Imagine Mamma Mia mixed with a dash of ‘Carry On’ and say hello to ‘I should be so lucky’.
Featuring the best of Pop that is Stock, Aitken & Waterman, this musical was the perfect remedy for a wet, windy, wintery evening in Manchester.
Based on a heartwarming story of the power of love, family and friendship it sees us go from the wedding day of Ella’s nightmare’s to a Honeymoon shared by her incredible support network, and not as she had dreamed of with her fiancé, Nathan.
Fast paced, hilarious and full-on, this production also included wonderful virtual guest performances by Kylie Minogue which added an encouraging and empowering voice for us all to hear about being capable of becoming the person we want to be.
The vocals of Best Man (Giovanni Spano) and Chief Bridesmaid (Kayla Carter) were superb, along with Mother of the Bride (Melissa Jacques), although the whole cast were incredibly talented.
I felt that the dancers and choreography gave the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ troupe a run for their money and would definitely be earning a ten paddle from the audience and it became clear why afterwards on reading the programme, as this production was choreographed by the Creative Director for Strictly, Jason Gilkison.
The set was beautiful and seemed to seamlessly and simply take us with it’s heart design, from the grey everyday, to the dazzling brightness of a sunny honeymoon with the clever use of lighting and backdrop.
So many Fab-U-Lous tunes took me back to a time when tunes were catchy and held no malice in their lyrics, and you could feel the audience absolutely buzzing before, during and after the performance with their lightness of mood.
My only negative was that It was a shame that the doors didn’t open until 6.30pm, as it was clear the audience would have liked to mop up the vibe before the performance, but unfortunately the queues for the bar were long and the foyer was also very full.
Do listen out for the one-liner from Grandad (although you can’t miss it) as it‘ll have you in stitches.
I challenge anyone not to be cheered by this joyful musical.
