Greeted by cast draped throughout the auditorium squawking out some, quite frankly, astonishing barnyard noises while interacting with the audience, you just know this is going to be fun. The clever costume design ensures that it is subtly obvious that the cast are animals without being so overblown and obvious that it is farcical. This is further helped by the cast's tremendous ability to personify this barnyard bunch to the point that, by the time the show actually starts, you love the characters already.The story is the familiar Ugly Duckling tale punched through with catchy, easy to listen to songs and a Mother/Son duet that is hauntingly beautiful to listen to. Add to the mix some pounding ensemble dance numbers and clever scene changes via a big screen and you're on to a winner. The gorgeous, young cast are all bright eyed and bushy tailed and you can just tell they love what they do. There are some seriously slick dance numbers that fill the entire stage and when this lot sing as a group, boy do you know about it. The power resonating from the big vocal numbers is astounding and there are more than a few times when you're bound to get goosebumps from their spot-on harmonies, especially in the marvellous to watch 'Goslings' number.Notable mentions have to go to James Matthew-Hughes who plays the lead, 'Ugly', and Karen Taylor, his on-stage Mother. Hughes is beautifully awkward and his geeky enthusiasm only makes his later transformation more powerful. With a voice that captures all the innocence of youth, he is wonderful both to watch and listen to. Taylor brings glamour to the stage with her Reese Witherspoon looks, intertwined with a tenderness that makes it so easy to sympathise with her and an effervescence that shows in her performance. The star of the show for me though, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was the sleekly, sinister Cat, played to perfection by Leejay Townsend. His performance was constantly growing, always funny and he owned the stage the moment he stepped onto it. You can't help but love to hate him, the quintessential bad guy. As fantastic as the cast were, I thought the tiny band were even better, carrying the show without ever faltering. A couple of talented girls in the ensemble even played solos on flute and saxophone, which impressed me to no end. Unfortunately, this is where I found fault with an otherwise blemish-less act. This superb musical talent went unnoticed by most of the audience as the musicians were unceremoniously herded into a tiny corner at the side of the stage. There was no interaction with them, which left me feeling disappointed as I would have liked to have seen the girls get a little recognition for their extra talent. As it stood, they were positioned side on to the audience, backs to the action on stage and I felt they were undervalued and isolated though they brought so much to the numbers they played in.Otherwise, this show is professional, fun and upbeat. The kids in the audience loved it and were engaged for the full 1hr15 which, as any parent will tell you, is on a par with an Act of God. Adults too loved the cheeky double-entendre and the easy-on-the-eyes cast had it's perks as well! Kids, parents or simply lovers of Musical Theatre, this is a show for everyone, capable of leaving you feeling good about yourself after you leave, no matter how different you may be.
