The Sound of Musicals

In their Fringe debut, Music Box Theatre present an intimate and impressive production of The Sound of Musicals, a compilation show featuring a smattering of musical theatre favourites. From Hushabye Mountain to One Day More, this understated production has an impressive eye for detail and a superbly talented cast. The singing is excellent and each member of the cast is given the opportunity to shine individually. In its simplicity, The Sound of Musicals does little to go above and beyond similar shows, and as a complete performance the song choices are generally on the safe side. However, Music Box Theatre has succeeded in demonstrating excellent quality and real dedication to musical theatre.

For a first shot at the Fringe, this production showcases real quality and a real directorial maturity.

The production works within its means and never tries to be anything it’s not. Although the set is extremely basic, real effort has gone into the direction and the simple choreography fits the songs wonderfully. Leah Pinney’s performance of All That Jazz from Chicago has all the sex and sass expected from such a classic number (while of course staying within the Universal rating) and a number of duets are wonderfully delivered with Laura Kaye Thompson and Oliver Hamilton being a particular highllight in several numbers. Katie Lambert shows off Music Box Theatre’s finesse with a softer number in Maybe This Time, also from Chicago, and the ensemble numbers Seasons of Love from Rent and One Day More from Les Misérables really showcase the variety and talent of the cast as a whole. 

At times a high note goes astray and a few numbers do not fulfil their full potential. But, for a first shot at the Fringe, this production showcases real quality and a real directorial maturity from Laura Kaye Thompson. The performance did miss that wow factor to take it much further, but I expect great things to come from Music Box Theatre.