AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: Big - The Art Theatre, New Mills, Derbyshire.

Over the last ten to twenty years, there has been a steady flow of successful Hollywood movies being turned in big stage productions, many of which were not musicals at all in film format.‘Big’ is an example of this genre and this is an ambitious production to stage with over twenty five named parts in addition to a large chorus ensemble plus a nine piece orchestra. The staging is no less demanding with scenes ranging from a fairground to an office floor to a hotel ballroom and with this amount of cast, the look has to be convincing because minimalism for this kind of show will definitely not suffice.

The relatively new Bowden Theatre Works admirably met all the above challenges bringing a touch of Broadway to the Peak District. The quality was of a very high standard including very effective staging, a great band and a cast who really gave it their all. The overall sense of timing was remarkable and there was real feeling in the acting. With such a large cast, it is hard to do everyone justice within the confines of a review but the two leads Seb Green as Josh and Meilissa Steele as Susan deserved special mention deliving powerful signing whilst sharing some touching scenes together.

Many going to see this show will of course be familiar with the famous Tom Hanks movie of 1988. The show followed the film remarkably closely, sparing no effort in recreating all the key settings. The memorable scenes were all here such as the foot duet on the giant piano keyboard, the bunkbed scene (where Josh’s adolescent innocence is shown to the extreme) and of course the fairground fortune-telling dummy (which looked like it was straight out of the film set!). The attention to detail was meticulous from signs lowered from the ceiling to an American style kitchen with even the two boxes above the stage converted in teenagers’ bedrooms plasterd in posters. No-one with a detailed knowledge of the film was likely to feel short changed whilst the show stood up perfectly well as a story-vehicle in its own right.

For this presentation of ‘Big’ , the grandiose interior of the Art Theatre at New Mills was done full justice with the feel of a big West End production although the sound and feel was not surprisingly very American, and that wasn’t just the accents.The musical score had a district feel of modern jazz if not quite Big Band sound, based around brass and woodwind. It is doubtful anyone would have remembered any of the score after the show but that is not the point for this particular musical genre. The music was tighly performed and the singing well, yet there was a feel of wonderful improvisation ensuring a bright vibrancy throughout. This gave the singing an added air of spontenaity and naturally enhanced the dance routines; the singing often came in intermittently during the music and the smoothness of delivery masked the complications of getting this type of singing just right and in time with musicians. A fine example of modern, jazz-inspired American big show musical scoring excellently delivered.

This was a remarkable show, bringing together a huge cast covering several age ranges with nobody looking out of place. An interesting and lesser-known show performed by a talented and enthusiastic cast with the music played with gusto. A very enjoyable evening and following on from their previous offering of ‘You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown', Bowden Theatre Works is a company to look out for.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 11..5.22