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Hairspray

Author: Tessa Davies

Information

Date
12th April 2017
Society
Brentwood Operatic Society Youth Theatrical Group
Venue
The Brentwood Theatre
Type of Production
Musical
Director
Gaynor Wilson assisted by James Wilson
Musical Director
Andy Prideaux
Choreographer
Katie Lawrence and Jake Bedson

I always try to attend two performances of BOSSY’s shows as the many of the Principal roles are doubled to enable as many young people as possible the chance to play a lead.  Youth Companies have a cyclical nature as the performers move on to higher education.  This production featured many new faces and it is great to see that BOSSY can continue to attract new young talent.

Hairspray was a good choice for a company containing a lot of new performers.  It resonates with this age group and the music is known and loved.  The energy from the company was terrific, I was particularly impressed with the way everyone on stage had a character and they played it well.

The two young ladies playing Tracy were both excellent, slightly different interpretations, of course, but both eminently watchable.  Holly Radford played Tracy for the first night and she caught the character really well.  Tia Stack played Tracy on the second night and she produced a great performance.  Both girls have strong singing voices and both performed their songs with confidence and great style.

Michael Percival played the part of Edna for both performances and he was terrific.  He had, obviously, spent some time studying the way such a character would stand and, even when he was not the centre of attention, he remained in character.  I loved his performance of Timeless To Me with Adam Ellis (Wilbur) this is a show stopping song and they did exactly that!   Adam’s portrayal of Wilbur was good, well timed and enjoyable to watch.  It is good to see that the two of them were confident in their performances.

The part of Link was also shared, by Dan Pugh and Sam Johnson.  Sam played the first night and he was very good indeed.   Dan gave a slightly different interpretation of the part which was just as good.  Both actors showed the range of their talent well, giving the character some dimension which is not easy with this part!

Velma was played by Ellie Lovelace and Aoife Doherty, both produced excellent performances.  This is a character part that any actress would grab with both hands and these young ladies did that, with a great look and great performances.   Amber was played by Caitlin Matthews and Grace Frost and they both brought out the essential character of the part, spoilt brat with talent!

Motormouth Maybelle was played on the first night by Debbie Millyard, a brilliant performance and her delivery of the two songs was superb.  Debbie may be tiny but she sure packs a punch in the singing department!    Tomi Bello played the part on the second night and it has been good to see Tomi’s development since her first BOSSY show 5 years ago.  Another strong performance, although her first song, Big, Blonde and Beautiful, was a little tentative but still well performed.  I would say to her, “you have the voice, just go for it” and she did with the second song, I Know Where I Have Been, delivering it with passion and authority.

Penny was played on the first night by Grace Harrington, a great characterisation.  Cloe Lee played the part on the second night and, again a great characterisation.  Jeremy Lawal-Champion played Seaweed and, although he had a tendency to rush his dialogue, the characterisation was terrific. 

The problem I have when doing these reviews is to try and keep them to a reasonable length but mention everyone who did well.  In BOSSY’s case this is the whole cast!  As I said at the beginning of this review, every single person on stage had a character and they worked that character the whole time.  This new influx of cast is very welcome and I am sure that BOSSY is still in safe hands!  As I read what I have written above, I can see that I have used the words excellent, great and superb frequently.  They are well deserved; the energy and enthusiasm of the cast is matched by their talent.

The choreography was excellent, absolutely right for the period of the show and the cast performed it well.  The small band, led by MD Andy Prideaux, was just right, supporting the singers well.  Director Gaynor Wilson does get the absolute best out of the cast, although I was unable to see the action, in the Turnblad kitchen, in the first performance as my seat, at the extreme front stage left, was blocked by the company in a freeze position.  When I saw it from a different seat in the second performance, it was fine.  However, if I had just seen the first performance I would have missed a lot! 

Lighting was good and I liked the joke with moving into the light, someone does actually read my reviews!  Unfortunately, the sound was, yet again, not up to the rest of the performance.  Although this is a small theatre and, in theory, the mics should not be needed for dialogue, there were a couple of performers who dropped their voices at the end of their sentences, so we missed some of the punchlines.  If mics are only going to be used for singing then the performer needs to maintain their projection through the whole speech, pace their speech and not rush the lines, and make sure that they are facing the audience when they are speaking.  These are small things that need to be worked on in rehearsal.  The sound tech also failed to turn the mics up quickly enough at the start, and even in the middle, of some songs.  This is just not acceptable; these young people work hard to perform and it isn’t fair if their work is hampered by the mics being turned up too late.

So, the cast was excellent, the techies may need to up their game to match!    One final note, I understand that the extra seats on the second night were not, originally, planned so well done to the cast for coping with this extra thing and playing to those seated on the sides.

I am looking forward to the next production, Les Miserables, there is plenty of talent in BOSSY and I am sure they will continue to produce excellent shows.

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