The Sound of Musicals

Many years ago I reviewed a Gatwick Airport production and this is the first time I have seen one to match it. This fabulous showcase of musical numbers, which I had anticipated would consist wholly of songs from shows staged by BROS over the past 20 years or more, was a surprise from start to finish. I estimate that less than a quarter fell into that category many of which were very new and some I had never heard before. The twenty-four piece band accompanied brilliantly, turning what might have been called an amateur production into something quite outstanding.  In fact the whole show was so professional I doubt you would see better on the London stage. The stage management along with good lighting and clever set design ensured the continuity was smooth. The costumes for act one were brilliant for their opening number of ‘The Greatest Showman’, for ‘Finding Neverland’ and ‘Barnham’ and all their great choices of numbers and changed completely for Act 2 when they were either discreet, smart, amusing, glamorous, or casual to suit the mood of the moment. Certainly there was something in this wide ranging programme to appeal to everyone in the audience.

In Act One, following ‘The Greatest Showman’ the company sang ‘Supercalifragilistic’ a rousing number full of life and vitality and this was smoothly followed by a beautiful duet from Tony and Shaun, a couple of solos from Caroline and Helen and ‘Into the Fire’ from the Scarlet Pimpernel sung by the Gentlemen. Tucked away in this first half were 2 delightful pieces by the youngsters of  Knightstar Productions, a duet ‘I will be There’ from The Count of Monte Cristo movingly sung by Shaun and Caroline which lead us into the finale of act one with the entire company bringing the stage alive lead by Richard, Shaun, Caroline and Helen with further pieces from The Greatest Showman and Finding Neverland.

Act two opened with a very different feel to it with a complete change of costumes. This half was made up of individual numbers, lead by Jodie, Adam, Amy and Maria to name but a few, from many different shows, some of which I had never seen, most of them including the company. Knightstar Juniors made two more appearances, again very polished despite their young age, and in complete contrast Liz and Julie performed ‘The Grass is always Greener’ a type of duologue from Woman of the Year. Mamma Mia is always a great favourite and Abi, Julie and Vikki in the Dancing Queen, in their fabulous costumes, was no exception and the company, again brilliantly costumed, in ‘Our Favourite Son’, was another winner. The evening finished with the company performing from 42nd Street in yet another set of outstanding costumes. I don’t know who planned the programme or chose all the ingredient but my congratulations to all who planned this outstanding evening.

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