West End Live 2024 - A Review (Kind of)
A tongue in cheek look at the annual celebration of Musical Theatre which includes new shows, cruise ship acts and a retro '80s Cosplay event or Les Miserables as it is better known!
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West End Live is a huge and positive event. It takes place annually in Trafalgar Square central London and features the casts of every living musical in the West End performing their awards show medleys. It also puts incredible solo musical theatre talent, new shows from around the country and, for some reason, cruise ship acts that do that weird smiling at each other in a knowing way thing in the middle of a Defying Gravity that makes no sense. And a crowd of about 4 million musical theatre obsessives who know all the words to Hamilton and scream when stars enter the stage - there is a subset who also know show choreo as well.
Last weekend the two day FREE extravaganza was blessed by wonderful weather and a crop of new shows enabling potential audience members (like me) to sample the wares before investing a month’s income on a restricted view seat, a programme (there is no free Playbill in London) and maybe branded show coffee mug for £15 (Who does that you ask - I do!). Let’s take a look at the highlights and opportunities;
Hamilton Wins Everything and Moulin Rouge is Runner Up
There’s a reason that Hamilton has won every award ever in every country it has ever played in: Lin Manuel Miranda’s show is just absolutely brilliant. The current London cast has more charisma than a truck load of Mick Jaggers and enough star quality to power a country. This was rock star territory as 20,000 people sung along EVERY word of the opening rap, as they danced to the Schuyler sisters and screamed like they were at a gig. The show speaks to now and shows up starkly the generation gap that is widening between how people under 40 perceive life and what the old school theatre fans (and producers) think audiences should be enjoying.
Moulin Rouge gives us the same vibe but from a more hedonistic angle and the cast is similarly high wattage. I saw the show in previews and was fortunate to see Tanisha Spring play Satine as cover. She is now permanently in the role and she shines bright like a diamond even on a dodgy stage in full afternoon light, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
Most New Shows Are Good To See
There was a ton of new shows on display which is so positive to see. However, there was definitely a divide between new shows that felt ready and the others that maybe need some more shushing and refinement. On the positive side 42 Balloons has characters, layers and a brilliant concept together with well written and arranged songs. Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) showed itself sophisticated, beautifully musical and features two outstanding talents in Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty who make you fall in love with them and the show. I didn’t get Fangirls which looked and sounded like a school project show put together haphazardly and unfocused - but I totally accept that this might be generational and, apparently, the show ‘took Australia by storm’ so I could be in a minority of one! Closer To Heaven, on the other hand, with music by 80s icons The Pet Shop Boys should be right up my theatrical alley but it wasn’t, in fact, like Fangirls, it just felt messy, and the songs chosen sounded like the ones that didn’t make it onto the main Pet Shop Boys album. Marie Curie The Musical started life in Korea and is wonderfully represented byAilsa Davidson and Chrissie Bhima. The music sounds very emotional and owes much to Stephen Schwarz but let’s honest - what a great subject for a musical! Finally my heart was lifted by the cast of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button joined by composer Darren Clark for a couple of numbers from this great new show. There are cast members who have been with this show since its first workshops and Darren Clark is the most under rated composer working in UK Musical Theatre right now (possibly!)
Soloists - A Tough Gig
Solo performers have it tough at West End Live because they are onstage in front of 4 million people with no band, scenery or costume. I loved Rachel Tucker’s sets on both days because, well, she’s Rachel Tucker and she made me lose my shit in Come From Away. I loved Christine Allado’s Colours of the Wind and Carrie Hope Fletcher’s Candle on the Water which I had not heard since my college days 120 years ago. The guys were represented by a fierce, fiery and frankly bonkers performance of Bat Out of Hell by Glenn Adamson who started off as if he was thinking about how big his performance could go and finished up as an insane explosion of talent, energy and the highest continued run of high notes ever sung in male musical theatre repertoire outside of Gethsemane. It’s great to see Bat coming back to the UK in 2025 and I can’t wait to see it again (even though it makes no sense!)
On the other hand John Owen-Jones is a thoroughbred musical theatre singer but, as exciting as the Stephen Schwarz album sounds, I was not convinced that Owen-Jones is the right ‘demographic’ to be seeing Corner of the Sky. Sure he has the vocal chops but the whole point of Pippin is that he is not a man in his 50s. Please don’t hate me. Baker Mukasa from Standing at the Sky’s Edge needs to record an entire album of uplifting vibes after bringing the joy to these streets are ours. Could we please let Lauren Redding know that she is a wonderful singer and actor who could totally relax her delivery of Open Up Your Door please? Why is Sky’s Edge closing?
I’m glad I got to see Aviva Tulley’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It is one of the most overdone songs ever so when you see it sung with this beauty and grace you are reminded of why it has remained iconic for the last 70 years.
Lucie Jones from the upcoming production of the Baker’s Wife strolled out onto stage, calm relaxed and smiling. She then took the centre of London to pieces with her astounding performance of Meadowlark. Seriously, female singers if you have this song in your audition repertoire just put it away for a few months and study Lucie’s version.
Weird Uncle ‘80s Tribute Band Cosplay Event
Most shows seemed to have got a memo about a dress down weekend. There were lots of jeans and show t-shirts and generally a feeling of an office away day picnic in the local park. This works very well because there is no scenery and, obviously, all the songs are out of context.
So when the big old beasts lumbered on to stage it just looked like a weird costume party thrown by a theatre school in 1988 or, in the case of the men from Les Mis, like an ‘80s New Romantic Tribute Band cosplay party. The frilly shirts and long coats, the George Michael circa Different Corner wigs and the knee length boots all showing their ancestry from Spandau Ballet, Adam and the Ants and first album Duran Duran. And can we please stop smearing coal dust on our face when playing ‘poor people’ characters? This is not the Biggleswade Amateur Dramatic Society! One Day More still sounded totally magnificent and we should never forget that Les Miserables is the reason that 80% of UK theatre fans got into musical theatre in the first place - but how about a Jamie Lloyd reworking now?
Phantom of the Opera had the biggest challenge of the weekend. Firstly, performing Prima Donna was plain bizarro but hey there was a green woman singing about wizards later in the day. Secondly, does the show dare perform any song with the Phantom in without using the mask? I love Phantom and have seen it in the UK and US but up against the nimble, and frankly cooler shows around it just looked a bit old hat. The direction for the actors definitely doesn’t work in this setting which has the effect of making the performances look hugely hammy and a little amateur. There is room for POTO to chill slightly and let its performers deliver the show’s great music. Hey Mr Producer - the songs stand up on their own without the histrionics.
My Biggest Surprise
I am not the demographic for a show based on a 00s hit movie about girls in a high school, I know this. Imagine my surprise when I found myself loving Mean Girls The Musical. Costumed in black pants and black t-shirts, and performed by an incredible cast who just surprised me at every turn. All of my preconceptions were blown away by Elena Skye’s rock chick vibes channelling Avril Lavigne and Pink, then Georgina Castle who gave us full on Bond Girl Glamour (you read it here first folks!) before delivering a stunning vocal performance. The music was great, the cast was great and I found myself realising that I need to lose my preconceptions.
Cruise Ship Acts
A confusing part of West End Live is why there are performances that are not from shows. Clearly if the likes of Rachel Tucker, Carrie Hope Fletcher and John Owen-Jones are up for performing then, as a producer, you have to say yes. However, there were other performances that didn’t make sense like Emerald Storm which is a tap show created by Adam Garcia that is touring the UK which is all very nice but I didn’t see where it fit in. Shantify take regular songs and perform them as if they were sea shanties. The Barricade Boys have been a cruise ship act for years and are all great singers with West End credits. Their schtick is that they sing musical theatre songs in an easy listening way and often in four part harmony even when that harmony does not exist in the original. They opened with a moderato male version of Defying Gravity to some kind of pop/swing backing track that seemed to be the antithesis of what the original was about. This group do fantastically well on cruise ships - I know because I used to book them - but felt incongruous here. The guys can clearly sing but did we need a four guy Mamma Mia tribute act? Please judge for yourself:
Barricade Boys West End Live 2024
The Most Fun
Obviously the most fun of the weekend is when the 3 million strong crowd sings along. In theatres you can’t do this because…well because you won’t get the words to ‘Not Getting Married Today’ or the final note to ‘Defying Gravity’. But at West End Live everyone can sing any harmony line they want, do the moves or generally create chaos without an usher mincing down the aisle to shine a torch in your face.
When the Overtures Piano Bar trio came out on to the stage they miraculously got 3.7million people singing along to Seasons of Love. That’s right - half of London’s population sang as one “five hundred twenty six thousand six hundred minutes’ together. As the song developed people got confident and ripples of harmony lines crept in - well high harmonies from the sopranos obvs! It was beautiful but it was the warm up for the Big Daddy of all musical theatre sing alongs. Yes musical theatre fan kids you know that you have stood round an upright piano at lunchtime and screamed yourself hoarse over this. One Day More ladies and gentleman. One Day More with spontaneous harmony, counterpoint and character selection. It is beyond me why this song has never been picked up by football crowds as a chant. It sounded magnificent, it was emotional and showed the power of the art form. But it did not win the prize for most fun to be had this weekend. Nor did the Magic Mike performance although it was probably life changing for some demographics.
The most fun this weekend was created by the indomitable cast of Mamma Mia which is celebration 125 years in the West End. (or maybe 25!) This show just makes you feel wonderful, the music is more infectious than a cold at an infants school, every cast is phenomenal and the boys all took their tops off! Mazz Murray was born to lead this show and even though she dropped something halfway through her performance, you can feel the energy lift when she takes centre stage. I love Sondheim and I love a good gritty play and I love Mamma Mia. And that is the beauty of theatre - it gives you a once in a lifetime living experience that you share with other people around you.
West End Live 2024 showed an incredible range of theatre from male strippers (Magic Mike) to teenage mums (Babies) and French revolutionaries to Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World. It is a wonderful event and if I didn’t enjoy every show excerpt that I saw it doesn’t matter because lots of people got to celebrate a wonderful art form for free in the sunshine in one of the world’s greatest cities.
Check out all the performances here on The Official London Theatre You Tube Channel
For the Full Line Up Click Here:
The JasonWard Creative Substack is for readers like you. I really appreciate your time spent here and invite you to support my work by taking out a subscription. A paid subscription gives you access to exclusive content plus the entire archive of over 100 articles, reviews, interviews, podcasts and playlists all full of creative insight designed to help you develop your creative projects and practise.