Bring It On - Stage Experience
“A show full of energy and full of cheer!”
For its 18th production at The Alexandra Theatre, Stage Experience brings together a wonderful cast of aspiring musical theatre performers, all determined to provide a wonderful evening’s entertainment. This year’s production is Bring It On, a musical telling the story of a high school cheerleading team.
From the outset, the impressive lighting by Alex Johnson really does set the scene and keeps the action on stage fresh and exciting. With the use of 3 LED screens to portray various scenes throughout the show, this innovative way of adding extra scenery completed the whole look.
The cast of this years Stage Experience is vast so I can’t mention them all, but our principal cast were all shining stars able to hold their own and provide some very impressive vocals. Our leading lady Campbell, played by Laura Bryan displays a professional style to her performance, with an air of confidence seen on many a West End stage. Another stand-out performance came from Skylar, played by Alexia Mouzakitis whose characterisation of the extremely confident cheerleader was completely on point.
This show is full of musical numbers, with music courtesy of Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame. You could certainly tell that Miranda is involved, with some numbers reminiscent of the rap and R&B style he is very famous for. There were some lovely vocal harmonies provided by La Cienega (Molly Ann Bache), Nautica (Demi Mitchell) and Danielle (Brittany Jarman-Watson) during ‘We Ain’t No Cheerleaders’ and ‘It Ain’t No Thing’.
The story centres around Campbell (Laura Bryan) who is the Captain of the Truman High School cheerleading team, only to be pushed out by aspiring Captain Eva (Bessy Hingley) and sent off to another school where cheerleading has been replaced by a dance crew headed up by Danielle (Brittany Jarman-Watson). Wanting revenge on Eva, Campbell devises a plan to turn the dance crew into an elite cheerleading team, called the Jackson Irish and to compete against Truman High School at the Nationals. There are many ups and downs during the show which seem pretty standard for a bunch of teenagers, however friendship ultimately wins over trophies.
The show brings us some high energy choreography by Director Pollyann Tanner. These routines are full on, using cheerleading routines as their centre with impressive lifts and backflips. The stage is awash with performers, all of whom handle the speed of the routines well. These are big production numbers that deliver and the whole cast should be commended.
There was the odd microphone issue on the night and a couple of dodgy wigs, but as an overall production, this show is full of energy and full of cheer. With a cast of over 70, each and every performer works extremely hard to ensure that the show delivers. The orchestra, under the Musical Direction of Chris Newton filled the auditorium with a fantastic sound and completed what is a great show worthy of a visit.
This show was reviewed on the 17th August 2023 and runs at The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham until the 19th August 2023. Tickets available here: Stage Experience - Bring It On Tickets | The Alexandra, Birmingham in Birmingham | ATG Tickets
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Photo credit: Jonathan Sothcott
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