West End Winners - A Musical Compilation

As ever, the leadership of this youth theatre have shown amazing creativity in creating this evening of show hits, with good links between the numbers and lovely characterisations of the performers. The singers were well chosen and everyone played their parts really well.

The direction was very well organised and planned, with a smooth flow of performers from one number to the next. The setting of central and side steps with a back rostrum was well devised and allowed everyone to be seen. The gold stars decorating the proscenium arch were a lovely idea, and reflected the star quality of the songs and shows nicely. This theme was greatly enhanced by the use of a (gold) star gobo on the (gold) curtains and a star curtain at the back for some numbers. Hence the variety of styles of music and performance was reflected in the décor and lighting to very good effect.

The set was highly versatile, with small additions creating effective scenes. This gave a lot of room for movement in ensemble numbers and room to set up the market place for ‘Belle’. The steps in the centre of the stage gave good variety to height of performers, and suggested red-carpet walkways at times.

The sound was very good, with only a few misses on the radio mics, while the small orchestra played very competently. Just at times timings were unclear and the lack of a conductor confused the youngsters on stage. I would suggest that a little more emphasis and strength on the beat would help these young performers find their way in the music.

The lighting was exceptionally good, on the whole with smooth changes to mood and energy. The use of spotlights was very well done, and the star gobo lighting the stage looked great. I particularly liked the use of light sets onstage here – not dazzling but altering the warmth of the stage mood at times.

The costumes for the show were remarkable in their number, colour co-ordination and quality: vibrant colours added to black or white outfits brought them alive, colourful full skirts gave a 60’s feel to some numbers, and the checked shirts for ‘Oklahoma’ created the atmosphere of the show on their own. Added to the costumes were some lovely props, such as the umbrellas and the feather fans, the market stalls and gambling tables.

The choreography was very well planned and performed, with the ensemble numbers in particular very well thought through  All those canes for ‘Putting on the Ritz’ were very well controlled and the umbrellas in ‘Singing in the Rain’ were beautifully handled – even when they misbehaved! In fact, the movement onstage was very good throughout.

However, the show was made the success it is by the performers. As a community theatre group, everyone is encouraged to play a part, giving a wide variety of performance skills. The way that everyone joined in was excellent. There was rhythmical recitation, some excellent solos and very good ensemble numbers. I do hope everyone enjoyed the full run.

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