A Night At The Musical Museum

‘A Night at the Musical Museum’, written, directed and produced by Abbie Livermore, is a concept based on an idea of Abbie herself.  Inspired by a cruise (where she saw a performance on board of musicals from different eras) she has combined the traditional musical medley with a unique storyline (loosely based on the movie ‘night at the museum’) where all the exhibits come to life.  Abbie has brought together and performed with a cast of talented performers who have truly brought her vision to life.

The opening number was a rousing rendition of ‘Greatest Show’ from the musical ‘The Greatest Showman,’ with solo from Michelle Marshall, which really got the crowd clapping along.  Next, came the tour guide (Marc Skinner dressed in a sparkly silver waistcoat) reluctantly taking a group of over-excited children around the musical museum.  The Tour Guide desperately tried to get the children interested in the exhibits and his relevant snippets of information.  The children played their parts well clutching their mobile phones, taking selfies with the mannequins, complaining about being hungry and bored while all talking over each other and the poor guide!

Each musical song was presented by the mannequins (Abbie Livermore, Michelle Marshall, Lucy Nichols, Nicola Parker and Grayci-Mai Wilson), and we quickly found out that their fate was not going to be a happy one as they were soon to be removed from the museum and scrapped. The newest mannequin was warned that they must not let the tourists see them move or their secret would be out.  Well done to the girls for staying perfectly in position as those cheeky children moved around you!

Some of the songs were accompanied by choreography provided by Abbie Livermore and Michelle Marshall and some were dance routines (Dancing Through Life / Rhythm of the Night.)  All were performed well considering the available space to perform in.

Some of the standout moments for me were the use of the gauze to project scenes from Miss Saigon while visible behind the gauze the Miss Saigon mannequin (Lucy Nichols) hauntingly sang ‘The Movie in my Mind.’ Followed by the harrowing ’This Money’s Yours’ (Abbie Livermore).  I also liked ‘What it means to be a Friend’ from the musical 13 sung by the young tourists.  Michelle Marshall was a hilarious donkey from Shrek as she went around the audience pleading while singing ‘Don’t let me go.’

The use of the puppets in the song ‘Serious’ from Legally Blonde (Lucy Nichols and Grayci-Mai Wilson) was also very well done and very funny.  I also liked Nicola Parker’s ‘There are Worse things I could Do’ from the musical Grease.  The real showstopper for me, however, had to be Abbie herself belting out the iconic ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ from Funny Girl.  Abbie proved what a real powerhouse she is as her vocals soared while delivering this challenging number with ease.

At the end all the mannequins came to life and performed ‘We Built this City (on Rock and Roll) / We’re Not Gonna to Take it’ from Rock of Ages paraphrased to ‘on musicals’.  When the Tour Guide tried to radio for help each child stepped forward to defend the mannequins telling the Tour Guide and audience what musical theatre meant to them and how it made them feel. This was a very powerful, poignant moment showing that musical theatre has a future through the continued interest and talent of these ‘Stars of the Future’  The Tour Guide relented allowing the mannequins to stay, and the show finished with ‘This is My Story’ from Shrek and a reprise of ‘Greatest Show’ with everyone joining in.

The stage was set with velvet curtains and golden barriers draped with red rope which gave the impression of a museum.  Costumes were simple giving a hint of the theme of the musical and the ladies wore black dance shoes and sparkly lycra for the dance routines - green for Wicked and red for Moulin Rouge.

I was particularly impressed with the attention to detail as the audience sat at tables which had been given a theme using familiar icons and symbols to represent each musical. This really added to the whole musical experience and set the tone for the show.  Lighting and sound were provided by Martin Baines.

All in all, a very entertaining evening. Well done Langtoft Players you really brought Abbie’s vision to life by adding a different unique twist to a traditional musical revue.

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.