By Louise
Link: https://www.thetheatrecafe.co.uk/livestreams/out-of-the-spotlight-into-the-darkness-episode-2/
Available until: It says N/A
The second episode in this really
enjoyable series features fourteen singers. They each sing a solo song and two
of them sing a duet together as well. They sing songs from fifteen different
musicals, ranging from Guys and Dolls which was first produced in 1950,
to A Star is Born, a film musical which was released in 2018. Every
decade apart from the 1980s is represented but I think the music from the 1980s
often isn’t appreciated nowadays.
I think it is brilliant that there is such a wide range of songs, including some from very well-known musicals like Evita and Guys and Dolls, and a couple from musicals I hadn’t heard of like The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and A Star is Born. Unlike the first episode it was all concert with no interviews or chatting between the presenters (Hiba Elchikhe and Sejal Keshwala), but I think it worked.
There are lots of amazing West End
stars in this concert and one thing I really liked is that a lot of them sing
roles which are very different from the roles they are famous for. Trevor Dion
Nicholas had a lot of jazzy music to sing when he played Genie in Aladdin
and although his songs are wonderful and he is wonderful, the character is more
of a showman than someone who expresses his emotions through his music. This
was an opportunity to see him performing something really emotional and in a
completely different style and he is so good.
Also there’s Danielle Steers who
really belts as Catherine Parr in Six and sang some quite high, sweet
music in First Date, but she also has a really beautiful low extension.
In this concert she sings a song which is the perfect way to show this off and
she is unbelievably good. Six fans will also get to see Courtney Bowman
who surprises me every time I see her by how versatile she is. I don’t mean I
expect her to be rubbish, I just think “She can sing that too?”
Only one person sang a song I’d heard
them sing before and I didn’t mind because I was so happy this song was chosen.
Hiba Elchikhe and Danny Becker sang A Million Miles Away from Aladdin.
Everyone knows A Whole New World, but a lot of people don’t realise Aladdin and
Jasmine have two duets in the musical. A Million Miles Away is such a beautiful
song and it really shows Aladdin and Jasmine getting to know each other. Mr
Becker was second cover Aladdin in the West End and he is really good in the
role. It was really great to hear him sing part of the role again.
They also sang two solo songs. Ms
Elchikhe also sang something which I have heard a lot of singers performing
recently, but I love it and I would be happy to hear every singer in the West
End singing it. Also each singer who performs it brings something new to the
song and makes me notice something I haven’t noticed before. Mr Becker sang a
song from The Light in the Piazza, which he was in last year (I think it
was last year, it feels like a few years ago, but I don’t think it was really.
It’s a very sweet song and it’s always good to hear songs from musicals I don’t
know very well.
The many other performers include
Rhiane Drummond (really empowering), Carrie Hope Fletcher (brilliant
characterisation) and Rachel John (a really passionate performance in which she
was giving us an important message as well as singing a really great song).
There are songs from lots of great
musicals as I said, but one I especially liked was the song from Funny Girl.
I really love Don’t Rain on My Parade, but a lot of people sing it and it was
actually the only song from the musical I’d heard… until Emma Kingston sang a
different one in this concert! It is a really heartfelt and beautiful
performance.
It’s a really enjoyable concert and a
great opportunity to see some of the musical theatre stars we’ve been missing.
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