Posts tagged musicals

Annie – Review

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Annie is one of those musicals that most fans of the genre just love. The classic award winning Broadway musical, based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip, always has a special affection for fans, with stand out numbers such as “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life”, any revival is sure to be the talk of the town. The smash-hit production of Annie, straight from the West End, is currently on at the Manchester Opera House for two weeks and our intrepid reporter went to find out what the fuss was all about.

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Saturday Night Fever – Review

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Saturday Night Fever is one of those bona fide classics. The film starring John Travolta was a gritty depiction of working class life in the Bay Ridge suburbs of the Bronx set to a genre defining soundtrack. That musical backbeat to the tribulations of Tony Manero formed the cornerstone of the phenomenon that would become disco. The stage version, currently on tour at Manchester Palace, therefore was a must see event for all those lovers of glitter balls, iconic white suits and some killer dance moves that Wigan Casino veterans would no doubt remember in their heyday.

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Fame – Review

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Nothing more typifies the 1980s than Fame! The Alan Parker musical that was later a hit TV show that chronicled the lives of students attending the High School of Performing Arts. It inspired a generation of people wearing leg warmers and lycra. The film/television series was also quite hard hitting featuring storylines that dealt with homophobia, teenage pregnancies and suicide to name but a few. It also featured the iconic theme tune from Irene Cara that was a chart topper on both sides of the Atlantic. So an 80s geeky kid like myself was never gonna pass up the opportunity to watch the stage version at the Manchester Palace Theatre.

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Mamma Mia – Review

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Not everyone likes musical theatre. However, it remains such a staple in mainstream theatre, with several established theatre houses opting to put on big extravaganzas hoping to draw in the masses. Whilst this is all well and good in the West End of London’s theatre heartland, with their array of stars and big set designs, once on tour these theatrical musical hits become a watered down version of original best sellers. Yet, despite these misgivings, shows such as these provide a wonderful evening at a theatre.

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Elf the Musical – Review

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It’s already the hottest ticket in town. The buzz on the streets started almost a year ago when The Lowry announced that it was bringing Elf the Musical to Salford as part of their Christmas program for 2018. The Broadway show debuted in the West End in 2015 and became the fastest selling show at the Dominion Theatre in its history. That fever, it would seem, has been caught by the folks up north making Elf the Musical this season’s must watch production.

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