Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Cameron Blakely. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Cameron Blakely. Sort by date Show all posts
Wednesday, 27 September 2017
The Addams Family (UK Tour), New Victoria Theatre | Review
The Addams Family (UK Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
Reviewed on Tuesday 26th September 2017 by Valerie Field
★★★★
The spooky, kooky classic, The Addams Family has made its way to the New Victoria theatre, Woking in its spectacular UK tour.
The Addams Family first become known to the public in the 1960’s as a TV show, they then made their way to the big screen in 1991 and on finally to Broadway in 2010. This production is the first ever professional one in the UK and has received brilliant reviews since it opened.
The story is about the very weird and spooky family whose daughter, Wednesday falls in love with a ‘normal’ boy. This causes many problems and some hilarious situations and she tries to tell her overprotective family and discovers that no one is really as normal as they seem.
The energy was up right from the get go of the show. During the iconic opening theme tune music, the entire audience joined in with the signature clicks which was very funny and set the night off on a fantastic foot.
Carrie Hope Fletcher as Wednesday Addams and Cameron Blakely as Gomez were the stand out performances for me, with fantastic acting and singing from both. Cameron was suitably wacky and humourous whilst Carrie was suitably moody and full of love.
Samantha Womack looked great, but I felt that she didn't have the presence you would have expected from her character of Morticia. Whilst she looks the role and embodies the character well, she was a little underwhelming at times and could have played the character up a little more.
Les Dennis was unable to perform as Fester but his understudy, Scott Paige did very well as the man who’s in love with the moon. Dickon Gough' was the biggest surprise as Lurch. When he burst into song at the end, the whole audience were shocked at his fantastic voice.
All the scenery, stage sets and special effects were brilliant and all in all it was a very entertaining and enjoyable show. I would have liked it to be a little more spooky but its definitely worth a visit before the tour ends.
The Addams Family is at the New Victoria Theatre until September 30th before continuing its tour.
Tuesday, 26 September 2017
In Conversation With... Oliver Ormson | The Addams Family | Interview
Have you always wanted to be a performer or did you have a different dream when you were younger?
I think when I was really young I wasn’t too bothered, I think the first ever thing I wanted to be when I was really young was a policeman. But I was interested in football from a young age cause of my dad so probably a footballer really… But my mum was interested in amateur dramatics so I went that way when I was older. About the age of 16/17 I decided I wanted to be an actor.
Can you explain a little about The Addams Family and how your character Lucas fits into it?
The Addams Family is the classic everyone knows but it’s ten years on and in this story Wednesday (Carrie Hope Fletcher) is all grown up and she’s fallen in love with an American boy from a normal background and I’m that American boy!
So the Addams invite the Bieneke's round for dinner because Wednesday’s got a little secret and it’s a secret she’s kept from her parents. So the main premise is inviting a ‘normal’ family into the Addams family mansion where there’s all sort of ghouls and ghosts going on.
Lucas Beineke is that all-American boy but he likes the darkness and he’s intrigued by it. He’s come from a normal family and the first time he meets Wednesday she shoots a pigeon with an arrow and it lands by his feet in central park and he just falls in love with her straight away cause she’s so different from the background he grew up with.
So Lucas looks all clean cut but he does have a hint of the darkness as well!
Are you anything like Lucas and what drew you to the role?
It was more the project that drew me in. It’s the first time it’s been done in the UK by a professional company. It’s very rare these days that you get the opportunity to create your own role. So I am the first professional Lucas in the UK arnd Ireland so it’s really wow because I get to create and make things which doesn’t happen a lot. Especially on a tour which has been done time and time again; they tell you where to stay on a straight line but I had the chance to play with it which was amazing.
Probably the thing that I’d say that is the Oliver Ormson in Lucas is that I’ve tried to make him a bit dorky. Just a bit silly in that embarrassing phase where you go round to your partner’s house for the first time as a teenager and you’re sort of tripping over your words cause you’re trying to impress so it’s that sort of dorkiness. He just reacts to situations and doesn’t really think about it; he’s trying to be cool so he’s a bit dorky!
Who else besides yourself would you like to see play Lucas?
Oh wow, that’s really hard! I think it would have to be, and I know it’s cliched cause he’s massive at the moment, but it’d have to be Ben Platt. You know, he’s a fellow Hufflepuff as well! He tweeted saying that Evan Hansen is a Hufflepuff and I tweeted saying so is Lucas Beineke so I think we have the same sort of taste. I think he has that character cause he’s done it everyday like that twerpiness and he would sing it like an absolute dream! Unfortunately he’d probably be much better than me but as long as I’m gone and out the picture he can happily have it!
You’ll have to switch and be Evan while he’s Lucas!
Yes! Please make it happen, I’ll get you tickets to the opening night if you can make it happen!
Who in the show would you say is most like their character?
I would say Cameron Blakely who plays Gomez Addams cause he is crazy. He’s full of voices and full of character and he has a little daughter himself, a beautiful little daughter who’s three or four and you can see he has that protective side that Gomez has in the show over Wednesday. But he’s also that embarrassing dad so I’d definitely go with Cameron as Gomez.
If you were one of the ancestors, what would your crazy cause of death be?
This is really cool… erm maybe something silly when I was drunk or something? Yeah something silly like falling in a lake and my ancestors prop would be a can of lager or a pint!
What is your favourite thing to do when you’re not on stage?
This sounds quite cliched but I like to keep fit cause you never know when this jobs gonna end. I do a lot of dancing, not so much in this show but I’ve danced in other shows so I try and keep that up. I don’t wanna relax too much to think I just have to sing and act cause the next job you might wanna do could have a a tap number in it or something like that.
Yeah just try and keep fit really, go to the gym and I’m quite a boyish boy so watch Netflix or football or play games like video games so very cliched unfortunately!
I know you’re a big Harry Potter fan, so if you could bring anyone or anything from the Potter world into our, what or who would you bring?
I would just like a wand. You know, just the elder wand would be fine, the casual elder wand! That’s what I’d bring because I was thinking about the invisibility cloak and stuff but I think after a while that might get a bit boring!
And if you have the wand you can get other stuff with it!
Exactly, like with the wand you can do crazy spells!
Well that’s a lovely segue as my next question is: what show would you wish to do if you had a magic wand?!
As I mentioned I love Dear Evan Hansen but I’ve always wanted to play Fiyero in Wicked. I watched it and thought it was really magical and cool and people always say to me “you could play Fiyero, you can do that!” so if I actually do it I can shut those people up… in a nice way
If you could go back to any era, when would you go to any why?
I love the 80s. I was born in the 80’s, well only just by like 2 months in ’89 so I always claim that I’m an 80s child but to properly go and experience it and to actually live in that time I'd love. And I’ll see my mum and dad in their 20s which would be so weird!
Finally, what is your number one piece of advice for an aspiring performer?
There’s this amazing Bryan Cranston philosophy and he says to just act, just get yourself out there and act. Even if it’s just a local drama group, just hone your skills. Even if you’re doing an amateur production of Fiddler on the Roof you’re gonna learn things from that, you’re gonna be with people that have maybe done professional work before. So I’d say just act and be proactive and productive cause then you learn.
As professional actors we have stories of how we once did am dram and how that helped. So everyone starts somewhere. I think some people think that you come out of college and you go straight into the West End and all of a sudden you’re just a professional actor but you learn a lot of things before that. So just be creative and play and try things out, you’ll always learn things.
Do that and make sure it’s what you want to do and then pursue college or drama school which is an important route in my opinion but you can still do it without that. So go and learn, go and be proactive and just hone you’re skills.
Thank you so much to Oliver for taking the time to chat to me. The Addams Family runs at the New Victoria Theatre until the 30th September before continuing on it's tour.
Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Joanne Clifton to play Morticia in The Addams Family UK & Ireland Tour
Joanne will be joining the previously announced, Cameron Blakely (Gomez Addams), Scott Paige (Uncle Fester), Kingsley Morton (Wednesday Addams), Grant McIntyre (Pugsley Addams), Valda Aviks (Grandma), Sean Kingsley (Mal Beineke), Kara Lane (Alice Beineke), Ahmed Hamad (Lucas Beineke), Dickon Gough and Ryan Bennett (sharing the role of Lurch), Abigail Brodie, Sophie Hutchinson, Matthew Ives and Sean Lopeman. Also new to the cast and joining the ensemble is Castell Parker. Further casting to be announced.
Joanne Clifton has starred as Janet in the UK tour of The Rocky Horror Show, Alex Owens in the UK tour of Flashdance, and Dale Tremont in Top Hat, where she received her second Offie nomination. Her first was for her acting debut as the Streetwalker in Irving Berlin’s Face the Music. Joanne is perhaps best known for her time on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. After winning the World Professional Showdance Championship and the European Professional Ballroom Championship, she joined the show as a professional dancer. During her time on the show, she performed in the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour, was an expert presenter on the programme’s backstage show, It Takes Two, won the Christmas Special with McFly’s Harry Judd, and went on to win the glitterball trophy as the 2016 champion with her partner Ore Oduba.
Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and has a shocking secret that only Gomez knows; she’s fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family! Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before — keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents. All the usual clan are present - Uncle Fester, Lurch, Pugsley et al.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY, A Musical Comedy, will be directed by Matthew White, with choreography by Alistair David, production design by Diego Pitarch, orchestrations by Richard Beadle, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Richard Brooker and casting by Jane Deitch. Book is by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, based on the characters created by Charles Addams.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2021 UK Tour is produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Music & Lyrics Limited, and is presented through special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
For further information, please visit www.theaddamsfamily.co.uk
Thursday, 5 October 2017
The Addams Family (UK Tour), Grand Opera House | Review
The Addams Family (UK Tour)
The Grand Opera House, Belfast
Reviewed on Tuesday October 3rd by Damien Murray
★★★★
This Irish and UK premiere tour production of the musical comedy, The Addams Family was an entertaining and fast-paced production of Andrew Lippa’s funny musical about a less than conventional family and its ancestors.
Right from the off, it was obvious that this was not going to be ‘One Normal Night’, as – during the overture – a finger-clicking hand appeared through the letter box; the hand of an unknown person (in this case, probably a ‘stage hand’!!).
Mainly played out on the superbly old and run-down eerie mansion befitting to such a weird and spooky family, the functional set designs, with moveable staircases and great use of the two side balconies, helped greatly with the good pace of this production.
Despite the family’s appearance, values and lifestyle, this atmospheric piece is not so much scary as it is a funny musical with great one-liners that, thankfully, are never just throw away lines for the experienced cast.
We were then introduced to a mixed bag of weird ancestors who looked almost normal when compared to the central family of the piece.
They made up a well-used ensemble, which, despite its relative lack of numbers, produced some excellent harmonies during choral pieces (e.g. 'One Normal Night' and 'Move Toward The Darkness') and provided solid support throughout in vocals, dance, movement, visuals and as a distraction during scene changes.
While the Act 1 finale, 'Full Disclosure' (Part 2) was a great production number, the orchestra and cast rose to the challenge here with the varied and difficult score, which - apart from the variety of tempo changes from one song to the next - had to cope with a degree of musical fragmentation caused by lots of start/stops throughout many songs and challenging underscoring.
While the great musicality of the tango rhythms made numbers like 'Trapped', 'Secrets' and 'Not Today' stand out here, it was the orchestra’s sheer accuracy of performance and the visual impact of the dancers in the production number, 'Tango De Amour', that combined to make this an irresistible musical highlight.
'Pulled' was another highlight because of Wednesday’s strong vocal performance, while the flamenco flavoured music of 'Let’s Live Before We Die' impressed and 'But Love' provided a little vaudeville-style distraction between scenes.
There were some soft ballads in the varied score, including the gentle, 'The Moon And Me', while 'Move Toward The Darkness' was unusual in that it is rare that a ballad is used as a finale number, but it did allow for some great choral work.It was good to see the reprise of the up-tempo, 'When You’re An Addams', being used to send all home happy after the ballad finale.
Choreography was a strong element in this production and the concepts were well-executed right from the opening production number, 'When You’re An Addams', when we knew that there was going to be no problems with dance, as this song’s varied choreography included lots of arm movements and samples of line dancing, the bunny hop and the twist. The moon ballet was well-staged ('The Moon And Me'), while it was a nice touch to use a ‘young’ Wednesday to highlight the emotions of the song during Happy Sad.
The nightmarish family in this macabre musical was effortlessly brought to life by the talented principals, including Cameron Blakely as the Latino-looking and hen-pecked husband, Gomez, who supplied some touching moments in the song, 'Happy Sad', yet also managed to deliver the song’s humorous lines on cue, while always maintaining the right comic timing to get the laughs when needed.
Samantha Womack as the very much in-charge and matriarchal Morticia was both tall and elegant and looked the part in her long black ankle-length dress and long black hair like Crystal Gale. Boasting dead-pan looks that could kill, this was a very confident performance from a total all-rounder with a great voice and good stage presence who perfectly captured her character’s dry wit. She also proved to be a most impressive dancer, especially in the song and dance number, 'Just Around The Corner', which allowed her to show her macabre emotions of joy.
However, for me, the star of the show was Carrie Hope Fletcher’s manipulative daughter, Wednesday. This amazingly talented girl is a strong performer with a great voice and real stage presence and this was highlighted in her performance throughout, but especially during the ‘coming of age’ song, 'Pulled'.
In the absence of Les Dennis, due to illness, his understudy, Scott Paige, was more than deserving of this role and impressed greatly both in his acting, comic timing and vocal ability, especially as he was acting so much ‘out of age’ in this part. Despite playing the loveably crazy uncle, Fester, he provided lovely vocals during his gentle ballad, 'The Moon And Me' and as the show’s narrator character.
Dickon Gough had a dream role as the ever-growling zombie-like butler, Lurch, and played one of musical theatre’s great non-speaking parts exceptionally well, while Grant McIntyre, as Pugsley, played the younger brother with a grown-up attitude well.
There was good support from Charlotte Page’s fully-disclosed Alice, Dale Rapley’s typical American parent, Mal, and his college student son, Lucas, played by Oliver Ormson, while Valda Aviks’ eccentric Grandma was good, but I would like to have seen more of her character’s outspoken and irreverent attitude.
Perfectly-timed sound effects and special visual effects like the thunder and lightening, the monster in the box and the use of individual ancestors in the portrait painting all added to the success of this slick production.
Thanks to the brilliant lighting, costumes, props, make-up and hair, this was a visually stunning show from its strong opening to its unusual ballad ending … absolutely ‘finger-clicking good’ throughout!
The Addams Family runs at the Grad Opera House, Belfast until October 7th.
Photo credit: Matt Martin
Thursday, 1 February 2018
Eugenius, The Other Palace | Review
Eugenius
The Other Palace
Reviewed on Tuesday 30th January 2018 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★★
I saw and loved Eugenius back in 2016 at it's premiere concert at the London Palladium, so I was very excited when I read it was returning to The Other Palace. I'm pleased to say I stand by my initial review- I absolutely adored this, unique, hilarious, feel-good show.
Eugenius tells the story of Eugene, a G-E-E-K who has written a comic book and gets thrown into a crazy Hollywood, space story. Alongside we have Janey who is head over heels in love with him and does everything she can to impress him but has been placed firmly into the friend zone.
With music and lyrics and a book by Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins, Eugenius is a full on cheese fest of all things brilliant about the 80s. I'm 21 so wasn't alive then but it's so iconic that I couldn't help but feel nostalgic in a weird way. The music is catchy, the dialogue is laugh a minute and the whole show is just a big, joyous delight.
The cast are absolutely outstanding. As Eugene we have West End newbie Liam Forde, who is geeky and charming with a beautiful voice. His chemistry with everyone is great but especially with the delightful love interest Laura Baldwin as Janey. Laura's voice is something else, 'The Future is Bright' is definitely a stand out moment. Equally witty and loving, Laura is perfectly cast in the role.
As the best friend, Dan Buckley is hilarious as Feris. Despite being a comic role, Daniel's vocals shine and he is wonderful throughout. Equally comic is Scott Paige as Theo who is sassy and vocally outstanding. As the mean man, Cameron Blakely is perfectly despicable as Lex. His demeanour and crude actions make you pray for his demise. Ian Hughes is striking as the other, spacey villain, Evil Lord Hector.
This show creates an infectious atmosphere and has everyone bouncing and humming the songs as they leave the theatre. In my initial review I said that "this musical is bound to become a cult classic and pave the way for a whole wave of new musicals" and I think that still sums up my feelings. Eugenius is a unique, humourous celebration of being yourself and embracing your inner geek. With catchy music and a stellar cast, there's not a reason you shouldn't see this show!
Eugenius runs at The Other Palace until 3rd March
photo credit: Pamela Raith
Tuesday, 15 November 2022
Mrs Doubtfire to Open in the West End in May 2023
Producers Kevin McCollum and Jamie Wilson are thrilled to announce that new comedy musical Mrs. Doubtfire, based on the iconic movie, will open in the West End next Summer.
Having thrilled audiences at its UK premiere in Manchester earlier this year, the London production will begin performances at the newly refurbished Shaftesbury Theatre from Friday 12 May 2023, with a Press Night on Thursday 22 June. Tickets go on-sale today via www.mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk
A hilarious and heartfelt story about holding onto your loved ones against all odds, Mrs. Doubtfire is the musical comedy we need right now.
Out-of-work actor Daniel will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father.
Mrs. Doubtfire will introduce Gabriel Vick (Avenue Q) as Daniel Hillard.
Gabriel will be joined in the principal cast by Carla Dixon-Hernandez (Matilda the Musical) as Lydia Hillard, Cameron Blakely (The Addams Family) as Frank Hillard, Marcus Collins (Kinky Boots) as Andre, and Ian Talbot OBE (Hairspray, and Director of The Mousetrap) as Mr. Jolly.
Further cast include Joshua Dever, Samuel Wilson-Freeman, Maria Garrett, Kiera Haynes, Adam Lyons, Lisa Mathieson, Ellie Mitchell, Matt Overfield, Tom Scanlon, Vicki Lee Taylor and Rebecca Donnelly, Amy Everett and Paulo Teixeira.
The roles of Miranda Hillard, Stuart Dunmire, Janet Lundy, Wanda Sellner and the full cast are to be announced at a later date.
For cast & creative team information, please see www.mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk
Mrs. Doubtfire has been created by a transatlantic team of award-winning artists, with Original Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, (the Tony Award-nominated team behind Something Rotten!, along with O’Farrell), a Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, Direction by 4-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks (Hello, Dolly!), Choreography by Lorin Latarro (Waitress), and Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations by Ethan Popp (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical). Scenic design is by David Korins (Hamilton), Costume Design by Catherine Zuber (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Lighting Design by Philip S. Rosenberg (Pretty Woman The Musical), Sound Design by Brian Ronan (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Hair Design by David Brian Brown (Frozen), Makeup & Prosthetics Design by Tommy Kurzman (The King and I), Casting by Stuart Burt (Cabaret) and Children’s Casting Director is Verity Naughton.
Mrs. Doubtfire is produced by Kevin McCollum and Jamie Wilson and is presented by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.
Thursday, 21 September 2017
The Addams Family (UK Tour), Bristol Hippodrome | Review
The Addams Family (UK Tour)
Bristol Hippodrome
Reviewed on Tuesday 19th September 2017 by Isobelle Desbrow
★★★★
Full disclosure this show is a must see for all, with a mixture of pure wit, funny lines and the occasional sexual innuendo underpinned by a fabulous musical score, everything hit the right notes, especially the actors.
The scene changes were smooth, and visually or musically pleasing, never a dull moment. The acting was exquisite, Cameron Blakely as Gomez was the perfect mix of enthusiasm and misguided sentimentality. Morticia played by the stunning Samantha Womack was perfectly caste, an incredible voice matched with brilliant characterisation. Carrie Hope Fletcher played a very powerful Wednesday Addams, with pitch perfect harmonies, she was a thrill to watch. The relationship she portrayed with Lukas Beineke played by Oliver Ormson was magical. ‘Crazier than You’ was spectacular with perfect vocals and staging.
Without giving away too much Lurch certainly didn’t leave much to imagination with well timed movements and grunts, Dickon Gough is definitely a wonderful addition to the cast, especially towards the end!
A special mention must go to Scott Paige who stepped into rather large shoes to play Uncle Fester as Les Dennis was out for the evening. Scott was one of my highlights for the evening as he had wonderful vocals and characterisation, he brought so much to the character and I would love to see him one day stepping out into more of a leading role.
The music was well played and perfectly underpinned the drama of the musical. The costumes perfectly brought to life the outrageous, kooky Addams family world, especially with the exceptionally detailed ancestors. Each of whom were played fantastically by the ensemble and it was clear how much character development had been done in the rehearsal room. They also added a whole other dimension to full cast pieces such as ‘When You’re an Addams’ and ‘Full Disclosure’.
Overall this show is witty, modern and leaves nothing to the imagination. With updated jokes, amazing vocals and spooktacular acting it is a must see for all!
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