glimmers of potential and pedigree, Show Boat is undoubtedly the real deal; a big, grand, hugely impressive slice of classic musical theatre writ large and executed with scope and grandeur that nevertheless displays extraordinary attention to detail.

THEATRE PREVIEW - ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

ANNIE’S GOT HER GUN AND IS HEADING TO BRUM!

Jason Donovan leads the cast of a major new production of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun as it rolls into town at the Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre next month!

Dates: Tuesday 01 - Saturday 05 July 2014

Preview by Kyle Pedley

The West Midlands is readying to welcome back Aussie star of stage, screen and the pop charts, Jason Donovan, as he heads up a major new revival of the beloved, Tony Award-winning Musical Western classic, Annie Get Your Gun. He will appear alongside TV, Film and Theatre star Emma Williams, who will be playing the title role of Annie Oakley and Normal Pace as Buffalo Bill in the new production from the producers of recent revival hits South Pacific and West Side Story.

SISTER ACT - THEATRE REVIEW

SISTER ACT (WBOS) AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 13 - Saturday 17 May 2014
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 13 May 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Amateur theatre and local operatic societies continue to thankfully be plentiful in number and ever evolving in regards to the professionalism, ambition and scope of the productions they put on, something which is plenty evident within the West Midlands. The West Bromwich Operatic Society/WBOS are one such organisation who, with their latest production, Sister Act, further blur the boundaries between professional productions and amateur with an extremely accomplished, technically audacious and supremely enjoyable adaptation of one of musical theatre’s more recent success stories. Following on from a celebrated original stint in London, a subsequent Broadway run and UK national tour, Sister Act is a musical adaptation of the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg comedy movie of the same name. There’s some tweaks to character and plot, most notably (but understandably) dragging the whole thing back 20 years so it nestles comfortably with the disco stylings of the 1970’s, and the score is entirely original as opposed to the collection of jukebox hits from the movie, but otherwise those familiar with the original will have a strong idea of what to expect here.

20TH CENTURY BOY - THEATRE REVIEW

20TH CENTURY BOY AT THE BIRMINGHAM NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 28 April - Saturday 03 May 2014
Performance Reviewed: Monday 28 April 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

In decidedly meta fashion, the life and times of T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan were of such superstardom, hedonism and excess that by today’s standards it all seems ironically quite atypical and overly familiar. Talented, aspiring musician from humble beginnings does good, becomes rock ‘n’ roll wunderkind, devolves into heady life of drinks, drugs and dubious extra-marital relationships before ultimately leading to an untimely, some-would-argue tragic death. It has all been played out on film, television and, indeed, on-stage, to such an extent that 20th Century Boy, be it based on true events as it may be, won’t be bowling anyone over with its originality. And even within the confines of actuality, being thankfully a biographical piece rather than an original story inspired by his life, it is at times difficult to locate any palpable drama, and Bolan’s own murkier periods seem notably underplayed and fleeting, as though nobody involved wanted to tread too damagingly on the man’s memory and legacy.

HAPPY DAYS: A NEW MUSICAL - THEATRE REVIEW

HAPPY DAYS: A NEW MUSICAL AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Tuesday 22 - Saturday 26 April 2014

Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 22 April 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Happy Days is something of an oddity to review and fully digest as a brand new musical production (something which, as its marketing repeatedly assures us, it is) given that it leans so heavily on nostalgia and formula to the point that it not only feels dated but also heavily derivative. It seems an unfair critique to labour over the antiquity of a show based on a 1970’s sitcom which itself was set 20 years prior, but there is very little trace of modernity, irony or invention to practically everything Happy Days offers. This may, of course, be precisely the point, owing to the TV series' original creator Garry Marshall having penned the shows book, and there is likely a fairly broad demographic who will get a kick from such a faithfully styled recreation of the hugely popular show being brought to the stage, but for the rest of us it’s difficult to shake the feeling that his has all been done and seen before with greater fire in its belly and punch in its execution. Take Grease, Footloose and a soupcon of Hairspray, blend them together whilst simultaneously diluting their respective character and vim, and you pretty much have Happy Days - a perfectly inoffensive yet not particularly effective simulacra of the feel-good, period musicals of yesteryear.

WEST SIDE STORY - THEATRE REVIEW

WEST SIDE STORY AT THE BIRMINGHAM NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 01 - Saturday 19 April 2014
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 02 April 2014 (Gala Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Few musical productions come with as great a repute and standing as West Side Story. With a cavalcade of plaudits and gongs to its name, from Tony’s and Grammy’s through to a staggering 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture (being one of the most awarded movies of all time), to it repeatedly heading up any number of ‘greatest musicals of all time’ lists and polls (including the Number 1 spot in our 2012 countdown of The Greatest Movie Musicals), there is no doubting the prestige, clout and indeed, love, that has become synonymous with the name. As such, any revival or touring production is accepting a heavy mantle of responsibility to do such a fabled piece of musical theatre justice, and it is with a heady swell of both pride and relief that one can safely say that this current touring production of West Side Story, arriving at the Birmingham New Alexandra this week, does a somewhat exceptional job of doing precisely that.

WEST SIDE STORY - THEATRE PREVIEW

‘SOMETHING’S COMING’ AND IT’S GOING TO BE BIG AS ‘WEST SIDE STORY’ COMES TO THE MIDLANDS!

Birmingham gets ready for a Manhattan musical makeover as one of the most celebrated musicals of all time takes to the stage at the City’s New Alexandra Theatre next month.

Dates: Tuesday 01 - Saturday 19 April 2014

Preview by Kyle Pedley

Birmingham and the Midlands are in for a veritable musical theatre extravaganza next week as BB Promotion and ATG’s highly acclaimed revival tour of West Side Story takes residence at the New Alexandra Theatre for a three week run commencing Tuesday 1st April.

West Side Story changed the course of musical theatre when it opened on Broadway in 1957 and it remains one of the most successful stage shows of all time. The 1961 film adaptation went on to win a staggering 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, with only 3 other films in history surpassing this. In 2012, I myself selected the film adaptation as Number 1 on my countdown of The Top 20 Movie Musicals Of All Time. 

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF - THEATRE REVIEW

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Tuesday 11 - Saturday 15 March 2014

Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 11 March 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Tradition!

Paul Michael Glaser and his delightful troupe of fellow players segue us into Fiddler on the Roof with this instantly recognisable ode to, unsurprisingly, traditional values, roles and aspirations within the quaint Jewish community who inhabit the show, and yet it also serves as a perfect tonal leaping point for what is fundamentally in and of itself a thoroughly traditional yet delightfully characterful, somewhat old-fashioned observational slice of charming musical theatre. There is no grand overriding narrative, save for the occasional allusions to the wider civil unrest and approaching revolution of early 20th Century Tsarist Russia, which now and again comes knocking in the form of an over-zealous, potentially anti-semitic constable and his enforcers, but for the most part this is a measured, slower-burning study of character, society and even faith within a simple rural community. Many of the musical interludes from Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock’s now iconic score, from ‘If I Were a Rich Man’ to ‘Matchmaker’, clever and individual as they may be, are mostly stop-start affairs to give us a more palatable understanding of the characters themselves as opposed to driving forward the light semblance of plot.

FAME - THEATRE REVIEW

FAME AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 03 - Saturday 08 March 2014

Performance Reviewed: Monday 03 March 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

The original Fame was a product of its time, a minor cultural zeitgeist that went on to spawn not just its own TV spinoff and international theatre production, but a whole host of imitators and pretenders, with it’s inspiration and general premise permeating through theatre, television and film even to this day (the likes of High School Musical, Glee, Smash and many more were born here). After the woefully misjudged 2009 attempt at rejuvenating and renovating the original to cater to contemporary cinema audiences (a mission which, judging by it’s critical and box office mauling, failed painfully so), it has unsurprisingly taken a trip to the boards to make Fame not only relevant in its message and ethos to modern audiences, but an overall thoroughly satisfying, exuberant and kinetic theatre-going experience courtesy of this new 25th Anniversary production.

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT - THEATRE REVIEW

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Monday 24 February - Saturday 1 March 2014

Performance Reviewed: Monday 24 February 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Tonight’s The Night is the Rod Stewart musical. In case you didn’t catch that from the name, it’s handily emblazoned above the title itself. He’s also mentioned within the opening few minutes of the show. Frequently. He also plays an incidental off-stage role within the story of the show itself throughout. He’s also referenced in what seems like every major scene and held in what can only be described as an almost quasi-revered regard. The lead character looks, sounds and performs exactly like him, though isn’t actually him yet nonetheless becomes a burgeoning star acting uncannily like him in a world in which we are repeatedly reminded Rod does indeed exist. 

He’s just on something of a casual stolen-soul career break.

PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT - Theatre Review

PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 27 January - Saturday 1 February 2014

Performance Reviewed: Thursday 30 January 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

The Midlands sees the return of one of our top-reviewed shows of last year as the camp, colour and craziness of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert the Musical wheels into Wolverhampton this week in its fabulous, inimitable style. We awarded this same UK touring production a top five star rating when we reviewed it in Birmingham last March, and bar one or two minor set changes - characters sitting on the floor where they were once on a bed, one of the character introduction set pieces being a little more minimalised - this is still the same outrageous, hilarious and supremely entertaining feel-good spectacle as ever, and one of the most genuinely fun (and funny) musicals we’ve had the pleasure of seeing and reviewing. 

FROZEN - FILM REVIEW

FROZEN

Release Date: 6 December 2013
Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk (voices)
Screening Reviewed: London Press Screening

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Make no qualms about it, Disney’s animation department are undoubtedly bathing in the deserved success and glow of a second renaissance period following on from the recent critical, box office and artistic successes of Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and now the beautiful and vintage Frozen. Picking up the reigns from their creative partners at Pixar, whose output has been a touch more inconsistent recently with the disappointing and muddled Cars 2 and Brave, the house of Mouse has masterfully managed to strike the zeitgeist with  their latest release, harmonising elements of classical Disney Princess convention with some of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph’s vim and sass and proudly crafting the tale as a big, Broadway-beating musical to boot, as old Uncle Walt himself would have wanted it.

A MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET - THEATRE REVIEW

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Thursday 05 - Saturday 07 December

Performance Viewed: Thursday 05 December (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

I’m going to go out on a limb and say the majority of people who pay to go and see a musical version of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ are likely in the market for something to top up their festive spirit. Either those familiar with the movie version (be it the 1947 or ’94 incarnations) or generally enthused about the time of year to indulge in a bit of added mirth and merriment.

CAROUSEL - THEATRE REVIEW

CAROUSEL AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Tuesday 16 - Saturday 20 July
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 16 July (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

BMOS - The Birmingham and Midland Operatic Society - has a long, rich history of over 125 years of staging big, prolific musicals and theatrical projects with a level of ambition, scope and quality usually reserved for professional touring productions. As Centre Stage Magazine deftly put it, they are “professional in all but name” and their latest showcase of ability and talent comes in the form of Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Carousel, which the company are performing at the Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre for this week only.

THE LION KING - THEATRE REVIEW

THE LION KING AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Friday 28 June - Saturday 28 September 2013

Performance Reviewed: Friday 28 June (Opening Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Film to stage adaptations can be quite the challenge to get right. It may seem an obvious point that theatre and cinema are two wildly different mediums and creative forms, but it’s often overlooked in the hopes that merely replicating the images that we watched on-screen onto the stage will rekindle the same emotions, impact and fire in an audience. The opposite is a far easier and more liberating experience - the scope and breadth of film, the luxury of the edit and the canvas of cinematography can often open up a previously stage-bound tale to new sights and heights, yet so often film-to-theatre is a much bumpier process. Slavishly loyal adaptations fail to explore and utilise the unique strengths and opportunities of the medium or, sometimes worse, do so in horribly egregious and detrimental ways (see the recent Broadway failure of The Little Mermaid, another Disney offering).