On the evening of the 28th
November 2016 moi and le boyfriend, Ben, went to the Norwich Theatre Royal to
see the touring version of the smash hit West End musical, The Commitments. I
have to say we are quite enjoying our early week evenings popping to the NTR
for a glass of vino and a musical show; plus the silly pictures and videos we
take. Well we had a really great night; even the encore at the end by the cast
was thoroughly welcomed, despite the urgency for the loo. I first went to see
The Commitments in October last year with Nanny Cora at The Palace Theatre
where it was coming to end of its run (and just as this blog was starting out –
check out the previous blog here). I remember when I wrote the previous blog
post for this that I said I liked the musical but was not blown away by it. I
had recently seen Sunny Afternoon in London at the time and, for me, this was a
much better musical centring on a band. FYI Sunny Afternoon is due to arrive
next year on tour at Norwich Theatre Royal so keep your eyes out for this.
Despite saying this I really had a great time at The Commitments and found it
much more entertaining the second time around. Maybe it was more familiar this
time or being in a smaller theatre making it a much more intimate or maybe it
was something else, who knows.
The Commitments is based on the 1987
novel by Roddy Doyle which later was transformed into a musical film in 1991.
The book, musical film and stage adaptation tells the story of a young Irish
soul fan who wants to assemble his own soul band in the mid-1980’s in Dublin.
He has a mix of characters that want to be in his band, and as you can guess
it, with a mix of individual personalities there are bound to be some fall
outs, romances and eternal friendships. The Commitments is known as a jukebox musical
and takes some of the most classic songs from the soul era and transforms them
all into a visually fantastic story/musical. There are over 40 fantastic soul
songs that feature in this musical and no way can I name them all; see the
previous post for a few. But it is fantastic to hear all these classic tunes
amalgamated into an on-stage musical. As I discussed with Judy Foster, Norwich
Theatre Royal’s communications officer on the night, it was absolutely
brilliant hearing all these songs transformed into a modern musical. A couple of
my favourites were Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High, and I think one of
the ones that got Ben toe-tapping (LOL!) was Think, of course by Aretha; other
soul classics feature are those by James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Smokey
Robinson. It is an absolute gem; the only problem is that with so many classic songs
some of them are not played in full and only feature as a small reference point
in the show.
With direction, additional staging
and choreography by Caroline-Jay and Denise Ranger this musical will definitely
entertain even the slightest soul fan, let alone a real fanatic. I really liked
the set of The Commitments; it stuck very close to its West End version which I
believe is really important for a touring production. Soutra Gilmour (also
costume designer) transforms the stage frequently from a decrepit garage to a
less decrepit stage. However saying this it really gives the audience the
honest and authentic raw nature of seeing a live band. I have to say there weren’t
many changes from the West End version and it is just as good (and even better
in my mind) on tour. As with any musical that tries to recreate live bands and
singers there has to be that lighting effect that makes you feel like you are actually
at a real gig. Jon Clark definitely achieves this, despite nearly blinding us
all at the end during the encore.
A few of the main guys in the
musical have joined the touring cast from their time on the show in London. I
saw Brian Gilligan in the role of Deco at the Palace Theatre who reprises his
role on this tour. He originally played Billy Moody in the musical however he
is much better suited in the role of Deco. Although his character is a bit of a
difficult band-mate, nicest way to put it I think, I really enjoy his singing
voice and energy on stage. Gilligan is also a very big crowd pleaser during the
encore which really ends the show on a feel good footing. The non-singing
character in the musical, Jimmy Rabbitte, is played by Andrew Linnie, who
originated the role of Dean, but later played the role of Jimmy too and I
cannot remember if it was him I saw when I went in London. But he is a great character
and actor, just a shame he doesn’t have one full song. The role of Jimmy’s Da
(and Caretaker) is played by Kevin Kennedy, best known for his role as the sex
symbol Curly for many years in Coronation Street, alongside one of my favourite
British acting talents, Sarah Lancashire. I was supposed to see Kennedy in the
role of Pop in We Will Rock You at The Dominion, but he wasn’t there the night
I went which was a shame. So I was really looking forward to seeing him in The Commitments.
The only problem was he isn’t in it much. He is definitely the funny character
in the show, with his Irish swearing, but a lack of scenes and singing was a
little disappointing.
The remaining characters of the
band are all very talented musicians and as many of you know as I repeat this
all the time I really enjoy it when the characters play musical instruments
live on stage (of course when it is relevant and adds to the show). This definitely
is needed as you can well assume in The Commitments but it is great. The
transitions from practicing in the garage to being at a gig are very smooth. I
also love the female backing singing trio, the Committmentettes (not sure on
spelling) as I did in the original West End performance. This time the trio
were portrayed by Amy Penston (as Natalie), Leah Penston (as Imelda;
coincidence or sisters – not sure?) and Christina Tedders (as Bernie). These three
have great stage presence and really soulful singing voices which was lovely.
If you love soul music, or even
just enjoy some of that style of music The Commitments is a great show to see,
especially while this fantastic West End revival is right on the Norfolk doorstep.
As Ben said it is actually a really good feel-good musical and it makes you
smile and laugh throughout; and even a bit of dancing maybe (I am sure me and
Nanny Cora had a boogie in the Palace seats). The show is at the NorwichTheatre Royal until Saturday 3rd December. There are limited seats for
the remaining performances, 7:30 on the evenings and a 2:30 matinee on the
Saturday. Check out the theatre website for what’s on for the rest of the year
and remember this year’s panto, starring ballet dancer Wayne Sleep, Jack and
the Beanstalk starts on December 13th – it’s nearly CHRISTMAS!!!
Please get in touch, would love to hear from some of you @AaronBurgess89.
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