To prove theatre is back, and back for good, (as if any proof were needed), a live concert of current West End musicals was staged at The Palace Theatre, London for one night only, in front of a socially-distanced, mask-wearing general public, whilst being live-streamed over YouTube to some further 30,000 viewers.
Conceived and organised by the charity Theatre Support Fund - the ones that brought the phrase 'The Show Must Go On' back into the puiblic consciousness once again with, among other things, smart black T-shirts with this phrase emblazoned on, and a YouTube channel showing filmed musicals during our lockdowns - this concert was the culmination of 15 months' work of tirelessly finding funding for the industry when it was forced to simply stand still. This concert is a celebration of their acheivement, a flagship event in the charity's growth, and a watch-cry to all musical theatre performers, lovers, creatives, etc out there saying 'We Are Back!'.
Compered by Bonnie Langford and Trent Dion Nicholson (who together sang the specially commissioned opening song by Styles and Drew, titled, of course, 'The Show Must Go On'), the concert lasted 2,5 hours including interval, and saw an array of current musical theatre performers sing a song from the musical for which they are best known or currently performing in. They were backed by a live small orchestra (on the stage behind them), and a choir consisting of Musical Theatre graduates of 2020, all enjoying their first time on a West End stage.
The concert showcased the music of both British and American stage musicals, all of which were either currently playing or due to play the West End when our first lockdown struck back in March 2020. We heard songs from '& Juliet', 'Six', 'The Lion King', 'Mary Poppins', 'Hamilton', 'Dear Evan Hansen', 'Pretty Woman', 'Tina', and 'Mamma Mia' in the first half. The second half kicked off with Olly Dobson singing 'The Power Of Love' from 'Back To The Future'. This was followed by the first of two showstoppers. Don't get me wrong... all the performances in the show were good and enjoyable; but there were two songs / singers in this show who, for me, just stood out above the crowd, and impressed with their renditions more than everyone else. The first of these was Alice Fearn, who sang 'Me And The Sky' from, 'Come From Away'.
The evening continued with music from, 'The Book Of Mormon', 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie', 'Matilda', 'The Phantom Of The Opera', 'Wicked', and 'The Prince Of Egypt'. But it was John Owen Jones's rendition of 'Bring Him Home' from 'Les Miserables' which simply blew me away. I thought I would never hear anyone sing this song who could compare with, never mind excede, my love of Colm Wilkinson singing it, until now. I'd absolutely love to see him perform the role in the show proper.
The evening finished with the whole company singing yet another song titled, 'The Show Must Go On'. This time the one by Rock group, Queen.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 6.6.21
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