Review: FAME

This week SUSU Showstoppers have been performing their production of FAME, and we had the pleasure of popping along to see what it was all about. After SELL OUT shows most nights, the musical certainly lived up to the hype, and it was a thoroughly entertaining and well put together production.

Directed by SUSU Showstoppers Jon Haines and Assistant Directors Johanna Penfold and Sam Dobson, FAME tells the individual stories of students at New York’s famous Performing Arts school, trying to make it in the business, whilst struggling with the typical adversities of teenage life. Knowing that the film productions of FAME are vastly different, we didn’t know what to expect. However, the performers and certainly the live band, certainly did not disappoint.

From the minute the doors opened, the audience already felt involved, as all the characters were on stage in their different roles – dancers, musicians, actors preparing for their first audition. It was clear from the first song, ‘Pray/Hard Work’, that a strong ensemble performance was to be expected throughout. The only fault we could find with this number is that some lines were drowned out by the live band, although I’m sure this could be rectified by StageSoc, who should be credited for their fantastic work on the set.

The opening of FAME…

In the first act, there are definitely a few actors that must be credited for their performance – Toby Hasler-Winter (Nick)’s rendition of ‘I Want To Make Magic’ provided a contrast against the more up-beat numbers, without losing any of the energy from the opening number. Jeremy McCabe (Joe) was absolutely hilarious, providing a comedic yet vocally sound performance throughout the whole show, especially in ‘Can’t Keep It Down’, a song about having inappropriate feelings for a girl – he was possibly too convincing as a horny teenager! Act one contained the main bulk of the acting, and despite some actors struggling to maintain the American accent, you could tell that everyone was determined to make it the best production that week.

Without a doubt, the best song of the first act was ‘Teacher’s Argument’, sung by Amy Fitzgibbon (Miss Sherman) and Emma Bryant (Miss Bell). This was an absolutely stunning performance, that the audience awarded the biggest applause to in the first act. The vocals were impeccable, and it was clear that Amy and Emma were bouncing off each other’s energy to create something that was truly special.

The second act opened with Toby H-W (Nick) and Alyssa Fox-Charles (Serena) singing a reprise of ‘I Want To Make Magic’, which unfortunately didn’t grasp us as much as we had hoped, given the upbeat nature of the first act opening; however, the energy was quickly picked up in ‘Think Of Meryl Streep’, where Alyssa gave a convincing and heartfelt performance.

Sarah Moir jumped into the role of Mabel at the start of the week, as unfortunately Laura Hayward was unable to perform due to injury, and she performed with gusto and enthusiasm throughout. Her solo piece, ‘Mabel’s Prayer’ was peculiar, but charming, with excellent vocals throughout. I would credit Sarah with being one of the best vocalists in the ensemble.

Following this was ‘Dancing On The Sidewalk’, performed by Tobi Dawodu (Tyrone) and then the whole ensemble. For Tobi’s first SUSU Showstopper performance, he was energetic and convincing, however, his real strength laid in the dancing elements of the performance. Credit should be given to Lucy Kent and Josh Tipping, as the choreography in this performance was slick.

Our favourite performance, and possibly the most moving of the entire show, was Amy Fitzgibbon’s rendition of ‘These Are My Children’. It was absolutely breathtaking, with the audience hanging on her every line. Despite being a veteran member of Theatre Group, she could have fooled us into thinking she was a long standing musical theatre performer. According to her programme biography, Amy had never sung to more than 2 people before FAME, but we could see no nerves or apprehension in any of her performances.

Last but certainly not least, Robyn Fryer (Carmen)’s interpretations of ‘In L.A.’ and the famous number ‘FAME’ were real showstoppers. This was Robyn’s second performance in SUSU Showstoppers, having blown away audiences in RENT earlier this year. Given the lead role of Carmen, both Robyn’s acting and singing were difficult to fault, and you could tell she was thoroughly enjoying being on stage. ‘FAME’ is probably the most well-known number in the show, and we were worried that the cast would not be able to make it original or different, however we were wrong. Robyn’s lead vocals were electrifying, bringing new life to this old classic, with the ensemble’s harmonies complimenting her stellar performance.

Even SUSU, the Union cat, enjoyed FAME… Credit to Hannah Holiday

It is difficult to find many faults in the performance, and there were only a few things we could pick up on that were not 100% together. Occasionally, the storyline was lost as some parts felt hurried, especially Carmen’s struggle with drug addiction and her consequent death; this wasn’t really highlighted throughout the performance as much as it should have been. A few lines were lost by the volume of the live music, but the Musical Director’s must be commended for their work here; the band really added something extra to this performance, and was much better than a simple soundtrack. It was a brave and creative move to use TV screens, showing a live stream of the performance from different angles, and whilst in some places this enhanced the show such as in the cut scenes, in others it was a hinderance, owing to a few technical issues.

With a cast and production team of this scale, it is impossible to individually review each performer, however, FAME was a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable performance, and hopefully one of many more to come for the cast involved. In what has been a strong year for SUSU Showstoppers, performances like this really highlight the diversity of talent in the society, and the cast and production team should be genuinely proud of what they have accomplished in such a short space of time. 

Please note: There are still a few tickets available for Saturday’s performance of FAME.