The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra joined forces with the renowned Nottingham Trent University Choir and West End Star, Kerry Ellis for a musical extravaganza. TANYA LOUISE RAYBOULD went along for A Night on Broadway.
We’re spoilt in Nottingham by some of the fabulous musicals we have visiting, and this evening was an opportunity to hear some of the most popular hits from those Broadway shows we know and love, spanning the last 70 years, performed together.
Like other similar shows staged, there is no set. The stage of the Royal Concert Hall is stripped back to its bare bones. No glitz or glamour, relying wholly on talent to fill it, and fill the stage it did.
Conducted by Mathew Hopkins, the globally recognised Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Nottingham Trent University Choir, entertained us with a set of brave song choices, starting proceedings with an overture from South Pacific performed solely by the orchestra, the choir, over one hundred strong, joining them for At the End of the Day from Les Miserable. Another number from the smash hit musical followed in the form of the spine tingling I Dreamed a Dream, with star of the show, Kerry Ellis taking lead vocal. Fast becoming recognised as the First Lady of West End musicals from her starring roles in London and on Broadway, Kerry has also achieved chart-topping success as a recording artist signed to Universal Decca with her debut album Anthems.
Kerry’s crystal clear vocals lend themselves beautifully to musicals. Throughout the evening we are also treated to Don’t Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl, Memory from Cats, Anthem from Chess and Losing My Mind from Follies by the stunning vocalist. NTU student Georgina Brown had the honour this year of dueting with Kerry, a future star in the making, she impressively held her own throughout For Good from Wicked, with a strong confident performance.
The 7 member NTU Dance Troupe joined the orchestra on stage for two numbers; Waterloo from Mama Mia and Cabaret, the title song from the musical of the same name.
Overall, a brilliant performance by all. One problem however was that the orchestra at times seemed to drown out the choir, this was particularly noticable during Somebody to Love from We Will Rock You, which was a real shame as it began with some beautiful harmonies and a lot of rehearsal had no doubt gone into the performance, only to be lost. An acapella number could have been a missed opportunity for them to really shine.
The evening of crowd pleasing entertainment closed with a powerful version of You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel.
A friend of mine from Nottingham recently went to see a musical in London and said it actually lacked atmosphere in comparison to performances they’d viewed here in our own city. It just goes to show that sometimes A Night On Broadway can be spent better here at home. Tonight was no exception.
By Tanya Louise Raybould
Editor
@tanyalouiseray
