Oh dear, the show didn’t exactly sweep me away on the magical journey I thought would happen. It definitely brought me up at times but it didn’t sustain me and I felt a gradual downwards motion at times.
This musical I thought would take me and leave me an unforgettable experience but it didn’t, which is sad as it did have many elements working for it.
The theatrical trailer did not excite me either beforehand, it showed very limited scenes from the musical and I didn’t know what there would be
The scenery, technical wizardry, puppets and scene changes were amazing. The way it was crafted into the story throughout was very good. However at times, the scenery obscured either part of stage left or right and the actors were focused more in the middle of the stage. This meant stage left and right audiences got a poor view of all the action. I’d recommend the scenery position to be angled and pushed further back to make greater use of the stage. I am aware with touring productions, it’s a different theatre each week but at the Alexander Theatre in Birmingham, there was space on the stage to use which did not appear to be utilized.
There were times during the production that I was watching “ Wicked” one of the best shows on in the West-End, but unfortunately these moments were fleeting.
The cast members individually were good, however my particular praise on this shows go to the ensemble who acted, danced and sang and brought the show alive. Dianne Pilkington and Charles Brunton also gave good performances as the main leads.
A strong production needs good songs and whilst the songs produced for the original movie were fine at the time, it needs to be updated for a modern audience. If you imagine Frozen’s “ Let It Go” or Mary Poppins “ Step In Time”, these are iconic songs. The songs included were ok, but not good or brilliant. This is not the actors fault, they can only perform what they are given.
The first half of the show was lacklustre and there was too much dialogue, within the 5 first 10 minutes, I would have put a belting musical number in to arouse the audience. The ensemble brought scenes alive that they were in but the scenes without them lacked that magic ingredient.
The 2nd half of the show was much better, many more musical numbers and the action flowed.
If only the first half of the show could have replicated this then my review would be saying this is a good production to see.
The scenery and technical wizardry, alongside the ensemble, are very good. The cast perform what they have been given. However, without great songs, the show for me didn’t hit the magical moments I was expecting.
The audience clapped and at the end of the show only a few of the audience gave a standing ovation. Overall the show was ok but not great. I would recommend they re-work the 1st half of the show but this hard whilst a show is touring.