West End Heroes
Dominion Theatre
Sunday 23rd June 2013
Last night West End Heroes, a unique charity gala concert bringing West End stars and military musicians together, took place at the Dominion Theatre to raise money for Help For Heroes. The performers were accompanied by the most incredible fifty piece orchestra from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.
The evening was presented by the outrageously funny Brian Conley who did a great job at warming the audience up and keeping everybody entertained throughout. He performed a few numbers as well as performing various comedy routines which involved him picking on an innocent audience member in the front row.
Rachel Tucker was the first West End star to take to the stage. She performed the best rendition of Don't Rain On My Parade that I have ever heard. The power of her voice never fails to blow me away and her performance left me extremely excited for the release of her upcoming debut solo album.
It was great to see Daniel Boys give an effortless performance of Any Dream Will Do which he made his own. Daniel was joined by the Spitfire Kids who seemed to relish every single moment in the spotlight. It was quite something to see Mazz Murray back on the Dominion stage after she starred as Killer Queen in We Will Rock You at the theatre for an impressive nine years. She was joined on-stage by her band, Woman, who recently supported Kerry Ellis at her Palladium show. The band performed an unrecognisable version of Fat Bottomed Girls which went down a storm!
Next Wicked stars Louise Dearman and Gina Beck performed a lovely rendition of 'For Good'. It was a fantastic performance although I would love to have heard the fifty piece orchestra perform one of the show's bigger numbers.
As Act One came to an end Flight Lieutenant Matthew Little performed the best rendition of Stars from Les Miserables that I have ever heard which seemed to leave the majory of the audience open mouthed. His voice sent shivers down my spine. He was then joined by West End star Shona Lindsay to perform a stunning version of All I Ask Of You from Phantom of the Opera. Stomp then gave a special performance alongside the Royal Marines Corps of Drums before the curtain came down for the interval.
As Act One came to an end Flight Lieutenant Matthew Little performed the best rendition of Stars from Les Miserables that I have ever heard which seemed to leave the majory of the audience open mouthed. His voice sent shivers down my spine. He was then joined by West End star Shona Lindsay to perform a stunning version of All I Ask Of You from Phantom of the Opera. Stomp then gave a special performance alongside the Royal Marines Corps of Drums before the curtain came down for the interval.
Act Two began with a dazzling performance of We're In The Money from 42nd Street followed by The Overtones sweeping through the stalls to pay tribute to Frankie Valli and the four seasons with a performance of Beggin'. Next the cast of We Will Rock You performed Bohemian Rhapsody, marking the most energetic performance of the evening. The cast, lead by Oliver Tompsett, Rachael Wooding and Katie Paine, are beyond talented and their performance left me longing to see the musical again.
The cast of Spamalot had the entire audience singing along to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life before X Factor Winner Joe McElderry took to the stage to perform Somewhere from West Side Story. Although Joe struggled at first, he hit all the big notes and proved popular with the audience. Gloria Onitiri, who alternates the role of Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard performed an extremely emotional rendition of Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing, making the song her own. Musican Ellie Lomas, accompanied by Band Corporal Andy Platt, gave us a break from musical theatre with a touching performance of Feels Like Home.
As the special evening came to an end, Geronimo Rauch performed a faultless rendition of Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, his vocal talents are unbelievable. Finally, most of the evening's performers returned to the stage to sing a third Les Miserables number, Do You Hear The People Sing. It was very strange, yet powerful, to see the casts of We Will Rock You, Spamalot and 42nd Street united on stage in full costume, belting out the classic song.
As the special evening came to an end, Geronimo Rauch performed a faultless rendition of Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, his vocal talents are unbelievable. Finally, most of the evening's performers returned to the stage to sing a third Les Miserables number, Do You Hear The People Sing. It was very strange, yet powerful, to see the casts of We Will Rock You, Spamalot and 42nd Street united on stage in full costume, belting out the classic song.
West End Heroes was a huge success. The gala performance was utterly spectacular and I am sure a large amount money and awareness was raised for Help For Heroes. I would love to see the gala return as an unmissable, annual event.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
andrew@westendframe.com
Photo Credit: Claire Bilyard
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
andrew@westendframe.com
Follow @West_End_Frame
I was lucky enough to be there and it was the most inspiring evening of my life. I have my programme, flag and teddy in a safe place. It went too fast, I also hope it will be back next year!!
ReplyDeleteI have heard Joe's performance on YouTube and I don't think he struggled at all. He was great and has had some good comments on Twitter - not necessarily from fans!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is in the Spitfire Kids choir that performed there last night with Daniel Boys. We all had an amazing time and so pleased the show was a great success. Here's to many more!!!
ReplyDeleteJoe McElderry was out of his depth in this show. He couldn't pitch his beginning notes and the song he sang shouldn't have been messed about with. It doesn't need it, the lyrics are powerful enough
ReplyDeleteIt was a great night and emotional at times.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to next year !!
I just came onto your post and found it quite interesting. I am also associated with london theatre tickets, vip hospitality, london theatre tickets, london theatre packages, and manchester arena tickets
ReplyDeletelove enjoy the stuf on the same as its rarely found on internet. Thanks again for writing such a good post.