The Melody Blog

3 stars

***

Once you get over the sheer improbability of the whole premise (and the copy of the Truman Show) this actually starts to become quite a good show. This is mainly due to the music and the musicians, … Read More

Pollyanna

2 stars

**

I must confess I have no idea who Eleanor Porter was or her Pollyanna character which inspires this show. But as an audience member going to see a show I shoudn’t have to. So it takes a … Read More

Showchoir! The Musical

5 stars

*****

Thu 25th performance.

I don’t need to say this is essentially ‘Glee, the musical’. What I will say is that it is superbly done. The singing and harmonies are sensational, direction and choreography tight and slick and the characterisations … Read More

13

4 stars

****

This was excellent, despite being cut down! I must commend the singing, it’s a vocally hard show and the cast did themselves proud with excellent technique and diction. It’s an ensemble show and everyone did their bit with … Read More

Cluedo the Musical

4 stars

****

An accomplished performance from this youth group of a show based on the board game (and not dissimilar in idea to Kander & Ebb’s ‘Curtains’). The cast do a good job overall although it’s fair to say … Read More

Constance & Sinestra

5 stars

*****

To paraphrase Little Shop – what a strange and interesting show!

This is absolutely lovely – quirky, interesting, intruiging characters and a delightfully different story.

Musically there are backing tracks and live music and a mix of … Read More

The Hot Mikado

3 stars

***

Oh dear… The Hot Mikado is usually a great show, full of tongue-in-cheek humour and hot, jazzy music. However this version has been bastardised and chopped more than a pound of mince, squeezing essentially a ‘greatest hits’ … Read More

Fresher the Musical

3 stars

***

This is getting rave reviews and won the best new musical award last year… but I was just bored. The characters are typical stereotypes, the plot predictable and the music bland.

However the actors are all excellent … Read More

Apply Within

3 stars

***

A musical about job interviews and CVs doesn’t sound too inspiring however the show does have a few laugh-out-loud moments. Many of the songs are forgettable and formulaic however a couple stand out – the nervous tick … Read More

The Last 5 Years

2 stars

**

The Last 5 Years is such a hard show to do – essentially a series of solos it can so easily become boring and also potentially confusing if you don’t realise that Cathy’s story goes backwards. … Read More