PRODUCTION: Movie Musical Magic
DATE: 11th July 2024
THEATRE COMPANY: Stardust Theatre
VENUE: Knights Theatre, Lincoln College
WRITER & DIRECTOR: Kei Bailey
PRODUCER: Sara Sprague
CHOREOGRAPHER: Paige Ruddlesdin
REVIEW BY: Julie Addison, National Operatic and Dramatic Association
I am a huge lover of musical theatre, so I was thrilled to be invited once again to review the amazing Stardust Theatre Company for their ‘Annual Summer Concert’ and their own unique tribute to the genre – ‘Movie Musical Magic’. Introduced by Company Director Sara Sprague, and compered by Creative Director Kei Bailey, the show began with a rousing rendition of ‘Over the Rainbow’ from Wizard of Oz, with the entire ensemble wearing rainbow-coloured T-shirts and some cast members signing the lyrics.
Kei welcomed us to the show and introduced Stephen Coote who treated us to ‘POSH’ originally made popular by Lionel Jefferies from the ever-popular musical movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. A witty touch was the addition of Chitty’s iconic wings attached to his wheelchair. Stephen performed the number beautifully with lots of facial expressions which soon had the audience clapping along. Then the entire ensemble led by William Pavitt, joined in for the title song ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ with choreography from Paige Ruddlesdin moving across the stage, so everyone got a chance to participate.
Next up was ‘Oompapa’ from Oliver with Zara Barrett, Jojo Robinson, Paige Ruddlesdin and Becky Murray. They gave us a feisty interpretation with lots of input from the ensemble playing the different characters from verses of the song. Jojo was very enthusiastic dancing along which prompted Kei to comment wittily that it was Jojo’s favourite song.
Hollie Morris treated us to ‘The Wizard and I’ from my own personal favourite musical, Wicked. Wicked tells the prequel story to Wizard of Oz where the two young witches (Elphaba and Glinda), despite their initial disgust for one another, end up as firm friends. Hollie was amazing as Elphaba and had the audience spellbound by her heartfelt emotional performance. Hollie was then joined by Zara Barrett as Glinda to perform ‘What is this Feeling?’ with the ensemble doing loser signs at Hollie as the unpopular witch. Hollie was hilarious, sassily wiggling her hips and spooking them all with a very mischievous ‘boo!’
Kei then introduced Tom Kirk who did a lovely performance to ‘Singing in the Rain’ joined by ‘Umbrella Dancers’ (Sara Sprague, Becki Dougherty, Courtney Brumpton, Jason Radford, Laura Davies, Hollie Morris, Zara Barrett and Josh Lane) showcasing some beautifully executed choreography using rainbow-coloured brollies, in perfect time to the music.
Next up were two songs from the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat. Firstly, ‘Joseph’s Coat’ featuring Josh Lane as Joseph followed by ‘Any Dream Will Do’. Josh was great twirling around proudly wearing his vibrant multicoloured coat oblivious to his brothers’ seething jealousy. Becki Dougherty was the Narrator listing the seemingly never-ending list of colours on Jospeh’s coat. The brothers (Jack Strange, Henry Jackson, Carter Moseley, Duncan Tomlin, Shaun Roseveare and Ian Mills) were very funny as they reacted to Joseph and the Narrator while their father Abraham (Pete Holden) was blissfully unaware of the trouble and ill feeling he had caused. The iconic ‘Any Dream Will Do’ was fantastically performed by Lucy Baptist, William Pavitt, Jojo Robinson and Josh Lane.
Then a change of pace as Stardust brought us their homage to The Rocky Horror Picture Show with an infectious performance of ‘The TimeWarp’ featuring Rhys Smith as Riff Raff, Beth Stokes as Magenta, James Southee as The Narrator and Hollie Morris as Columbia who were joined by the whole ensemble as they performed the well-known dance moves with gusto and enthusiasm.
After that there was another change of character for Hollie as she played the prim and proper Maria performing to ‘Do Re Mi’ from The Sound of Music along with the ensemble. This was a definite highlight as the cast aided by their supporters moved across the stage while acting out the lyrics with hand movements (a quite literal doe a deer) and some very inventive props!
A tribute to Dirty Dancing was next, with a spirited performance from Nathan Storey as Johnny Castle the role created by the late, great Patrick Swayze and Zara Bennett as Frances House (aka Baby) performing to ‘Time of my Life.’ This also featured some inventive breakdancing from some members of the ensemble. This was followed by a homage to the unforgettable Elvis Presley. Elvis had featured in over thirty-one films and here we had ‘Hound Dog’ performed enthusiastically by Jason Rashford dressed in Elvis’ iconic white suit complete with black bouffant wig, glasses and sporting an inflatable guitar.
Following this, there was a song from ‘Hairspray’ which was a witty performance from Brianna Sprague of ‘Good Morning Baltimore.’ Featuring ensemble members literally interpreting the lyrics with some dressed as rats (the rats at my feet) and a hilarious cameo of ‘the flasher next door’ (played by Jeff Morris) wearing a long mac,revealing a sign over his nether regions stating ‘Hello Mum’ (which brought the house down!) Brianna told the story beautifully as the sparky Tracy Turnblad accompanied with a bevy of beauties ‘The Hairspray Dancers’ (Sara Sprague, Beth Stokes, Alicia Kearns, Maria Michael, Linda Wilson, Jojo Robinson, Becky Murray, Lucy Baptist, Courtney Brumpton and Mandy Ashley) spraying clouds of water across the stage to represent hairspray.
Then bang up to date with the hugely talented soloist and master storyteller, Thomas Marron, who treated us to ‘A World of Your Own’ from the new movie Wonka. Sporting a top hat and dressed in a purple and gold suit, made by Linda Wilson, Thomas effortlessly sang interpreting the lyrics with panache and confidence another definite show highlight.
Another new musical and the true story of wannabe drag queen Jamie New from the musical ‘Everyone’s Talking About Jamie.’ Here we had a feisty confident performance from Josh Lane dressed in a pink polka dot dress and gold sequin shoes. He danced around the stage performing to the upbeat ‘You don’t Even Know It’ joined by the whole ensemble. I especially liked the boys versus girls’ routine as they cat called each other in turn with the ladies using their little fingers to highlight the boys’ shortcomings!
In the finale, we came full circle with the rainbow theme from the beginning with ‘Over the Rainbow’ to the last song ‘The Rainbow Connection’ featured in the Muppet Movie, sung by Thomas Marron with Jason Rashford providing supporting vocals. They were then joined by the whole ensemble to finish the show which was so popular they did an encore and three curtain calls.
A production like this cannot run without the unstinting support of the people behind the scenes but especially the enablers on stage. They subtly supported each cast member so that they could fully participate in the show and seamlessly joined in the dance numbers. As Sara Sprague pointed out, there was only a cast of 19 but there were 46 people on stage. Well done to the creatives for all their hard work behind the scenes. Paige Ruddlesdin for her imaginative and inventive choreography, creative director, Kei Bailey, for his direction and acting as compere, business manager, Lynn Kendall and production co-ordinator Maria Michael.
Stardust Theatre Group truly believe that everybody should have the opportunity to reach their full potential and live out their dreams. They help people find ‘their rainbows’ and be all the colours they want to be. Another proud moment for Sara and Kei and the sheer joy in the faces of the cast was wonderful to see as they performed yet again on a real stage in front of a very enthusiastic and appreciative audience.
Their next show will be their annual pantomime in March, Thumbelina.