Footloose the Musical on UK Tour, Marina Theatre, Lowestoft

Hello, I hope everything is well with you all. On Saturday 27^th February 2016 Me and My Beez (Kayleigh) went to the Marina Theatre to see the matinee performance of the UK Tour of Footloose the Musical (a.k.a. Footloose). It was a fabulous day out, with great music, amazing dancing and some great singing; as well as the well-deserved catch up between me and me Beez. Apart from the panto last year this is the first musical from the Marina that has featured in the blog. I have also noticed a few great shows coming up this year at the Marina and I hope to be there and to share my thoughts and experiences with you (particularly Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tell Me on a Sunday starring Jodie Pregner and the hilarious and riskay musical that is Avenue Q). After the performance me and the Beez went to my favourite restaurant Sgt Pepper’s for a lovely meal and a well needed catch up. We had a bit of a shock when we entered the restaurant and they said there wasn’t any tables. I just stood there in shock and I think the waiter was confused as to why I didn’t leave the restaurant HAHA! However in the end they found us a table, which was so lucky as we were so looking forward to the meal. I think the funniest thing of the meal, apart from the rubbish lip synchs I was doing to some great 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s hits, sorry Tina Turner. Sorry I have totally changed track, the funniest thing was when the waiter wanted to clear the plates, I looked at him like he was a burglar and as he said is everything ok I said “Can I just eat my orange please” – HAHA! I think you may have had to be there but it was funny. We did find out though that the cast went to the local Weatherspoon’s (Joseph Conrad) between shows; fuming with myself. I think it was a sign when Sgt Pepper’s said no tables available – gutted. I hope the whole cast enjoyed their week at the Suffolk coastal town of Lowestoft, gutted I couldn’t say hi at the Conrad.

 

 

For those of you who do not know what Footloose the Musical is about (and if you are one of these people what the hell have you been doing lol!). The musical is based on the 1984 film of the same name (and I didn’t know that the film was loosely based on a real place in Oklahoma, Elmore City – I hope that they now enjoy music and dancing, especially being in a state that is also one of the best and loved musicals ever, Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!). Classically starring Kevin Bacon as young Ren who moves from the city to a remote and rural town where dancing and rock and roll music has been banned and is illegal and sees him try to change the town’s views on this. We all love Kevin Bacon, especially those Jack McFarland fans who became a bit of a stalker of Bacon. We love the song Footloose, and Will and Grace fans will be familiar with the dance Bacon does when he stars at a guest appearance in one of the episodes. The musical first hit the UK in 2004 on a national tour before it ended up in the West End in 2006 for a short lived run. The West End production starred Cheryl Baker, best known for Bucks Fizz as Vi Moore. Speaking of Bucks Fizz, Eurovision selection was on BBC on Friday night and well done to Joe and Jake for winning and I hope you win it for the UK in Sweden this year. Massive Eurovision fan here and on May 14^th it will be hitting our screens. Other famous faces to grace the Footloose stage included David Essex and Maureen Nolan who stars in the current production. Footloose received no Olivier nominations although was nominated for four Tony’s; winning none L.

 

The stage adaptation is by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, with music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pritchford (additional lyrics provided by Kenny Loggins, Jim Steinman, Sammy Hagar and Eric Carmen). Footloose the musical is great for those who like a bit of 1980’s rock and roll, and supporting the underdog. Obviously the title song, Footloose, is a classic and as expected the whole audience at the end of the musical are dancing with the cast to Footloose. Me and the Beez sing it, FOOT-ER-LOOSE! It just has a better ring to it don’t you think. Try it next time you hear it. Kenny Loggins sung the original hit in 1984, reaching number 6 in the UK charts. The score for Footloose uses some of the great songs of the 1980’s and the songs fit nicely within the story playing out on stage. Obviously footloose is a favourite, but actually does not fit within the overall story per se although captures the overall essence of the show. The song starts and ends the show perfectly, although I do want to learn those foot movements. Holding out for a Hero is a really good scene, and sees the character of Willard (played here by Gareth Gates) have his dungarees torn off and oh my Gareth Gates does have a nice body, phaw. I can’t actually remember what the girls were doing on the stage my eyes were sort of mesmerised. I absolutely loved the Act 1 finale with I’m Free/Heaven Help Me; this is a great scene, with fantastic dancing and a great song(s). Let’s Hear it for the Boy is another favourite song of mine and sees the teaching of dance to Willard. My Beez’s favourite song in the show is Almost Paradise; which is a love song between Ren and Aerial.

 

I have to say the choreography in Footloose is great, well-crafted and utilises the whole stage. I don’t think I am being offensive when I say the Marina is not the biggest theatre in the country nor is it a massive stage, however the Footloose cast and creative team consume the whole of the stage and every inch has a dance move on. The cast really work hard and give the audience a great experience; I have to admit my toes were tapping throughout the show. Matthew Cole is the choreographer and he has really executed his talent over the show. Cole has also been working on the Guys and Dolls production at the Savoy Theatre which is going on another UK tour (got my tickets booked for the production at Norwich Theatre Royal). As the storyline concerns dance I guess it is expected to have a great chorography. With overall direction from Racky Plews the cast are amazing. Obviously Gareth Gates and Maureen Nolan star in the production; however neither of them, I thought, have a massive part and they don’t sing all that often which was a bit weird I guess. Gates, first hitting fame when he was runner-up of the 2002 Pop Idol series, plays the stereotypical southern car mechanic Willard, stupid but gorgeous always chewing on a toothpick. I have to say I was surprised that Gates could deliver a really comedic role and I was pleasantly impressed with this. Gates moved into the world of musical theatre in 2009 and has played some huge roles such as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Marius in Les Misėrables, also starring in Legally Blonde. I love Maureen Nolan, seeing her play the role of Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers. I don’t think Nolan was able to show off her full talent playing the role of Vi Moore as she doesn’t have enough singing parts in Footloose and nothing like such a song as ‘Tell me It’s Not True’ from Blood Brothers.

Luke Baker takes the lead as Ren and he is fantastic. A great actor spanning the whole spectrum of emotions on stage, a fabulous singer and he can also dance. I saw Baker in Sunny Afternoon where he was understudy for the lead role. I also felt that Baker had a bit of a Kevin Bacon flare about him, with the hair and face. The voice that stole the show for me was Joanna Sawyer’s who played Rusty. She becomes Willard’s girlfriend (it must be so hard to kiss Gareth Gates every day and get paid for it J). Her voice is phenomenal, really powerful and really shows with solos and hearing her over the joint singing parts. Really great voice and I think it won’t be long until the West End sees Sawyer make her debut. The ruggedly handsome Matthew Tomlinson plays Chuck, the thug of the show who uses his brawn to get what he wants. Tomlinson plays the role fantastically, with a good voice, gorgeous eyes and the flexibility to bend his body – ouch! I also wondered whether Tomlinson’s sleeve of tattoos were fake or real? And also thanks to Tomlinson for his Twitter support. The whole cast are great and on a last note I did think Nicky Swift played a blinder; playing three very different characters she did this with such ease and really added individuality to each of her characters.

What I did love about Footloose is like other musicals I love, Sunny Afternoon and Once, the whole cast (minus Nolan) play instruments on stage and effectively make up the orchestra. Either as part of a scene or surreptitiously at the side of the stage each cast member plays at least one instrument. From the piano to the guitar, flue to the harmonica and the clarinet to the oboe, it is all seen on stage. With the musical director, David Keech, up in the corner on his drums he also leads the orchestra through each performance. I absolutely love when the cast play instruments on stage and it works so fantastically in this show. The other commendation to the production is its use of levels. The whole visual field was used at some point during the show. Whether it was climbing up an old building or hiding in the car there was something to see everywhere. The staging was great and bad at the same time. It was great as the transitions to scenes were great and classically manufactured. However at some points I could see the staging people preparing the next scene which was a shame. Also the confetti at the end kept falling throughout the whole show which was annoying. Some of the staging/props also looked a bit shabbily made however the great acting, singing and dancing of the cast made up for this massively.

All in all Footloose the Musical is a great show to go and see. Have a dance to some rock and roll songs and have a boogie yourself at the end. The current production is touring until October 2016 so there is plenty of time to get your tickets. Be aware that Mr Gareth Gates will NOT be performing from April 16^th till June 20^th and from 10^th to the 27^th of August (Nolan tours throughout). Big cities you can see this tour include Cambridge, Oxford, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Bristol and Blackpool (plenty of other places). So go and support the need to dance!!!

Thank you and get in touch

@AaronBurgess89

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert on UK Tour

Hello fellow musical bloggers. It’s been a while and I hope you all are having a positive, healthy and enjoyable 2016. I cannot believe we are in February already. It has been a quiet couple months in regards to the theatre and musicals (for me anyhow) however there is plenty planned over the next few months so you will read much more from me now. Also there is so much I want to see but haven’t booked yet this year including Mrs Henderson presents, The War of the Worlds, Beverley Knight taking her role in The Bodyguard and I hear today Show Boat returns to the West End after a 20 year break. I hope also that some of you saw the musicals that were shown over the Christmas period, the live production of The Sound of Music and the recorded version of Gypsy staring Imelda Staunton and more recently Grease live which I have recorded but still have not yet seen. Well the first (official) post of 2016 is going to be about Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical (shortened to Priscilla from here on in – my blogs are getting longer as it is!). I went with my Mother and sister Fern and two long-standing practically family friends, Auntie Wendy and Ellen on Friday 12^th February 2016. We met in a local pub for a drink, food and catch up prior to heading off to the Norwich Theatre Royal for the 8:15 (late!) showing of Priscilla. The funny thing at the pub was that Mother got chatted up by a very well-oiled guy celebrating his birthday; what a knob! Small anecdote before we get down to business. This was not the first time I had seen Priscilla on stage, first seeing it either in 2009 or 2010 for my Birthday with a second time seeing it in Leeds on its first UK Tour in 2013. Well when I saw the flyers, emails and posters about Priscilla returning for a second UK tour in 2015-16 I definitely wanted to get tickets; Priscilla is now the third-most frequently show I have seen so does this make it part of my top 5 favourites – not sure?

 

 

Priscilla is the perfect musical for people that want to have a laugh, sing along to the songs, have some moral understanding of LGBTQ communities and rights, love drag and have a passion for Disco. Priscilla takes you on a journey of friendship, love, family and homophobia. It focuses on two drag queens and a transgendered woman who travel from Sydney to Alice Springs to get away from the burdens of city life and have a break while putting together their new drag show. Their journey takes place on a bus, known as Priscilla. The musical is based on the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The musical takes some songs from the original film score as well as some new arrangements of some pop and disco classics to fit within the story of these three friends and the people they meet along their way. Stephan Elliott (director and writer of the original film) and Allan Scott write the book for Priscilla. Stephen Murphy oversees the orchestrations and musical arrangements of the songs with the performance directed by Simon Phillips. Priscilla takes thirty well-known disco and pop hits and musically rearranges them to create one fantastic disco-pop-tastic musical. My Mother’s favourite song is early on in the show, ‘I’ve Never Been to Me’ (which does not feature in American versions of the musical and is replaced by It’s Raining Men); I love this song and it just reminds me of my Mother’s wonderful singing voice – that must be where I get mine from. Other well-known favourites include Downtown, I Say a Little Prayer, Go West, Colour My World, I Will Survive, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Finally. I have looked on a certain well known downloadable music service but cannot find the cast album however certain CDs can be found on the web although some are rather pricey; remember depending on whether you get the Australian or American album will vary the songs you get – unfortunately the original London cast did not record an album.

 

The original London production only won one Olivier Award, despite its three nominations. Best Costume Design went to Tim Chapel and Lizzy Gardiner and I think they definitely deserved this award. I have never seen costumes like it in anything I have seen before. The musical definitely embraces the costumes/dresses seen in the film but goes that one step further. I don’t want to give too much away but flip flops and footballs are definitely featured in this backstage wardrobe. The songs ‘MacArthur Park’ and ‘Colour my World’ are accompanied by the ensemble dressed as cakes and paintbrushes respectively and the costumes in the finale really see the Australian culture come out with costumes representing bearded dragons, koala bears, ostriches and kangaroos. There is also some skimpy clothing worn by male members of the cast and I honestly cannot remember Priscilla being so raunchy in the previous two visits, maybe they have ‘sexed’ it up or maybe I was mesmerised and just cannot remember. Make-up design is by Cassie Hanlon and Priscilla adopts a stick on mask approach what with the multiple costume changes and the need to get make up on and off so quickly. Whether it was because we were sat so close to the stage or the masks weren’t as good in previous performances, it was just very obvious that the cast were wearing these make-up masks and it sort of took the illusion away which was a shame. I think a lot of the photo shoots use actual drag make-up whereas the performance uses these masks.  

 

Part of the performance incorporates an audience participation element – oh yes and do I love my participation moments. SPOILER ALERT: At the start of Act 2 ten audience members are collected during the interval and asked to go dance on stage. The previous two performances I saw (West End and Leeds) I was asked to go and join the cast for a dance. It was so much fun, a brief barn dance with the ensemble cast. I suggested to our party if we hover in the bar during the interval we may be approached. Well I saw the cast enter the bar, take one look at me acting like a weird teenager meeting Justin Bieber (i.e. I was clearly an over excited fan) and they walked right past me (I am sure I heard one of them say ‘definitely not’ or maybe it was just me being paranoid). Well I said to Ellen and Fern “looks like we aren’t getting on the stage this time”. We stand there, minor depression setting in, and the dance captain (Matt Crandon) and assistant dance captain (Amy di Bartolomeo) approached us, they had come back. I knew what was coming and before they asked me I basically said yes and signed Ellen (who was more than willing) and my sister (who was not willing) to go on stage and dance the barn dance. It’s so much fun and I love being a part of Priscilla in this way. Although this does mean I have never seen the opening of Priscilla Act 2 – now I feel I am missing out. I think Robin Mills (a member of the ensemble cast0 drew short straws as he had two left footed moi to dance with; so I apologise for that but I also thank you for dancing with me and allowing me for a third time to briefly join the cast.

 

Talking about members of the cast Jason Donovan stars in this production of Priscilla; funnily enough each time I have seen Priscilla, Donovan has starred in the role of Tick/Mitzi. I am a big fan of Donovan’s voice and particularly enjoy listening to him on the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat cast recording I own. I have to say Donovan was not at his best on this evening and looked tired and dare I say it, aged. Duncan James is due to take over the role of Tick/Mitzi at certain venues and I would have liked to see him; his body in that flip flop dress is pretty hot (Google It!). Adam Bailey takes on the role of Adam/Felicia and he can camp it up which is what we all expect from this role. A good singer, great thighs and a pretty impressive camp Australian accent he did the role justice. For me Simon Green stole the show with his performance as the transgendered Bernadette. He had the attitude and determination we all expect from Bernadette and he could sing. I also enjoyed the fact he looked like he was enjoying it the most at the curtain call and for me that’s a really important part to know who you pay good money to see enjoy themselves and putting all they have into it. Philip Childs (who looked really familiar) plays Bob and I loved Julie Yammanee who plays Cynthia and her ‘Pop Muzik’ song. For those of you that have not seen Priscilla, Cynthia does something involving ping pong balls, and let’s put it this way no table tennis takes place on the stage at Priscilla. Well guess who went a bloody caught one of the ping pong balls – Auntie Wendy; and Wendy being the delight and kind-hearted woman she is gave me the ping pong ball knowing how much of a musical theatre fan I am. Thank you Auntie Wendy, it currently sits on my bedside table. The Divas were fantastic and they never get as much credit as they deserve as they often sing off stage or dangling from the ceiling. The full ensemble cast were great and it takes some talent to go from queeny screamy gay to butch thug from a ‘local village’ within a matter of scenes. The final cast member who deserves his own mention was Solomon Read, he was so adorable as Benji.

 

I think I have got everything down I wanted to. It’s been a while since I wrote a post and I need to get back into the swing of things; plus I am sure they are getting longer. Priscilla is currently playing in Spain, New Zealand, Norway and Japan visiting France soon. The current UK tour is due to finish in June 2016 and I think Donovan has now finished his stint being taken over by Duncan James with Darren Day at a couple of the venues. If you have not seen Priscilla it is definitely worth a visit, you honestly feel so alive and warm and just good when you leave Priscilla and even if you have seen it why not get your disco and pop socks back on and go again. It really is a musical you can get involved with, literally if you want in Act 2.  

Thank you

Fine me on Twitter @AaronBurgess89