Thursday, September 19

Tag: Ellen Kane

A Chorus Line – The Lowry
North West

A Chorus Line – The Lowry

In 1975, choreographer Michael Bennett turned taped interviews with Broadway dancers into a pioneering musical by giving a voice to those historically-unsung background performers. Having enjoyed a return to Curve, Leicester, A Chorus Line begins its summer tour at The Lowry. As part of the final audition stage for an upcoming production’s ensemble, seventeen hopefuls pitch themselves- and their talent- to director Zach (Adam Cooper) whose final casting decisions will cut their number down to eight. The pieces runs without an interval to mimic the real-time duration of the audition. Collective ambition is energetically established thorough the opening song I Hope I Get It. Sitting through every auditionee’s introduction (name, age, a bit about themselves) after this may border on ted...
Legally Blonde – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
London

Legally Blonde – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

It’s inspiring when women want to be more than a pretty face, which is the popular appeal of Legally Blonde. Based on the 2001 movie, Lucy Moss has revamped the story for today’s audience, while still keeping the nostalgia cues alive for those who love the original. The plot is simple: boy ditches girl because she’s not clever enough for him and his glittering Harvard Law School career. Girl decides to prove him wrong and turns her fun, party life around securing a place at Harvard where the plan is to win back the douche-bag by proving she’s not an air-head, but a totally ass-busting-legal-whizz. For me, that’s the first (of many) yawning stereotypes and a source of friction, but I tried to set my morals aside and get into the fizzy, fun time. This is a big stage production and the ...