UK Theatre Network

Blink Again!...Turn on the lights, The Stag Theatre’s third revue of songs from failed musicals has deservedly gained a popular following among musical theatre lovers.

Each song is given a back- story, and projections are aligned with posters from each production to keep the audience on track. 

Some numbers are parodied and this is most effective with Disney’s Part of Your World and Under The Sea from The Little Mermaid. The Umbrella’s Of Cherbourg is deservedly mocked, and a running gag based on the accident prone, - just about to open after a record number of months of previewing -Spiderman The Musical, was hilarious. Lord Of The Ring’s only memorable number Cat And The Moon, is also superbly satirised and choreographed by Tim McArthur.

The seven strong cast are put through their paces as they tackle a wide variety of song and dance styles. Jamie Lee gives a heart felt interpretation of China Doll (from Maguerite), and is equally effective with the brassy I Want To Go To Hollywood from Grand Hotel. Peter Navickas stops the show with a stunning rendition of If It’s Only Love from Metropolis, and Paul Brangan is moving with Grief Never Grow’s Old from the musical Oscar. Together Brangan and Navickas deliver a gorgeous duet with Lilly’s Eyes. The only thing that let the show down was the consistently poor delivery of the spoken links by some of the younger cast who seemed to be dazzled at having to speak directly to the audience

Blink Again! is a must for any musical theatre lover who might have missed a hidden gem of a song because a show’s commercial success was short lived.  By picking some of the best songs from the worst musicals and giving them the ‘McArthur’ make-over , the Blink sequels  ensure that their future is a winning one.

Blink Again! runs until July 2^nd.

OLIVER VALENTINE

ABOVE THE STAG THEATRE

http://www.abovethestag.com/