‘A Night at the Musicals’ Review
In a first-of-its-kind theatrical production for Woodbridge School, students from every year performed A Night at the Musicals on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week. The show was the product of an intense and exciting 72-hour workshop with our Drama team, Head of Singing, Miss Weston, Singing teacher, Miss Barnes, and choreographer and OW, Kath Clements.
Huge congratulations to everyone involved, on and off the stage, both performances were incredible and it’s clear to see how much the students enjoyed this unique experience. We hope you had the chance to see the show for yourselves, but if you didn’t, our review shares more details about the project.
A Night at the Musicals Review
As the audience sat in anticipation, you could hear the whispers of, “So, what songs will they be singing?” and “Do you know how many numbers they’re going to perform?”. We were about to embark on a journey of discovery as we sat back to watch the curtain go up on what turned out to be a wonderful evening of musical theatre.
With 64 students from across the School performing together, it was always going to be something special – you would certainly be forgiven for thinking they’d had weeks rather than days to devise, rehearse and prepare for the shows.
From the outset, our emcee, Year 13’s Fergus, had the audience captivated. We looked forward to his introductions throughout the show. His presentations were a clever addition to the programme, to help take the audience on a journey through a variety of numbers, giving context to each one in the most fun way you can imagine.
‘Ease on Down’ from The Wiz opened the show with a bang; the stage came to life, and set the scene for the following numbers. Students donned jeans and a branded A Night at the Musicals t-shirt. The understated staging, was brought to life with the energy and passion of each performance.
Moving through the musicals, audiences enjoyed a seamless variety of hits from across the ages and stages.
From Matilda’s ‘Naughty’, ‘Luck Be A Lady’ from Guys and Dolls, ‘Teachers’ Pet’ from School of Rock and ‘Don’t Tell Mama’ from Cabaret, to ‘Ex Wives’ from SIX, and ‘Does Your Mother Know’ from Mamma Mia, the stage was a whirlwind of dancing, singing and even guitar solos which rocked the theatre. ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ from Mamma Mia was a beautifully gentle end to the show, rounding everything off perfectly. It’s fair to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
As the students came to the stage to receive their applause and take a bow, they sang and danced to ‘Come Alive’ from The Greatest Showman, a fitting end to such a vibrant evening of entertainment.
Congratulations to everyone who took part, on and off the stage, to those that sang, danced, played guitar and kept our audiences tapping their toes in their seats. Despite the fact that these students must have been mentally and physically exhausted from the intensity of the last 72 hours, it never showed on their faces or in their performances. Well done also to our teachers and other members of staff who made the show possible – it’s definitely one we will never forget.
