Monday, October 14

Tag: Beyond Broadway

Cats: The Beyond Broadway Experience – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Scotland

Cats: The Beyond Broadway Experience – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

This production of the iconic stage musical, Cats, is brought to us by a huge cast of accomplished young performers The programme lists 31 principals and 161 ensemble members. This is a truly ambitious production, with challenging songs and movement, and the cast rise to the occasion, showcasing their impressive dance, vocal and acting skills. The show is comprised of a series of “chapters”, each introducing us to either a character, or an aspect of the community of Jellicle Cats. At the interval, some audience members told me that they were struggling to follow the story, but perhaps it is better to think of the piece as a collection of interconnected stories. As Grizelda, Kirsty Montgomery has the challenge of singing the haunting song, Memory. As well as being vocally demanding, t...
Bring It On: The Musical – Festival Theatre
Scotland

Bring It On: The Musical – Festival Theatre

This was a blast! The Beyond Broadway franchise does it again; bringing together no fewer than 250 tinnies, teenies and young adults to the Festival Theatre stage following an intensive two week, acting, singing and dancing summer school. Can they pull off this huge and extremely challenging and technical show? Of course they can, and then some! Loosely based on the year Y2k American teen comedy motion picture of the same name, Bring It On: The Musical first saw the light of day in January 2011, where it opened to mixed reviews. Put together by such illuminated Tony-winners as writer Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), Composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights, Hamilton) and composer Tom kit (Next To Normal), this Musical certainly has a rich pedigree – but is not well known, and r...