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Show: Bring It On: The Musical
Society: Performance Preparation Academy – PPA (student productions)
Venue: The Electric Theatre, Guildford
Credits: Book by Jeff Whitty. Music by Tom Kitt & Amanda Green. Lyrics by Amanda Green & Lin-Manuel Miranda
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 07/03/2015
Bring It On: The Musical
Chris Abbott | 07 Mar 2015 19:05pm
Photo: Diana Field Photography
I’m probably not part of the demographic this show is aimed at, certainly based on the packed matinee audience, mostly young and female. Despite this failing on my part, I was gripped throughout and impressed by the talents of this triple threat company of singing, dancing actors.
Bring It On is something of a Grease for the Glee generation, but with – occasionally – a little more depth than such shows as High School Musical, and this was the UK premiere. PPA gave it everything they had, and more – such that it would be difficult to know how any other group could match it, despite the fact that the numerous roles, uniformly young playing age and opportunities for song and dance make this an ideal graduation or youth theatre piece.
With such a high standard of performance, particularly dance, it is always invidious to single out individuals, but I will mention a few anyway. Chloe Amber’s Skylar was an early entry in the traditional role for this genre of the stuck-up girl hated by the others, and she gave it everything she had without making the mistake of going over the top.
Just as we got used to Skylar as the girl to despise, we discovered that the real villain was to be Eva, played by Trixie Waggott with a suitably steely-eyed determination and a mean line in triumphant cackling. With no cliché left unexplored in this script, you just knew that exuberant and confident Lucy Collins wouldn’t be in that parrot suit for long before she makes it to the team, with Amy Matthews, understated and truthful, moving in the opposite direction from team leader to leprechaun mascot. Both made the most of their roles, with rather more to work with than was given to some of the other cast members. The duet between Matthews and Molly McGuire as Danielle was particularly effective.
Most of the male roles were sketchily written and gave the cast little to grapple with, but Joshua Clare as Randall rose above the stereotype nerd he was playing to deliver the role effectively and confidently, making much more of it than was really there. Among smaller roles, Kyle Tovey and Lauren Phillpot worked well together and provided an object lesson in cameo work and how to make the most of a fleeting appearance without in any way distorting the balance of the performance. Ryan Willis, too, made the most of his transgender role without resorting to an excess of camp. If this particular cast were a little more convincing as preppy Truman than as rival inner-city high school Jackson, well they gave it their best shot at the hip-hop and we were in Guildford after all…
Production values were high, as would be expected of such a group. The simple set of moving lockers worked very well with the effective lighting, although I felt most of the video projections weren’t really needed; although they worked well for the Skype chats. And that Iine “I’m a spas” – if that is what it really was – is unacceptable and should have been cut.
Director Christopher Howell, MD Francis Goodhand and especially choreographer Louise Pieri ensured that pace was maintained, momentum built and character developed, so that by the contest in the closing sections of the second act the whole ensemble moved up a gear and attained a level of confidence and expertise which would be difficult for any other similar company to match. The acrobatic dance and basket tosses – among other risky-looking moves – provided an exciting climax, with a nice directorial touch in the beautifully-timed image of a performer in mid-air just before the final blackout.
All concerned are to be congratulated on the high standard of performance by this talented group, and I look forward to seeing them grappling with rather more significant material when they take on Carousel in June.
- : admin
- : 07/03/2015