Musical youth pass Bugsy test in real drive-by
By VIC PIERCE-JONES HAYLING Community Centre was transformed as never before when Hayling Young Stars' presented Bugsy Malone, the pulsating take-off about life in prohibition America.
A cast of more than 40 kids, aged between seven and 14, turned the stage into Fat Sam's bright and breezy speak easy.
To get there you had to get past a bookshop but past the tomes and volumes was a swell nightclub.
Every square inch artistically organised with the sweetest singers and dancers you ever saw, entertaining the 20s' smart set of "flappers" hanging out with their stiff-suited beaux, plus brooding hoodlums (not hoodies, please) and tired businessmen.
The dancing and singing were infectious fun, led from the start by Velma, Bangles and Dotty, ie real life twins - Emily and Beth Cornelius - with Tamsin Kirk stepping out memorably to do a splendid solo dance.
But the not-so-glamorous real world was not far away.
Sharp-suited Bugsy Malone (Billy Thurgood) searched the streets soulfully for a job, young hopefuls queued for hopeless auditions, resigned workers, like cool floor sweeper Fizzy (Archie McKeown), just kept their heads down.
Beyond the pretty dresses and green hooch which looked more like a veggie than a vintage, gang war was heating up.
Massacres materialised out of nowhere, visits to the barber's ended up with close shaves of the terminal variety.
Dandy Dan's gang, led by breezy George Summers, emerged from Benny's bar to face up to Fat Sam's empire, fronted by Daniel Francis, as masterful Sam himself.
Floppy custard pies weren't good enough for these mles, so sub-machine guns did the slaying or, rather, splurging, with something called "silly string" so that everyone lived to fight another day.
Obviously clueless or corrupt cops were on the scene, led by Niall Houston as Smolski and fall guy O'Dreary - not so much male and muscular but cosy in trendy trench coats.
Obviously seeds of romantic interests were being wildly sown. Especially creating the amorous ambience was Caitlin Potter - as vocalist Tallulah - gracious and glamorous, but aloof.
Bugsy's sympathetic heart and talent for talent-spotting drew him to the side of Blousy Brown, played by Lily Chevalier-Watts, an emotional songster who struck lucky with an audition and shared his ambitions Hollywood-way.
As you might imagine in those hard times, their plan to catch a train westwards was cash-strapped.
Meanwhile the community centre's makeover was speeding up.
Feudin' and fightin' was projected on a big screen down a rutted path through the woods.
There Bugsy had a career breakthrough picking up $200 for driving Fat Sam to a showdown – the 1920s' equivalent to today's drive-by!
Naturally, a mugging ensued. Though robbed and rueful, ever-resourceful Bugsy spotted the promise of the white knight who had rescued him.
This was, Leroy (Ally Kirk) a model of sang-froid. He was introduced to professor of pugilism Cagey Joe (Logan Cutbush) a great hit in this part, naturally.
What followed was an all-action 3D thriller that made flat screen epics look - well flat.
Hardboard cut-out cars legged around the hall, videos of gangsters' jalopies powered on the screen.
Bugsy's career and finances took off. A well-planned raid on a secret weapons establishment looked as if the Young Stars' funsters were getting real.
Of course, it all ended happily ever after, at least there were scores of happy faces surviving at the final curtain.
Director Helen Castle should take a mighty fine bow for so many streamlined scenes and the handling of so much emerging talent, all without the sign of temperament, a hitch, even a prompt, let alone anyone wandering about in a daze, which wouldn't have been at all surprising with a show like this.
The choreography by Zoe Fisher was ideally expressive for the young troupe.
Sealing the success was robust management and entertaining ideas from Trevor Thurgood and Jason Favell - helped with filming by Will Hewson.
Musical director Peter Noble kept the feisty flavour flowing. Lin Smith's creative costumes were a wonder to behold.
If there was a fault it had to be that the cast were too fast in dialogue, sometimes making it difficult to follow the plot and not milking the cute lines in a really fresh script.
Tony Dart and Rupert fought valiantly for good speech sound, but, after all, Hayling Community Centre is not a recording studio - not yet, anyway.
So much is expected of youth musicals these days and this had it all.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Hayling
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
