Fame
Gordon Craig Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday 28th August 2013
Set in a performing arts school during the early 1980s, Fame follows a group of students as they experience highs and lows while training. Prejudice, identity, self-worth, literacy, sexuality, drug abuse and perseverance are just a few of the issues that the musical touches on.
The Gordon Craig Theatre assembled a fantastic and experienced cast to perform this iconic show which was bursting with energy. The design was highly impressive, especially considering that the production ran for just over a week. The score remains incredibly catchy, Fame will always be one of my biggest guilty pleasures and it was delightful to see a production performed to such an incredibly high standard.
The stand out performance came from Emily Juniper who starred as Serena Katz, giving a very innocent and vocally flawless performance. Joseph Giacone owned the theatre with his enormous stage presence and bellowing vocal talents as Jose Vegas while Laura Hyde brought a great deal of humour as Mabel Washington.
Words cannot describe how perfectly Kimberley Ensor was cast as Miss Sherman. Her portrayal was fierce and her vocals were powerful, I have never previously cared so much about the character. I just wish she let go more during her terrific rendition of 'These Are My Children', she could have flung her hands into the air, instead of just standing still with some occasional half hearted movement. Hollie Cassar stood out from the cast before she was even introduced as Carmen Diaz. Her performance was fantastic, although not always consistent. She seemed to struggle throughout the final section on 'In LA', but all was forgiven when she made her dramatic return on top of a car during the finale.
Unfortunately some of the other roles were played badly with some wobbly vocals and cringey acting. It was such a shame that this wonderful production couldn't run for longer. With a couple of characters recast this production would go down a storm in London.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
andrew@westendframe.com
The stand out performance came from Emily Juniper who starred as Serena Katz, giving a very innocent and vocally flawless performance. Joseph Giacone owned the theatre with his enormous stage presence and bellowing vocal talents as Jose Vegas while Laura Hyde brought a great deal of humour as Mabel Washington.
Words cannot describe how perfectly Kimberley Ensor was cast as Miss Sherman. Her portrayal was fierce and her vocals were powerful, I have never previously cared so much about the character. I just wish she let go more during her terrific rendition of 'These Are My Children', she could have flung her hands into the air, instead of just standing still with some occasional half hearted movement. Hollie Cassar stood out from the cast before she was even introduced as Carmen Diaz. Her performance was fantastic, although not always consistent. She seemed to struggle throughout the final section on 'In LA', but all was forgiven when she made her dramatic return on top of a car during the finale.
Unfortunately some of the other roles were played badly with some wobbly vocals and cringey acting. It was such a shame that this wonderful production couldn't run for longer. With a couple of characters recast this production would go down a storm in London.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
andrew@westendframe.com
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