Review: MOVIES TO MUSICALS, Clyde Auditorium
Movies to Musicals ran on 17 February 2024
2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the Movies to Musicals concert series. Starting in 2015 at Glasgow's City Halls the production has continued to scale up and has moved from the Royal Concert Hall to the Theatre Royal and now Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium.
While the show is advertised as having guest singers from the West End and Broadway, it is largely used to showcase the talent of over 50 young people from 13 different local authorities. The stage at the Auditorium is big but it is far too crowded between the cast, the band and a choir of over 90.
The guest singers for this anniversary performance are Kerry Ellis, John Owen Jones, Sabrina Carter, Paul Tabone and Lucy Kay. They are all exceptional talents and it is a shame we don't see more of them during this show.
The song choices are bizarre. "A Musical" from Something Rotten is the show opener with a stage invasion which startles several audience members who think its a political protest. A Six medley is a good way to showcase some vocals but unfortunately, as is the case in a few numbers, the cast microphones aren't working for their solos.
As the show overran by 20 minutes, it seems self-indulgent to spend so long on speeches by the creative director Ross Gunning. Throughout the show, there are some video interludes with interviews from the children's cast and choreographers and about the history of Movies to Musicals.
There are some great performances here, Kerry Ellis' "No One But You" and Sabrina Carter's "No Good Deed" are particular standouts. Christy Bullock-Walker and Rebecca Curbelo Valdivia have done a fantastic job on the choreography and the group numbers work really well because of this.
At nearly three hours with interval, the show is far too long. It's clear that the Movies to Musicals audience is largely made up of friends and family of this huge cast. There is a lot of talent onstage but the pacing of the show and the numbers chosen is a bit off and makes for a lengthy evening.
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