Fame! Review

I have to confess, I’ve never seen this musical, it had somehow passed me by. I remember watching the 1982 TV series with my children with fond memories but haven’t seen or come acoss it since, so was intrigued to see how the stage musical compared. With a totally different set of characters, a memory dating back 40 years and the musical numbers unique to the show it is impossible to do any such thing, but from an acting point of view this Marianettes production, directed by Kayleigh Quinn certainly captures the same essence of the show’s teenage angst and passions, budding sexual relationships, learning difficulties and drug abuse as well as striving to establish themselves in the ‘Hardest Job in The World’ as the script emphatically emphasises.

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The set under the management of Steve Ward was a two tier one, with on the lower level, a plain grey wall built out from the back wall to create a room, which (presumably) housed the hidden band, with two entrances either side with black hanging curtains and a staircase either side leading to the balustraded galley above with entrances and exits to both wings. Quite a construction considering a lot of the action took place on the roof of the constructed room.  Nice job!

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Additional furniture included half a dozen or more sets of identical school desks on wheels for the academic scenes, each being constructed from scratch, together with a set of twin lockers, again on wheels, all brought on and off by the cast. Well done to Steve Ward and whoever helped him with both the set and the furniture. There was also an amazing, commercially sourced, fold out large table with chairs attached that folded out in seconds to create a dinning scene.

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Lighting by Lloyd Gray, which I never even thought about during the show was therefore absolutely spot on and error free. Sound on the other hand at first seemed to have gone slightly backwards as I did struggle to pick up on some of the dialogue and the lyrics of some of the songs. I suspect not sound man, Greg Wright’s fault as my aging ages did take some adjusting to the hip hop street language and the American accents.

The band, as stated above was hidden from sight and under the Musical Direction of Ed Jones, assisted by Tim Dawes, was as usual a topflight outfit consisting of: Ed Jones as conductor and keys, Andrew Longland-Meech on Keys, Danny Barton on Guitar, Colin Woolmer on Bass, Chas Hutchings on Trumpet, Liz Schofield on Trombone, Andy Stewart on Reeds and Les Arnold on Drums.

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The choreography, by Rachel Clifford and Flo Rowntree in this show was extremely well drilled and most importantly lots of fun with everybody appearing to be thoroughly enjoying it. And cleverly set on what for a cast of over twenty was a relatively small stage. Very well-done ladies!

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When it comes to these young actors, what stood out was the amount of effort obviously put into not only their individual characterisations but also the way they developed the relationships between their various couples.

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Anthony Rhodes as naughty boy Joe Vagas will live long in the memory. His use of facial expressions were hilarious and a natural connection with the audience especially after his rendition of Can’t Keep it Down. Every time he came on stage you expected him to steal the scene. – Brilliant!

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Bex Badham has a lovely voice and it’s easy to see why she grabbed the role of the shy, slightly awkward Serena Katz.  Beautiful rendition of Think of Meryl Streep, which got one of the best applauses of the night, rightly so!

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Cameron Richardson was the serious lovesick music student, Schlomo permanently attached to his guitar, who in a superbly emotional scene unsuccessfully tries to bring the fame obsessed but wayward Carmen, played by Harriet Holden off the drugs and back onto the straight and narrow. A fine piece of acting from the pair of them.

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Samuel Wilthew as Jack Zakowski the talented but Dyslexic student, was indeed a very good dancer, actor and it turns out pretty good at gymnastics with an amazing back flip which received a huge roar! His scenes were particularly poignant when he was being confronted by The English Teacher, Miss Esther Sherman, who was understudied on the night by the director Kayleigh Quinn, due to Livvy Clarke being on vocal rest due to recent illness. However, it was great to see Livvy still appearing in routines in the ensemble.

Jack Beedle as Nick Piazza was a class act, proving it almost from the beginning with his version of I Want Make Magic. His relationship with Serena was textbook stuff when it comes to teenage relationships.

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Congratulations to the rest of the cast: Cameron Shuter – Goodman King, Demi Lenette-Dawson – Stacy, Evie Atkins – Brintey and Young Miss Bell, Mea-Elleasse Goodwin – Dance Captain and Roxy, Natalie Goldsworthy - Acting Teacher Miss Lucinda Myers, Natasha Davidson – Gabriella, Philip Smith – Chris, Rachael Spavins – Lamb Chops, Rebecca Walters – Mrs Ana Scheinkoff, Richard Woolmer – RJ, Sarah Godfrey – Casey, Sophie Carter – Mabel Washington, Utsharja Bhandari – Saru and Young Miss Sherman, Victoria Heath – Iris Kelly. Very entertaining job all round.

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It was the hottest night of the year so far and Trinty Arts theatre have yet to invest in Air Con, so this show was a hot and steamy affair for the audience, so what it was like for the actors, some of whom were wearing costumes totally unsuited to the heat I can only speculate. It did however manage to hold the audience attention the whole way through, albeit with the aid of the excellent yearbook style programme (designed by Flo Rowntree) doubling as a personal fan from time to time, and gaining a standing ovation from a large section of the audience at the end. So well done indeed to Director Kayleigh Quinn on her directorial debut, we particularly enjoyed the “excerpts from classic movies – Grease, La La Land, Brokeback Mountain and Romeo and Juliet while Serena sang “Let’s Play a Love Scene” I think you can be rightly proud of the Class of 2024!