Originally published by L.S.Media. August 7th 2009.
It is testament to the Liverpool Empire Stage Experience that a musical of this calibre is not only performed by the children of the area but it is done well and with more than a sense of style. From the moment you arrived at the Theatre you were greeted with the sight of the period costume from the Twenties and a fine Rolls Royce parked up upon the pavement.
This production took in over 120 children and all performed admirably and had the packed out audience in the palms of their hands from the opening number.
There are some truly touchingly funny moments within the night, the sound of the splurge guns being fired was a definite comic touch along with the interaction of Captain Smolsky and the incompetent policeman O’Dreary played by Zac Tellet and Elliot Condron respectively adding a sense of continuality to the original film.
Choreographers Gil Burns and Liz McDonald must have had their work cut out with so many children to teach some of the more intricate moves but it shows how hard work can pay off as there was hardly a foot put wrong all night, especially on So You Want to be a Boxer where the movement of everybody on stage was just delightful.
There are some amongst the cast that you can tell are going to make it all the way if they continue with the dedication and hard work that it takes to be a star. In the more major roles in the show these would have to include Lewis Wren as Bugsy Malone who did superbly well with his timing and delivery and made you believe in the character. Jessica Hunt was excellent as the worldly wise show girl Tallulah and gave a performance as good as Ms. Jodie Foster in the 1976 original film and Emma Mawdsley as Blousey Brown was just divine.
The band, which was made up of Paul Lawton and Tim Jones on keyboards, Dan Smith on guitar, Christian Brown on Bass and the outstanding Andy Hannay on drums also deserve a huge mention as they played the score marvellously and towards the end of the night had the audience up on their feet and joining in.
It is a shame that the musical is only for two days at the Empire Theatre, but anybody who got the chance to see this will be humming their favourite tunes for weeks!
Ian D. Hall