Bring It On

I vaguely remember watching the film Bring It On with my daughter a good number of years ago and being rather bemused by a lack of story but understood the appeal of the energetic dancing. The fact that my daughter was desperate to be my guest on the night I attended made me realise that for many young people this was a trip down memory lane.

 

This production was absolutely phenomenal. The story is still predictable but to be able to sing and act whilst performing such amazing dance routines including being thrown in the air was totally mesmerising. I felt exhausted just watching you all.

 

The set on this production was brilliant and the use of the floor with seating on three sides worked wonderfully. There were no hold ups to scene changes and the use of the back of the auditorium for entrances and exits added to the speed of changes. The lighting and sound were faultless with great attention to detail especially having to light the floor area. The show being set around High School Cheerleading teams meant the costumes were in keeping with this but the other costumes were great too as were the props.

 

The band sounded fantastic under the baton of Simon Murray who had clearly worked hard to teach all the unknown songs to a young cast, many of which had not performed before.

 

The choreography was brilliant by Emma and Kaireen and the trust between the cast in the routines with acrobatic moves and high throws was amazing. I know how much work must’ve gone into these routines but believe me every minute spent on this was worth it from the audiences point of view. This is where theatre experiences are so much more inspiring than films and the cast and choreographers really pushed the boundaries.

 

The ensemble cast were superb with every single person committing to great dance moves and super vocals with some fabulous harmonies.

 

Ellie Birtles was stunning in the lead role of Campbell with super acting, vocals and dance routines. She epitomised the role of an all American cheerleader and interacted well opposite her fellow cast members. I loved “What was I Thinking” and “Enjoy the Trip” a great duet with Randall played by Sam Maurice who also directed the show.

 

Imogen Hart was brilliant as the sassy Danielle. With gorgeous vocals and super acting Imogen owned this part. A fabulous performance and I look forward to seeing you in more shows in the future.

 

Macy Counsell did a brilliant job on the role of Eva. The change of character in this role from nice girl to manipulative schemer required a lot from this young actress who more than filled the part. With lovely vocals and dance moves too this was a great portrayal.

 

Jordanne Woodward was utterly brilliant as Bridget, the goofy girl who becomes the cool girl in a different set of people. Jordanne has superb comic timing and totally filled this role with comedy touches that I loved. Her vocals are gorgeous and my favourite song in the show was “It Ain’t No Thing” which had stunning vocals from all three actresses. A great job Jordanne.

 

The two other actresses on the song “It Ain’t No Thing” were played by Katherine Farrow and Tashion Ezekiel who were both excellent in their roles as Nautica and La Cienega. Their attitudes and performing were super and totally believable and added to that great moves and vocals from both.

 

Kira Richardson was totally fantastic playing Skylar the bitchy leader of the original team. Her attitude was brilliant in this role and her put downs were cutting in their delivery making me dislike her so much. Good job I know you Kira or I would be a bit scared of you. Great acting.

 

Helen Claire Rose played Skylar’s side kick Kylar who follows her around and tries to emulate her but is a much softer person. Helen portrayed this really well and played well opposite Kira. Their songs sounded great and there were some super dance moves too.

 

The supporting cast of boys was well led by Sam Maurice as Randall who sounded great with Ellie Birtles on “Enjoy the Trip”. Jamie Coyne was both cute and funny as Twig, Liam Bunka playing cool Steven did a good job with both acting and dancing and Cameron was nicely played by Joe Birtles.

 

The direction by Sam Maurice worked really well with good use of entrances, exits and use of the floor allowing the audience to feel the energy of the cast. It was a great evening’s entertainment which left me exhausted just watching this young cast show off their amazing talents. Well done to everyone involved both onstage and backstage for providing a seamless show and to the Production team for supporting these young performers to stretch their boundaries which paid off handsomely.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.