Hull New Theatre – until 29th October 2022
Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams
4****
To the delight of the audience the cast of Bugsy Malone The Musical shimmied and shook their way on to the stage at the Hull New Theatre last night. This is a joyous production full of pzazz and you are guaranteed to leave the theatre with a smile on your face.
Bugsy Malone The Musical (play by Alan Parker, words and music by Paul Williams) is based on the 1976 film Bugsy Malone which had a cast of children. This production has a mix of adults and children. Jon Bausor’s set and costume designs are excellent, the deceptively simple set transforming easily into the various locations and the costumes evoking 1920’s New York wonderfully well. Paul Williams’ music is instantly recognisable and the band (musical director Connagh Tomkinson) were superb.
Bugsy Malone is set in 1920’s New York with the plot revolving around the rivalry between Fat Sam (Charlie Burns) and Dandy Dan (Rayhaan Kufuor-Gray), but this is a world of soft drinks and splurge guns rather than liquor and machine guns. The story is full of humour and nods to the classic gangster films.
Marcus Billany played Bugsy Malone last night, the eponymous hero of the story, who just wants to get along with his life but ends up being dragged into the rivalry. He has an excellent voice and played the part with just the right amount of naivety.
Taziva-Faye Katsande was Tallulah, a part she played with great maturity. She was so elegant as she shimmied across the stage and she has a lovely voice, a name to watch for in the future.
Charlie Burns as Fat Sam was suitably bumbling and Rayhaan Kufuor-Gray as Dandy Dan was nicely smooth. They were convincing as the two gang leaders.
Mohamed Bangura made an excellent Leroy, he brought a real sense of joy to his part and was very enjoyable to watch.
The ensemble was outstanding and Drew McOnie’s choreography was jaw dropping at times. The ensemble never missed a beat even in the most complicated routines. A highlight for me was the routine to “So You Wanna Be A Boxer”, with the cast skipping and dancing at the same time and fighting in a ring, the music is such a joy too. The car chase with strobe lighting to create the effect of the silent movies was incredibly clever and took a great deal of skill to make it look so effortless.
I had expected the audience to be full of families but this was an audience full of adults who had clearly grown up loving the film and they loved the musical too. They were quickly up on the feet at the end to sing and dance with the cast.
Bugsy Malone The Musical has transferred to the stage superbly and this young cast are fabulous. This is a cracking night out at the theatre, one for all the family – time to introduce some youngsters to the joys of Fat Sam and his friends.