Momentous Musicals (UK Tour)
New Wimbledon Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday 17th July 2013
Four West End stars, four recent drama school graduates and a mixture of songs from musicals old and new. Momentous Musicals provides a glorious evening of entertainment for any lover of musical theatre.
Theatre concert shows often run risk of being hugely cringey, I recently saw The West End Men which didn't quite work as the cast performed each song in the context of the musical it was from. However, in Momentous Musicals the cast appear more relaxed and seem to enjoy the evening. Many songs cross over, meaning there is little time for 'awkward chatter' with the audience.
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| Ashleigh Gray |
Gareth Gates is the headline performer. While he may be known for coming second in the first series of Pop Idol, over the past few years he has built up an impressive theatrical CV having starred in Legally Blonde, Loserville, Les Miserables and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Gareth is clearly at home on stage and performs each song with a great deal of passion and feeling. I particularly enjoyed his rendition of 'Corner of the Sky' from Pippin which is currently enjoying a triumphant run on Broadway. Ghost was recently adapted into a musical, providing a great excuse for Gareth to perform his 2002 chart topping version of 'Unchained Melody'.
Rachel Wooding, who is currently starring as Scaramouche in We Will Rock You, also provided superb vocals and huge stage presence. Her feisty duet with Ashleigh Gray, 'Take Me or Leave Me' from Rent, was one of the highlights of my evening.
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| John Owen-Jones |
It was great to see four recent drama school graduates, Bronté Barbé, Richard Lowe, Maggie Lynne and Cellen Chugg Jones perform as part of the ensemble. However, during the opening number 'One Night Only' the four looked a little unsure as to what they were meant to be doing and seemed to look at each other for guidance while performing the unimaginative choreography.
The four also had their own moments in the spotlight as they each performed a solo number. Bronté Barbé seemed a little nervous as she began to sing 'Over The Rainbow' from The Wizard of Oz but, eventually became lost in the music and gave a stunning rendition. Loserville's Richard Lowe gave a high energy performance of 'Santa Fe' from Newsies which left me very excited to see the musical in the West End next year. During Act Two Cellen Chugg Jones bravely took on the title song from Jesus Christ Superstar. He came across a little overconfident and I would like to have seen him hold back more. However, Cellen is clearly a very talented individual.
Maggie Lynne began the Andrew Lloyd Webber section of the show by performing a nice rendition of the title song from Whistle Down The Wind. She was then joined by John Owen-Jones to sing a beautiful version of 'All I Ask of You' from Phantom of the Opera. The Andrew Lloyd Webber section was seemingly cut short as there was no performance of 'With One Look' from Sunset Boulevard as promised.
Momentous Musicals ended with a duet between Rachel Wooding and Gareth Gates. They performed 'For Good' from Wicked. While they both gave strong vocal performances, having a male singing the song completely changes the meaning which I wasn't too fond of.
For what it is, Momentous Musicals is a great opportunity to see some very talented performers sharing a (sweaty) stage and singing some great show tunes. Momentous Musicals felt a little under rehearsed and frantic in places, but I expect this will improve as the tour continues, visiting Torquay, Bradford and Manchester.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Visit www.MomentousMusicals.com for further information and tickets.
Click here to read our review of the Momentous Musicals live cast album.
Click here to read our recent interview with Gareth Gates.
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I agree with your review, the performers were utterly brilliant and each shone. I was impressed with the variety of material, and how well each performed dealt with that!
ReplyDeleteMy main issue was a clear lack of direction, which I suspect will be what created the under rehearsed / frantic feeling you picked up on as well! There was no choreographer billed, so I can only assume that the "director" did this as well, and it was probably the low point of the night for me. Clearly the show wasn't trying to redefine this form of show, but I couldn't help but think that with a stronger (or any real) directional vision, with the talent they had this could have literally been a real winner.
However, saying that, what saved this show was the MUSIC. Goodness me, the band of only 7 literally sounded like an incredible cast album. Ashleigh Gray may as well have been singing it along with the original. George Dyer's arrangements and orchestrations were outstanding, and the Disney medley actually brought a tear to my eye! So thank goodness for the music side of the production being so excellent, and hopefully next year the rest of the production will rise up to that excellence.
I loved ALL the singers (and didn't think I'd be saying that!), loved all the song choices, and the amazing arrangements that had been done, loved the band, and I thought it was well priced. I just think it needs stronger direction to hold it together. And a good director's vision, with a narrator. My mum that came with me had never heard of some of the songs (like Newsies or Let Me Be Your Star), and it would have been nice for the show to explain them, rather than me!!!
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