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.
