Review: Miranda Sings at the Leicester Square Theatre

Miranda Sings
Leicester Square Theatre
Reviewed on Monday 9th September 2013

Mirfandas - please note this review contains spoilers!

Known for being tone deaf, badly dressed and outrageously cocky, fans of Miranda Sings (aka the Mirfandas) will not be disappointed by this bonkers theatrical experience. "I don't get Miranda Sings" I hear you cry. Miranda Sings is a comedy character created by the very clever Colleen Ballinger. While Miranda is tone deaf, Colleen is actually a classically trained vocalist.

Colleen has performed as Miranda all over the world, and is currently enjoying a week's residency at the Leicester Square Theatre. I was a little unsure as to how the YouTube sensation had put together a two hour show, but the evening is divided into segments which works nicely.

Prior to Miranda's entrance, Coleen graced the stage as herself to greet the adoring, screaming crowd before performing a couple of numbers. While I wasn't blown away by her voice, Colleen can certainly hold a tune and I was left feeling that she maybe didn't make the right song choices. After performing a comedic number, Coleen announced she would then perform Defying Gravity... during which Miranda made her grand entrance... and changed the Leicester Square Theatre forever...

Act One was dedicated to Miranda's life story. With the help of some volunteers (who acted out various scenes), props, and a slide show (which included hysterical childhood pictures) Miranda delved into her childhood. There was also a special celebrity guest appearance from Dancing On Ice Star, Matt Evers, who was subjected to one of Miranda's legendary vocal lessons.

During Act Two, in Miranda's own words, she went "back to her musical theatre roots" and performed a number from Chicago with the help of some backing dancers. She then performed an unforgettable West End medley (I would choose her version of Stomp over the West End production any day!) and as the evening drew to a close, Miranda went through some of her shockingly brilliant hate mail and received overwhelming support from the crazy crowd which was mostly made up of young teens and their parents. Miranda's ended the show by performing an incredible magic trick which enabled Colleen to show off her voice once again.

She may have called an audience member ugly, replied to hecklers by saying "I can't understand you - language barrier" and made a fuss when somebody went to the toilet during the first act, but somehow Miranda's show works. While some people simply won't get it, for Mirfandas it will be as if they've died and gone to Miranda heaven. 

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

andrew@westendframe.com

You can see Miranda Sings at the Leicester Square Theatre until Saturday 14th September 2013.
Please visit www.leicestersquaretheatre.com for further information and tickets.

Click here to read West End Frame's interview with Miranda Sings!

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