4 STARS, August 8-13. An entertaining evening of humour and custard pies performed with a charm and charisma that belies the cast's young age, says Sally Simmons
Bugsy Malone is writer-director Alan Parker’s delightful, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the gangster genre, first produced as a feature film in 1976. Parker made a unique musical film, with a cast of under 16 year old child actors playing adult gangsters in Prohibition-era Chicago. The story outlines the turf war between two rival gangs, one headed by the aptly-named Fat Sam, boss of the Grand Slam speakeasy; the other by the shady Dandy Dan. Custard pies replace bullets, machine guns spew out white goo, cars are pedal-powered, and it’s a running gag to hear adult language coming out of ‘the mouths of babes.’
As a fitting homage to the original, this community based production – directed by Carole Todd in the newly refurbished auditorium – involves a cast of 34 enthusiastic local children, brimming with energy, many of whom were from local theatre schools. Even three of the backstage hands were children.
The production was stylish with energetic choreography by Camilla Rowland and eye-catching set design, complete with convincing cars on stage. Bugsy Malone has a memorable score: My Name is Tallulah; Bad Guys; So You Wanna Be a Boxer – these were delivered with panache. The band, under Musical Director Tim Hammond, performed particularly well and enhanced the production. Emily Humphrey as Wardrobe Mistress gave us costumes that were colourful, striking and appropriate for the era. Lighting by William Francis highlighted the action while creating some dramatic vignettes for the solos.
This musical is a veritable labyrinth of scene changes, wisecracking repartee, American gangster accents and a need to sustain the script's knowing humour. The show is a balance of big set pieces and individual star turns and it was some of the lesser roles that stood out. For example, the slender Dilsher Bagri who played Fizzy sang a poignant version of 'Tomorrow'. Guilherme Barbosa who played Snake Eyes/Leroy showed exquisite comic timing. Fat Sam, played by Mackenzie Foxcroft also brought out the humour in a complex role.
The role of Bugsy is very challenging and Owen Barkla had a tendency to hurry through his lines, but overall managed to give an enthusiastic performance. Tallulah had a sweet singing voice, acting the part with sensitivity. Tallulah’s girls danced gracefully with many intricate movements in their performance. Chloe Stannage, who plays Blousey Brown, sang in a spirited manner and carried the part well.
It was clear that the audience greatly enjoyed this performance and there were many occasions of spontaneous laughter at jokes and applause after demanding solos. It was an accomplished production by a very young cast that provided an enjoyable evening’s entertainment, one I'd recommend you go and see.
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