Bugsy Malone

Based on the 1976 film, Bugsy Malone the musical is set in 1920’s New York around the prohibition era.  Dandy Dan's hoodlums are terrorising the district, exterminating undesirables with their splurge guns. His rival is Fat Sam, who runs the Grand Slam Speakeasy, but Fat Sam's gang still use old fashioned pies.   CODYS Productions version of this musical was mostly set within the time period.  The costumes and props helped set location and the overall feel of the piece.

CODYS Productions are generally at the top of their game when it comes to production values and talent, however, I feel that on this occasion they have hoist in their own petard.  For me, there was a distinct lack of pace, energy and continuity to this show and at times, it was confusing.  There were various occasions when the director (Nick Cupit) missed the mark with direction.  There was a severe lack of diction and articulation from some characters which meant that vital pieces of the story were missing.  In the opening scene, one of the characters is supposed to drop one of the splurge guns which is then referred to throughout the rest of the script, however, there was no gun dropped/left behind.  In another scene, three characters came on stage wearing high-vis jackets which was not in keeping with the era and the style.  The scenes outside of the girl dancers dressing room was confusing as it contained a dressing table with lights, yet this was outside the room, not inside.  I felt that there was a distinct lack of direction, creativity and continuity which had a negative effect on the whole piece.  At times, the actors broke the fourth wall, ad-libbed and corpsed, but the worst thing was the transitions from scene to scene.  For me, it was awkward and too messy.  Some of this was evident in the scenes with the Newsreader into the subsequent scenes.  Despite all of my personal thoughts, the audience certainly enjoyed it, some even offering an ovate at the end.  The youth also looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage which made the humour stand out too. 

The musical director for this production was Simon Pickup.  For me, the band were excellent.  We could hear every part of the orchestra and it was wonderful to listen it.  The score offers various opportunities to play around with pitch, volume, rhythm and other dynamics and the band was wonderful in conveying this.  I loved the saxophonist (Dianne Hammond) who did a wonderful job.  For me, the band were the best thing about this show.

Choreography (Laura Cupit) was generally apt and sympathetic to the era and the style.  I loved the introduction of contemporary dancing within some of the scenes.  Although this was a juxtaposition, it really worked and created a great feel.  Although the choreography was a little limited, I don’t know how it could’ve been any different due to the amount of splurge on stage in dance scenes.  It would’ve made it unsafe for the dancers to have been any different.  The choreography for Fat Sam’s Grand Slam was great.

The set was great and was used well throughout.  I would’ve preferred if Fat Sam’s office was slightly lower but it still worked for me.  I found it strange having the newsreader coming on to the centre of the stage each time and felt it could’ve more inventive.  The costumes were great also (apart from the high vis).  Each costume helped establish character and style.  I’ve seen productions of this musical done without having the splurge guns and it hasn’t really been effective.  I really enjoyed the use of the splurge guns for this version.  All other props were used well.  I did notice that people only used two rings of the old-fashioned phones, but I doubt any of the audience would’ve noticed this.

The lighting was generally okay.  There were a few scenes when different coloured gels were used which I didn’t like as it didn’t look right against the authentic costumes but generally the lights were okay and well cued.  The sound was great.  I liked the blend between band, cast and the audience.  Apart from the lack of projection from certain cast members, I could hear everything that was said and sang.

The protagonist of this piece, Bugsy Malone, is a suave, cheeky chappie who captures the eye of the ladies, as well as befriending the gangsters.  Isaac Hartill played the role of Bugsy.  For me, I missed the suave and cheeky side of the character.  I wanted to feel for Bugsy and be on his side but unfortunately, I wasn’t.  Lots of the humour from the text was missed too, but I fear this was down to direction instead of character interpretation.  Despite me being picky, I did enjoy Isaac’s performance and the audience certainly did too.

Sophia Thomson played the role of Blousey Brown.  Sophia was well cast in this role and gave a strong performance.  There was a great lack of projection and energy at times, but Sophia’s vocals were simply stunning!!

Ollie White played Fat Sam.  Despite the ridiculous obvious padding, Ollie did well to convey this part.  He had nice projection and I believed that he was in charge of his crew.  Ollie also found some of the humour within the text.

Ewan Schooler gave a strong performance as Dandy Dan – the rival gangster.  Ewan was technically one of the strongest in the cast.  His diction, articulation and projection were great, and I liked some of the characteristics that he brought to the role.

Sophie Powell was well cast as Tallulah.  I felt that her character could’ve been more bitchy or sneaky with Bugsy, but overall Sophie played the role well.  Her vocals were also strong.

Harvey Farrell played the role of Fizzy.  Harvey did well to convey the put-upon pianist.  He was very cute and gave a sweet performance.  He was very good at miming playing the piano and the audience fell in love with him.  He sang well in his song (despite it being a little too low for him).

Other characters who stood out were Lena Manelli (Poppy Williams) who came on stage with brilliant energy and commitment to character and Leroy Smith (Joe Bostock) who was well cast.  I have to mention the comedy duo of Captain Smolsky (Jaime Pollard) and Lieutenant O’Dreary (Richard Connelly) who both worked well together and were very funny throughout.  O’Dreary was particularly funny and they both helped the pace and energy. 

Overall, this production was a bit of a hit and a miss for me.  I feel that with a little more guidance in characterisation and continuity, this would’ve enhanced the overall production.  One thing that really stood out was the community feel and the casts’ obvious love for being on stage.  The audience were very supportive, and the cast looked like they were having the time of their lives.  That’s what is important.  They will take away great memories of being covered in splurge every night.  I thank CODYS for their hospitality and wish them all the very best for their next production of The Battle of the Boat in March 2020.

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