BWW REVIEWS: Stephanie J Block, New Players Theatre, February 28 2010

As I left the New Players Theatre on Sunday evening, I was asked if I had enjoyed the show. After a few moments of opening and closing my mouth, I found that the most articulate answer I could manage to form was simply, "Uhhh! It was... Oh my God.... She was so-, like-," for a brief moment my vocabulary spanned that of a Legally Blonde ensemble character. For once, I was at a loss for words. Even as I opened up a Word document the following morning, I had to suppress the sudden urge to use a combination of caps lock and exclamation marks to fully express my enjoyment of the previous evening's event.

And who is the culprit of causing this relatively calm and collected twenty-something to turn into a gushing, bumbling, teenage fan girl?

Stephanie J Block.

Needless to say, I had been expecting phenomenal vocals, having experienced her live in concert previously - and I wasn't disappointed. Despite being ill prior to the show, Block was note-perfect and gave no hint to the fact that she was in anything other than perfect health. What took me by surprise however was her feisty passion for each number and her full focus and commitment to every single song. It was clear to see that we weren't just witnessing a wonderful singer effortlessly belting out some of her favourite tunes; we were in the presence of a high-class musical theatre actress, who removed the notion that we were merely at a concert and transported us from number to number as if each one were a standalone story, filling the gaps between with hilarious banter and witty narrative.

There is no denying that the West End is blessed with a wide host of immense talent, but there is just something about the news of a Broadway star coming to town that gets the theatre community buzzing. Stephanie J Block is every essence of the term 'Broadway Star', with a vocal range that could span the length of the Thames and a tone that has often been compared (in my opinion, quite accurately) to that of Barbara Streisand. Add to this a bubbling charm of personality and charisma and we were guaranteed a fabulous show from the off.

The evening saw a combination of solo numbers from Block and duets between her and talented special guests Oliver Tompsett, Annalene Beechey and Hadley Fraser and comprised a mixture of songs from Block's album This Place I Know, such as the hilarious Fifteen Pounds (Away From My Love) with songs from shows that she had starred in previously (Pirate Queen, Wicked, 9 to 5). The evening was rounded off and the house brought down with Don't Rain on My Parade from Funny Girl, which Block referred to as "a song that I hope will be in my future."

SimG Productions claims to have been created out of necessity, but with its growing reputation for bringing us not just extremely polished, but aesthetically pleasing and well put together performances, one can hope that they'll continue to produce more phenomenal concerts in the near future.