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Mad About The Musicals - Reviews


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Thank you for your updates song list Linda :) you did a brilliant job the first time round remembering all the songs you did.

Here's another review put on Twitter

My review of #MadAboutTheMusicals w/ @mcpfirst @Gareth_Gates @marlowetheatre http://talkstageytome.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/review-mad-about-musicals-uk-tour.html … #theatrebloggers

Thankyou Maria.

It's good to read this review (and I believe this person is a big Gareth fan) and good to see her honesty too.

Lindajan thanks so much for updating the setlist and the adjustments made to the show. Interesting how they it must still be a work in progress all the time.

A big thankyou to for the review of how your visits to the show over the weeks and in different venues. You have quite a way of recapturing the evening.

This is a sensational show and I love seeing Gareth performing songs from the musicals again after quite a gap. The show ends with numbers from 'Les Miserables' and I'm still blown away by the sound created by five singers and a five-piece band. It is so rich and full you could easily believe that there is a full company on stage. If you are still to go, you have a treat awaiting and, if you've been able to get to a show, I hope this has given you a taste of what it was like – and, remember, it's touring again next year.

Yes it certainly has and hopefully there will be venues near to the people unable to make this tour.

Thanks again :thumbsup:

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Thanks Linda for your brilliant review of the show. I only saw it once and would love to have seen it more as I absolutely loved it. Looking forward to finding out the venues for next year and hoping there will be at least one near to me.

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We have another review http://www.sceneone.biz/content/mad-about-musicals

For the most part a local reviewer will tend to review amateur shows, so it is always exciting when one gets to watch a professional performance. However, that comes with an expectation of excellence.

Mad About The Musicals is now celebrating its tenth year. Starring and directed by Michael Courtney, the current tour also features Gareth Gates and three female singers, performing an evening of songs from the shows – from the very well-known to the almost unheard of, beautifully dressed rather than costumed and sensitively lit throughout. The show was musically directed by Bruce Knight, who I am assuming was responsible for the stunning arrangements, too.

Perhaps Poole is not representative of the rest of the UK, but this audience was (as usual) predominantly grey and the opening numbers from the lesser-known Dreamgirls and City of Angels seemed a disappointing start. None of which was helped by the fact that a brilliant onstage band, thanks to poor mixing, became equal to the vocalists in sound rather than supporting them.

The first half gradually warmed up and the beautifully sung duet, ‘I still believe’, from Miss Saigon (Nichola Lagan and Rosanne Priest) was a real highlight. This was followed by again a lesser-known show, but a beautiful song nonetheless: ‘Now’ from Dr Zhivago. The first half continued with more songs from Funny Girl and A Star Is Born, climaxing with a selection from We Will Rock You. At this point I could see some of the elderly clamping their hands over their ears and it was no surprise that their seats were empty in the second half – a shame, as this returned to more familiar musical theatre.

Act 2 opened with Phantom of the Opera and although the lack of an operatic female voice was a hindrance, the company performed all the songs very well indeed. Gareth Gates, who does have the perfect musical theatre voice (in spite of the occasional scream from a pod of excited fans), suddenly came into his own – ‘All I ask of you’ was beautiful and sensitively sung. Michael Courtney who had, with banter and fine singing, held the show together, now sang a rather lovely arrangement of ‘Music of the night’ with Kerry O’Dowd. It was probably the highlight of the evening for many, with impromptu applause at his high note, but I did feel that the dragged-out tempo at the start was a little self-indulgent.

The second half saw a touch more humour with ‘Anything you can do’ (Courtney and O’Dowd), which suggested that a great deal more would have been appreciated. After which, the more familiar musicals territory put the audience in a happy place – Jesus Christ Superstargiving us some wonderful songs with ‘Gethsemane’ superbly sung by Michael Courtney. The company predictably finished with a selection from Les Miserables and here Gareth Gates used his 25th Anniversary Tour experience to show just what he is capable of – a wonderful rendition of ‘Empty chairs’ – along with brilliant singing from all.

This was a lovely evening, performed by five extremely talented singers, with lots of humorous chat on stage and always celebrating the musicals. If I had to criticise I would say that using head mikes, instead of hand, would have freed the cast and allowed them to be more interactive. Many of the songs were dealing with such strong emotions that failing to even touch, let alone hold, each other lost some dramatic opportunity. However, this was a solid evening of great musical entertainment and one that will surely continue for many years to come.

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Another review is in from Malvern:

http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/leisure/whats_on/13929394.display/

REVIEW: Mad About The Musicals – at the Forum Theatre, Malvern, on Saturday, October 31, 2015.

HERE’S entertainment that is pure quality featuring five like-minded souls who provide a perfect ensemble performance.

Now on its tenth anniversary tour of the UK - which began early in October in nearby Redditch and concludes this coming weekend just down the road in Tewkesbury - they’ve been packing in the crowds around the country just to prove the point that many of us are mad about the musicals.

Gareth Gates is the big name on the bill but this most likeable young man is, to a certain degree, just another member of the team which also features Michael Courtney, the driving force behind the phenomenon that is Mad About, and three lady vocalists - Kerry O’Dowd, Nichola Lagan and Rosanne Priest - who are each more than capable of holding their own in any musical production with their good range and some excellent harmonising.

The show takes its audience on a whistle-stop tour from the heart of London's ‘Theatreland' to the glitz of Broadway, in an exotic celebration of a selection of some of the very best songs from numerous shows.

With a host of favourite numbers from the pen of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Boublil & Schoenberg - and others, the talented cast of Mad About evoke the true spirit of the spectacular musical.

Luxurious voices beautifully delivered a wide range of songs, certainly an eclectic mix from many famous musicals… from the 1930s right through to present times including the freshest of all, Dr Zhivago.

One or two were, perhaps, a little obscure but taking us through some eight decades of shows, there have been so many there are bound to be an occasional one that’s not so familiar.

However, an older one that was well remembered was from the 1954 film musical, A Star is Born, in which Judy Garland sang The Man That Got Away. But the big hits of the night were from We Will Rock You, which features hit after hit from Queen, Miss Saigon and, of course, Les Mis.

The evocative Empty Chairs At Empty Tables was sung with considerable feeling by Gareth Gates, while the richness and warmth of Michael Courtney’s voice was perfect for Bring Him Home. And it that wasn’t enough to set the pulse racing I Dreamed a Dream, involving all five singers, was truly memorable.

Shows such as these also need top notch musicians and the five-piece backing band, led by keyboard player Bruce Knight, certainly produced the goods.

A packed auditorium and standing ovations - it doesn't get much better than this. And fully deserved.

If you go back 13 years, to 2002, Gareth Gates was famously runner-up to Will Young in the UK's first Pop Idol and unlike some talent show winners he has since carved out a very successful career for himself instead of disappearing into pop oblivion.

He has had numerous chart hits and appeared worldwide. In the UK alone he has sold 3.5 million records, released three albums and had four number one singles.

In 2009 he auditioned and impressed Sir Cameron MackIntosh and accepted the role of Marius, in the 25th anniversary tour of Les Miserables. He has since performed a successful 'Boogie Nights' concert tour with the legendary Osmonds as he continues to carve a successful career in musical theatre.

This can only enhance his CV.

And what a busy man is Michael Courtney. He has regularly produced and directed the show’s hugely successful UK tours, along with other shows such as Waterloo, Shakin All Over, Its D’Lovely, A Night Of Musicals, not to mention over 30 UK Pantomimes and he was nominated as the UK Producer of The Year by Encore Magazine.

He’s also the show’s link-man, adroitly covering any little blips and mixing a nice blend of self-deprecating humour into the proceedings along with a number of ‘insults’ targeted at those around him on stage.

It’s two hours of the very best entertainment if it’s musicals you are mad about. The show is now nearing the end of a hectic schedule which in recent days has seen them in towns and cities such as Lincoln, Oldham, Porthcawl and York, and with hardly time to draw breath they head from St Alban’s next weekend back into this area for a performance at Tewkesbury’s Roses Theatre on Sunday, November 8.

If you’ve missed them to date you would be mad to miss out again.

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Guest NicolaJayne

Thank you Chris for another fabulous review, no one has a bad word to say about this show and the brilliant reviews just keep on coming.

I will finally get to see it this Saturday at St Albans.

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Another review is in. This time from York:

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/13953801.Review__Mad_About_The_Musicals__York_Barbican__November_6/?ref=rss

MICHAEL Courtney and Bradford musical star Gareth Gates are headlining the tenth anniversary production of Mad About The Musicals, bringing the glitz and glamour of Broadway and the West End to audiences all over the country this autumn.

At York Barbican last Friday, Courtney was completely at ease on stage and a natural back-and-forth-with his co-stars and the audience. While some of his jokes were a little corny at times, it all contributed to the general atmosphere of family-friendly fun between the show tunes. The actual musical performances, however, were absolutely fantastic.

From Miss Saigon and A Star Is Born to The Phantom Of The Opera and Les Miserables, there wasn’t a single song that failed to hit its mark, with all the performers putting everything into their parts. However, it wasn’t all emotional tearjerkers and love songs. The cast also managed to work in an extended ensemble Queen medley, which was a brilliant way to finish off the first half, as well as many light-hearted numbers that helped keep things fresh throughout.

Gates also enjoyed a very strong performance; since his 2002 debut on Pop Idol, his stage presence and singing skills have only developed further and he was extremely entertaining to watch.

All in all, Mad About The Musicals is exactly what it says it is; a huge mash-up of classic musical numbers and beloved songs performed with skill and genuine sincere affection.

:thumbsup:

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