Ian Cheeseman presents Break-a-Leg on Tameside Radio, which is packed with great guests and theatre music. In his latest column, he tells us about a Disney extravaganza he went to see in London.
I’ve been very lucky to have seen a rich variety of theatre in my life.
Last Friday I was at the wonderful Lowry Theatre in Salford watching Opera and I regularly attend Am/Dram shows, indeed I’ll be at Hyde Musical Society’s production of West Side Story later this month, and I can’t wait.
I’ve seen Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, including “The One” which features an amazing Michael Jackson hologram, and I went along to Manchester’s Palace Theatre to see the Lion King, which was stunning. I’ve been to see Abba Voyage in their purpose built Arena in East London, which sees digital avatars performing alongside a live band surrounded by amazing lighting and effects which is the first of it’s kind.
One of the best experiences of my life was attending the fully immersive Mamma Mia!: The Party in their Greek Taverna at the O2 Arena. As you dine, the cast sing and dance, in character, all around you. It’s unique and enthralling.
Last weekend I experienced something very different. I was in London for a couple of days and had time to take in a West End show. I chose to attend Newsies, a Disney extravaganza, which tells the tale of the children who sold newspapers on the streets of New York in the late 1800s. They went on strike after Newspaper owner Joseph Pulizer reduced their meagre profit margins.
The music is written by one of my big heroes, Alan Menken, who composed the wonderful songs in Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and many others. It was his name that drew me to the show. The venue is right next to Wembley Stadium, a venue I know very well, but I’d never heard of or noticed the brand new Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. It seats between 1000 and 2000.
The venue can transform completely to the needs of each production and set designer Morgan Large has taken full advantage of that flexibility. He says: "I started to design the setting for Newsies with a desire to merge the vast space with the surrounding gantries and walkways seamlessly into my version of 1899 New York. The city of New York is about height.
"I drew inspiration from the dismal lives child labourers suffered at that time and created a structure that not only references the infamous New York City fire escapes but also the impressive industrial structures of Victorian-era printing presses."
He’s achieved just that and much more. From the moment you enter the theatre you are surrounded by props and images that immerse you in his vision. Before the show started, we were told you had to stay seated throughout because fast moving dancers would be in danger, as they would be all around you. That was so true!
From beginning to end the audiences, wherever you were in the auditorium, were fully immersed and it was exhilarating. I counted fourteen male dancers, who played the Newsies, and they were amazing. There was everything from a flying zip wire, to hanging from the lights, from tap dancing to dazzling acrobatics, all set to a great story of never giving up, sticking together and not letting the bullies win.
It seems as relevant today as it was in the time of the Newsies. The music, as I expected, was fabulous and Michael Ahomka-Lindsay was amazing in the lead role of Jack Kelly. He’d played Benny Coffin in Rent at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, en route to this stunning show.
If you think you’ve seen everything in Theatre, let me urge you, if you can, go and experience this amazing production.
I’ll be playing songs from the show this Sunday from 7pm on Tameside Radio’s Break-a-Leg, along with the final part of my interview with Kevin Kennedy, who’s been in Rock of Ages at the Opera House this week and my chats with some of the cast of School of Rock, which will be at Romiley Forum from 22 to 25 March.
You can join Ian for Break-a-Leg on Tameside Radio 103.6FM every Sunday evening from 7pm to 9pm and Wednesdays from 9pm to 11pm. You can also catch up on previous episodes here.
