Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s MA MUsical Theatre Performance and Musical Directing students have taken the Fringe by storm, as always, with their nearly West End-level production of A Little Night Music.
They really did Sondheim justice
Sondheim is always a challenge, even for the professionals, but the students did an admirable job of keeping up with the material. If some lyric meanings got lost in the shuffle, the cast still conveyed a lot of the key emotions through their physical performances, and there’s no denying the stage was full of very strong singers. The various duets, trios, quintets, and more sounded really fantastic — particularly A Weekend in the Country, which rounded out Act I with incredibly high energy. The show was very well produced, with good pacing, beautiful orchestral accompaniment, and creative use of the limited props and set pieces available.
Shane Ferris acting abilities as Frederik Egerman were very impressive, keeping the audience rooting for his character at all times despite many errors in judgement, and showing himself to be quite a match for the quick-paced musical numbers. Emi Kitagawa, as his wife, had a beautiful voice with operatic elements, although was perhaps not always up to the enunciation required. David Joseph Healy was a scene stealer as the Dragoon, encompassing his character so completely that even just taking a few steps across the stage had the audience in stitches. A further shout out to Jen Cassidy’s comedic chops, and Cate Brooks’ dynamic performance of The Miller’s Son.
It’s great to see so much talent on stage — many of whom surely have bright futures ahead. They really did Sondheim justice!
