Review: ALL TOGETHER NOW! Shines Bright Spotlight on Local Talent

Pieter Toerien Productions and LAMTA brilliantly play their part in celebratory global event

By: Nov. 16, 2021

Review: ALL TOGETHER NOW! Shines Bright Spotlight on Local Talent

LAMTA'S year-end production, ALL TOGETHER NOW!, opened over the weekend to standing ovations. In collaboration with Music Theatre International and Pieter Toerien productions, ALL TOGETHER NOW! was a fantastic celebration of well-known musical theatre numbers that combined the best of established and up-and-coming local talent.

Opening with Be Our Guest, the programme of ALL TOGETHER NOW! ranged from Lloyd-Webber to Sondheim; Disney to ABBA. With short interludes recognising the importance and value of theatre across the globe, this delightful production could have easily turned into an inauthentic appeal - yet was anything but! Performed with passion and laced with sincerity, ALL TOGETHER NOW! was a heart-warming escape put on by the respected arts academy.

Review: ALL TOGETHER NOW! Shines Bright Spotlight on Local Talent
Robert Everson

Group numbers in this production like We're All In This Together and You Can't Stop the Beat were high energy and well-choreographed for a larger company to work together. A specific number that stood out here was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - led by students Julia Durant and Gianluca Gironi who had great chemistry together. Seize The Day and Take A Chance On Me let students show off in smaller group numbers as the Theatre on the Bay stage was excellently utilised throughout. I'll admit I slightly cringed when I heard the opening bars of Let It Go, but sung in faultless three-part harmony by Keely Crocker, Jackie Lulu and Kelsey Buchalter, it's a version of the power ballad I could easily listen to on repeat!

The solo performances were a definite standout of opening night. Most memorable was Tannah Levick singing Gimme Gimme from THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE. Commanding the stage by herself with minimal movement, this young performer can only be described as magnetic. Another noteworthy mention is Robert Everson whose rendition of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was excellently pitched and emotive, but not overly dramatic. Throughout ALL TOGETHER NOW! it's once again evident how closely LAMTA directors Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander work with their students and get to know and hone their individual strengths.

Last but not least, Earl Gregory and Bethany Dickson were a welcome cameo to ALL TOGETHER NOW! that added some extra professional pizazz to an already polished production. It would have been nice to see more interaction between the professionals and the cast if the programme allowed for it; but that's not to say that it's not plausible some LAMTA students could stand their own sharing a stage with these theatre elites in the near future.

There's nothing like a bit of musical theatre to end off a long year, and it's even more special when done by LAMTA. ALL TOGETHER NOW! was just what you want from what has become a rare trip out to the theatre.

Photo credit: Supplied

BroadwayWorld Awards Voting

RELATED STORIES - South Africa

1
Review: SPRING AWAKENING at Theatre on the Bay Is a Masterpiece: Mesmerising, Menacing, an Photo
Review: SPRING AWAKENING at Theatre on the Bay Is a Masterpiece: Mesmerising, Menacing, and Moving

If you have read any of my LAMTA show reviews before, you’ll know that I’m an avid fangirl of their productions. And while I always rave because the raving is deserved, SPRING AWAKENING, as LAMTA’s first performance of a full-scale musical, is extra special and extra rave-worthy. As always, with LAMTA shows, the energy crackles.

2
A STAR IS BORN Comes to Arena@Artscape in December Photo
A STAR IS BORN Comes to Arena@Artscape in December

WELA KAPELA PRODUCTIONS presents A STAR IS BORN – the rise and fall of Judy Garland 13 to 23 December 2023 in the  Arena@ Artscape. 

3
NEXT!!! Comes to Arena@Artscape in December Photo
NEXT!!! Comes to Arena@Artscape in December

Wela Kapela Productions presents NEXT!!! Auditions are not for the faint of heart, at the Arena @Artscape 13-23 December 2023.

4
Jackï Job Comes Full Circle With AND THEN... Photo
Jackï Job Comes Full Circle With AND THEN...

Celebrated dancer and choreographer jackï job opens And Then…., a continuation of her riveting dance series, this Wednesday 29 November 2023 at the Artscape Arena Theatre, for a limited five-day season. 

Next On Stage


Tell Me On A Sunday in South Africa Tell Me On A Sunday
Avalon Auditorium, Homecoming Centre, District Six (4/24-4/28)
Spring Awakening in South Africa Spring Awakening
Theatre on the Bay (11/24-12/02)
VIEW ALL SHOWS  ADD A SHOW  

Recommended For You