Bugsy Malone Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh 15th November 2022 Review
Bugsy Malone The Musical is at the Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh this week (Tue 15 - Sun 20 November) and, judging by the age ranges in the audiences tonight, Bugsy Malone is as popular with children and adults alike today as it was in its original 1976 film release.
I have to admit that, when talking to some people at the show this evening, I seemed to be the only person who had never seen that original film so, for me, entering this almost alternative universe of gangsters in New York city of the 1920s was a new experience and took a little while to adjust to. Once you let go of reality and enter Bugsy’s world, then the battle for power between "Fat Sam" and "Dandy Dan" fought out with custard pies and splurge guns actually makes sense and you accept that children/young adults are playing all the leading roles and that pedal power is their means of vehicular transport.
Why does Bugsy Malone still work as a stage musical, or even a film? To be honest I am not sure I have an answer to that as logically children of today should have no resonance with gangsters in New York some 100 years ago. The answer, I think, was in this show as I watched audience reactions more than a few times. For the children there is that never ending joy in watching at times slapstick humour on stage, the sheer absurdity at the times of some of the story and the people in it. For those a little (or a lot) older there is a real story here, one of classic stage musical hopes and dreams that for some people you want to come true.
As a stage musical, this production pretty much has it all, and from the moment this show starts it is obvious that there is a large budget behind everything as attention to detail in costumes and sets shows in every scene. A budget of any size though is useless if there are not solid building blocks to the show itself, and Bugsy Malone has these, and more. At the top of this list is the world of Bugsy Malone and a very lively script by creator Alan Parker, and this is coupled with the words and music of Paul Williams. Together Alan Parker and Paul Williams created something very unique and very
special in Bugsy Malone.
There are some great songs in this show which gave the two female leads, Taziva-Faye Katsande (Tallulah) and is Avive Savannah Williams (Blousey) their chances to stand out on stage with “My Name Is Tallulah” (Tallulah) and “I'm Feeling Fine” (Blousey) and both did so well with these songs (and elsewhere) that they stole this show for me. There is a strange mix of musical styles here though, and perhaps that is only now really noticeable in retrospect. Some of these songs are in classic 1920s style, but the songs belonging to Tallulah and Blousey have a very 1970s feel to them that is so much of the time when the original movie was made.
Bugsy Malone is of course about its titular character and for this performance Amar Blackman just seemed to fit the role perfectly both in the dramatic and musical scenes. So much of this story centres on Fat Sam, his “bootlegging” business and his club, and Charlie Burns was obviously having a lot of fun with this role, as was his side-kick and right hand man Knuckles (Marcus Billany) Oddly, his arch rival, Dandy Dan gets far less stage and story time, but Rayhaan Kufuor-Gray did well with what he had to work with.
If there was one thing that stood out above everything else for this production it was, for me, the razor sharp and perfectly timed choreography of both the dance numbers and the fight scenes. At its heart, Bugsy Malone is an old fashioned Hollywood film musical that transfers seamlessly to a classic stage musical.
Maybe just as important as any of these things though is that Bugsy Malone is by its very nature a production that gives young talent the opportunity to perform on stage. The whole musical theatre industry needs shows like this if we are to have the performers and stars of the future.
Review by Tom King © 2022
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
I have to admit that, when talking to some people at the show this evening, I seemed to be the only person who had never seen that original film so, for me, entering this almost alternative universe of gangsters in New York city of the 1920s was a new experience and took a little while to adjust to. Once you let go of reality and enter Bugsy’s world, then the battle for power between "Fat Sam" and "Dandy Dan" fought out with custard pies and splurge guns actually makes sense and you accept that children/young adults are playing all the leading roles and that pedal power is their means of vehicular transport.
Why does Bugsy Malone still work as a stage musical, or even a film? To be honest I am not sure I have an answer to that as logically children of today should have no resonance with gangsters in New York some 100 years ago. The answer, I think, was in this show as I watched audience reactions more than a few times. For the children there is that never ending joy in watching at times slapstick humour on stage, the sheer absurdity at the times of some of the story and the people in it. For those a little (or a lot) older there is a real story here, one of classic stage musical hopes and dreams that for some people you want to come true.
As a stage musical, this production pretty much has it all, and from the moment this show starts it is obvious that there is a large budget behind everything as attention to detail in costumes and sets shows in every scene. A budget of any size though is useless if there are not solid building blocks to the show itself, and Bugsy Malone has these, and more. At the top of this list is the world of Bugsy Malone and a very lively script by creator Alan Parker, and this is coupled with the words and music of Paul Williams. Together Alan Parker and Paul Williams created something very unique and very
special in Bugsy Malone.
There are some great songs in this show which gave the two female leads, Taziva-Faye Katsande (Tallulah) and is Avive Savannah Williams (Blousey) their chances to stand out on stage with “My Name Is Tallulah” (Tallulah) and “I'm Feeling Fine” (Blousey) and both did so well with these songs (and elsewhere) that they stole this show for me. There is a strange mix of musical styles here though, and perhaps that is only now really noticeable in retrospect. Some of these songs are in classic 1920s style, but the songs belonging to Tallulah and Blousey have a very 1970s feel to them that is so much of the time when the original movie was made.
Bugsy Malone is of course about its titular character and for this performance Amar Blackman just seemed to fit the role perfectly both in the dramatic and musical scenes. So much of this story centres on Fat Sam, his “bootlegging” business and his club, and Charlie Burns was obviously having a lot of fun with this role, as was his side-kick and right hand man Knuckles (Marcus Billany) Oddly, his arch rival, Dandy Dan gets far less stage and story time, but Rayhaan Kufuor-Gray did well with what he had to work with.
If there was one thing that stood out above everything else for this production it was, for me, the razor sharp and perfectly timed choreography of both the dance numbers and the fight scenes. At its heart, Bugsy Malone is an old fashioned Hollywood film musical that transfers seamlessly to a classic stage musical.
Maybe just as important as any of these things though is that Bugsy Malone is by its very nature a production that gives young talent the opportunity to perform on stage. The whole musical theatre industry needs shows like this if we are to have the performers and stars of the future.
Review by Tom King © 2022
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com