BUGSY MALONE

BUGSY MALONE

OffSpringers at the Cramphorn Theatre

15.03.16

Hard not to love Bugsy Malone. Catchy Twenties-type tunes, cute gang violence.
Its USP of course is that hoodlums and hoofers alike are all played by children, making it a good choice for OffSpringers.
Some veterans in the large cast, but loads of novices, too, which leads to some inconsistency in style, some inaudibility. But plenty to enjoy, especially the dance routines, in splendid period costumes.
In the title role, Matt Scott has an easy, laid-back charm, leading us through the story. Rose Gowen is an excellent Blousey Brown, a strong woman holding her own amongst the gangsters; Lizzy Newsome makes an imposing Tallulah.
No boys among the “namby-pamby dancers”, but plenty of opportunities for the girls amongst the henchmen of Sam and Dan [Devran Arslan and Aaron Bell], notably Sicily Riordan's lovely Knuckles. Ore Kane is the frustrated Fred Astaire Fizzy.
Loads of talent in the smaller roles, too: Max Eagle's Lieutenant O'Dreary, Daisy Dodsworth's Lena, in a gorgeous gown, Sam Aldwinkle's priceless Marbini and many more.
The staging uses the space well – band at the back, with lovely period music stands, the bar and the bookshop to one side, leaving plenty of room for the production numbers, choreographed by Helen Arber. The Down and Outs, the dressing-room mirrors, the boxers all very effective. I liked the violin dirge for the stiffs – Tegan Beckett – and "cellist" Tiegan Crisp for a few surreal seconds disguised as a standard lamp.
And splurge galore from the opening minutes, including the best show-down shoot-out ever, with the packed audience targeted by tin-foil ribbons.

Bugsy Malone is directed for OffSpringers by Fiona Lipscomb, with Kate Gowen the MD.

BUGSY MALONE

BUGSY MALONE

CCHS and KEGS at King Edward VI School

10.07.14

A ground-breaking collaboration between the two great schools on Broomfield Road fills the wide stage with an impressive team of Lower School performers. Peopling the child-friendly Chicago gangland of Alan Parker's timeless musical with colourful characters.

An elegant, arrogant Tallulah, contrasted with the sincerity of Blousey Brown, the excellent auburn torch singer who holds the stage with those big numbers, and dreams of Hollywood. Good work too from Malone's laid-back, wide-tied narrator and speak-easy boss Fat Sam – nice accent and promising stage presence. Not to mention the monosyllabic Leroy, and the enjoyable comedy duo of Smolsky and O'Dreary, incompetent cops.

In Act Two especially, some lovely moments: the death of Knuckles, the strong soup-kitchen ensemble, the slomo rumble, Babyface seizing her moment. And to finish, a spectacular splurge-gun showdown – real suspense during the countdown, and then cascades of deadly foam transforming the gangsters into white statues before the clever curtain calls, the large cast slipping and sliding through the routine.

Bugsy Malone was directed by James Russell, with Becky Chant the musical director in charge of the toe-tapping little pit band.

BUGSY MALONE

Ingatestone Young Expressions at the Community Centre.

25.06.11

Bugsy Malone's world of pint-sized hoodlums and their molls took over the Community Hall for Young Expressions' latest show, a swan-song for Music Director Cathy Edkins and Directors Liz Gibson and Allen Clark.

The wide stage was made wider still by the Book Emporium and the office; a grim Big Apple backdrop was drawn aside to reveal the illicit delights of Fat Sam's.

The pit band, in black homburgs, produced impressively sleazy speakeasy sounds.

Polished performances from Harry Kemp, proudly padded as Fat Sam, and Ralph Stevens, promising as his arch rival Dandy Dan. The charming chancer Bugsy was very confidently portrayed by Alec Stevens; I particularly admired the way he delivered the motivational Down and Out. His Blousey was sweetly sung by Rebecca Craythorne, and the sultry Tallulah was gamely played by Ella Harget-Dash. Fizzy, dreaming of stardom, was Suzy Jennings.

Stylish staging of the production numbers – My Name is Tallulah, the Bad Guys' Song – and plenty of clever touches: the hat routine, the synchronised hit-men, with the stiffs sack-barrowed off to Rota's Godfather theme from Asgeir Faben's bass, the Pink Panther from Rebecca Durose's sax for Smolsky and O'Dreary [Todd Brand and Peter Angel].

With thirty different scenes, it was sometimes hard to maintain the punch and the pace, but it was all great fun, and the shoot-out and the finale were excellently choreographed.

BUGSY MALONE

Young Gen in the Civic Theatre

13.11.09

The messiest show in town …

The kids in the audience loved the custard pies, and their high-tech successor the splurge gun, not to mention the soda syphon.

The kids on stage had a good time, too, with some very under-age tipplers in the Book Emporium. Fat Sam himself was played with considerable presence by Callum Crisell, and the title role by Sam Toland, slightly understated, maybe, but with loads of charm. Blousey Brown, the diamond amongst all the paste, was beautifully done by Sophie Walker – her Ordinary Fool number was the vocal highlight of the show for me.

Bart Lambert brought his special brand of sophistication to Dandy Dan, with Alice Masters as the vamp Tallulah. Like the acts auditioning for Oscar de Velt [Luke Higgins], some of the minor roles came and went so quickly that I'd no time to annotate the programme: some of the gang members were excellent in both versions of The Bad Guys Song. A name check for the cops – Henri de Lausun and Oliver Fox – for Martin Williams' Leroy, and for Elliot Elder's touching Fizzy, the dancer whose Tomorrow never comes.

After an evocative overture from Bryan Cass's band, the production began with six silk-clad chanteuses, neatly contrasted with the black frocks for the Speakeasy hoofers. More silk and feathers in Act II, leading up to the super-messy finale. No bullets, no hooch, no blood, of course, in this innocent underworld, just a Sarsaparilla racket and splurge after splurge.

It's twenty years since CYGAMS last gave us this children's Chicago. Fascinating to read in the programme just who was in that earlier show – including Jeremy Tustin, director this time around.

picture by Barrie White-Miller, Spearman Photography