This particular reviewer is not a big fan of kids singing and screen-to-stage musicals, so why – you might ask – was I eager to see Bugsy Malone? To address the latter element, I’d long been under the impression it began life as a stage show – rather than its actual gestation, a 1970s creation by filmmaker Alan Parker, who turned it into a musical the following decade.
As in the film, young kids play warring New York mobsters and their showgirls; in place of bullets are splurge guns and custard pies, even if there just wasn’t enough splurge. (Health and safety concerns probably dictate that you can’t have slippery cream substances on a stage.)
In the film version of Bugsy Malone, the child actors’ singing is dubbed by adults; at the WMC in Cardiff, the young cast sing themselves. By no means Von Trapp-esque, saccharine child singing, some of these kids really can hit the notes. Mia Lakha’s Blousey and Fayth Ifil as Tallulah each boast beautiful voices, their respective songs I’m Feeling Fine and My Name Is Tallulah being solo standouts. The New York accents weren’t likely to be perfect, but during the first 20 minutes, it was occasionally hard to understand what they were saying, at which point the general feel borders ‘school play’ territory. Still, the young actors warmed up to their stage accents as the show went on.
The older cast members get the big ensemble numbers like So You Wanna Be A Boxer and audience favourite Bad Guys, but sometimes they complement the young cast – see, for example, the female dancers during Tomorrow while an impossibly young Aidan Oti sings alone. You just can’t help liking these kids, especially charismatic, cherub-faced Gabriel Payne as Bugsy, leading the show and older ensemble with the song Down And Out.
It would be unfair to judge this against the standards of a ‘grown-up’ musical, but any reservations I had soon melted away by the joy of the show and the likeability of the young actors – who are clearly having the time of their lives. If you don’t leave the WMC with a smile on your face after seeing Bugsy Malone, then there’s no hope for you. A family show for everyone, including adults who still have a healthy relationship with their inner child.
Bugsy Malone, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Tue 17 Jan.
On until Sat 21 Jan. Tickets: £17.50-£43.50. Info: here
words CHRIS WILLIAMS
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